Recent ZIA

Here are a couple of my recent tangled pieces.

Simple tangles

Here are three simple tangle patterns. In fact, they are so simple that I imagine someone else has likely used/named them already. If so, let me know and I will give proper credit where it is due. I used them as filler in a ZIA with a lot of flower and leaf patterns.

There really aren't any steps for these simple patterns. For Rayne draw a series of dotted or tiny dashes and end with the drop. The rainfall can come in from any direction. Splash is just the droplets sort of bouncing back up as they hit the ground and Puddle is a series of concentric curved lines that progressively get longer as you work out from the center. These tangles work nicely with the floral and leafy tangles.

Doodle Camp--Day 1

Doodle Camp officially begins today. There isn't anything to do yet...just unpack, get settled in our cabins and begin to get to know our fellow campers. I have that same excited/nervous feeling that I get whenever I begin something new. I know this will be a lot of fun and I will learn a lot from our camp counselor, Dawn DeVries Sokol as well as from the other campers. As usual, I am just anxious to get started and DO something. I want to prep a few of my sketchbook journal pages by painting them. I think I can at least do that tonight.

More later!

I'm off to camp

I'm not sure why I do it...I have a history of diving into a project full-force then abandoning it when I get, distracted, overwhelmed. bored, busy...???...I'm not exactly sure why. With Zentangle and this blog I want to change that behavior. I haven't stopped Zen-doodling, I've just stopped posting my work.

I've just signed on to two new projects that will dovetail nicely with Zentangle and hopefully get me back on track here.

The first, I plan to attend Doodle Camp hosted by Dawn DeVries Sokol. This summer camp for doodlers, beginning July 2, will be three weeks of doodle tips and techniques, chances to win cool prizes (you know I love contests), and lots of fun.

The second is the 2012 Sketchbook Project. I really debated with myself about this one, but decided to take the plunge because the sketchbook isn't due until January. Besides, I can begin to fill it with my summer camp doodles.

For now, I am going to kickback, relax and tangle.

It is what it is.

I may already be a winner....

So far this month I've won 3 (count em, 1, 2, 3!) different contests (See comments with previous post). I am so excited! By nature I tend to be a joyful person. Recently some typical life circumstances were beginning to weigh me down. Over the past few weeks I've been more purposeful in trying to project positivity. Now it looks like that positive energy is attracting positive results in my life...at least as far as these blog contests are concerned. [GRIN].

For some reason the phrase on those thick Publishers Clearing House envelopes just popped in my head. You know, the one that had your name blazoned across the front of the envelope. I entered another blog give away earlier today, who knows...I may already be a winner!

I won!

YIPPEE! I won the Express your Inner Pen-tivity Pentel Contest & Giveaway sponsored by Shoplet. Thank you Sandra for announcing the contest on your blog.

String Theory: Version II

This is my response to Weekly Challenge #24. It has been too long since I have participated in the challenge. I've checked in each week, and even sketched out a few tangles, but this one is the first one I have posted in a while. It is nice to have a leisurely day off to tangle.

The challenge is to only use stripes as the string. Now that I am writing about this, I'm wondering if I have accurately followed the directions. In the example, Laura's string is diagonal stripes. I have used horizontal stripes. Hmmmmm, it will be interesting to see if others diverge from the example.

You'll see I've left a good deal of white space. I'm wondering if you think it makes the piece look incomplete. I tend to fill every nook and cranny of the tile and thought I would leave some air in this one. We'll see if I am actually able to leave it alone or if I end up adding more patterns. Oh well, it is what it is!

7:00 PM Here is my second ZIA for this challenge. This time I decided to fill more of the space.

Speaking of stripes....look at the second optical illusion on this page. I would love to see someone replicate the effect in a Zentangle tile.

End of May

It has been too long since I've posted an update. May was a busy month for me. I have managed to find time to Zentangle, thankfully! May, June and July are the most hectic time of the year for me as far as work goes. Finding time to tangle is so helpful in keeping stress at bay. I haven't kept up with the weekly challenges, but I have doodled in my sketch book. Here are a couple of pieces that have helped me find my personal moments of Zen.

In honor of Mom

This is the photo that I posted to my Facebook profile to honor my Mom for Mother's Day. It was taken the day I was born. Wow, that little baby had no idea what a blessed life she had ahead of her! :-)

Why is it the we don't fully appreciate our parents until later in life? I am so very grateful for the loving, adult relationship I had with Mom in the years before she died. I loved her deeply my entire life, but did not show it as much as I should have while in my early twenties. The wonderful thing about Mom's is that they understand and continue to love us through our 'stupid years' when we are desperate to be independent 'adults'.

I love you Mom!

Happy May Day

I've neglected this blog for a couple of weeks, because I have been busy with Beth's Bookshelf. Things over there have been picking up at a rapid pace. Other bloggers and sites are linking back for book recommendations and teaching tips. I've also been invited to write a couple of guest blog posts and doing research for those pieces has kept me busy. I've managed to find time to zentangle a few tiles and hope to photograph and post them soon.

In the meantime, I want to share a pattern that recently caught my eye. It is carpet I happened upon during my recent trip to Indianapolis. I'm in the process of deconstructing the pattern into a set of instructions for a filler tangle.

Weekly Challenge #18 - EGGZZZZellent

Last week I was traveling and missed the challenge so I was anxious to do this one. I've wanted to do an egg-y Zentangle for a couple of weeks, but held off hoping that Laura a.k.a "I am the Diva" would issue an egg related challenge. This one was a lot of fun for me.

This is my first attempt...the idea was to show the egg in a basket. Remember the Easter egg hunts of your childhood and that feeling when you found your first egg? That is the memory I tried to capture in this ZIA I call "The hunt is on."

I continued to play a bit more and ended up with the next two pieces. Drawing both took me back to memories of Easter Sunday and my grandmother's house. She would already have a big bowl of decorated eggs waiting when we arrived. She was more excited than we were to hide the eggs.

When she issued the challenge, Laura reminded us of the Pysanky tradition (The Ukrainian art of decorating eggs). I'm working on another Zentangle and will put more effort into the egg design than I did on this first piece. I went to the library where I found a few great books with lovely photos of the eggs and patterns for inspiration. Here are a few of them...ENJOY!

Home Sweet Home

After a week long business trip to Indianapolis, Indiana I am soooooo glad to be home. I brought my sketchbook and a couple of pens with me, but never stopped long enough to Zentangle. I'll have to find a better way to organize my time next trip because I really missed it. I didn't even do Laura's challenge. Today I am resting and hoping to recharge my batteries for the new week. No doubt that I'll make time to Zentangle today.

It is what it is.

Imagine

I'm traveling this week and won't be able to blog, but I scheduled this post to go live in my absence. It is what it is.

Zee

I was playing around with a pattern the other day and came up with what I am calling "Zee" I think it has potential for variation used in combination with other tangles. For an example of it in use see the "Live, Laugh, Love" ZIA in the previous post.

Sweet 16: Mooka

Appropriately, Diva Laura selected the lovely new tangle "Mooka" for the Week 16 challenge. If you haven't seen it yet, Maria and Rick introduced a new, official tangle pattern in their April 3 newsletter.

Mooka looks complicated, but is actually very easy. Interestingly is it created using one, continuous stroke. The result is quite elegant. This was a fun challenge.

This first try is from my sketch journal. I did it Sunday night before I knew what the challenge would be. I was so excited when I read the Zentangle newsletter that I had to use the new tangle as soon as possible.

The next two examples were explorations of Mooka. I wish that I was as skilled as the rest of you had keeping my hand steady and keeping the distance between lines consistent. As I keep saying...practice, practice, practice will hopefully help me improve in those areas.

Now that you are getting to know me you have probably realized that my imagination far outstretches my skill. In this last piece I decided to experiment with my sparkly Sakura gel pens. The result is a bit garish in person, for once I am glad that the camera tones the image down. :-) Oh well, It Is What It Is!

As always, I am learning so much from you expert Zentanglers and welcome any tips/advice. Until next time...