And So It Begins

New Year's Resolutions are always a mixed bag.  They're full of wishes and enthusiasm for the next year.  They welcome new ideas with determination and hopefulness.  Unfortunately, this is often temporary. There is a silent expiration date on resolutions for most people (yeah, me too).  That diet goes out the window within a few weeks; exercises go from full steam to lifting the remote control.

I think the key to a successful goal for the year is to pick something you actually enjoy (not power lifting or embracing your inner love of kale).  I love art.  I love Zentangle.  I love how I feel when I take a few moments each day to focus on myself.

Carol Ohl, CZT, has a fabulous Tangle-A-Day calendar that makes it perfect to achieve this goal quite easily.  Each day contains a spot just waiting for artistic expression.  She has stunning artwork and step outs along the way too.  

I have purchased several of these calendars over the years and have yet to complete one.  It's not for lack of trying or desire though.  Each year, I end up with the mistaken belief that the book needs to be something specific.  I get wrapped up in my head instead of letting the tangles guide me.  

2017 is the year!  This is the time I will embrace this book for what it is--an opportunity for me to collect my artwork in a convenient and portable location.  I've decided that each day will let me explore a new tangle so I can create a kind of tangle library for myself by the end of the year.  If I get behind, I can catch up at my convenience.  If I'm feeling very tangly, I can move ahead.  As long as I keep tangling and enjoying the Zentangle Method, it will all work out beautifully.  Sometimes I go a bit out of order because I might have an idea for a certain day (holiday, etc.).

I'll be sharing some of my completed pages here. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed creating them.

January 1-3, 2017, MomZenArtist, Emily Classon, CZT

January 16-18, 2017, MomZenArtist, Emily Classon, CZT

February 1-3, 2017, MomZenArtist, Emily Classon, CZT

Let It Snow

In November, I had the great pleasure of attending a retreat for Certified Zentangle Teachers in lovely Ogunquit, Maine.  I learned a variety of inspiring new techniques from fellow CZTs and was taken away by their creativity!  I reconnected with my tangling friends and made new ones at the fabulous Beachmere Inn.  It was a rejuvenating weekend for the body, mind, and soul.

One of my favorite new projects included techniques taught by Lynn Mead, CZT.  We explored the idea of creating open space for tangling or shading inside our tangles, convergent shading, and this stunning snowflake design.  I adored Lynn's classes and was thrilled to be able to experience her clear and inspiring teaching style.  By the way, if you'd like a fantastic tangle book for on the go, check out her Tangle Decks!

Here is the original piece that I created in Lynn's class.  It's shimmery and elegant in person; a photo doesn't do it justice.

 

I've been playing with different open snowflake designs to prepare for an upcoming winter class I'm teaching.  It's been fun to try these techniques on Opus and black Zendala tiles along with different pens and inks.  I love how the shading/coloring technique really makes the snowflakes pop.

Merry Oopsmas

I was having so much fun celebrating Christmas with my family that I completely forgot to share my cute little tangled tree with you.  Oops!  I hope I won't get coal in my stocking this year.  Since there are no mistakes with Zentangle®, maybe you'll give me a pass on this one.  Teehee.

This little tree was created on one of the fun new 3Z tiles with black, green, and red Microns and some gold and clear sparkle Gelly Rolls.  The tree was inspired by the stunning work of CZT Ann Clapper.

I hope you had a lovely holiday season and that your only tangles were art.  

Up for the Challenge

With my crazy year, I realized that it's been ages since I've enjoyed a Diva Challenge and figured that I just have to jump back in.  Sometimes I panic when I've been away from something for too long and feel like I have to pick up where I left off.  Fortunately, tangling isn't like reading a book.  I can start in the middle without getting lost in the story.  The characters are tangles, and while new ones might be added to the mix, I can always find comfort in familiar friends.  The plot may thicken, round, highlight, or even get colored in, but it's still of the choose-your-own variety.  I can start on page one, the middle, or the end and still get wrapped up in a good tangle.

I dove in to Diva Challenge 296 using the tangle Moowa by CZT Anya Ipsen.  I had seen beautiful work created with this tangle but hadn't tried it.  I was surprised because I am a huge fan of Mooka, and this looked like a flowing, wave version of the tangle.  

I picked up my 2014 Tangle-A-Day Calendar (yes, you read that date correctly) and started to practice this new-to-me tangle.  I filled a week with different attempts until I felt like I had the flow.  Why 2014?  I have several uncompleted calendars and have decided that that's okay.  In an effort to Untangle My Life, when I want to play or experiment with tangles, I pick up a calendar and use the pages as an art journal.  I add the current date and have come to accept that it's fine that it wasn't completed in chronological order.  Like my book analogy above, it's freeing to be able to start anywhere.  In the past, I would get derailed by life and not be able to keep up with the calendar and found that frustrating.  Now, I'm jumping in and finding a random page to embrace like this one from 2014:

Next I took my tangling to a tile.  I just received my first box of the new 3Z tiles and thought that Moowa looked really cool done in a spiral.  I loved how this tile came out but thought it needed something in the middle.  

I love creating zen gems and thought an onyx would look great in the center to balance out the black Tipple segments.  If only I could figure out how to create onyx.  I create a lot of gems and figured I needed a lot of black colored pencil and some highlights and went to work.  Here was one of my practice gems I created in a sketchbook.  Then it was off to fill the center of my tile!

Here's my final Moowa challenge tile:

Valentangles

Valentine's Day came and went around here as my family was busy with some massive house projects.  We enjoyed making valentines and spending quality time together despite the craziness.

I was inspired by the season to create a series of rosy gems featuring the tangle Luv-a by CZT Sharon Caforio.  I love how delicately this tangle cushions the gems.  Whenever I use Luv-a, I smile a lot!  I think this tangle is one of the sweetest ones I've ever seen, and I love to use it in a variety of pieces.  It's one of those magical tangles that looks simple at first but blossoms into a real beauty with a few simple extra strokes.

I submit these Bijou tiles as my Valentangles for the Diva challenge 254.

Gone Crazy for Molygon

Are you loving the official new tangle, Molygon, as much as I am?

At first I wasn't sure when most of my shapes resembled banana bunches. If tangles make me hungry, it defeats the purpose of keeping me from snacking!

Then I tried Molygon as a bezel around my tangled gems and was hooked. I love how the "arms" look like robotic tentacle when done this way. Here are two Bijou tiles I made for a swap:

I've been playing with this look a lot lately. Here's a Molygon gem on an ATC for another swap:

I have been playing with some fills and expect I will decorate the bananas in my regular tangles. I just can't stop making them this way...yet!

Check out the Diva challenge this week for lots of amazing interpretations of the fun new tangle at http://iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com/2016/02/weekly-challenge-253.html.

Pops of Color

Maybe it's the grayness of winter in New England, but I find myself really drawn (ha!) to this colorful gem technique.  I love tangling my tiles and adding colored pencil or marker and watching the gems come to life with highlights and dimension.  These little pops of color make me smile!

Here are some ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) that I created for a tangled gem swap with fellow artists.  For these pieces, I used Strathmore Bristol ATCs with a nice, smooth surface that worked well with the gems.  The gems were all colored with Prismacolor pencils.  

When I'm working on a color combination, I'm finding myself going through all of my pencils looking for a good mix of light and dark colors.  I used a blank Prismacolor chart, similar to this one, to help me see the colors at a glance.  It's been very helpful!

I wanted to share the first gem where I felt like I "got it" in my sketchbook.  I was elated when I was able to create such a colorful and fun look.  I think this technique takes a little practice, but it is so worth it!  The tools really make a difference too.  I still can't decide if I prefer pencils or markers, but who says I have to decide?  It's fun to play with both!

I'm Dreaming of a Gem-Filled Christmas

Inspiration can be rejuvenating.

I've been tangling off and on this fall, but I haven't posted many pieces. I still love to tangle, but the craziness of life sometimes creeps up on me (especially when it comes to recording my process).

No matter how crazy life gets, when I see something that inspires me, I pick up my Microns immediately!

There is an exciting new trend of incorporating stunning gemstones into tangling. The gems can be a focal point or a fun and colorful fill for a larger ZIA. Maybe it's because I love unique jewelry and collect funky stones, but I fell in love with this idea.

The two people who initially inspired me with this jewel of an idea are Kae Yoshino (Tangle Fan) and Eni Oken. Their work is breathtaking!

I've been experimenting with different colored pencils and a variety of tangles, but I think my favorite for the gems (so far) would be Derwent Inktense pencils.  I've also played with Prismas with different blenders.  It's fun to watch the color pop to life!

Here is one I created for a swap using Arukas and Inktense pencils. I only hope I'll be able to send this one to a lucky recipient instead of keeping it for myself.

One of my favorite pieces is this purple stone.  It was the second gemstone I created.

I see many gems in my future!  

April Showers Bring May Tangles

It seemed seasonally appropriate to offer a My Tangled Garden class now that it is spring.  We had a lovely evening growing tangles reminiscent of vines, grasses, and blooms.  Some fluttery friends even  visited the gardens.

One of the tangles we grew was Scrolled Feather by the fabulous Heather Williams.  It is a pattern that requires a little bit of extra focus, but the end results are so worth it.

While illustrating this stunning pattern, I thought about how I approach challenging tangles.  If I see an inspiring pattern, I often sit down to try my hand at it.  Some flow from my hands easily, while some take a little bit of practice.  Scrolled Feather, though beautiful and elegant, took me a couple of tries to feel the flow.  I think that if a pattern speaks to you, it is worth it to try a little longer to make it work for you.  We all have things in life that we have had to practice until we became comfortable with them.  Like walking or riding a bike, sometimes tangling or practicing certain patterns can benefit from a little extra perseverance and focus.  The results will be worth it!

The Renaissance Reveal

I had the pleasure of teaching a fantastic Renaissance Zentangle® class recently.

We tangled our first tile with some familiar and new patterns exploring the use of black and brown Micron pens.  I asked everyone to look at the tangled tile, and I noticed they weren't quite impressed… yet.

Then the magic started to happen.  As each student applied shading, highlights, and colored contour, the tiles transported us back to the Renaissance days of chiaroscuro art.  The tiles came to life filled with vibrant texture all created by different pencils.  The room filled with oohs and aahs!  I am still in love with the Renaissance tiles for this very reason.

I think the tiles make it easier to begin to play with color in a way that is warm and comforting without needing 100 colored pencils, although that is wonderfully fun too.  I love how these tiles pop with just a little added highlight.  It becomes fun to adorn tangles and to see how dramatic the tiles can become.

Check out the amazing tiles that everyone created:

Finding Color in the Darkness

I've been battling a nasty cold and haven't had much energy for anything let alone whining on the couch.  Not very zen.  I can get pretty down when I don't feel well, and I sometimes find it hard to see the light at the end of the tissue box.

Today I am feeling slightly more human.  

I left the house.  

I ate normal food.  

I tangled.  

If anything will get me out of my funk, it is tangling.

I had been inspired by several posts on the new Square One: Purely Fun Zentangle® Facebook group inspired by the fabulous Meredith Yuhas, CZT.  After such inspiration, I knew what would make me feel better--playing with color!  I used a black Zentangle® tile and filled it with some Fife and Fescu then colored areas with Prismacolor pencils.  I added a little highlight in the intersections with some white charcoal pencil.

This piece makes me happy.  It reminds me that there is always color and light even on the darkest days.  Even if I feel horrible, I can find comfort that it is temporary and that I will feel better, brighter, and happier soon.

Insane for Renaissance

If Einstein's line about insanity (expecting different results from doing the same thing repeatedly) is true, then I am insane for Renaissance tiles.

I love the variety and depth these Zentangle® tiles provide. It is wonderfully fun to use different pens and pencils to achieve such interesting and vintage looking pieces. 

I've always been inspired by the art of Dr. Meredith Yuhas, CZT. Some of her recent Renaissance work inspired these in me:

Happy 200 to the Diva

Our beloved Diva reached a huge milestone this week--her 200th challenge!  We were invited to create a monotangle with one of our go-to tangles.

I immediately started adding Flux leaves in the center, randomly building outward. I used to not like Flux because I hadn't found my groove with it. Surprisingly, while teaching the pattern in a class, I admired how my friend and student interpreted the leafy shape. Ever since, I have created my Flux like she did--a looser, more leaf or teardrop shape than a comma shape. A new love was born. 

I especially love drawing Flux as a flower or in random spurts with a string. I enjoy letting the petals float, swim, or bloom in various directions. 

It only seemed fitting to think about inspiration for this challenge. I hope that I inspire others when I teach. I am always fascinated by how inspired I am with each of my students. 

Happy 200th, Laura!  Thank you for inspiring us all!

I couldn't stop myself after this one and created a couple of colorful Flux flower ATCs too.  I think I'll be sending these to some of my CZT friends.  

Ready for Renaissance

I think I am in love.

Okay, I know I'm in love with my husband, our daughter, tangling, and many things, but I think I have found a new love.  When Zentangle® first came out with the Renaissance tiles, I wasn't too sure about them.  I found the paper a bit less enjoyable than the white tiles and wasn't as excited about my early attempts.  Of course, that didn't stop me!

I've been playing with color and shading more, thanks to classes from fellow CZTs, and I have been enjoying trying things in different ways.  Now I am loving the Renaissance tiles.  I like how I can take patterns that I've used for years and make them look completely different with a little boost of color.  I think the combination of black, brown, and white create an interesting depth and richness in the piece.  It is fun to play with shadows and highlights through colored pencils, and I get to play with my beloved Prismacolor pencils more too!

I've added a couple of tiles I created recently to get ready for my class in January 2015.  If you're local, I hope you'll come see how fun these tiles can be.  It's a great way to start playing with color for anyone who is interested in dabbling.  

Pattern Peeping: Featherfall

I spy with my little eye, a pattern that looks leafy.  

I found this cool leaf, and it reminded me of one of my favorite patterns, Featherfall.

This piece was created on a colored tile created by Sue Jacobs, CZT.  It was fun to play with colored pens and colored pencils on a different background even if the scan doesn't do the color justice.

Weaving Tangles

"O, what a tangled web we weave ..."

I love tangle patterns that look woven!  They look so difficult to construct and usually only have a simple line or two like Auraknot.  

For this week's Diva challenge, a duotangle, we were tasked with using the patterns Auraknot and Mooka.  I like both patterns because they can be so stunning when they come together.  

The same day I went to start my tile, I received my new pack of Sakura Moonlight Gelly Roll fine point pens.  Of course I had to try them!  They were awesome to use on the black Zendala tiles.  I love how shimmery they look and appreciated the finer line I could achieve.  I ended up using four colors to create this piece.  This was a fun way to play!

Just Try It

I was cleaning out a bunch of unused craft supplies for a recent yard sale, when I came across some pretty mulberry paper.  Instead of packing it to sell or recycling the scraps, I wondered if I could tangle on it.

I thought the lovely tan with brown flecks needed a tangled garden on it.  I added some color with Irojiten colored pencils.

I think this delicate piece is rather pretty.  I may have to try some more mulberry tangling.

If you find a new paper or other material, you may have found a diamond in the rough or, at least, a great new surface to tangle.

Boogie Woogie Bugles

I love the UMT (Use My Tangle) challenges when the Diva poses them.  It's fun to play with new patterns created by fellow tanglers.  This week, we are asked to test out bugles by Joyce Evans.  It's a pattern that goes together fairly easily and looks like it has a lot of possibilities for tangleations.  You could made the initial bean shapes small or large, this altering the size of your bugle cones.  Then there are all the filler options for the cone and/or the negative spaces in between.

I grabbed a Renaissance Zentangle® tile and started with a wide border.  I wanted to try Bugles as a border.  I didn't worry about where they would meet in the corner and just worked on one side at a time.  I visualized the pattern a little and chose to do one central stack of Bugles.  I left the pattern unfilled while I worked on the rest of the tile because I wanted to see if an idea spoke to me.  

Next I worked inward.  I created a bit of a crescent moon border that immediately made me want to use Tripoli.  That's a big deal for me!  Tripoli is one of those patterns that often makes me cringe.  Patterns that I think look better with a little more precision sometimes stress me out a bit.  If a pattern causes me stress, I immediately avoid it in favor of anything that helps to promote and continue my relaxing artistic journey.

I have to say I'm pleased with how Tripoli came out.  After a training by Zentangle's Molly Hollibaugh, I am no longer afraid of Tripoli.  Her suggestion of creating a triangle, then adding an aura of one line really worked for me.  I just built one triangle at a time not worrying about if they stayed the same size or got a bit wonky at times.  Collectively, I knew that all of the triangles would pull together as a great team.

I decided to finish up with an inner aura in the negative spaces of Bugles to carry the Tripoli feel a bit further.  I love how even a new pattern can call to mind other patterns.  It's like books and movies--there are no new plots.  Everything is just an exciting new reinterpretation of another creation.  I love how patterns evolve and morph enough to become something new while being reminiscent of something else.  It shows how universal patterns are and how we all have similar yet different views of the world.  I find it rather comforting to think of everyone having a similar exposure to shapes and patterns.  We may speak different languages, but we all have fundamental exposure and experience with shapes.  

I ended with some shading to recess the Tripoli area and to highlight the central border.  I used an Irojiten colored pencil that closely matched the brown Micron pen.  I love playing with blacks and browns (and often whites) on these tiles.

Cinderella Swirls

My daughter has been bitten by the princess bug and has started her journey into the world of Disney. After falling in love with Frozen and The Little Mermaid, she wanted to try watching Cinderella. I had not seen the movie in a decade or two and was surprised by some of he animation. Sure, it wasn't nearly as impressive as Frozen in storytelling, animation, visual effects, or music, but I enjoyed it in different ways.

It is hard to be impressed with older animation when faced with the computer-animated beauty of a movie like Frozen, but older films remind us of earlier advances. Each movie, Disney or otherwise was remarkable in its day.

Movies make us nostalgic. They can also make us see new sources of beauty--like tangles.

While watching Cinderella, I couldn't help notice all of the swirled patterns used throughout the story. The railings in all of the staircases had a serpentine structure. Cinderella's pumpkin coach blossoms with swirls and curls as vines transform into wheels in an elegant and flowing fashion. And of course, Cinderella mops the massive tile floor covered in the epitome of tile patterns, Florz. You can catch a glimpse of some of the images on the Cinderella photo gallery page.

When I saw this week's Diva challenge was to play with circles, I immediately had to tangle Cinderella's carriage. I drew three circles for the carriage and two wheels. I tangled in white and filled with colored pencils. Crescent Moon seemed fitting in a circle-inspired piece.

I love how tangling can be random and evolving or can be inspired by something specific.

I am drawing my magic want for some tangling magic for you... Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo!

And the Rain, Rain, Rain Fell Down, Down, Down.

Since my life is a Disney movie, I must quote a favorite song from Winnie the Pooh in my title.

This week's Diva challenge was an easy one for me--playing with the official Zentangle® pattern Rain.  I like this pattern and think it can be a good one for tangleations or variations.  The construction is fairly easy, and it's a wonderful way to relax with some very simple auras and lines.

I picked up my tile and immediately pictured a Rain-styled border.  I drew the structure but didn't fill in the triangular shapes until I saw how the rest of my tile developed.  I then knew I had to draw one of my favorite patterns, which starts out with a mini Rain, Cat-Kin by Mimi Lempart, CZT.  Next I filled in some big pearls in my border and loved how those came out!

I think I should have stopped there.  I'm not always good at knowing when a piece is done.  I know it doesn't matter as long as I am having fun and enjoying my sense of relaxed focus and creativity.  I think I got hung up on the fact that I was using a Renaissance Zentangle® tile and thought I should manage to fit some brown in too.  There are no rules, Emily!  After drawing my first brown background line, I knew I'd taken it one line too far for my taste.  I was having fun exploring, so I kept going (that's a good thing!).  I added more skinny Rain and filled the centers with tiny lines.  Still not knowing when enough was enough, I thought it needed more contrast and added some white Rain bolts without the aura since the white pen was thick enough.

I think the piece is interesting, but I still wish I had trusted my instinct to stick to the border and Cat-Kin.  Maybe I could have created an inner border with Rain in the brown pen to satisfy my idea that the Renaissance tile had to have brown.  To quote my daughter, I was just being silly.

I sometimes have to remind myself to let the rain wash over my preconceived notions sometimes and just let the tile take me where it wants to go.  Or when I do let it take me, like in this tile, I hope I can  remember to enjoy the journey even if my ideas get a little wet along the way.