What To Do on a Snowy Day

Tangle, of course!

Forget the stress of driving in the messy slush.  Relax after finding your front steps. Curl up with your favorite hot beverage and your tangling supplies.

Here's another piece in my latest experimentation with Prismacolor pencils on black tiles.  It's really fun to see the color pop.  I kept layering and layering the colors to see what would happen.  I love my Poke Leaf here.

I've decided on a new chop for my work too.  :-)  It's hard to read in the pencil though.

Before last night's storm, I had the opportunity to share a Beyond the Basics class with three of my regular tanglers.  We went over some more intricate patterns, played with shading techniques, and talked about strings.  Check out their tiles and their first time playing with Paradox, Zander, Betweed, and other fun patterns.

During the class, I learned that it's easier to do some things than to explain some things.  Paradox is one of my favorite patterns, and I do it pretty regularly.  For some reason, when I teach it, I get all mixed up.  It reminds me of when I used to teach aerobics and had to tell everyone to turn left while I turned right.    I think trying to tangle from the side throws me off on an intricate pattern, and working on a larger pad that isn't as easy to turn makes it a bit tricky too.  I think Paradox is much easier when I turn my tile.  Nonetheless, they got it!  :-)

Things Aren't Always Black or White

Sometimes they're multicolored!

I prefer to tangle on white tiles or lighter background papers, but I think it's an interesting challenge to work on the black Zentangle® tiles.  I've had fun playing with the white pen and pencil on the black paper for an inverted look.

After seeing some beautiful colored pencil work on black tiles by CZT Kate Lamontagne, I was inspired to get out my Prismacolor pencils for the afternoon.

I've had a minor cold for a few days and just haven't felt as cheery as usual.  I'm eating better these days, so this cold isn't kicking my butt as much as it might have in the past, but it's still not fun to be sick.  Instead of wallowing in my misery, I decided to add a little brightness to my day with some colorful creativity.

First I tangled a butterfly with just my Prismacolor pencils.  I think the end result is cheerful, but I still prefer the texture and overall look of the black ink on white paper (with or without adding color).  So far I don't think the white pen or the colored pencils fill in the black paper as well, but that may be operator error.  I will be playing with these colored pencils to get more practice.

Next I wanted to play with my new Mooka design inspired by CZT Kelley Kelly's fabulous interpretation of this pattern.  I've been fascinated by Mooka but have struggled with getting a flow that feels right to me.  After looking at some of Kelley's beautiful pieces, I realized that I can be a little looser with where my Mooka bulbs start and end.

I started with some blue Bunzo in the middle and found my Mooka bursting out from the center.  I added some aura around the Mooka bits as a filler, and now I love this pattern even more!  I finally found my Mooka groove.

Thank you to all of my fellow CZTs, tanglers, and friends for inspiring me in new ways each day!

Putting It Together

Do you work best individually or as part of an team?  

I have always been a person who loves to create and work around other people.  I find it inspiring to learn from others, to feed off their energy, and to be motivated by new ideas.  

When I tangle, I'm usually working alone or teaching a class for others.  I love practicing alone because I get the greatest personal focus and relaxation.  I adore teaching because I get to share my passion and be inspired by my students.  I truly learn something new every time I teach.  My practice has been enriched by those around me, and for that I am thankful.

The Zentangle® method has freed me from a lot of fears and my nagging perfectionism.  I feel free to play, to take risks, and to explore new ideas.  If it doesn't work, or if I don't like the end result, it's only a small tile and a little of my time.  Now that I can be more realistic, there's always something about the piece that I do like--a particular tangle, my shading, or just adding to my practice of this wonderful art.  

I enjoy participating in weekly swaps (thanks to the Diva) to step outside of my tangling box.  I get to play with new strings, learn new patterns, and find different ways of thinking about my work.

Another fun way to try something new is a swap.  I participated in a fun bookmark swap at the end of the year.  It was inspiring to make the bookmarks and to explore the creativity in the pieces I received from other tanglers.

I'm looking forward to attending the Tangle U CZT workshop for the classes, the opportunity to connect with fellow CZTs, and to be inspired!  Our homework project was to complete a set of curvy ensemble tiles from Zentangle.com to swap.  The nine tiles are pre-strung with a curvy design to fill in.  People approach the tiles differently--some tangle each tile individually, and some, like I did, assemble the ensemble and tangle it into one large piece of art.  When the pieces are swapped, the participants each receive eight pieces from other CZTs.  The pieces meld together into a worldwide, collaborative piece of art.  I can't wait to see everything together, although I will admit that I'm a little sad to break this set up.

Here is my ensemble set in stages.  It only took two days for me to complete because I was having so much fun.  I think that listening to an amazing audiobook, Alice Bliss by Laura Harrington, helped me keep tangling too!

It's a Bumpy Ride!

Sometimes life can be a bumpy ride with ups, downs, and potholes.  How do you handle the journey?  Do you enjoy the adventure?  Do you worry about how long it takes or each detour?

This week's Diva challenge was to use Rick and Maria's new, unnamed technique of adding bumps to the string.  It's a very cool look and was a lot of fun to do.

It took me a while to figure this one out and then to get it scanned and online, but that's ok.  The ride was still worth it for me.  :-)

My tip for using this technique is to fill in the bands a section at a time.  When I added Bales, for example, I worked on the flat sections first and then did the bumped ares.  I did the same thing for each piece thinking that if this were fabric or fondant, the image would be skewed a bit and wouldn't flow directly from the flat part up over the bumps.  I think that gave the technique more dimension and made the bumped areas stand out more.

I also think that some heavy shading on each side of the bumps adds to the effect.  I used a sharp pencil for this.

I'm pretty thrilled with out this tile came out.  I love trying new things along my Zentangle® journey.

Rick and Maria are looking for names for this new technique.  My suggestions were:  Speedbumps, Bumpers, or Croquet.

Better Late Than Never

In my time-lapsed few weeks, I didn't get two a couple of The Bright Owl Zendala Dares.  I had started to work on #47, but it took me a long time to finish it, and I don't know why.

The challenge was fine and wasn't a barrier to creating.  I transferred the template immediately and did my border tangle (Geisel, a new favorite by Debra Castaldi).

Then I stopped and lost time.

Per the challenge I "removed" some of the second set of ovals for a wider area of Huggins.  I had just taught this pattern and had it on the brain.  I love how it looks!

Then I stopped and lost time and focus.

I added some 'Nzeppel.

Then I stopped and completely forgot about finishing my piece.

Like with any activity or hobby that a person loves, the greatest benefit comes from regular practice.  I allowed my chaotic life to take over for a while, and I feel like I lost myself.

I finished my Zendala, worked on another challenge, and got back on track!  I love that I can tangle myself back to a more grounded place.  In the past, I could get derailed for a while during diets or exercise plans.  I'm human, and it's ok to get off track a bit.  I'm just thankful to have a way to snap myself back into myself immediately.

Interestingly, this is the first time in my life that I've successfully lost weight, exercised, felt better, and felt more relaxed and centered.  The Zentangle method is a big part of that (along with my wonderful nutritionists at NWHS).  It's all falling into place.  :-)

So here is my better-late-than-never Zendala Dare:

Where Have I Been?

Do you ever have one of those weeks that you know lapsed only because your smart phone, computer, or cable connection tell you that the date has, in fact, progressed a week?  Hmm, come to think of it, it may have been two weeks.  I can only blame a little of my fogginess on the time change since an hour doesn't typically cause weeks to disappear.

I have been busy with work and other projects.  My daughter and I have spent a lot of fun time together, and she's been a great helper with my exercises and errands.  It's been a good few weeks, but I don't know where they've gone!

Normally, I'd just chalk it up to my busy life, but I'm somewhat bothered by this perceived loss of time.  I think my problem is that I haven't tangled much at all.  To go from daily tangling of some sort to missing multiple weekly challenges and struggling to complete one piece was a real deviation for me.  I feel like I've lost my center and don't exactly know where I am.

Sometimes I'm amazed by how intensely the Zentangle® method has changed my life.  I love it, and apparently, I need it.  Some people need to hop back onto the diet train, get back to the gym, or head back to church.  I need to pick up a pen and play to regain myself!

I couldn't sleep well last night, so I gave myself permission to use the awake time to find my center again.  I finished my Diva challenge for last week.  Laura, the Diva, challenged us with a UMT (Use My Tangle) challenge featuring Whyz by CZT Jane MacKugler.  After playing with the pattern a bit, and totally goofing it up, I have to say I really enjoyed it.  This one is really fun to play with and has a lot of tangellation possibilities.

Since my life has been in a vacuum lately, I missed the Diva's weekly slideshow, but I'm still going to share my end result.  I had fun working on this calendar page and like how it came out.  I played with a few new-to-me patterns too.  The shading doesn't show as well here, but you get the idea.  Disregard the fact that I'm still working in my 2012 calendar.  Oops!

I'm already feeling more like myself today and ready to tangle!  Who's with me?

Paradoxical

I had a blast at this month's Tangle Club with five fellow tanglers.  Everyone worked on beautiful pieces, practiced patterns, and shared ideas.  I think it's truly wonderful when creative people get together.  Inspiring things happen.

Between club sessions, I'm giving everyone a mini challenge to practice new skills or patterns.  After giving a demo of one of my favorite patterns, Paradox, I decided to make this the monthly challenge. I love how this pattern morphs from one shape to many others.  It's hard to see where the pattern starts and ends!  

Feel free to share your Paradox pieces with me too!  I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

If you are interested in regular tangle challenges, I highly encourage you to visit the Diva's weekly challenge.  Laura offers a variety of amazing challenges each week to help us all stimulate and stretch our tangling minds.  They're open to all no matter how long you've been tangling!  Jump in on the current challenge, or start at the beginning.  Either way, you'll learn a lot and have a great time trying new things!