Monday

A Monday is a challenge all by itself, isn't it?  Just getting back into routine and facing what may not be your choice of activities for the day...yet we do it / them, over and over again.  Interesting that we build our own mazes in which to race our days away...

The fabulous Diva is back with her usual intriguing challenge "de la semaine" - which you'll find here.  This is a new tangle and one I've not used before so it was a little shy today and would only come out and play in one segment of this tile.  Perhaps next time it will feel a bit bolder!

Happy Monday!

I'm Ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-ck!

Hi, people!  I'm back from my "vacation".  I spent a lovely week minding my 7-year-old nieceling and completely draining all my stamina and resources to keep up with her!  What a week!  We discovered a HUMUNGOUS labyrinth someone painted on a dead-end crescent near her home and we walked it every day.  We also found a GINORMOUS parrot that spent each morning on a perch in it's owner's front yard - that bird had to be over two feet tall, not including its tail!  Wow!  And it would say "hello" very nicely, too.  My neiceling and I were both quite enthralled...

As a result of my time away, I didn't have any art to post last week, nor even time to keep up with the wonderful art I know so many people posted - I will get caught up, although it may take some time!  I look forward to checking out what I missed and sharing more art later this week.

In the meantime, I think I can "technically" claim to have done the challenge for the week as I was honoured to provide The Diva's Challenge this week so she could take a short break without interrupting the momentum.  So to see what I've done, go here.

More later! *G*

Happy Monday!

Spiral Out, Keep Going

The lovely Diva is back!  While Genevieve did a bang-up job standing in for her, it's lovely to hear that Artoo is improving, Chewie loves the summer and all is becoming well with the world once more.  Laura must have really enjoyed her short time away, because she's come up with the most wonderful challenge for this week!  Of late several challenges have centred around a provided string - "string theory", as it were.  The challenge this week is to design a Zentangle with a spiral string as the required structure.  Well, this one I just GOTTA love!  Spirals have been appearing in my life as long as I can remember and in so many different ways - physical, mental, emotional, spiritual...you name it, there's gonna be a spiral in there somewhere!  I was raised as a dancer and the spiral is an integral part of folk and classic styles of dancing around the world - from the fabulous Farandole to a dashing Broadsword or exquisitely executed Waltz.  When I was in therapy, learning how to overcome profound clinical depression and later the dissolution of my marriage, the spiral was a recurring theme, descriptive of my state of mind as I would get "stuck" in my attempts to make progress.  My artwork has always included spirals, both overt and disguised, hidden or as a central element.  Spirals encourage reflection on the importance and attainment of balance.  There is a geometric logarithm that when applied results in the "Golden Spiral" - an important element of Sacred Geometry.  Many a prayer and/or meditation has been made whilst walking a spiral maze.  The spiral pops up in the most ancient of cultures - as ornamentation of the body by way of tattoos and scarification, by ornamentation in all manner of metals and other adornments, either printed upon fabric or an integral, woven component of the actual weave itself.  Even mysterious designs etched upon the barren, rocky plains of Central America display spirals, visible only from the air!  I love the way Spirals get me thinking, and wondering, and lead ever onward to more and yet more interesting pieces of information or personal enlightenment.  I decided to play with intent for this tile and drew a spiral to start.  To ground it I chose to use a chain, then filled it from the centre outward (keeping going - geddit? Hehehehee.....) with orbs, from tiny TIPPLE, though my own tangleation of SEZ to PRINTEMPS, tumbling from the open end of the spiral and spinning right off the tile.... And yet, I wanted more...  So FEDR made an appearance to symbolize the growth that I find the ultimate lesson of the Spiral.  I hope you enjoy it:

Happy Monday!

OOF!

Yup, that's a good word, all right!  I spent the weekend attending a workshop led by a buddy who is not only an amazing artist but a really good soul.  Another good buddy, hosting the event, redefined the word "hostess" with her lavish and thoughtful caretaking throughout the entire weekend.  The whole thing was a whirl of creative excitement and wonderful play and exploration, but - OOF!  Exhausting!

Of course our lovely Diva came up with a serendipitously perfect challenge - to use the new official Zentangle tangle pattern, Oof!

After a couple of nights' sleep, I today took pen in hand and had myself a bit of a solo play time.  Here's what happened - four tangleations:

Happy Wednesday!

Royal Wedding Again

It was so fun doing Laura's challenge du semaine that I decided to play with it again.  There's so much possibility with the layers of humanity and history all congregating to recognize and celebrate a single event...I've started playing with tangles inspired by aspects of the celebrations and hopefully I'll have a series to post quite soon.  In the meantime, here we go again! *G*

Happy Thursday!

Royal Wedding

The Diva has issued her latest challenge (drumroll, please)...ROYAL WEDDING! (Note to self; why didn't I see this one coming? *G*).  Of course, this was too intriguing not to pop into right away.  The wedding was SOOOOOOOOOOOO all over all media that it was, quite literally, inescapable!  I was pleased to see that Catherine chose a truly lovely, classically styled gown with wonderful modern touches and fabrics treated with respect by real artisans.  The interaction between William and Catherine was a treat to watch - I felt rather like a voyeur!  They truly seem to care for each other, and not in a light or superficial fashion.  The small gestures and glances were quite telling and I enjoyed the clips I saw.  The pomp and pageantry was fun (viewed on the small screen only; I don't think I could live through such a crush of people in real life!) and while the television hosts were irritating, banal and trite, with the sound off it was a great show!  I saw lots of inspiration for new tangles, which I'll work up time permitting.  In the meantime, here's the first impression to flow off my pen:

Happy Tuesday!

EggZZZZcellent Monday!

Oh la la, Diva!  Once again the Mistress of Mystique has issued a challenge worth jumping right into!  This week's challenge (in honour of Easter, new beginnings, spring and other noteworthy wonderfulnesses) is to use the shape of Eggs in your Zentangle or Zentangle Inspired Art.  Well!  This is just up my alley!

I love eggs - the shape, the colours, the surprise of discovering the shells below unknown birds nests, the joy when gifted with a perfect robin's shell, bisected beautifully by the emerging frail feathered friend...The shells are so beautiful and the contents so amazing - whether the source of perfect protein or the creation of a new life, they are wondrous environments and objects of great beauty.  Despite their fragility, easily crushed with the fingers alone, they can support unbelievable weights and even provide a sharp and slug or snail impassable border for delicate plants.  You can start seeds in them, then plant the entire thing - shell, dirt and seedling - in the garden as is.  They can be  carved, painted, dyed or etched.  Smashed flat they can mimic ancient craquelure for a decorative paint finish.  Powdered they are an excellent compost amendment or calcium binder.  The eggs themselves are a wonderful source of protein, tasty and self-contained.  The whites make delicious and delicate meringues.  The yolk is an essential for the creation of egg tempera, a lacquer-like, transparent paint used since ancient times for fine art and decorative work.  Russian Icons hundreds of years old still glow with the luminous beauty of the egg tempera used in their creation; the same technique that lives on today, passed down from master Icon painter to their apprentice(s).

In celebration, and in answer to the challenge, I offer the following:

Happy Monday!

Ahhh, Tuesday !

Poor day!  It felt like Monday all day long and the poor thing never got a "feel" of its own! *G*  On the other hand, it's one day closer to the weekend (and my first Zentangle class!).  Plus, my folks are home from an extended stay in Arizona and I do miss them when they're away, although I suspect my Dad really misses his garden most of all and Mom loves the "dry heat" and beautiful desert so much I don't think she misses ANYTHING up here - well, maybe her grandkids! *G*

At any rate, you may have noticed my lack of posts last week.  It appears the winter blahs, or spring bunions, or something equally annoying, has provoked a hibernation response in me.  I have been going to bed so early it's ridiculous!  I do apologize and will exercise better self-discipline and get my posts done earlier in the evening if possible.

There's always so much to do, isn't there?  Day job, housework, family, friends, miscellaneous freelance work items, daily chores... I wish these things were more fun.  Cris recently mentioned the Flylady (if you don't know about her, go visit - the site is amazing!).  This site has really helpful tips and ideas to help you accomplish those pesky chores and daily interruptions.  I have some friends (and family - I can't believe we're related!) that find real joy in housework.  I do love a sparkling clean place with a wonderful fresh smell (NOT from air freshener!) but find the chores to achieve it rather un-fun to the max!  Isn't it funny how the sheer repetition of laundry, dishes, etc., can feel like a forced march in full gear, dragging on for hours?  Yet repeating tangles endlessly simply has time flying past, completely unremarked!  This week's challenge by the Diva was a good reminder that you CAN do anything 15 minutes at a time.  I'm going to try to push this tomorrow night and get some REAL WORK DONE in the basement.... wish me luck! (the good kind please - just in case! *G*).

Happy Tuesday!

Challenge #16 - Mooka !

Doesn't that sound just like a glad exclamation?  Something like the Greek "OPA!"  Can't you just hear it? MOOKA!  *G*  This is the newest Official Zentangle® Tangle, just released with a "how-to" video on YouTube.  It's the brainchild of Maria Thomas and a product of her long-time love affair with the works of William Morris and Alphonse Mucha.  I have to admit I, too, have been entrapped by their exquisite taste and peerless sense of colour.  There is something so viscerally appealing about the fluid lines in their designs and this is beautifully captured in the flowing tangle that Maria has designed.  The ever-flexible Diva of Tangle Delights immediately seized the opportunity to have multiple explorations of this new tangle by using it for our challenge of the week.  Just think - all over the globe, Zentangle enthusiasts of all stripes, CZTs, artists, amateurs who have stumbled onto the wonders of this burgeoning artform are bending their creative juices towards the creation of a person version of this gorgeous new tangle.  MOOKA!  Doesn't it just sound like the perfect celebratory exclamation for this challenge?  Speaking of which, this is my own small contribution to the global party:

Happy Monday!

Tuesday Twist

I really enjoyed Laura's challenge this week.  I really had fun responding to it.  I picked up my little journal to flip through and it soon became apparent (duh!) that I there was a basis for my enjoyment - it seems I nearly ALWAYS use curves!  A little swing here, a bit of a twist there...  So I started hunting down the straight lines I've used in my work and you know what?  There are hardly any!  Well, that won't do!  After all, fair is fair and all good lines deserve a chance to play.  I actually CAN draw a straight line (in grade school a mean child named Simon took a ruler to check a line I drew and insisted it was TOO straight and that I had cheated and used a ruler - even though he'd seen me draw it!).  I mean I can draw a really, really TRULY straight line! *G*  So, I thought I'd go back to the previous straight-line challenge.  Then I thought, no, I'd just go with the flow and let the straight lines be in my mind while I worked (do you see a certain waffling theme here?).  So, long story short, this is what happened:

I'm thinking that perhaps I should make more of an effort to use straight lines!  They really didn't show up in this ZIA excepting as an inner element and I really DID intend to use more of them....  Oh well.  There's always tomorrow! *G*

Happy Tuesday!

Love Those Curves !

Life throws them at you and you hope you can catch 'em.  They show up in your path and you have no choice but to navigate them.  They distract you from your goals and you turn your back on them.  When you're young and have 'em, they attract unwanted attention from others.  When you age a bit and have 'em, they waste too much energy regretting them.  What are they?  Curves, of course!  The fabulous Diva, Mistress Of All Things Challenging, has given us our challenge of the week - Love Your Curves, Baby!  Cool, eh?  Fortunately I've had a lifetime of experience in dealing with curves - whether inflicted by fate, the universe or the Powers That Be, they've been part of my life for virtually the entirety of it!

Happy Monday!

Ruth Tangles With Stamps !

What a great tabloid headline this post title would make!

My friend Ruth is the culprit who first introduced me to Zentangle®  over a year ago now.  While it took six months to find the time to look into them properly, once I started I never looked back.  Lo and behold, here we are - Certified Zentangle Teachers!  It was Ruth who introduced me to Zentangle®, Ruth who showed me her work with rubber stamps (inspiring my exploration of last week), and even Ruth who "garage saled" her no-longer-required rubber stamps to me! *G*  Gotta love a gal who just keeps on giving...Heheheheee.  At any rate, "it's pay-back time"! *imagine creepy threatening voice*.

A few days ago I convinced Ruth to let me photograph a couple of her ZIA pieces.  This is one of Ruth's first rubber stamp ZIAs:

Isn't she fun?  I love the great shape and drape of the lines - it looks like an Earth Mother or one of the "sock 'em, bop 'em" clown dolls that scared the mischief out of me as a little kid!  Then there's this one, too, that's a bit more recent:

Super fun, eh? (yes, I am proudly Canadian! *G*)  I love seeing the different ways people take a concept and run with it in their own fashion (scissors, anyone?).  The Diva's challenges are just exactly like that.  We all receive the same instructions, but then it is filtered through our own perceptions and experience.  Later we post the artwork to be viewed by others who, on receiving the identical instructions, have often created something absolutely different that we never would have though of creating.  

I love that the challenges are not always easy, but they are ALWAYS voluntary.  I enjoy pushing my artistic limits, but I can also appreciate being in a time or place where being pushed just isn't a good thing and some may opt to "skip" a challenge or three.  Simply because someone steps up to the plate or backs off from it doesn't make the art of either individual either more or less valid than the other, in my book.

One of the things I am particularly happy about is that Zentangle® is an inclusive form of art.  Virtually everyone can make a deliberate mark on a piece of paper.  Beyond that one needs only simple imagination!  One deliberate stroke at a time, an artist, a child, a differently abled or mentally challenged person can choose to create beauty.  I am delighted to be part of this exciting time of development.  Those in full possession of their faculties, a broad imagination and good fine motor control can go on and create ZIA of great beauty.  Those whose abilities are severely restricted can also experience the joy of creation and the happiness of crafting original art gifts for friends and loved ones.

Ah well, I'm waxing rhapsodic, so it must be my bedtime! *G*  Off to make tea and hit the hay...

Happy Tuesday!

Friday Finale

A final installment for my exploration of rubber stamps and Zentangle - at least for the present! *G*  I have so many ideas and variations and concepts I want to share that I'm practically bursting with them all the time.  I'm trying to think of some way to get all of you other artists out there (yes, even those who won't own the title!) involved in expanding your boundaries, too.  Laura Harms' weekly challenges on her blog, I Am The Diva - CZT - are bringing so much joy and possibility into our lives.  I'd love to offer something that would be as positive and pleasant a growth experience as the challenges.  Any suggestions out there?  I'm loving the challenges but I wouldn't want to step on the fabulous Diva's lovely toes, particularly when she is doing such an amazing and wonderful job of dreaming up not only challenges, but the linky widget, the slide show, the samples, etc.  Anyone who doesn't know whereof I speak NEEDS to go check her out.  That's right.  Check her out right now.  You won't regret it!  Her own artwork is stellar and the challenges (and responses) absolutely ROCK.  Just wait until you check out the slideshows - wow!  That girl sure does a lot of work for us!

As for today's artwork, it seems the eggs have it!  This one also resulted in an egg-shaped image - the second in a row.  I'm not sure if I'\m channeling Easter due to Lent, or if my recent visit to the MOST EXCELLENT Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, Massachusetts may be subconsciously influencing me.  I can heartily recommend a visit to it; it was a definite highlight of my trip and well worth the delay in getting home (we spent over four hours there, rather than the two allotted for!).  Even then it was hard to tear away from the exhibits and get back in the car.  Have you ever been somewhere or near something that had an almost magnetic pull for you?  The artwork, materials, ages of adoration... something about the museum and its contents just spoke directly to my soul and no words nor language was needed nor desired.  It was a transcendental experience.

This image underwent a fair bit of a change from my early pencil work to determine the string.  Since I was working with an existing image it was important to me that the string belong with the image and not be in conflict with it.  At first it seemed like a maiden in a hood, then evolved into a head-covering rather like a classic madonna and the final version approximates an old-fashioned nun's wimple.  I have no idea why!  But I am quite content with the final artwork; it seems peaceful and cosmic and ageless - Zentangle does seem to have no limits!

Happy Friday!

Start Something New !

I had so much fun last week celebrating my newly-minted CZT designation, that I sat and had a bit of a think on what I enjoyed so much about it (other than the obvious!).  I decided that it was the ongoing series on a theme.  The opportunity to explore one aspect of my Zentangle art - in last week's case, the use of initials as the primary design element - by revisiting it over and over, was enlightening.  I began to feel as if I loosened up in my expectations and fell deeper into the Zen of the tangle with every rendition.  So, long story short, I've decided to try it again and see what happens... My buddy CZT, Ruth, had seen someone try tangling around a stamped image and has been dabbling with a number of ZIA in this model.  Having seen how interesting some of the art is, I've chosen this for my next exploration.  So, here's today's effort:

I have finally managed to get my scanner back up, so hopefully my art will show more clearly in future - this one even shows the texture of the page!

Oh, and I've uploaded a page for a Zentangle Glossary.  I've had so many requests to explain various terms or words that I thought it might be useful to have a central listing.  If you have anything to add or that you'd like further clarified, please let me know.  The idea of creating something helpful and useful is very appealing to me and I'd love the opportunity to help you out!

Happy Monday!

Monotangle CZT

Well, the lovely Laura Harms has done it again.  Her challenge this week is to use ONLY ONE TANGLE to create an entire design.  An interesting, not to mention enormously difficult, challenge to be sure.  How do you choose just one tangle?  They are all so lovely and malleable and different... this was HARD!  In the end I used my own, which is similar to Rick's Static.  And, of course, this week I am celebrating the achievement of my ambition to become a Certified Zentangle Teacher - that's right, CZT - that's me! *G*

Happy Tuesday!

CZT - That's Me!

I am now a fully accredited Certified Zentangle Teacher!  Yahoo!  Today's post is short, but in response to our lovely Diva's challenge (late as it is), I am offering the following:

Happy Sunday!

Monday, Monday...

Well, I've been well and truly gnashed by the ATC bug - it seems every time I have a few minutes between tasks I just have to grab a card and make another one!  It's like potato chips, you know?  You can't make just one! *G*  I've had such fun, I even did our lovely Diva's challenge this week on an ATC!  A very, VERY simple version, but hey, sometimes simple says everything we need it to doesn't it?  And with this being Valentine's Day, a little bit of Artoo managed to send a whole lotta love!  See?

And of course, having been well and truly bitten, I've gone a bit pen-crazy with the ATCs:

On the other hand, what better way to go?  I can't believe I get to attend my workshop in Whitinsville NEXT WEEK already... I can't wait!  I just KNOW it'll be worth the 9+ hour drive to get there and I'm already thinking about what I need to pack.  Definitely my pens! *G*

Happy Monday!

Open Hearts

Time constraints have limited my opportunities to check out the responses to Laura's latest challenge, but I've been thinking quite a bit about her baby boy, Artoo, and the hearts and minds around the globe bending their will to help him heal... what a wonderful world we have!  I have always said beaders are the nicest people around, but now I realize that it's ALL creative souls.  Not the art snobs, not the insecure people who only feel confident when they can run someone else down, but those who feel a genuine internal NEED to create.  Here are all these wonderful artists, some professional, the majority squeezing art into lives already ridiculously busy with work, family and community, and yet they lay aside their own challenges to send love and hope to a tiny child they will (probably) never meet.  I was inspired by these thoughts to offer up a second take on this challenge - a heart made with a combination of two previous challenges (simplicity and double-string) - and dedicate it to all those fabulous, thoughtful, decent, considerate people who make this world worth living in.  In short, this one's for you!  I hope you like it.

Happy Wednesday!

Challenge #8 - Heart for Artoo

A friend's baby son is experiencing some hard times just now - barely graduated from dual full-leg casts to boots and braces, the poor bunny has a viral infection with respiratory distress that has landed him back into the hospital.  Yes, I mean Artoo, the younger of our lovely Laura's two great boys.  With the upset and worry and activity, she was gracious enough to find time to keep us informed and even posted a challenge this week.  Thanks to her husband's inspiration, we are to create a heart for Artoo, combining any two of the previous challenges.  With such a worthy purpose OF COURSE I had to sit right down and do it right away, tonight, because no one should keep a baby waiting!  I've chosen to make my riff off of Challenge #1 - Simplicity, and Challenge #6 - Ixorus.  I am sending it with all my most concentrated, passionate prayers for quick healing and sweet health plus an extra dose of support and peace for the harried Mommy and Daddy:

Happy Monday!

A Balloon All To Myself

Today I am answering Sandra Strait's challenge - Tell Your Story, Be Part Of The Art.  When I needed a break this evening, I picked up my Zentangle journal and created a quick, simple string.  I tried to fill the spaces as quickly as I could with the first tangles that came to my mind; not too much forethought or planning.  When done I enjoyed the shading and sat down to consider.  Hmmm - what is it?  What is it telling me?  What memory does it summon or thought provoke?  I am in the unique position of being the middle of four children (older brother, two younger sisters are twins!).  As a child treats were rationed carefully (all the love we could handle, as long as it was free!) and something as silly and short-lived as a helium balloon was seldom seen.  In my mind's eye I can see a young girl in her sixties summer jumper, spinning in the park, eyes to the sky, arms wide, watching her balloon twirl above her - I can feel the warm sun, smell the grass, experience the building dizziness... what do you see in this?

Happy Saturday!