In the window above you can see three of my “slugdalas” – banana slug mandalas, of course! A version of the first image (Slugdala #1, on the left) won the 2009 Staff Art Award for Toyon literary magazine. The middle slugdala (#11) received a First Place award in digital photography at the Del Norte County Fair. In addition to Toyon, they have also appeared in the literary journals Porter Gulch Review (Slugdala #9) and Mandala Journal (Slugdala #8).
Slugdalas begin their lives as digital photographs of the banana slugs I found in and around Redwood National & State Parks. I then highlight a pie-shaped section of the photograph, which I join to the slice’s mirror image, to form one “spoke” of the final image. I continue to add spokes, rotating each slightly to form 360 degrees.
Slugdalas are now available on blank greeting cards (blank inside, of course; the front has the slugdala and the back has the original slug image). The cards can be found at the Southern Oregon Guild in Kerby. If you like them, you can even buy the book!
UPDATE: Slugdalas can now also be found on t-shirts through threadless.com. Check out the Slugdala store, where you can pick your banana slug mandala, then your style (short sleeve, long sleeve, hoodie, tank, etc.), color, and size. (And be sure to check the site for periodic sales to save on your slugs.)
UPDATE TOO: Numerous Slugdalas are now available as fine art prints from ArtPal.com. Visit the page to view right here.
Ryan Forsythe, Author 