Zoning in and out

This week's Diva Challenge is to push ourselves to do what is not comfortable for us.

Everyone has their own rhythm, and in practicing the art of Zentangle®, it's usually pretty clear what we personally connect to, and what we don't.

I had a black tile that I had started months ago. I never finished it for the very reason that I don't feel very comfortable with the white on black. I figured this would be my challenge: to finish the tile using at least one tangle that is outside my rhythm.

This tile was started by shaving some of the Zenstone onto the tile, then rubbing it with my finger to create a ghostly glow, which I loved. The white Jellyroll was a bit skippy over it, so I tried the Micron but I really couldn't see it against the soapstone. That's when I quit and laid it aside months ago.

Yesterday I picked up the white again to move forward through the 'discomfort'. I did some Huggins, and filled in some N'Zeppel that was there from before, and added some Hollibaugh strings. (I actually was having fun with my discomfort!) I love shading, and I could have used pencil over the white, but again, that was too comfortable. I used a grey Fabrico in small doses. (I like big doses of shade) I also remembered that going back in with the Micron after the white could tame a few blobs I left with the white Jellyroll. Funny thing, by the time I was halfway through, I was out of the discomfort zone, and simply in the zone of the Zentangle process. Cuz that's how it often works!

Thanks, Laura, for another awesome challenge.

More Tangled Jewelry

I found these great wooden bangles perfect for tangling.

It was a little weird to draw on a small round surface. I told the little perfectionist in me to go take a nap, that we had it covered, the project didn't require her input, and wiggly lines would be tons of fun. The Micron (I used .01) glides really nicely on the smooth surface. I used a regular pencil for shading, but then played with a furniture touch up marker I found in the hardware store. I used that on the smaller one, and on the larger one I played with water color pencil for a more subtle shade.

I'm not sure what to use to finish them. Because they are bracelets, I wanted to use something natural and non allergenic. I did get advice from a friend who is knowledgeable about these things, but the product she recommended, I would have to get online, and haven't gotten that far. I did, however, wonder about coconut oil. I rubbed some on, and it really looked nice. (photo taken before the coconut) I don't figure that will really seal it, but it sure looked great and smelled great too!

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear! Thanks for visiting.

Beading Zentangle Style

For the most part, the art of bead weaving involves a lot of structure and pattern. In order for a beaded piece to stay together, the building blocks must fit together to make it work. That pretty much pertains to the beads themselves, but when it comes to the color of a project, the same holds true from a design perspective. So not only is the actual physical bead important, but the color of the bead in a particular position in that structure also matters. Sounds like fun, huh? Well, thank goodness there are people who write patterns to guide us in this part of the process.

I beaded for a long time without knowing how to read a peyote stitch chart. It seemed like it would be too mathmatical and predictable. Although once I did, I really enjoyed watching the pattern come alive in my beads. Here is an example of a peyote band created with a color chart that I followed:

I had the idea to make a very skinny peyote stitch wrap (one that would go round my wrist 3X) using the chevron pattern you see here. However, I forgot to bring my chart pattern home so I could follow it and end up with the pattern you see.

Well, well. What to do? I was really wanting to get started on it, so I decided to approach it like piece of Zentangle® art. I knew if I winged it without my written pattern, sometimes I would get the pattern right, and sometimes I wouldn't. That would just have to be ok. If one of my chevrons didn't pan out, I shrugged a "Watt-eva" and moved on. What came out was really fun for me... I love it. I love its random, yet structured nature.

Fengle in a Quandary (or vice versa)

Woo hoo! Finally got to sit down with a Diva challenge! I sort of got lost in this one. I love Fengle. Quandary can make me a little crazy, but I found if I go really slow and deliberate, that helps alot. I also feel more comfortable making the 'rice' shapes solid rather than open. But the open ones lend themselves to great tangleations.

I started another tile this morning during my quiet breakfast at Panera. It was on a tan tile, which I was excited to use. However, one of the other customers stopped by to ask about it. After a lovely 30-minute conversation about art and other things, I gave him my unfinished tile, so alas, no second tile for the post!

Thanks, Laura Harms, for always being there to present the challenge. It's often my go-to resource when I need a quick Zentangle fix.

Framing Play

A while back The Diva and Maria Thomas did some posting about borders. I messed around a little and found myself knee deep in Knightbridge. I just couldn't stop with the coloring in. It's that way sometimes.. what I do with a Zentangle tile often reflects something about me in that certain time and space. Not exactly sure what was going on right then:)

Here is another, more spacious play on a more spacious day... obviously a very different attitude!

Nothing Special

I suppose it's time to post something as it's been MONTHS!

I started this blog years ago just to see if I knew how to navigate such things online, and found out that it was lots of fun to share my experience of the art and practice of Zentangle.

In the meantime, a huge project in the form of a beadstore came my way. It's been 1-1/2 years of that, and it's time to step back and take a look at where my time goes, what are the meaningful parts of my day, and who and how am I being asked to serve? I don't think I have answers to any of those questions, but the act of stepping back to review is always appropriate. Being still with what's around you or in front of you (hold that Zentangle tile at arm's length and see what you discover!) will often bring to light the next step.

I've realized that the writing part of the blog is what trips me up and stops me from posting. I often feel like I have nothing 'special' to say these days. I've become a more of a doer than an observer lately. But, I think it's time to Breathe. Look around. Be still for a few more minutes a day than I have been.

I suppose I can post a tile with no words. I don't have to wait for something special to say. I don't wait for something special to occur to do a Zentangle, I just do them. They don't have to be wonderful to look at, or even pleasing to do every time. I just do them to do them with no expectation, no worry about what it will look like, where it will end up, who will like it and who won't. Why did that not occur to me before? Quite busy doing, not much stepping back. So until I step back again to do something different, I am going to try to take some time to post just the art. The words will be there if they are meant to be, I'm sure.

Carried Away

Oh, the plan. Sigh. Why bother?

This week's Diva challenge honors Earth Day. There are so many great organic tangles that conjure up wild vines and full trees, flowing rivers. I was excited to get busy on this one! I was inspired by Laura's Zendala, so I figured I would use that as the string to gather all the earthy tangles I was so excited about. I love the flowing tangles, so planned to use one to start.
   I looked at the selection of Zendala strings in front of me. Instead of choosing a more rounded version, I was drawn to one of the more linear ones. Why? Don't know. I was just in a moment and knew that's where to begin. But wait, that didn't go along with my plan! Oh well, let's go, it's Zentangle, remember.
    What came about was a big surprise to me. I worked on it so long, for one. I usually don't spend more than half an hour on a tile. But this one drew me in and asked me to do all kinds of things that I wasn't used to doing. (When you listen to a tile -- or your own intuition is more like it -- big surprises happen!) This is the photo I took when I THOUGHT it was done and ready to post...

But I kept listening and this is what it said:

Purple? Frills? Really? Earth Day? This tile carried me away to a place I'm not used to. Give me green and mud and I am happy. I probably spent at least two hours on this Zendala, all the while thinking of Earth Day, so I'm betting that my idea of what the earth really feels like to me is somewhere underneath, and it definitely includes the purples and frills.

I love how the Zentangle art form shows me parts of myself that I never knew before.

Thanks, Laura, for a really fun challenge.