Socc it to me!

Do you remember the show Laugh-In? I remember watching that show with my parents and sometimes laughing so hard we were crying. What a goofy bunch they were. And they had both older comedians that were already established and they gave the start to many new stars. I wasn't so sure that Goldie Hawn was going to be a star since she was known for dancing in a bikini but she sure has aged beautifully. And if you are younger than me - she is the mom of Kate Hudson! Goldie, and others, were often asked to say the phrase 'Sock it to me!' and they never knew if there would be a bucket of water thrown on them.

So, when it came to doing this challenge to use the tangle pattern 'Socc', I wanted to recreate the style and  feel of that show. I found a picture from the show and used that to inspire me for the colors and design of my background. Then I chose tangles that gave me the feel of the graffitti that was painted on Goldie Hawn's body in those bikini shots. Those were painted with color from my markers. Then the tangles were done with a colored Micron. Finally shading was done with a colored pencil.

Alphabet Soup challenge - C

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted a alphabet challenge piece. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. I just had so many other things to share in the meantime! I now have several letters stacked up on my desk and I'll post them over the few weeks.

In this tile I again used the letter -  'C',  as my string. I then used patterns that start with the letter C that are not official tangle patterns. These are patterns I have not used in my tiles but really wanted to try them out.

Shown here;
Chilgoza - Molossus
Cherry and Leaf - Lee Ann
Casella - Connie - a student of Mariet

Zentangle 7 book review - zendalas

The new book, Zentangle 7, has arrived at my doorstep. This books focuses on zendalas - a new way of looking at the centuries old practice of drawing mandalas.  My artwork got a full page so I'm pretty thrilled! It's a beautiful book too. It features zendalas that were created by 8 different CZTs. It is fascinating to see how we all have such different styles but all are beautiful in their own way. We were asked to incorporate some of the new tangle patterns into our tiles. I had a blast looking at each tile and picking out the new tangle patterns and seeing the variations each artist did on theirs.

There is information in here about creating a zendala from scratch, using pre-strung tiles, using stencils, compass roses, and several coloring techniques. The pictures illustrate the concepts so well! There is so much information packed in here that it is really a worthwhile addition to any zentangle library.

This new book is a continuation of the other zentangle books from Design Originals/Fox Chapel Publishing. It has a similar page count, and similar style to the other books. There are 40 new tangle patterns. And the price is a friendly $8.99.

The picture below is one of my tiles. You can see it on the cover of the book too! I took this picture on a sunny day on my front walk before I sent it off to Suzanne McNeill.

Tangles - Cuddles, Flower Power, and Fingers

Bunzo

Bunzo is the new tangle pattern that is the star of this tile. It's the newest tangle from Rick and Maria at Zentangle.com. So, of course, it's the challenge from the Diva to use it! It's a fun tangle and there are lots of ways to use it. And since there are no rules, and no mistakes in zentangle, there are lots of ways to interpret it.

I started to feel a very organic, under the sea type of feeling as I went with Bunzo. I added the pattern Cockles 'N" Mussels, a tangle pattern from Margaret Bremner since it seemed to compliment it. And the colors just felt like I was snorkeling in some exotic location. The colors were all done with colored pencil.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! It's turned out to be a beautiful fall day here in Illinois. We were lucky to be sparred the weather from Sandy. My heart goes out to those who had damage or are still without power - and that includes my sister in Massachusetts. I was able to visit my sister several weeks ago and we visited in Salem - the home of the Salem witch trials. Now it's a charming town - although I'm told it gets a little crazy there in October!

We bought this cute little witch hat for my granddaughter. It only lasted long enough for me to snap this picture and then it was off. But it inspired me to think of using the shape of the hat for a string. Later that night I started this tile and I finally pulled it back out to finish it for my Halloween post!

Shaky - new tangle from Deena Perlstein CZT

Today's post features a tangle pattern by Deena Perlstein CZT. Deena took classes with me and was so inspired that she went and got her CZT herself. Deena doesn't have a blog yet so I agreed to post it here. Thanks Deena!

This tangle is named Shaky.

Steps for Shaky

The tile on the left has shading while the one on the right is unshaded.

Deena wasn't as happy with this one but I think it's fun so I hope she doesn't mind my posting it.

Deena Perlstein,CZT

Huntley, IL

Stripes - Diva challenge

I saw this idea from another certified zentangle teacher and knew I had to try it myself. Then I realized that it actually fit into the Diva's challenge of 'stripes'. This little tangled pumpkin is made with strips of 1" paper that certainly look like stripes to me! Then I had leftover strips from the first one and cut a few smaller black strips to do a second.

Making the pumpkin is simple enough. The instructions call for a brad to fasten the strips together but since I didn't have any on hand I made a gold pipe cleaner work instead. Basic instructions are found here. http://rubberstamping.about.com/od/halloween/ss/PaperPumpkin.htm

Banbury - new class dates posted and pictures

Wow, I've been getting phone calls lately. My spring is starting to fill up with classes. I'll be at libraries, a community college, and park districts. I will post info on those dates as they get closer. I look forward to meeting lots of new people! And if you are thinking about booking a date, call now so you can get your choices!

Two new classes are scheduled at Banbury Fair. These are in addition to the upcoming Zentangle for the Holidays class on November 11th. Seats are filling up so call now!

Basics - Sunday, Jan 13, 2013
Beyond the Basics - Sunday Jan 20 2013

As always, call Banbury to complete your registration. 630 837-1727 - and did you know, Banbury is right across the street from the train station! If you are coming from the city it's a fun day trip!

Below are some pictures from the last class at Banbury. Banbury is ever changing. New merchandise, new layouts, - it's almost like a treasure hunt. Now that Banbury has closed the ice cream section for the winter, we moved the class area in there. Nice big tables to work at!

Joy of Zentangle - new book review

I just got my new copies of  'joy of zentangle' last week and I want to give you my quick review of it.

It's a nice, fat, paperback book. It's not the cheapest at $24.99 list, but I do think it gives you value for the money. There are 159 pages and instructions for 101 tangles. There are 8 chapters. The basics are covered. The philosophy and benefits of zentangle are explained. There are lots of color pictures of ZIAs (zentangle inspired art) too. The book gives credit to Suzanne McNeill CZT, Sandy Steen Bartholomew CZT, And Marie Browning CZT. There are lots of contributions from other CZTs throughout the book.

In the section for the 101 tangles there is a separate page for each tangle with all the steps clearly shown. In addition to the steps there is something extra on most pages. Sometimes it's a tile using that tangle. Sometimes it's an inspiration for that tangle. Or it might be an explanation of how zentangle has played a role in helping someone in their life.

The page that's pictured here shows a zendala that I did. It shows the Printemps tangle pattern in use. So there is a little bias from me in reviewing this book - but honestly, all I got was one free copy. 

Now, there is one caveat that I have for this book. This book is, in large part, a compilation book. By that I mean, that a large percentage of this book has been featured in other Design Originals books. Is that bad? Well, it depends. If you are starting out with zentangle, or if you want to get a gift for someone new to zentangle, this is actually a great book. If you already have the vast majority of the series in your library though, you may be disappointed  Personally, I think that there are enough new things to make this book worthwhile but I will leave those individual decisions up to you.

Beads of Courage

The Diva challenge this week is to draw inspiration from the 'Beads of Courage ' program that supports children as they go through whatever medical journey they are on. Beads of Courage  is the link to their site I wish I was a glass artist as I would love to do some for their program. Hopefully I can use this tile to boost awareness of their program.

I used my Tombow markers with a watercolor technique for the background and a purple Micron pen for the tangles. A purple colored pencil added the shading.

Shading tips

The articles on shading in tanglepatterns.com are wonderful. I was working on this idea myself last week. So this seems like a good time to add my input on shading too. Try these ideas along with the tangle pattern 'Zaturn' that I posted yesterday.

Zaturn - new tangle pattern for shading

New tangle pattern today!  Zaturn

Click on picture to enlarge!

This is a tangle pattern that is geared to people who love to shade. And if you don't think you can shade, try it and see if this helps you get better at it!

1- It starts with a continuous line - well, a semi-continuous line that is. Start your pen at the edge of the shape you are tangling and draw a line that goes around, in loops, across, etc. When you get to the edge of the shape lift your pen and 'fly' over to where your line would continue. (See the dotted lines in the first step as an example of what I mean) Don't get too complicated with your design. Try to cross other lines at somewhat of a right angle but don't panic if it's not. And avoid having more than two lines cross at the same place.   ---  And if this is as clear as mud to you, try using a wonky grid pattern as I did in the lower example.

2- Shading - Put the darkest pencil shading in one corner of each section. as you do each section, alternate - at random, the corner you shade. You could also shade one of the four sides if that works better for you. You can do all the darks at one time. Then, using a paper stump or tortillion, blend the shading out. Start by tickling just the edge of the pencil area and aim to get the shading to reach halfway or two thirds of the way across the shape.  Always leave the side opposite from your shading white.

In the lower example You can see the same shading done on the wonky grid pattern. The section on the left shows the darks as they were drawn before the blending step.

Ok, the name. Zaturn. I was thinking, shading and turning the piece in different directions - shading + turn. That led me towards 'saturn'. Cool, kinda other worldly too! But in my book of tangle patterns I have too many patterns that begin with the letter S already. So I changed it to a Z. Thus Zaturn was born.

Come back tomorrow where I'll add more of my tips on shading. And, if you haven't already, see the wonderful pages on shading on tanglepatterns.com

Diva challenge 90

The Diva's challenge this week was to use a string that was shown on tanglepatterns.com. It's a simple string so it was a pleasure to just sit back and let the magic of zentangle take over. The string pattern is found on the web site here. Thank you Diva for a relaxing challenge this week.

Alphabet soup challenge - B

B tile - Using the letter as a string I've tried using more of the tangles that are new to me or rarely used.

Tangles include;
Bubble-Up - Molossus
Brayed - Michele Beauchamp
Braidle - Skinny Stray Cat
Bandola - Sadelle Wiltshire
Banners - Elaine Benefatto
Bumps - Sue Jacobs (me)

Alphabet soup challenge again - A

I was looking through my sketchbook this weekend. In it I have many, many tangle patterns that other tanglers have generously shared on the internet. Yet there are so many I just haven't used in a tile yet. So my challenge to myself, is to work my way through the alphabet, one letter at a time, using as many of those tangle patterns as possible. I'm starting off using the letters as the string too but I can't be sure if that will work all the way. You are welcome to join me in this challenge if you are so inclined. 

I have no idea how long this may take me, as I still want to do the Diva's challenge, and the zendalas, and do Christmas ornaments, and, and, well - I'm sure you understand! So you may see one or two letters a week - or maybe per month. Keep checking!

This is slightly different from the last time I did an alphabet soup. Then I used one tangle per letter and ended up completing the series in only 5 tiles.

Without further ado - the A tile. What's in it?

Alien Ant Farm - Lizzie Mayne

Aura-Leah - Carla Du Preez

Asian Fans - Suzanne McNeill

Ace - Sue Jacobs (me)

Artoo - Laura Harms

Aziza - ? let me know who to credt.