Starry Messenger

Another piece for my art swap has been completed and will be delivered soon.  I am excited as I really like this Zentangle and Mandala inspired piece.  I call this one Starry Messenger as it carries with it some inspiration from Galileo's  Sidereus Nuncius.  (Click the link to learn more.)  

In an effort to keep the piece from getting too busy, I started with a very simple Bales in the background.  I needed something simple to get me started and I wanted all the same pattern to keep the design from being too fractured.  I knew I could go back and add ornamentation later.  I did go back at the very end and add a bit to make it interesting but not too busy.

For the stars I chose patterns that remind me of fabric.  My friend who I made this for has a love of design and fabric so I wanted to bring that to the fore. After I got the biggest parts done, I did the centers in Gneiss. I chose Gneiss as it reminds me of a compass center and as Galileo was a source of inspiration I thought it fitting. 

I experimented with varying patterns in Starry Messenger and it was a lot of fun.  The top right star grew out of Purk.  I think I may use that again.  It was fun to do and the first time that I made a "3D" pattern.  The variations on Bales Ragz, and Huggins are ones that I will remember in the future.  

Mardi Gras

I have never been to Mardi Gras but I have been to New Orleans.  I love it there.  We went last summer while vacationing in the South and New Orleans left an impression on us.  The French Quarter is fun and exciting and all that you have ever heard.  I can't imagine that I'll ever make it to Mardi Gras, the crowds are more than I think I could handle at this point in my life, but I can see its appeal.  We visited the New Orleans museum while there and wondered through the Mardi Gras exhibit.  It is wonderful.  The history of the tradition, the costumes and floats on display are just incredible.

I have been feeling homesick for the South and for New Orleans in general so I was quite happy when I saw that the challenge this week from The Diva was Mardi Gras.  I love, love, love her tile.  It is quite beautiful and you should click the link to see it if for no other reason.

I did two tiles this time.  One on white watercolor paper and one on the new black tiles.  I got some for Christmas this year and have been saving them.  As the colors of Mardi Gras are purple, green and gold, I used those colors to the fullest.  I also used some bonus sparkle to bring out the party in the tiles.

On this first tile I started with Btl Joos and then added the strings of beads.  I just made up the strings.  I don't know how well you can see on this tile, but I added sparkle with the Gelly Roll Clear Star pen.  It is a glitter pen and works nicely.  It doesn't photograph very well but I quite like it.  The glitter is NOT archival and is not guaranteed to stay so if you use one, you'll need to get a fixative.  I'm not sure how much I'll use this pen but it is a lot of fun.  For this tile I used a black, purple and green micron pens.  The gold is from a Faber Castell Pitt artist pen.  I picked this up a while back when searching for a gold pen.  I like it but the gold while pretty, is a flat gold so that is something to keep in mind.  I used it here as I didn't want the gold to be shinier than the other colors.

Next up I used the black zentangle tile and Pentel Sunburst Metallic pens along with the Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.  I think this is a lot more festive.  It really sparkles.  I "beaded" the edges and then just made a series of strings of beads across the tile.  I went back and used a white Gelly Roll pen to highlight the separate strings.  Then I added some shine next to the white and a few white swirls for good measure.  The metallic inks don't lend themselves to white highlights as I had hoped to add on at the end.  The glitter gets lost as a highlight as well but the shine in the ink does great all on its own.





I think this was a fun challenge.  I didn't try to over think it as I am wont to do from time to time.  I tried to keep them simple so that the beads would take center stage.

Sanibelle and NonDom Hand

Things have been busy around here.  I got last week's challenge done but then was not able to get it up loaded in time. No matter, I shall subject you to it this week as well as the current challenge. Muahhahahahah!

Last week was a reappearance of a challenge from last year.  The challenge, and a real BIG challenge for me, was to use your non dominant hand to draw your tile.  I am a righty and a quite dominate righty at that.  Not only do I write with my right hand, but when I think about it, I approach most things from the right when at all possible.  My left hand is a great helper, and I would miss it if it were gone, but it is just a helper in this relationship.  To start, I checked out some patterns that would lend themselves to a "messy" line.  I get fussy about my drawings, so I needed tangles that would be OK (to me) if the lines were wobbly.  I ended up choosing Purk, Ragz, Beaded, Scoodle, Arc Flower, Spaanders, and Umble (at least I think that it's called Umble).  I did not try to shade it with my left hand or really, to fill in any spaces.  I thought about using my right for that but then decided that I'd go whole left and keep it that way.

Now for this weeks challenge : Sanibelle.  I really like this tangle.  I have used it several times and always enjoy the outcome.  My shell shapes are irregular and small and I always think that I am going to be frustrated with the final product, but I always like it.  I set Sanibelle up in a very regular way so it ends up reminding me of wallpaper or ornate fabric.  This is also really nice in a mandala.  When I have used it in my regular way, the pattern works in each section to create a nice flow.

For the string, I wanted a bumpy look to mimic Sanibelle.  I ended up changing it a bit as I went but it's still there.  I started with Sanibelle in the middle as I wanted it to dominate the other patterns.  After that I added Footlites (My first try at this pattern.), Shimono next and then finished the top with the lines.  I was trying to add a little illusion there but it didn't really work.  No matter, it seems to relate to footlites so I'll keep it.  :)