Verve Experiments

Once I started making Verve, I can't seem to quit!  Thanks to Linda over at Tangle Patterns, I've been seeing Verve in a new way.  Linda used Verve in a way I had not imagined and it inspired me.  One of the things I love about sharing patterns with other Tanglers is that patterns are used/created differently by everyone.  Variations can be wildly different but so can basic technique and I love seeing all the different approaches.

Taking my inspiration from Linda, I created this piece that I am calling Tempest.  I started with the darkened line first.  It is a filled in Organza without any embellishment. I had thought I would go back and add to it later but I changed my mind.  Then I added Verve behind it.  In making Verve, I played with waving the lines more and varying the circles to see what would happen.  I have to confess, this is probably one of my most favorite pieces and it's basically a monotangle.  Anyway, it was a lot of fun to do and I wanted to share it.

Another thing that I have been trying to do with Verve it to find a way to connect circles one to another.  I'm still working on it but I have done it a bit.  In some places it is very Verve and then other bits it begins to look more like Auraknot.  I think that you can see it a little in this Illuminated Letter I made.  You can see it along the top.  Like I said, a work in progress but I like how it looks.  I did a Vortex-like bit in the circles there.

While there is more Verve to show, I'll just add one more image to this post.  I wanted to give myself a challenge to use tangles in long, narrow pieces and see what I could come up with.  I did a similar idea on an ATC and thought I'd take it a little larger.  This one is on a 6" x 6" square.  I also used some tangles that I haven't before and was plesantly surprised with how they came out.  Coaster for example.  I have not used it before.  Why? I have no idea.  I really like it and have seen it lots of places but I never tried it until then.  

Well, I have had a long day of prepping for the Arden Fair and I am about to fall asleep sitting here.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

Catching up on my Zendala Dare!

I've been busy and haven't taken the time to blog out my entries into the Zendala Dare by Erin.  I'll post this entry to Dare #18 even though it also has zendalas from Dare #19 attached.  Please forgive me.  Things won't settle down around here for a few more weeks, and I fear that if I try and wait until then, I'll never get these up.

Curiosity Zendala

OK, Dare 18.  I have to say that when I first looked at this pattern, I thought that I would do something floral and then this came out instead.  I love when my pen decides to do it's own thing.  I'm calling this Curiosity Zendala in honor of the landing on Mars.  The patterns here made me think of vortexes and worm holes and space travel.  My 11 year old son and I stayed up and watched the feed from NASA on the day the rover landed on Mars and I have to say that it was an incredible thing to witness.  If you haven't seen the video of what was done you should.  It is quite an amazing thing that the teams at NASA did.  I am so glad that I stayed up to see it happen, even if it cost me some sleep.

I think that I'll try my hand at this template again and see if I can't get something floral to come out on the second go around.

Cancer Awareness Zendala

Dare 17 was a personal one for me and for many others as it seems.  My Mother died of Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) in 2006.  My Father has battled prostate cancer as has my Uncle and Grandfather.  Luckily, all were treated successfully.  So, for this template, I played up the ribbons in the design.

I first drew the background pattern of Bales and the edge of Ramykin and then made a photocopy of the basic design onto watercolor paper.  Using watercolor pencils, I colored the ribbons to remember those I know with cancer.  The Blue is for prostate cancer, pink for breast, (My God Mother died of breast cancer, my aunt battled it and I have a friend fighting now.) orange for leukemia and lavender for all cancers.  The lavender is more pink that I would like but no matter. After painting the ribbons, I shaded the design.

Awareness Zendala

I then went back to the original. I decided to keep it simple and let the ribbons stand proud.  I added red hearts in the center of the Bales as a reminder of/for those we know who battle cancer.  Leaving the ribbons plain, I also thought that it would be a zendala that could be for awareness of any/all diseases our loved ones face.

I have one more zendala to share with you all before I end this post.  I made a donation to Erin's team and received the Thank You gift of even more zendala templates.  They are all really wonderful and I can't wait to get pen to paper and explore them more.  One of the templates however really spoke to me and I sat down and got started right away.  My final piece is really quite simple and I love it so much!  I am calling it Spring Zendala.  For the first time I wish that I had the coloring skills that so many of you have as the desire to add green here is almost overwhelming.  I'll keep it as is though.

Spring Zendala

I hope you all have a great week ahead and thank you for stopping by, taking a look, and leaving a comment if you'd like.

(I totally see now, that the spring zendala is turned the wrong way. I love however that it doesn't matter!)

Assunta and Mooka

This week I was able to sneak in the challenge from the Diva.  I have been checking in each week, but haven't always had the time to get to either doing it or completing the challenge.  As Mooka is a tangle that vexes me, I thought that I'd spend a moment on this challenge and actually finish.

My Mooka isn't always even and sometimes looks just down right goofy.  This challenge however, has me trying out Mooka on every little bit of paper I have time to doodle on.  I feel better now about Mooka.  It's still a little more wonky than I would like but it is better than I have done in the past.

This is a short entry as I have a few more that I would like to do tonight.  I hope that you had a great week.  Thanks for stopping by!