In the Mood for Magic

The Diva's week 24 challenge is to use only stripes as the string. Stripes being linear and all, I went first to an obvious place in the first tile.

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Then some curvy stripes creeped in for tile number 2...

Then came the third tile: When I did the string and began to play, I knew it would end up getting very lost, so I scanned it to record where I came from. I didn't know where I was going yet...

...but soon it became clear that some Puf was in the picture....

And voila... the finished tile. 


The string has done its magic again... you can't see it, but it never fails to bring together whatever we bring to the spaces.




Thank you Laura, and thank you, string.

Zentangle, meet Peyote. Peyote, Zentangle.

I finally have started to get the hang of mixing my two favorite things: Zentangle® and bead weaving. I've been struggling for a couple of months to figure out how to get some of my own tangles onto a piece of jewelry. Not having done much peyote stitch, I felt like I had to learn the hard way how not to make a pattern! I had already invested lots of time and effort into a large cuff, that in my heart, I knew was not cutting it. My tension was very uneven, and the spirals weren't as round as I wanted to see them.
    One day last week, in a Facebook look, I commented on another bead friend's post. Another beader did also..one who happens to be a master at peyote. I've always admired her work: Carol Dean Sharpe (aka Sand Fibers for you Etsy lovers). The subject of Zentangle came up in the comments, and before I knew it, Carol and I were in a conversation, and she had given me the key to unlock the next step on my peyote adventure. (Sounds like a line from a Carlos Castaneda book, yes? Sorry, no.) She led me to a bead program that would help me turn my tangles into playful peyote cuffs.
   I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere. It's been a process of much tearing out and starting over, but that's the good stuff, and where all the learning happens, even if it is the hard way.


Thanks, Carol, for your help AND your inspiration. Thanks, Zentangle and thank you, Facebook!

Week 23: String Theory

I love that each person will use the same string for this week's Diva Challenge. When I teach a beginner Zentangle class, we all start with the same string, and it's always tons of fun to see what happens as each person brings their own beauty and sensibility to each tangle and each tile.
   Taking a cue from Laura's (the diva) process, I didn't have my kit handy, so I opened my tangle library with eyes closed, and picked whatever tangle was in front of me. As I was mid-tile, I heard my email chime and saw that a new tangle had been posted on tanglepatterns.com. It's J.J. LaBarbera's pattern: Arc Flower. I used it in the lower left corner of tile #2. Lots of fun!! I also had a lovely time with Donna Hornsby's Keenees. I love the way those little 'kini bottoms dance around on tile #1. Very cute, Donna! Mine don't have the polka dots; I'm more of a little black keenee kind of girl (mmm hmm...it's been a long time and never again). 
   I went for lots of black on these, and I have to note: using the Sakura graphic 3 pen... be careful not to smudge. I smudged. (A little shading does wonders: tile #3.) 
   Now that I'm looking at these three tiles, I can't really remember where the string actually is, but it's always quietly underneath, pulling everything together. It has its own little way of being there, but not being there all at the same time. That's the magic of the String:)
  Thanks, Laura, J.J., Donna, Zentangle, tanglepatterns.com, and the lovely string itself!

Unbinding the Shackles of Notions

One of the best things about being a Certified Zentangle Teacher is the opportunity to revisit the basics of this art form. I offer a Zentangle® Intro class each month at a local gallery in Dayton, Ohio. Each time I teach this class, I am reminding myself of the elegant groundwork of this simple artform. One wonderful aspect of Zentangle is the unknown outcome. It is designed to "inspire participants to build and expand on each new idea, unhindered and unconstrained by limiting preconceptions."
  This past Friday's class, I knew three of the four students before the class even started. When I think I know people, there are preconceived notions about them that can color what I say and do. So, just as when I begin a new Zentangle tile, I notice my notions, and let them go if I can, and then things become much clearer. When my intuition isn't clouded or hammered by what I think I know, things flow much easier. To prepare for a class, I usually create a sample tile, using the tangles I know I will teach. I wasn't surprised that it somehow got lost between my house and the gallery. Just one more indicator to always start without my notions!
   Here's a photo of what happened in our class... so much rhythm and creative juice! It's always a treat to see how each person interprets the the same string and the same tangles. We used Meer, Crescent Moon, Beelight, and Hollibaugh. Beautiful!!!

Thanks Sara, Mike, Phil, Rosaline, Gallery 510, and Zentangle!

Bead Time

I spent last weekend at "the" bead retreat. Twice a year, a group of 16-24 women drag their bead belongings to Kirkmont Center in Zanesfield, Ohio. We also drag every snack under the sun and our jammies. It's a nice long weekend (Thursday through Sunday) of relaxing, staying up late, munching, beading, staying shoeless and in jammies, and best of all, laughing.
   It's a great time to devote to bead projects, and I had more than a few UFOs (UnFinished Objects) to keep me busy. Even though I didn't finish them all, it was nice to have a time set aside for connecting with them. For me, this community of these beaders is what I enjoy most, so anything I get done is just icing on the cake! (Of course, we had real cake too. And brownies, and chips and cookies.)
   Here are a few things that happened:

Thanks ladies, for a great weekend!

Hair comes more change.

Surrender is awesome. It's much more fun to surrender to the changes than to fight them. 

My morning at the hair salon (Affinity Salon) was, once again, an exercise in allowance and surrender. I went there planning to get some of my grey hair turned to black. I've never had black hair ever. But Craig (my stylist/designer/artist) coaxed me over the last two visits to consider it. I decided yes. I was still in "control", as I had pondered my options and chose that as the next step. But, when I got there and we chatted about what to do, he had bigger (and better) plans. At this point, I really did know that my intent was to let him 'have at it', allowing him to do whatever vision was dancing around in his head. It was great fun to watch him paint. I felt like a blank canvas as the artist floated from one strand to another, with careful contemplation and intuition. THAT was fun.

I let it be. I love it. I feel like I might be becoming a Zentangle. I realized as he dried my hair, and I saw the greys and blacks playing together on my head, that my clothes were black and grey, with textured tights covered in large diamond patterns, and black and white polka dotted shoes. My purse is a tangly looking one, too. My reading glasses were also black and white polka dots. hmmm. He told me that if I started wearing a coat made from dalmations (ala Cruella Deville), I might be in big trouble.

I'm posting photos, since last time I talked about the hair, people asked. Mostly the black is in the back and sides (which used to be light grey), with a few streaks in the front bangs. I've also decided to post a photo on the side bar of the blog since I'm headed to Providence in October for the next Zentangle seminar. Now when I meet my online friends, they might know me from my photo instead of my name tag!

Thanks, Craig, for my really fun hair! And thanks, Christina for the best, most relaxing shampoo in Dayton! You guys are really great.

Playing with Change

I like consistency, as it often makes life a little easier when we know what to expect. There is a comfort in knowing that things around us are staying the same. But every day is full of ebbs and flows, and embracing the changes that come upon us is an exciting game.
   This morning I looked at my little blogspace and felt it was time to shake it up. I went exploring in the Blogger design "store" and found what felt like a really fun and flowy and watery pink background. Don't know why, but it just felt right. Makes me wonder what other changes I will see today...