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.  

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.  :)

Sepia Zendala

Last year, I did an art exchange with some on-line friends.  It was a lot of fun.  I was just getting into Zentangle and made tiles for each of the people that I sent stuff too.  In return, they sent things that they made back to me.  One sent a knittted hat and beautiful jewlery that she made, another sent the most adorable knitted cupcakes (which my 5 year old promptly claimed for himself.)  Since I enjoyed it so much, I proposed to do it again this year. 

I had four takers interested in doing a "creative swap" with me.  As I only had four takers, I figured that I could really have fun and make some larger zentangle inspired pieces.  My skills are better than they were a year ago (I hope.) and I saw this as a chance to give back something beautiful to friends who had sent me such wonderful things.

Mandalas and Zendalas have really been inspiring to me as of late.  I created one for an auction at my son's school and wanted to keep going.  Once again, I started with mandala design that I traced out on to watercolor paper.  My geometry skills are at a solid F so I have to rely on a shape created by someone else.  Wanting to keep with the Indian feel of the mandala, I chose to draw in sepia.  I used the micron speia pens in a 01, 05 and 1 sizes.  I did most of the drawing with the 01 and used the others for fill in and where I wanted a thicker line.

Mostly done here. Just needs some shading and a few highlights.

It took me about 3 weeks to get it all done.  In that time though, there were days when I didn't work on it at all and other days that I drew most of the day.  I finally got it all finished this morning and I am soo pleased with the finished product.  I am tempted to keep it and hang it on my own wall. 



All shaded

 As I was working, I was afraid that the many different patterns would make it too busy.  Often I want to fill in each section with something different.  Once I started shading though, the different sections started to pop out and pull back into their own spaces giving them enough seperation that I think it works.

The final size is roughly 7" and will be framed in a 12X12 frame with a 8X8" opening.

Quadrifoglio Zendala

Hello everyone!  Happy New Year!  I hope that the holidays were good and restful to you all.  Things were pretty busy for me up until Christmas but after the 25th, things got back to normal and I could relax a bit.

In the middle of all the Christmas preparations, I found a note in my sons backpack asking for silent auction donations for his school.  I love his school for many reasons.  One is that they do a fantastic job teaching and nurturing the children.  The other is that they don't do fund raisers.  I hate fundraisers.  I know that they can be a necessary evil but they can be a drag.  That look in your coworkers eye when you approach them with a sign up sheet often resembles a deer caught in the head lights.  The school has found many creative ways to raise money for the school and I love them for it.  This year the head of the PTA is going to try out a silent auction at the yearly spaghetti dinner.  When I got the note, I wondered what we could do to help.  Naturally I thought of making a zentangle or zentangle inspired art right away.  A few emails later, and I was officially making art for the auction.

At first I had thought that I would make a Valentine's Day inspired piece as the auction is just a few days before.  After talking it out and thinking it over, I was concerned that Valentine's Day theme might limit interest.  I have been interested in zendalas lately so I figured that I would give one a try.

In looking for a pattern to use I came across Laser Forge Designs and their beautiful designs. I ended up using the Quadrifoglio pattern for my starting place.  After staring at the traced out design for a while, I decided to just pick a pattern and get started. 

Approximately 7" on watercolor paper using 0.1 and .005 Micron pens with pencil shading.

I wasn't sure at first how many patterns I should use as I didn't want to get too busy.  I kept Cadent and Bales basic to start.  I figured that I could always go back and add some variation once I was done.  I was doodling a copy of the pattern and found that Shattuck made a nice pattern when done "in the round" as it were.  After that I looked for other patterns that would come out the same.  Purk was a natural for the shape and Sanibelle is just beautiful here (I think.)  The fourth presented a problem so I kind of made up a design.  I added Arc Flower, Tipple, and Scoodle to the little sections at the edge.  After I got the shading done, the whole piece felt unfinished so I went back and added variations to Bales and Cadent.  I also thickened up a few lines to make them pop out more.

I have it all framed up and will deliver it soon.  Here is the piece framed.  Sorry that the photo is a little awkward but photographing the stuff framed is not easy.

12X12" framed with 8X8" opening.

Birthday Gifts

Red Velvet cake.  So yummy!

Fall is a busy time of year for me and birthdays.  Not only do many of my family members turn a year older but also do many of my friends.  This year, I have made zentangles for several people.  I can't post them all yet on the off chance that they may see them.  This weekend though, I was able to gift a few and now I can share them with you.



5X5 on watercolor paper with 0.1 and 0.005 micron pens and pencil.

This is a zendala that I made for my friend Cheryl.  I found this mandala pattern on 102 Free Mandalas to download.  This is a nice place to find many different mandalas.  This one was a little different than what I used but I really liked the shape.  You can download the patterns as .jpeg or PDF files.

I really enjoyed making this and am surprised at how quickly it went.  I framed it in a 10X10 float frame, with a black piece of scrapbooking paper to fill the empty space.  I had hoped to put it in a 10X10 with a 5X5 square cutout to frame it but I made the zendala too big and none of the premade frames would work.  I waited too late to have it framed professionally.  I was quite pleased with how it came out though.  The paper had a black on black pattern on it and with the zendala in the middle it looked quite nice.  The pattern on the paper was just enough to give it interest but not too busy to distract the eye.




5X7 on watercolor paper with 0.1 micron and gold gel pen

This one is for my friend Kent.  While I didn't plan it, this one works double time as Kent is a New Orleans Saints fan and their colors are black and gold.  This photo is of the tangle in the frame so there is a little glare in the glass but not much.

I tried to alternate the dark and light patterns in this one.  I tried a new pattern Golven and I really like it a lot. It isn't difficult to do and looks great.  I look forward to using it again and again.

I am glad to report that both Cheryl and Kent enjoyed their tangles as much as I did making them.  I hope that you enjoy looking at them too.

All Hallows Eve Challenge

It's a new week and lots of goings on around here.  Not only is/was it Halloween but we have also become the host to an Italian exchange student.  She may be here for just a short while but maybe longer.  It is still up in the air at this point.  We have tried to be welcoming but not overwhelming, I hope.  My 5 year old can demand a lot of time when he is excited.  If you are ever in the mood for a tour of his hot wheels cars, just come on by! :)

I had to work this year on Halloween and sadly missed all the fun.  But, I do get to enjoy the candy while skipping the long walk to get it.  The challenge this week was to do a Halloween tile.  I confess, I quite enjoyed this one.  I enjoy them all but this one was fun to explore.  Which image to put forward? Which tangles are "scary"?  I started looking over Halloween themed clip art for my image and went from there.  I couldn't choose which I wanted to do more so I did them both.

The eyes came out great I think.  I had to fight myself to leave the white space.  They don't float out of the space as I had imagined them to but I don't mind.  While working on this one, the pattern for Pweeko came across my feed and I tried it out.  I like it.  I've already added it to my tangle "stash".

Next, I wanted to do something a bit more obviously Halloween and went with a skeleton.  I now think that it is a bit more Grateful Dead than Halloween but I don't mind.  That is why it's called "Grateful Tangle".

I really left more white space than I have been lately and I'm really glad that I did.  I'm not sure what the background tangle is called.  It reminds me of Nzepple.  It hints at spider webs to me.

I hope that you all had a fun, safe and Happy Halloween.  The busy time of the year is about to kick off for me at work so I hope to still work on the challenges.  I really look forward to them each Monday morning and it's nice to have a direction to head in when I pick up my pens.

I'm Beginning to think a lot on Christmas

I guess this year I have joined those that start thinking about Christmas before Halloween is over.  Normally I wait until later in the season but the mood came early this year.  It all started with Christmas cards.  The last several years, I have been super about getting cards but not sending them.  Last year I didn't even get around to it.  But THIS YEAR, I will do better.  These may be famous last words but well, that wouldn't be the first time.

I am working on a Christmas project with a friend and that made me think of cards.  This year I am going to make our cards. I have tangled some ornaments on a card, added a bit of red and green and voila! I have cards. My work place even offered a deal on getting them printed at 40% off. Sweet!  They are prepping for printing now.  I am also having the inside message printed to make it even easier on myself. Next I will just get a family photo printed so I can put it in the card. Then all that is left is to get them addressed.  I may even tangle a design and have the stamps made at one of those online places.  That may be over doing it a bit.  We'll see when my steam runs out.

I may do a few more holiday patterns. I bought some snowflakes and trees to trace and tangle so I might as well give them a try too.

I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.  If they look good printed up, I may make our card every year.  Also, I bet it will be a good incentive to get my other card designs made.

Happy Birthday Friend!

This year I turn 40 as do many of my friends.  To mark the occasion many of us have thrown ourselves a birthday party.  I love it.  It has been great to be with my wonderful friends and to celebrate this milestone with each other.  I also love that almost all of them will be 40 before me.  ;)

For my friend Steph's birthday, I decided that I would make her a Zentangle.  I chose to do one in a 5X7 size.  I waited until the last minute and wanted to use a standard size to make the VERY last minute framing go smoothly.  I totally lucked out on the framing as they not only had one I liked, but Michael's was having a BOGO sale on the frame that I liked.  I should have bought more as when I went back the sale was over.  Oh well, I'll have to keep an eye out for next time they have one.  I know know what frames to pick up.

Happy Birthday Steph!  I love you my awesome friend!

Steph's tangle unframed



All framed up.  The edges were lost as I didn't leave enough room but, I don't think that it looks too bad.



Trip to Tripoli: A new challenge and pattern

When I opened my email on Sunday and saw that Rick and Maria at Zentangle had a new pattern for us, I just knew that the challenge this week would be to use Tripoli in a tangle.  New patterns are always a challenge for me.  Sometimes I can pick them right up and sometimes they are a struggle.  Luckily Tripoli is a bit of both while not being too challenging.  I seem to get a bit out of sorts as the pattern extends out from the center but hopefully some practice will fix that right up.  It is fun to see the different variations in the triangles.

A little closer look at the detail in the triangles.

My Zentangle Kit has Arrived!

I finally got around to ordering my official zentangle kit.  I had put it off for no real good reason but then I sold one of my pieces and thought I'd celebrate with a kit. I ordered it on Monday or Tuesday and it arrived by Friday. Sweet!  Just in time for the long weekend.

Last night I sat down to really explore the kit and try out what it is like to draw on an "official" tile.  I have been using watercolor paper that I cut into 3.5" squares.  I looked through the booklet that came with it first.  There I found some direction on how to make a few tangles that I have not yet tried out.  The most helpful thing for me though was the section on making strings.  I have always been a little careful in making my strings.  Thinking that they should be simple, I was afraid to make the string too busy.  The examples in the booklet however, showed me that I could be freer with my string.

Armed with this new courage, I drew out my string.  I tried to copy one of the examples in the book but my drawing got a little off track.  No matter, I just went with it.

Next, I got out the die and rolled to see what my first tangle would be.  I must admit that I had never thought of leaving pattern choice to chance.  I always study and think about what pattern I want to go where.  Sometimes, I want to try out a new pattern and that make choosing patterns easy but I find that I can sit there for a while pouring over my books and websites looking for a tangle that I think might look good next to those I've already drawn.  Rolling the die helped to make quick work of what to draw next.  I think that I will need to make a few legends with different tangles for future use.

Then, I was off.  I sat and drew with Dr. Who on in the background to keep me company.  Sometimes I listen to music but I'm a new Dr. Who fan and there was a marathon on the T.V. and well, you know how it is.

My little set up.

I did have to pause and watch the video on how to draw Purk.  The steps aren't laid out in the booklet and I wanted to make sure that I knew what I was supposed to be doing.  I think I may have found a new favorite.  I have seen it in other's work but was unsure on how to draw it.  Purk is quite a lovely tangle and I think it looks really great.

It didn't take long, well it didn't feel that long, until I was done and it was time to shade.  I am slow when it comes to making my tangles.  I must be careful with my lines, it's a thing I have.  Zentangle is more about letting go and being free but really, I have to be happy with the way my lines look or all I can see are the imperfections.  I am, like my tangles, a work in progress.  :)

So, here is my final result.  I like it.  There are a few bits that aren't great but there are a few that really work.  As usual, there will be some things that I take away from this tangle and use in a new piece later on.  I got to use some tangles that I haven't used before, and some that I have used a lot.  The "busy" string gave me more movement through the space.  Movement that hasn't usually been in my tiles before.  Not a lot, but some. Take the pokeroot for example, that flows up through the space to me.  I haven't really thought about movement in my tiles before but you can bet that I will in my next one.