Mandala/Zendala with Versa & Color

One of my tangling friends, Joni Feddersen/CZT  from South Carolina has done some beautiful & colorful mandala's that you can see on her blog at Pattern Play With Pens, under the tab,  Mandala Gallery.   She also has a tab, Mandala Templates, where she shares her templates with all of us.  I was in the process of trying out one of Joni's templates, when Laura Harms (our CZT diva from Canada, who posts the weekly zentangle challenge)  posted a mid-week unofficial challenge, to try out her new tangle pattern, Versa. Well, what perfect timing to try out a new pattern in my mandala/zendala!  I love Versa!  It has a lot of different variations and I look forward to playing with it more.  Now as for color... I have not done a lot with color (it shows) and I need to practice that a lot more!   Thanks for the templates, Joni and for the new tangle & mid-week challenge, Laura! 

I Walk The Line

Laura's challenge this week, (#14, can you believe it) is to create a tangle with only straight lines.  Not too hard to do, but definitely not my favorite thing to do.  I love curvy lines mixed in with straight lines.  My daughter, Lindsay was just showing us pictures of her trip to Chicago,  and I had a city skyline on my mind when I drew my string and just found tangles with straight lines, not very inventive, I know, but I wanted to get done early this week.  You can find the link to Laura's challenges on the right hand side of this blog-The Diva's Weekly Challenge.

Note:  I even squared off my initials, so they would be straight lines-LOL!

Garden Of Zen

Welcome to my garden of zen...come in... sit down... stay awhile. 

 Breathe, Relax, Smile!  

Guest Tangler-My Left Hand!

Well, this is my attempt at Challenge #13 from our CZT diva, Laura Harms.  The challenge this week was to complete a zentangle tile using only your non-dominant hand, which in my case is my left hand. 

I really resisted trying this one.....then I tried one on Weds night and it was so awful I didn't even want to take a picture of it or post it.  I thought I would just skip this weeks challenge, but then something was nagging at me to try again because I haven't missed a challenge yet, and I'm not a quitter, yada, yada, yada.

So, this time I went really slow...breathe...hold the pen lightly...okay it wasn't as awful as the first attempt. I did learn that when filling in the dark spaces,  if I really concentrated on holding the pen very lightly, I had a lot more control.  Everything was done left handed, the border, the string, the tangles, shading and signature on the back. 

This was the hardest challenge yet for me.  I can't say it was fun....but I did it! 

New Class Venue & Schedule for April!

I am so pleased to announce that I found a great creative art studio in downtown Loveland and I will start teaching classes there in April.  It is called Artisan You and is owned by two lovely sisters, Vida & Elisabeth.  They offer all types of classes, glass art, glass jewelry, silver jewelry, paint your own pottery, and now Zentangle!  See the class schedule tab above for the details.  My 1st class there will be Sat, April 2nd from 1:00-3:30.  Hope to see you there! 

Challenge #12 "Something Blue"

When I sat down to do this week's challenge,  I was thinking about the beautiful blue, almost turquoise, water of Jamaica.  An island where they say they have no problems, only situations.  YA MON!  It's a beautiful place, if you ever get the chance to visit, go!  Laura's (I Am The Diva) parents just returned from a vacation there.  So, this week's challenge is to do "Something Blue".  As I said, I was thinking I would do a water tangle, but I started flipping through some old tiles and I spotted, Stubs,  Sandra Strait's (aka Molossus) tangle.  I only used that one once and think it is a beautiful tangle, so before I knew it, that is what I was making and the rest just fell into place (so much for the water-LOL).  I used a Sakura glitter jelly roll pen on Stubs and used a color pencil to highlight the other tangles.  I loved having the opportunity to add a little color and will need to play with color more in the future.  Thanks again, Laura.  These challenges are a lot of fun! 

Apple Corer/Slicer Zendala's

One of the things (and there are so many more) I love about being part of this ever expanding community of zentangle artists is the daily inspiration and ideas that everyone shares.  I am a fan of Margaret Bremner's work and love all the of the mandala/zendala pieces that she created using an apple corer/slicer as a template.  See her original post here, and another post here displaying her beautiful creations! 

I am always bargain hunting for sales on picture frames (1/2 price or more off) and found a great deal on a matted one with 3 (5x7) openings.  I've been pondering what to do with it, when I remembered Margaret's apple corer template, so I gave it a try.  Margaret has a wonderful way with color on her work, and I have not done very much with color.  Since the matting was white, I used colored scrapbook paper to tangle on.  The one that appears blue in the photo, is actually a light lavender.  Thanks, Margaret for the great idea!

4 Tile Ensemble

If you want a fun and quick piece of art work, make a 4 tile ensemble.  Put 4 tiles together.  Draw your string over all of the tiles.  Individually, tangle each one without looking at the others.  When you are done, put them back together, frame them, and you have a little treasured piece of art! 

(Note: When I photographed the individual tiles yesterday, there was too much sun coming in the windows, and the color is off.  I didn't want to take the assembled pieces out of the frame to redo.  The framed piece shows the original color better.)  :)

Challenge #11 Monotangle

Once again, Laura Harms came up with another fun challenge!  You can link to her blog with the "The Diva's Weekly Challenge" button along the right side of this blog.  This week's challenge was to do a tile with one tangle pattern.  I decided to try doing a tangle that I don't use very often, Braze.  So, here is my entry for week 11.....

Challenge #10 The Space Between

This week's weekly challenge from I Am The Diva was to create a zentangle and leave some open space.  As soon as I read her post and the title of the challenge, The Space Between, the Dave Matthews song of the same title started going through my head, which is funny because Laura said she had the Beatles song, Within You Without You, going through her head when she came up with the challenge and I am a bigger Beatles fan then I am a Dave Matthews fan.  So, all week whenever I thought about getting my tile done for the challenge, there was Dave Matthews singing in my head again......

Take my hand
'Cause we're walking out of here
Oh, right out of here
Love is all we need here

The Space Between
What's wrong and right
Is where you'll find me hiding, waiting for you
The Space Between
Your heart and mine
Is the space we'll fill with time
The Space Between...

I wasn't crazy about the first one, so I tried another........the space between........

Tangleation Playing

I am still playing with the basic Ixorus shape with different tangles.  I am really not sure if this is a tangleation because while Betweed isn't varied, the variation of 'Nzeppel is used.  Because they are both together in the Ixorus shape, does that make it a tangleation?  Oh well, even if it's not a tangleation, it was fun! 

Challenge #9 Artoo

This is my attempt at challenge #9 from Laura Harms, I Am The Diva's blog.  To link to her blog just use the button posted on the right hand side of this blog.  Anyone can join these challenges and they have been a lot of fun.  This week  Laura's family (and all of us) are celebrating that her little baby, Artoo (online name) is home from the hospital.  YEA!  I am sure we all breathed a sigh of relieve for Laura, I know I did.  While in the hospital, Laura created a new tangle she named after her baby, Artoo.  I started out and planned to draw a lot of Artoo buds but after I drew the first two, it looks so much to me like a mother and baby cuddled up together, that I didn't want to do any more, and I put in the Verdigogh instead.  I don't use color very often, but couldn't resist the baby blue for little Artoo! 

Pass It On

"Creativity is contagious, pass it on" by Albert Einstein.  I have had this quote on my blog since the very beginning and have always wanted to do a piece of zentangle inspired art with it.  It really says so much to me about zentangle and gives me the opportunity to again say thank you to Rick and Maria for passing this wonderful art on to all of us.  Thank you for your newsletters, your blog, your certification program that allows us as CZT's to pass this art on to our communities, and everything else you continue to do with Zentangle!  I also want to thank everyone that shares their work, it is always so inspiring!  Creativity is contagious, so thanks for passing it on!  

Happy Valentine's Day from Loveland CO

As you can imagine, Valentine's Day is a big event in Loveland, CO.  In February of 1947 the Loveland Valentine Remailing Program was born.  Every year, hundreds of thousands of Valentines are sent to Loveland, where volunteers hand-stamp them with a Valentine verse (contest every year) and send them on to the intended recipients.  Approximately 60 volunteers gather to stamp the verse (there is a waiting list for this duty) which is sent all over the US and more than 100 countries.  Since 1962, a high school senior has been chosen to represent the program and the city as "Miss Loveland Valentine".   For the month of February,  the city authorizes the placement of red hearts with personal messages on light poles and other fixtures of the downtown and main streets throughout town.  All quite fun to read as you are riding through town (not while driving, of course). 

I made this heart sometime ago, but it is one of my favorites, so what better day to post a heart.  Happy Valentines Day, to all of you and yours! 

Challenge #8 Hearts of Healing for Artoo

This weeks challenge from Laura, I am the Diva, was to create a heart using two previous challenges, and to also send some healing thoughts to Artoo.  Artoo has been through a lot already and ended up with another challenge of his own.  So, these hearts go out to Artoo, and the entire Harms family as they concentrate on getting their little guy better and back home, hopefully soon! 

I used a double string for the big heart and then used  orbs shaped liked hearts.  The little red one is for you, Artoo!  It is surrounded by a lot of love, healing thoughts, and prayers for you!

Challenge #7 Breathe

RELAX, BREATHE, SMILE!   
When I gave my 1st couple of Zentangle classes last weekend, I wondered if I had said that too many times.  Each time the students would pick up their pens to start a new tangle and I said those words, and I could see them all take a nice relaxing breath and then a smile would cross their faces, so I don't think we can be reminded of this too many times!   Even though I didn't get to this challenge until late in the week, I was so glad to have read the challenge on Monday, because I needed to be consciously aware of my breathing all week.  It was one of those weeks, that we all have from time to time....spending a long day with a friend in the hospital oncology unit, waiting for 5 days of biopsy results to come back on a family member, a week of sub-zero weather, preparing tax returns, etc.....breathe, breathe, breathe was my mantra.  

I have practiced yoga off and on for years, and this year I convinced my husband to give it a try.  We now do a yoga CD at home 3 days a week, when we return from the gym.  Much to his surprise it has helped his back a lot!  I love that we again are reminded to focus on relaxed breathing. 

I am submitting 2 tiles to the challenge, as I said, I really needed to focus on relaxed breathing this week.  For both of them, I decided not to look at any of my pattern books, but just sit with my tiles, breathe, and do whatever patterns came to mind.  Thanks, Laura for another great and much needed challenge!

Class Fun

Recently, I had 2 really fun classes.  One on Friday, with 2 wonderful ladies, and one on Saturday, with 4 wonderful ladies.  Everyone seemed to really enjoy the class, relaxed, and had fun!  I wanted to share their great work.  In the 1st picture, I included my husband's 1st tile from the practice class he attended and mine from CZT class, just so the ladies could see more than 2 tiles when we talked about how everyone hears the same instructions, but the art work always turns out so different and unique.  That is one of the many great things about Zentangle!  Tangle on ladies!!!

White No More

While fixing up a small room in our basement as a Zentangle classroom, we needed to cover the ceiling pipes and wires with some white panel board.  When we were done we had a couple of extra end pieces.  Of course, I can't look at anything white now without wanting to tangle it!  This piece is approx.  2 3/4 ft by 4 ft and is now hanging on one of the walls.  I used black sharpie markers, and for shading I used a silver marker (that doesn't show up very well in the photos).   It was really fun, doing something so large.......maybe I'll have to try one of the other left over pieces of tile board.

  

                              

                                                   

Challenge 6 IXORUS/tangleation

Another great challenge from Laura Harms, at her I Am The Diva blog.  If you haven't seen Rick & Maria's newsletter dated 1/21/11, you need to check it out.  They introduced another new tangle, IXORUS, and a new word, tangleation.  Here's the link: Zentangle newsletter.  Well, after I made my tile, my husband and I had a dinner time discussion about tangleations and tessellations.  The calendar I bought this year for my kitchen is an M. C. Escher, who is a master at tessellations.  When I did my tile I knew that the tangle Cadent is a tessellation, so I decided to make that one a tangleation, using the basic Ixorus.  After doing that and Ixorus, I settled for Florz to complete the tangle, instead of thinking about another tangleation, which was getting to be too much "left brain" for the relaxation of Zentangle.  In our discussion we decided that a tangleation could start in any form, not just Ixorus, as long as it was a variation of an existing tangle.  Being the trouble maker he is, he posed this question:  If you made a varation of two or more tangles and put them together, would that be a super tangleation? 

Challenge #5 ORBS

Challenge #5 from Laura Harms, at I Am The Diva CZT is to tangle with ORBS.  During a very hectic week, she found herself wanting to draw circles.  I too, love drawing circles.  I find them very comforting and they always seem to soften up a tile, especially one with a lot of straight lines.  My first thought when I read the challenge was the pattern, Quipple, so I stuck with it.  I did a simple circle string and just let the ORBS flow in and around it.  Another fun challenge! 



Tangle Your Name Challenge

Another challenge-yea!!!  Linda Farmer of tanglepatterns.com has issued a challenge to tangle your name using tangles that start with the letters in your name.  Instead of using my nickname, Sue (because I wanted to do more than 3 tangles) I used my legal name of Susan. 

S hattuck
U mble
S ampson 
A vreal
N ipa

This was a lot of fun and I used a tangle that I never tried before-Sampson.  Thanks for the challenge, Linda!

Starry Eyed Suprise (Challenge #4)

If you've been following along, I Am The Diva, Laura Harms has been issuing a challenge for Zentangle lovers every Monday.  This weeks challenge was to create a zentangle with a "star" theme.  I drew some stars last night, made a lot of different tangles around them,  and then when I was almost done with my tangle, I noticed that I had tangled right over two points on one of the stars.  Try as I might, there was no saving it. :(  So today I made another one with different stars and started tangling with "Munchin" and it was flowing so well that I couldn't stop and ended up doing the tile with just that one tangle.  It just seemed to be speaking to me as the perfect night sky tangle!  :)

Classes Announced

It's finally here!  My long awaited class schedule is now posted. See the Learn Zentangle Tab for a description of classes offered and the Class/Contact Information Tab to register for a class.  If you live in Colorado, please contact me soon to sign up for a class.  I look forward to sharing the Zentangle® experience with you!

Eyes Wide Shut/Take 2

I had so much fun trying it the first time, that I had to do it a second.  I forgot to take a picture of the string, but as you can see it was different, and once again the end result was better than the string lead me to believe it would be.  :) 

Weekly Challenge #3 "EYES WIDE SHUT"

This weeks challenge posted by Laura Harms was to draw a string with your eyes shut.  Sounds easy right, well it isn't, but from seeing others finished tiles and reading their blogs,  it did teach us all a few things.   My 1st thought when seeing my string was, wow-that's the worse string I ever made.  After staring at it awhile I just decided to let it be what it was, just a string, which is just a basis for a tangle to start, nothing more.  I think we all learned that when we take it one line at a time and one tangle pattern at a time, any string can turn into something beautiful.  I remember in CZT class, someone said they had a hard time drawing strings and Maria had them come up front and she told her to close her eyes and just draw some lines.  In other words, don't stress over what the string looks like, it's just a starting point.  When I showed my husband, and told him what the challenge was, he said "Oh, I would think you would close your eyes all the time so your string is always difference".   Hmmm, maybe my strings do look too much the same?  I think I will be trying this more in the future.  Thanks Laura, great challenge! 

P.S.  When I messed up 'Nzeppel in the lower right hand corner, I just let it be the variation inside the normal pattern.  Once again, no mistakes in Zentangle, just opportunities for something different.