More Zendalas

Most zendalas need mathematical expertise to get them done properly. I don't always have the patience to do that. I want to do it and I want to do it NOW. I do have a collection of stencils though. So with a minimum of measuring I can get the pattern on quickly and get to the tangling. I may add some shading to this piece but I thought I would post it first in this stage.

Banbury class 8-28

Another class with a mix of ages. A mix of experience too. Some had been tangling for a while after seeing zentangle on the web. Others were brand new. Be sure to click on the picture of their tiles. There are some very creative ones  in here. I love it when I learn new ways to do things from my students.

Assunta gone wild

Assunta started out for me as an orderly pattern but I soon found it getting wild and unruly. So for the Diva challenge I decided to let it get as unruly as it wanted and in the process trap a few of Sandy  Bartholomew's minions. Probably very stressful for the minions, but fun for me.

Seashells

When you are on vacation you can find new inspiration from a multitude of places. I found some ideas for the string here from a fabric on a chair where we were staying. And the theme came from the fact that we are near the beach. - Oh how I wish it could stay summer a bit longer.

Walden Pond and Henry David Thoreau

 The pond from the shore. Very peaceful even with a light wind stirring up the water. Swimming and boating (canoes or kayaks) are allowed too.

 A replica of Henry David Thoreau's cabin. Very tiny and spartan. I tried a bit of tangling there.

 The view from the cabin's site. Woods and the pond beyond.

 Small rocks and notes have been left behind by admirers of Thoreau.

I found a rock with a flat (sortof) surface and added some tangles. I knew there had to be some zentangles left there!

"That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest." and "He enjoys true leisure who has time to improve  his soul's estate."
Henry David Thoreau

Summer wind

Oh, the beach in the summer. Even as summer winds die down and the school days begin, I still love
the sand between my toes and the breezes on the shore.

This piece is done with a brown Micron pen with brown colored pencil for shading and some white colored pencil for highlights.

White Zendala

I'm back to Zendalas. The black Zentangle tiles are amazing to work on. The texture of this tile takes the pen so nicely. Much better than the black card stock I used to use. I'm very happy with the way this turned out.

The pen is the white Sakura Gelly with a white chalk pencil for highlights.

Tile on a Tile challenge

In response to the tile on a tile challenge from the Diva, I decided to do it with color. I pulled out my favorite Tombow marker shades and colored my center square with a watercolor technique. When it was totally dry I used a white pen for my center tile. The black pen came next and when I needed more to connect the tiles I added a little bit of the Tombow's color with a fine tip brush. You'll see I got a few color bleeds here and there, but I don't mind too much. They add to the character. This was fun!

white on green

Back to playing with my white pen on colored cardstock.

Inspired by a coaster

I was at a painting convention last week and as I looked around I kept seeing new inspirations for Zentangles. We stayed at a Hyatt Hotel.One morning as I was brushing my teeth, I looked at the coaster that was under my water glass. At first I thought it was close to the right size for tangling. But as I looked at it more I started thinking about string designs. The coaster had simple circles that overlapped. And more interestingly, none of the circles were completely on the tile. Usually I keep my string moving within the confines of the tile so this idea was a light bulb moment for me. I created a tile with a string using only three circles in the photo above. Obviously you could do more circles and vary the size of the circles too. For this tile I simply used the cardboard from a roll of blue tape. Easy!

Sandy B's Minion contest

 contest

Sandy Bartholomew has a contest going on her website for her 'Zentangle for Kids!' book. We were invited to send in our own interpretation of a Lilah Bean. She wants an army of minions.

My entry was done on a basic piece of white cardboard that I had laying around. I did it fairly big. Sandy said we only had to be less that 6" tall. The pen is an 08 Sakura Micron Pigment. The blush in her cheeks is really makeup blush. My Happy Bean stands up with two cardboard half circles - just like a paper doll!

The voting  is going on right now at . I hope everyone will go to her site and vote. (just click on the word  contest ). You can vote for more that one so I'd be thrilled if you would add a vote for me.

Back to real life and its challenges.

I'm BAAACK!

First thing to do when I got back was to complete the weekly challenge from the Diva (aka Christina Vandervlist) 'Opposites Attract'. In this challenge we were asked to draw a straight lined string and fill it with curvy tangles, or do a string that has curvy lines and fill it with straight lined tangles. I enjoyed this!

I had a fun time at my painting convention. I was at HOOT, a convention sponsored by the Ohio chapter of the Society of Decorative Painters. I came home with three completed projects (well, almost), I met new friends and had a lot of fun with old friends. I'll be showing ideas and pictures from the convention later this week. I got all sorts of new ideas for tangles as I walked around.

Metallic Mandala

Zendalas are a favorite of mine. I love the way I don't stress about getting the string onto the tile and then the balance of patterns. And you may remember if you have had a basic class, at some point you were told, "if you make a mistake, just use it to create a new pattern". Well, I had a mistake here.When I was using my circle template for the big circle, I got distracted. My pen went wacko. I finished the circle but then had a line to deal with. So the lines that connect the petals shapes on the outer circle became a pattern to repeat. This one was done with the Sakura Metallic Gelly Roll pens. Done on a black Zentangle 3 1/2" tile.

I will be heading to a painting convention this week. My husband gets to hold things down on the home front while I get to spend some quality time with some dear friends. Yes, I know how lucky I am. I tell you this because I will have limited access to a computer, if at all, so posts this next week will be very limited. Take care!

Compass Rose

The compass rose has significance to my extended family. I knew the compass rose would fit into the idea of Zentangle 'one stroke at a time' philosophy. So today's tile is for a wonderful pilot friend!

It's the standard 3 1/2 inch size. White Sakura Gelly Roll pen on red cardstock.

Metallic Pen play

I picked up a 10 pack of the Sakura Gelly Roll Metallics recently and I had to try them all - at once. This picture doesn't do them justice. It's much prettier in person. I did this on a white tile and then used a brush and black ink to fill in the rest. This piece is OK but I'm going to keep playing with my pens. They write beautifully. The ink flows so nicely when you use a light touch.

Make-it-and-take-it zentangle

While I was at the CHA show with Suzanne McNeill, we demonstrated and had guests join us using the project pictured. It was a brilliant idea from Suzanne because these projects went quickly but gave a basic idea of what zentangle is about.

The project was simple, a paper metal rimmed tag. We provided the Pigma Micron pens to use and like any class, we started with a string, (either a Z or X). Then we went through 4 simple tangles. Usually it was printemps, keeko, bales, static,  and/or cadent. The colored tags were on display to show the other things you could do after the basics. We also had a skinny ribbon attached to the tags to encourage them to wear their creations at the show.

We didn't get into shading but I did have some examples of finished pieces that showed the progression. The demos went so well that some of them joined a basic zentangle class that I taught a week later in Bartlett.

Pendrills - Challenge #33

This is my entry into the Diva challenge to use the new tangle Pendrills. It's a tangle that is very organic, and very easy to 'grow'. Be sure to check it out in the Zentangle newsletter if you haven't seen it.

Kids and adults CAN tangle together

I had a class of 10 yesterday and several kids were itching to join in so we said, "sure, bring them." I wasn't sure how it would work, if the kids would keep up, or if the adults would feel I watered anything down. But it worked out beautifully. The class was basically the same as a regular adult class and the kids had no trouble keeping up and understanding everything. As in any class I teach, when they got going you could hear a pin drop. I challenge you to look at the mosaic of their work and see if you can pick out which tiles were done by the kids. I know I sure couldn't tell!