Challenge #60 Duo Tangle/Cirquital & Munchin

This week's DIVA challenge is to use only two tangles:  Cirquital & Munchin.  Personally, I love the duo tangle challenges because they are usually ones I either don't use often or ones that I don't use together. 
Today is the only day I have to play with the challenge this week, so I did the first thing that came to mind.....






Challenge #59 Mardi Gras

This week's DIVA's challenge is to make a tile or ZIA that is inspired by Mardi Gras.  While I have been to New Orleans, I  have never been there for the wild and crazy celebration of Mardi Gras.  I chose to use my Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust pens to create a glittery mask in the Mardi Gras colors of green, gold, and purple.  Green stands for Faith, Gold for Power, and Purple for Justice.  Fun challenge, Thanks Laura!

Challenge #58: Diamonds

This week's DIVA challenge comes from Diana Hirsch, a CZT from Michigan, who has a cause she is helping raise funds for.....

 Penn State University’s Dance Marathon—lovingly called THON —is an annual event that benefits The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.  The Four Diamonds Fund was started by Charles and Irma Milafter their son, Christopher, lost his 3 year battle with cancer in 1972. Symbolic of the traits Christopher felt were needed to defeat cancer, he wrote a story in which the knight Sir Millard overcomes obstacles to achieve the four diamonds of Courage, Wisdom, Honesty and Strength. 


To donate or to watch the live 46-hour simulcast, visit www.thon
 
 

Our challenge is to use the four diamond symbol as a string....

I started out with 4 diamonds as my string, and had no idea where i would go from there.  That is one of the great things about tangling, no pre-conceived idea of what it will look like...just let it unfold before you.  I put the small diamond in the middle of the 4 diamonds then did the Poke Leaf to seperate the sections. To finish the borders, I did XYP.  I tried to do a large Facet in the center, which was a little tricky to do around the Poke Leaf, and completed it with Knightsbridge.  When it was done you couldn't see the 4 diamonds I started out with.  I considered starting over, but really didn't have the time this week so I decided to just shade a little heavy around the original 4 diamonds and go with it...no mistakes...a zentangle is a zentangle!

Another fun challenge..thanks, Laura & Diana!

"Sweet" Night

A couple of months ago, after setting up a Zentangle display at my local bank, I got a call from the director of the "Friends of the Library" asking if I would donate a piece of art for their "Sweet Night"  fundraiser.  The funds would go to help their summer reading program for kids.  Since I love the work that the Friends of the Library group does, I immediately said yes.  Then I hung up the phone and thought, oh my gosh...I have never sold a piece of art before...what am I thinking...yikes!  So, I created a piece of Zentangle Inspired Art, which they picked up mid-Jan.  The fundraiser event was last Friday night, Feb 10th and was called "Sweet Night" (with a valentine love theme).  It was a dance with a two-piece band, wine, and desserts.  They had 4 large tables of donated items from individuals and lots of local businesses.  Miss Loveland Valentine made an appearance and a professional dance team showed everyone some dance steps.  This was the 10th year of this annual event, which we had never been to before.  Doug and I had a wonderful time.....and wow,wow, wow, someone  bought my piece of art, making my night, really "sweet"!   Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! 

Challenge #57 UMT (Use My Tangle)

Our diva, Laura Harms has come up with another new challenge feature on her blog. Every 1st Monday of the month she will randomly pick a tangle pattern submitted by someone, and anyone can submit their patterns on her blog.  I love this new feature because as Laura says, there are so many fabulous tangle patterns out there that it's hard to get around to trying them all.   This week's winner is the tangle:  Sanibelle, by Tricia Faraone/CZT.  It is a very lovely tangle and one that keeps growing on your page before you know it.  Thanks, Tricia for submitting you pattern, and thanks Laura for this new feature that I will look forward to each month. 

You Go Girl

Maria Thomas, Co-Founder of Zentangle did a recent blog post and listed all of the different items she has tangled on over the years.  It got me thinking about how many different things I have tangled, and while my list is not quite as long, I have done around 20+ items.  In her post, she also challenged us to draw a zentangle on something that challenges our sense of  "Oh my goodness,  I couldn't possibly do that!"  I have always hesitated tangling on my walls because they are so heavily textured...but a challenge is a challenge.  I did this before Christmas, at the top of my stairs.  It took my husband and daughter (who stayed a few nights during her college break) to realize it was drawn on the wall and not just a tile stuck behind the switch plate.  Very fun when they discovered it! 

So, since that was so much fun, I took an old wooden set of our house address (quite faded)  that had stenciled numbers and a stenciled apple on it and gave it a zentangle face lift.

Inside, that front door is an off white color and was awfully plain, until last Friday.  We had a snow day with 8 inches overnight that closed the schools and continued to snow most of the day.  We ended up with about a foot of snow, but it was much needed moisture.   What else could I do on a snow day......

 I had a class at my house on Saturday, and they all loved the front door!  Yes, I defiantly have that "YOU GO GIRL" feeling now!   When it warms up, the window next to the door is next, and maybe some of the squares on the garage door.  Oh, the list keeps growing....

Another fun basic class for 4

I love spending an afternoon with people who are brand new to Zentangle!  It is always fun to see the delight in their faces, and smiles when they see what they have created.  Lovely work, ladies!  I hope you all continue to have fun with Zentangle. 

Challenge #56/Non Dominatrix*v.2

Okay, I've put it off long enough...time for the DIVA's weekly challenge!  This challenge is one we did last year and one I find really challenging....do a zentangle with your non-dominant hand.   It's hard when you are a type A personality and like to think you are in control.  Yes, you notice I said like to think you are in control.....I have learned over the years, raising children, etc that we really aren't in control of very many things.  I also like to think that I have mellowed some since I retired a couple years ago and spend a lot more time tangling.  Oh, who am I kidding, this challenge was still hard for me, but I did it!  I used a ATC size tile and did everything with my "left" hand, string, tangles, shading, and initials.  What normally would have taken me 15 minutes for this size tile, took me 45 minutes....going really slow and concentrating on each stroke.  In my mind I heard myself saying all the things I tell my students, hold the pen lightly, deliberate strokes, etc...and still my left hand had a mind of it's own at times, as it waved out of control.  I also noticed that I had to hold the pen really close to the tip to get any kind of control (there's that word again).   Okay, I will admit that there are a lot of good lessons learned from this challenge, but hope we won't have to do it again until next year! 

Under the Sea

I haven't made a larger ZIA piece in awhile, and it was time to do an 8 x 10.  I always love to see Michele Beauchamp's larger ZIA's which usually have a lot of swirls and spirals.  If you haven't seen her work, check out her blog here.  So, it was time to go spiral, and it looks like an under the sea scene to me. 

I took a picture before I did the shading, just to show how much difference shading makes .  You really can see some patterns pop up off the page and add a lot more depth with a little bit of shading.