Diva #118 and Bright Owl # 59

It's a great thing that I love my Zentangle job, so to speak, because I have been knee deep in it for 2 straight days and will probably be doing the same today. Getting ready for classes is a lot of work and if you love your job, that means a lot of fun as well. I have been working on and off on a few classes for later this summer, and with three days with no other plans, I knew this would be a good time to make a serious dent in what is still on the TO DO list.

Here is the before and after of this week's dare, #59 with The Bright Owl. The center of this zendala has both Auraknot and Hollibaugh. Other patterns are Springkle, Cruffle, and Fescu. A little linework finished it off.

Here at the bottom is not this week's challenge, rather Diva's challenge, # 118, but better late than never, here it is. I can't say what I did here would ever be filed in the "my best work" folder. but it never was a contest, so I guess I am good, so to speak. On challenge 118, we were supposed to use Kukes, and this is what I came up with, using a stencil I had to create the string. I carry around a wallet of tiles that I have prestrung with my stencils, and this just happened to be one I was carrying when I had a break at work the week I started it.

Ebony and Ivory

This week the diva has an ebony and ivory challenge, challenge 119. The idea is to try to do half black and half white, basically. My piece kinda happened by accident, and kinda not. I started with a mandala  from the Bright Owl's challenge 56 that didn't print properly on my computer. You know how it is probably when your printer is having a bad day.  In order not to waste the paper, I decided to go over the lines which were too light, with a marker. It was a Sakura Pigma Pen 10, just like Apprentice pens that come in size 5, only broader. it was so broad that I thought continuing it with finer pens might not look right, so I just decided to do the entire zendala with the same pen, and here is the result. It might not be a total 50/50 balance, but close. I used footlites, paradox, socc, beadlines, and some detail work.

Zendala Dare #58

Have I mentioned that I love tangling zendalas? This is my version of Zendala Dare #58, courtesy of Erin at the Bright Owl; the before and the after. Enjoy.

Intermediate Zentangle Class Announcement!

Above are samples of the tangles we will be working on in my next Zentangle® class: Line Work, Dots, and Boxes. We will be doing primarily variations of Auraknot, Paradox, 8's and Block'd, the latter two being two of my own tangle designs. The pictures are representative of what we will do, but not the whole story, so to speak. We'll be playing around to see what happens when we do the tangles: Auraknot, Paradox, 8's and Block'd in different shapes and with different patterns inside some. It's gonna be fun for sure!

Place:  The Occasional Artist   7150 North 57th Dr. Glendale, AZ 85301       http://www.theoccasionalartist.com/ (623) 847-2215 Call the store to register for classes.
Saturday, June 22nd 2-5 pm and repeating
Saturday, July 13 10:30 am to 1:30 pm
Intermediate Level Tangling $30.
Photos here:
http://janeeileen.blogspot.com/2013/05/intermediate-zentangle-class.html
We will be exploring variations of tangles including official tangles: Auraknot and Paradox, as well as Jane's new tangles: Block'd and 8's.

ART QUILTING STUDIO SUMMER 2013 IS ON NEWSSTANDS NOW.

This is the cover of the magazine in which my latest article, Scrappy Chic Recycled Quilt and Doily Books, has been published. It wasn't supposed to be out until June 1, but Debbie Bick at Frenzy Stamper in Scottsdale, AZ let me know she got her store copies for sale today. Maybe mine will be in the mail in the next few days. I did see an online private preview before it was published, but nothing beats holding the actual magazine in your hands. Can't wait!

Zendala Dare 57 and more Tangle A Day

 

First, I want to share my work for Zendala Dare 57 from Erin at The Bright Owl. I decided to do the whole thing with just one stroke, the same strokes that Erin uses in a pattern she calls Socc. I do this so much, I am lucky there isn't a tax on it. First is the template for the week and then my take on it. I used mostly the lines from the original mandala, only needing to add a few extra lines to make some of the more rectangular shapes triangular. I believe Socc begins with all rectangles since by mathematical definition squares are a subgroup rectangles. Erin is using a guest host this week, a fellow CZT Genevieve Crabe. Genevieve has an amazing blog with  the Weekly Roundup  featuring all kinds of good links for tangles and such. She also is the creator of mandala stencils and tangle organizers.   The last photo is a page from one of the Tangle A Day calendars I am working on. I was a year behind, so to speak, when I started, so I am trying to do two in one year. I am up to May in one and March in the other. I meant to post this the other day when I posted other calendar pages but this one mysteriously got lost in the shuffle. You can find out more about Carole's calendars here. It has been a while since I completed the calendar page, but I am thinking the floating hearts may have been inspired by something someone else did. I can't remember who now. If anyone recognizes it, let me know. I like to give credit where credit is due.

Pages from my Tangle A Day Calendar

The first time I saw the Tangle A Day calendar, created by Carole Ohl, a fellow CZT and fabulous artist, I knew I had to have one. I actually got the 2012 and the 2013 both in 2013. I was thinking I would "practice on 2012 and do better "stuff" in 2013. Funny how things turn out, though. I actually like my 2012 pages better. Long story, happy ending, I guess. I have been working on the pages for months but have not posted any until this week. Here are a few.

The Diva's Weekly Challenge 117

 Schway! I love this tangle. I did this with Micron and Prismacolor pencils. I have rarely used color, but I have a feeling for several reasons, including this one, that that is getting ready to change. The Diva posted her 117th challenge today and the challenge was to use Schway, so here it is.

Zendala Dare 56

I start a lot of challenges, but I don't always get them posted. Last night I finished my "work" for Zendala Dare #56, a weekly zendala challenge from Erin, aka The Bright Owl. The top image is the blank version we were given, and what I did with it is at the bottom. There was a twist this time; we were challenged to use only pencil. I chose a mechanical pencil thinking it would be bettern than a standard pencil that would probably leave a broader stroke as I worked,and even though the tip did get a bit wider at the tip as I worked, I don't think it was too much.. The best part of the challenge was how easy it was to do shading since it was all built in. If I had it all to do over again, there is section I wish I would have chosen a different tangle for, even though I really like the tangle in general. I might just try this challenge again.

Student Work!

Working with some of my students recently, I issued a challenge that they each choose a word and either tangle the letters or the white space behind the letters. Chipboard letters were offered to be traced around for the word, for those who wished to do so. Each participant worked on this challenge, and this is how they all turned out! From top to bottom, this work was done by Linda Wilson (GW), Nanzie (care), Jean Chaney (fabric), and Judy Galbraith (serenity and just do it) and then mine (breathe). this idea was inspired by several similar examples I have seen in various places including Carole Ohl's Tangle A Day calendar.

  
                                     Are my students amazing or what?

8's Tangleations

These are the tangleations for 8's I have trying to do for a few days, only to get sidetracked on my other 8's, 8's Parte Dos, Parte Tres, and Parte Quatro. I added these tangleations to the original post for 8's, but I know there are readers who read forward on timelines and not backward, so I am posting them here as well. Enjoy!

The original version of 8's with the stepouts can be found here, 8's Parte Dos is here, and 8's Parte Tres and 8's Parte Quatro can be found here.

Mandala/Zendala Love

I do love tangling, but I think I love zendalas best! I get some of my patterns from challenges, some from Dover clip art books and some from stencils in addition to occasionally drawing one from scratch. The top two are pages from Dover and the rest are from stencils. Here are a few samples of what I did this week, some very simple, others not as much. I like playing with different sizes of pens to get different effects.

New Zentangle Class Announcement: Intermediate/Advanced Level Class!

Some students have expressed interest in more advanced tangling, so we are going to make that happen!
Place: The Occasional Artist 7150 North 57th Dr. Glendale, AZ 85301 http://www.theoccasionalartist.com/(623) 847-2215 Call the store to register for classes.

Saturday, July 13 10:30 am to 1:30 pm
Class 6: Intermediate/Advanced Level Tangling $30.
Experience with beginner level tangling should be strongly considered before enrolling in this class.
Photos coming soon!
We will be exploring variations of tangles including official tangles: Auraknot and Paradox, as well as Jane's new tangles: Block'd and  8's.

Students should bring: 1 or more Black Micron pens size 01 or whatever size(s) you prefer, a tortillion or paper stump and a #2 or softer pencil (not a mechanical pencil) These items are available for purchase at the store (or me at class time, in the event they sell out at the last minute, since Zentangle items are selling like hot cakes there right now).

Materials Provided by Teacher: tiles for Zentangles , paper, take home handouts with directions for each tangle

8's Parte Tres (Part Three) and 8's Parte Quatro (Part Four)

So, I woke up this morning ready to be creative, the time when I seem to have my best ideas.  I set in again on my 8's. I really did aim to do the tangleations for just plain 8's, but once again, something else happened. I created stepouts for  8's Parte Tres (Parte 3) and 8's Parte Quatro (Part 4).  Both 8's Parte Tres and 8's Parte Quatro have the same first three steps as 8's Parte 2. You will probably be able to see in the photos that I reused the drawings from before and just added on new titles. After steps 1, 2, and 3, something magical happens, however, that puts a new spin on it. Here are photos as well as a dot guide for anyone who is struggling but determined to get their dots lined up for maximum eye appeal. I am not suggesting you do your tangling on graph paper, just trying to give a better idea on dot placement.
I do apologize for not being a better photographer. Really do. But, I think these are good enough for you to get the idea. Of course, if I ever do anything more serious than a blog post, I would have polished photos. Really again. If  you try them out, happy tangling!

Update: the tangleations for the original version of 8's are now done and posted. You can see the original 8's here.  8's Parte Dos is here.

8's Parte Dos (Part 2)

Today, I decided to get back to my newest tangle: 8's. While trying out some tangleations, I got sidetracked on a twist on the original bones of the 8's pattern. I am calling this 8's Parte Dos (Spanish for Part 2). The first two steps are the same as in 8"s, but the rest is different. I had enough time to do some tangleations of this one, so I am including those now. I am sure there could be many more tangleations and would love to see what anyone else comes up with if they try it. If you want to post a link to your creation in the comments section, that would be great. Since I have now been tangling for about 5 hours straight, I will have to get to the tangleations for the original version of 8's later. Maybe tomorrow!

Update 5.4.13 There is now an 8's Parte Tres (Part 3) and Parte Quatro (Part 4) here in addition to the original 8's here.
UPDATE 11.25.15 : IF you would like to join a facebook group where we share our love of tangling in journals, here is a link:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/761892257271670/
A couple of weeks ago, I started a new tangling group on facebook and everyone is welcome to come take a peek and see what is going on. As of today, almost 500 people are there looking at the art of the members, leaving comments, and posting their art. There are weekly ideas for participation, but they are optional,.
Starting Dec. 1 and running all the way through Dec. 25, 2015, there will be one or more tangle artists with one or more of their tangles, ones that have never appeared on tanglepatterns.com. They will be providing the stepouts for these tangles, so if you are a tangler, you won't want to miss this.
Besides all that fun, members post their work when they like, whatever tangling they have in their journals, so that is always fun, too.
NEWS:

My Newest Tangle: 8's

I found a pattern similar to this one day when I was surfing the web. It appeared to have some other shape than a circle in the dark spots, and it took me a while to get it deconstructed. A long while. Eventually,  I found it much, much easier to make this similar design using dots instead.  Then I had to figure out if it was really different than Mi2 by Mimi Lempart, a fellow CZT. After looking closely and about ruining my eyesight in the process, I realized that Mi2 has 4 black ovalish spots that are the "bones" of her tangle, and this one has 8 round spots, thus the name, 8's. I started the stepouts all by hand, but I will admit that after I drew step 3, I made copies of it on my printer, so my stepouts would be conisistent, but for the tile at the bottom, I went back to doing it freehand. I want to try out a lot more things with it like making tangleations, both by altering the space between dots and adding more details to it as it is in. Right now, my eyes need some rest, and I am anxious to share it. Enjoy!

Update 5.5.13

Today I woke up determined to get some tangleations done for this 8's tangle and not let me get sidetracked on anything else. These are the results.  For anyone reading this for the first time, there are now 3 more tangles: 8's Parte Dos and 8's Parte Tres and 8's Parte Quatro.

UPDATE 11.25.15 : IF you would like to join a facebook group where we share our love of tangling in journals, here is a link:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/761892257271670/
A couple of weeks ago, I started a new tangling group on facebook and everyone is welcome to come take a peek and see what is going on. As of today, almost 500 people are there looking at the art of the members, leaving comments, and posting their art. There are weekly ideas for participation, but they are optional,.

Starting Dec. 1 and running all the way through Dec. 25, 2015, there will be one or more tangle artists with one or more of their tangles every single day, ones that have never appeared on tanglepatterns.com. They will be providing the stepouts for these tangles, so if you are a tangler, you won't want to miss this.
Besides all that fun, members post their work when they like, whatever tangling they have in their journals, so that is always fun, too.