The tentacles of tangling

The art of Zentangle® is a far reaching organism. Its tentacles are long and lanky, and they tend to curl around and get into places that naturally ask for its wild, yet orderly nature.

I'm trying my hand at a new technique called soutache embroidery. I have much to learn! It involves beads, yes, but it has such a Zentangle quality in that you can do it without planning. Many people do plan with this technique, and one of these days I might have to. But right now while I'm playing, I am grateful for the open door that Zentangle brings to this new endeavor. The 'what-ifs' collide with the 'can-it-be-dones' and often there is frustration. But one thing Zentangle reminds me is that there is only moving forward. In this case, one can take out the thread, but that is even more bothersome, so one finds ways to keep going with the learning/creative process. I did find a tutorial that helped me on the technical side of this technique. I have to give a shout out to Amy Sweet-McNamara for a great tutorial!

I've also been keeping up with my Tangle-a-Day Calendar. I've fallen in love with Peppermint Mocha coffee, so on my cold car trip to the shop each day, I stop and get a nice hot treat, sit down with my calendar and begin the day in peace and quiet. There is so much online these days with so many tangles everywhere you look, that it will be easy to find at least 365 of them to fill my daily pages. I'm looking forward to what the year will bring to this little bound pile of papers. Looking forward to seeing what others do with theirs. I've been lucky enough to live near Peg Famer (CZT) and love to see what she does with her calendar pages. I look at them, think I've seen everything, and then I look again and find something else to squeal over. Thanks, Peg!