Challenge #165 "Camelia"

I have seen Camelia in others work and have used it myself once or twice but, it seems like a big tangle to get on a tile. I was able to get quite a lot of it on a tile and had a great time dong it. Just back from Tangle U and have many new things to try. Some, you will find here.

Camelia, Printemps, Drops, Black Pearlz (in brown)

pigma micron in brown and black, Caran d'Ache pencil in 

english red and brown, graphite pencil.

Camelia in White Celly Roll, highlights Clear Star Gelly Roll, Dandy 

in black glaze over a Zenstone wash.

Challenge #164 Earth Day

Although it was an overcast, rainy day I still had to walk my dog Blue Sky. As we were returning home through the ever changing and now very beautiful Public Garden in Boston a woman we were approaching had a delighted smile on her face and said "can I say hello?" meaning to Blue of course. This dog gets so much attention it is really incredible. Well, anyway this woman was author Ellen Cooney and she was on her way to her publishers office because she has a book coming out (the eleventh I think?) about a school for dogs. This book deals with abused dogs that are "rescued" and given a second chance.  Ellen was just so nice and wasn't even flustered that Blue Sky had left a muddy foot print on her clean white shirt! You just never know who will cross your path. Her book is due to be released in August 2014 and since she resides in Maine maybe our paths will cross again.

Earth day tile, practicing my organic tangles.

Poke leaf, Cat-Kin, Black Pearlz, Printemps, Enyshou, 

Weekly Challenge #162: "String Theory - Initial String"

I have not been in the "Zen" lately but, I finally managed to complete the challenge this week to use your initials as a string. I did two drawings, neither of which I like but, both of which I learned from. So all in all not a bad week. This is the string I started with:

This is the tangle I do not like:

Bunzo, Vega, Black Pearlz

This is my second try which, again I am not fully inthralled with:

Printemps, Enyshou, Scrolled Feather, Fescu, Mooka

Thank goodness Tangle U is just around the corner to give me some inspiration.

Weekly Challenge #161 Quandray

Quandary is a bit like tripoli, both of which feeds on itself and builds and builds. I am trying to do some larger work and I have sketch books of tan toned paper and gray toned paper that were calling to me this week. Still stuck on Spirals from last weeks challenge I created this one on gray:

Demi, Printemps, 'NZeppel

And for this weeks  quandray challenge this one on tan:

Quandray, Printemps

Weekly Challenge #160: "String Theory: Spiral"

I have been shying away from spirals and now I don't know why that was. The Challenge comes from the Diva's site and was recently addressed in the Zentangle blog. Michelle Beauchamp had drawn a great spiral guide way back when which you can find HERE.

I have my favorite one but I tried them out on the different tiles using different materials. Becoming more comfortable with the shape.

 White Tile, Black micron

White Tile, Black micron

Black Tile, White Gelly Roll, White Gelly Souffle, White Charcoal pencil

Renaissance Tile, brown and black micron, Poke leaf, Printemps, Fallen leaves.

AHHHHHHHH!

It is Sunday and the sun was out and my room was warm. Later, taking the dog for a walk I realized the wind was blustery and very cold. There was slush in the ocean and not another soul was about. Retreat to the hot tub and a fire. Yes my life is very difficult. Tiles in the sun:

 Poke leaf, Fallen Leaves, Printemps

 Rixty, white gelly roll, black tile

Fiore, Jonqual, black, brown micron, white gelly roll

I will add that I chopped and stacked the wood and clean and maintain the hot tub. My sunny day only ruined by the dog vomiting! Really, not to bad.

Weekly Challenge #159: "Top O' the Morning"

I don't know why it took me so long to complete this challenge, but maybe I should not have even attempted. Here are my two very colored, silly top o' the morning tiles.

Silly Tangly Rainbow

Onomato, Golven, Tagh, Diva Dance, Printemps, Ambler, Munchin

 Clover Leaf

Hollibaugh, Printemps (warning,do not use cheap drugstore gel pens!)

Weekly Challenge #158: "Duotangle: Diva Dance + Crescent Moon"

These two tangles are similar and I was unsure how to put them together so you could tell them apart but, I don't think it really matters. I like the result.

Diva Dance & Cresent Moon

Weekly Challenge #157: "UMT - Charlie"

The Diva's challenge this week is to use the tangle "Charlie." Inspired by Charlie Brown's shirt Erin over at The Bright Owl came up with this one.

             

I used Charlie as a string and had some fun.

"NZeppel, Patena, Charlie plus some

ATC (Artist Trading Card) Deck swap

For those of you reading who are new here I will explain. Some of the Certified Zentangle Teachers (CZT) have gotten together by way of facebook and are participating in a ATC "deck" swap. Deck refers to a deck of playing cards which is 53 cards. So we are producing 53 cards and sending them off to one CZT who was crazy enough to first think up this idea and second sort them out so that the 153 participating CZT's will receive one of their own cards back along with 52 cards from other individual artists. It sounds like a huge job! Just getting mine finished was time consuming even with an extended deadline. So anyway here is my deck. It will be very exciting to see what comes back to me.

PHEW!

Weekly Challenge #156: "Curvy Gridlock"

When you can't draw straight lines for a grid tangle just go with the flow. Without thinking I started with a straight string. It really stands out with all the curvaceousness going on!

Yincut, St John's Cross, Knight's Bridge

Weekly Challenge #155: "A Little White Space"

I like a little space. White space, clean empty space, takes on a shape of it's own.

Jonqal, Diva Dance, Black Pearlz, Amaze

Weekly Challenge #154: "Valentangle"

I have to agree with Laura "Valentangle" is an awesome word. I drew a heart last week and posted it. Now given the prompt of valentangle I could not get Aquafleur tangle out of my head so I did several different tiles instead of designs.

Red pigma micron on original Zentangle Tile

Brown Pigma Micron and white charcoal on Renaissance Tile.

Shading with prismacolor Terra Cotta.

Sakura Gelly Roll Clear Star, Red Star and White pens on Black Tile.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Zendala Dare #90

It is Erin's birthday over at The Bright Owl and the dare this week has to include a "gifted" tangle. I had a hard time deciding on one! The first tangle I love and took me some time to master, is Tripoli. Before finishing this Zendala I decided to use Not Rick's Paradox and  remembered how much I love that one. I never tire of the appearance of black shiny Pearlz anywhere. So Erin you will have to choose your favorite tangled gift from this because I cannot decide!

Tripoli, Knot Rickz, Paradox, Black Pearlz

Weekly Challenge #153: "Jailed Johnny - by Sadelle Wiltshire, CZT"

This weeks challenge was a challenge for me. I should have practiced a bit before doing a tile but, I felt like jumping right in. The end result is not to my liking but, you can't love everything you produce. Nice tangle Sadelle!, although I feel I did not do it justice.

 Jailed Johnny and Pillows

Happy Early Valentines Day!

Aquafleur

Weekly Challenge #152: New Official Tangle Aquafleur

Aquafleur became an official tangle recently, although the CZT's were given a sneak peek before the holidays. Carole Ohl showed us a beautiful design and she inspired me to decorate our Holiday Card in a similar fashion. This is what went out to our friends and relatives.

Zendala Dare #89

Here is the template for this weeks dare:

Mine came out looking like a very heavy ceiling fan.

Zendala Dare #88

It is so cold here today I have decided that walking the dog is nearly impossible. The poor thing goes three legged every once in a while just to give his cold feet a break. So we are staying indoors, he is working diligently on chewing a bone while I get this dare completed.

I think the red is a little to much color for me, I should have stopped with just black and white.

Weekly Challenge #151: Moebius Syndrome Awareness Day

Moebius Syndrome Awareness day is Friday, January 24th. Moebius Syndrome is a congenital nerve disorder affecting cranial VI and VII nerves controlling the lateral movement of the face. There are other problems associated with this disorder and if you would like to learn more, read about it HERE.

The Diva's youngest son has this syndrome (odds of being born with this syndrome are 1:2/1,000,000) so it is our challenge this week to help raise awareness by tangling the Moebius Syndrome symbol. Purple is also their color.

Pokeleaf, Diva Dance Fox Trot (in purple)

Weekly Challenge #150 Word for the year

I posted my word for the year already but, now I am challenged to draw my intention. My word is Forgive and as my niece said "that is a big and complicated word." I would have to agree. I know I need to forgive myself and others too but, I am still unsure how to go about it. It seems so difficult.

Recently a friend posted on facebook this quote which made me see things a little clearer.

"Watch out for each other. Love everyone and forgive everyone, including yourself. Forgive your anger. Forgive your guilt. Your shame. Your sadness. Embrace and open up your love, your joy, your truth, and most especially your heart." ― Jim Henson

Ahhhh........doesn't that feel good! Leave it to Jim Henson to make me understand what it is I am searching for. So I will start with forgiving myself since that seems to be the hardest. I am right here, right now, so let the forgiveness and healing begin.

black and brown microns, white charcoal, prisma color pencil,renaissance tile

Mooka, Printemps,Pokeleaf

Zendala Dare #87

The dare this week from The Bright Owl is this Zendala:

And this is what came out of my pen:

Weekly Challenge #149: "Twenty-Fourteen"

We welcome the new year! The challenge this week from the Diva is Twenty-Fourteen. Since I have already posted a New Year post, "A nice day to start again" HERE, I thought I would just tangle the numbers because they are just so much fun to do. Simple tangle for a hopefully full year!

Pepper, Chainging, Vega, Flux, Black Pearlz, AHH

Tan Strathmore paper, black and brown microns, Generals white charcoal, white Gelly roll pen

Four More Additions

Spending some time inside during the "blizzard" to catch up on ATC's that are to be finished by Feb 1st. The due date has been lengthened but, I have other projects to start and/or finish so in my head I am keeping to the original date. Two of these  cards I was going to throw out but, persistence won over and I will add them to the deck.

Thanks for stopping by!

It's a Nice Day to Start Again!

Happy New Year! I am looking forward to 2014 being a great year. Not that 2013 did not bring good things but,there is always room for improvement. 2013 saw my first art work sold, my husband found a new and exciting job, a cool new puppy found us, and as we have been dealing with loss of loved ones in the recent past, 2013 felt like we were a little more present in our own lives.

So, in the words of Billy Idol, "it's a nice day to start again!"

I've never done this before but, I picked a word for the year. It is a way to state my intention for the coming year. This word, I feel has kept me in a place where I am limiting my happiness and creativity. The word is as big and complicated as the action itself. It is one word and I can say it like a mantra. I will take baby steps at first but, I do hope the steps will become larger and eventually the action will be second nature.  The word for 2014: forgive.

brown and black micron, Generals charcoal white, Portfolio AquaSketch White

After drawing this, I took a look at it and what pops into my head? What goes around, comes around. Maybe a little forgiveness is in store for me too.

Back to "Normal?"

I love the holidays but, I love it more when the rushing around is back to a minimum, my belly isn't quite so full and my to do list has more to do with creativity than shopping.

I have been absent from this blog for a while because I have had little time to Tangle but, I was recently able to complete a full page of tangles to be broken down into Artists Trading Cards. See post HERE if you have questions. I cannot decide if I enjoy full page tangles then cut up or single cards. I have now completed 32 cards with 21 more to go so I still have time to figure it out.

Full Page

Cut into ATC's

I will tell you it took me three tries to get the tiles in the correct order on the scanner after they were cut! I did not label individual tangles but, if you have a question, please leave a comment and I will be sure to reply.

If I do not return before then Happy New Year to All!

Weekly Challenge #148: "Merry Happy"

A little something to help get in the spirit. Happy Holidays!

Betweed, TomBow marker

Zendala Dare #82

Here is my second weeks Zendala Dare. This is the Bright Owls #82 which you can see HERE.

I took the liberty of changing out the straight lines and adding in curvy ones.

Cruffle, Aquafleur, black micron and White Gelly Roll pen.

Weekly Challenge #147: "UMT v. XXIII - Boo*Kee"

This weeks Tangle comes from the Diva herself. You can find her step outs HERE. Boo*Kee* was fun to draw and very easy first time around.  My contribution this week will be added to the deck of ATC's I am desperately trying to finish on time. This is #21.

Boo*Kee, Patena, on rubber cement resist, watercolor wash