Happy Pretty Egg Day!

Happy pretty egg day one and all!

We're not into coloring eggs in this household due to an egg allergy, so I thought I'd tangle one up quickly before using it for some gluten free spice muffins.  :-)  I used a Sharpie on the egg.  It's fun to work on a different shape sometimes.

Tending My Garden

Woohoo!  I just booked a session to teach my new "My Tangled Garden" class this summer.  I am really in love with the technique and am looking forward to sharing it with others.

Here's my latest in my garden series...

It was hard not to add a dragonfly in the background, but I think this garden belongs to the sweet little ladybug perched on a vine.

I had a lot of relaxing fun creating Cat-Kin and Featherfall in this ZIA; I can get lost in Featherfall.  I found a good frame, and I'll likely cut the piece down a bit to fit.  It's a good thing the middle is my favorite part!

Oh Happy Day!

One of the thousand things I love about my Zentangle® journey is the wonderful community of artists I have joined.  I enjoy connecting with my talented peers online and at workshops.  It is inspiring and fun to share our art, stories, and passion for this art form with each other.

I spent a little time with my new friend CZT Karen Izzi at Tangle U this weekend.  Karen has a wonderful spirit and sense of humor... even if she does like snakes.  :-)  Today is her birthday so I wanted to tangle up a colorful bouquet for her inspired by Marie Browning's class.

"Oh Happy Day... Enjoy It In Every Way...."   Happy birthday, Karen!

This ZIA is tangled with 01 and 08 black Microns and colored in with Tombow markers and a water pen.  Such fun to create!  I think I'm in love with drawing dragonflies.  I really can't believe I did lettering that I actually like.

My Tangled Garden

Speaking of finding my groove, I am in love love love with creating these tangled gardens thanks to an amazing lesson by Meredith Yuhas at Tangle U.

I see many gardens in my future....

This piece is considered a ZIA, or Zentangle®-Inspired Art, because it is not done in the traditional black on white on the 3.5" square Zentangle tile.  I love working with the tiles and expanding into new directions with my art.

This piece is created with the standard Micron pen on Toned tan paper.  Shading is with a darker pencil along with highlights with a white pencil.  I added some metallic colored pencils in the little critters too. The critters and a few pieces were inspired by Marie Browning's class also at Tangle U.

At first I thought my Mooka/Flux morph in the middle was too big, but after filling with some Bunzo and shading, I am more at peace with it.  It's an overgrown garden, but I can't imagine what I'd weed!  I just hope there aren't any invasive species in there.  The pollinators seem to like it.

MonoMooka

I'm so glad I have found my Mooka groove since the Diva has given us a monotangle (one pattern!) challenge for this week's challenge.

I bought some lovely metallic pens and pencils this weekend at Tangle U that look stunning on the black Zentangle® tiles.  The pens are Pentel Slicci, and the pencils are from Caran d'Ache.

I love Mooka now.  I couldn't say that a few months ago or even a few weeks ago!  I think my experience is a good example on why we shouldn't give up on a pattern or on ourselves.  We all have something with which we might struggle a bit.  Does that mean we throw in the towel and give up, or do we just try a little harder?  Creating Zentangle art, or doing anything else you love, requires practice. Practice is not perfect, and I don't believe that practice makes perfect.  I believe that practice leads us to be more comfortable with our efforts and to feel confident in our abilities.  There's always room to learn and to grow, so if we were perfect, where would we set our sights?

I, too, struggle with some of the patterns, but I don't give up on them.  I may focus on patterns that I prefer or want to learn, but I always go back to the tricky ones.  I practice, I get inspired by others' artwork, and I play until I find the right groove.  Thanks to CZT Kelley Kelly, I found my groove with Mooka, and I officially love this pattern now.  I just needed to make it work for me, and I needed to get over my issue with it.

Here is this week's Diva challenge, my MonoMooka:

100th Post: Thanks for reading!

While uploading my Tangle U photos, I saw that I had hit my 100th post on this blog!  I figured I should do something to commemorate the milestone.  Where better to have this happen than at a creative, stimulating, and fun weekend away!

I am so thankful to my wonderful family for freeing me up so I could attend this weekend.

I appreciate all of the hard work that the planners, teachers, and vendors put into making this event such a success.

I am impressed and inspired by my fellow CZTs.  People are doing creative things with their Zentangle practice and with their classes.  It is an honor to be among this talented group.

Lastly, I want to thank you for reading this blog.  The Internet has made it so easy for anyone to say anything online.  One never knows if the words will be read or merely added to the virtual scrap heap of bits and bytes.  As much as I think my blog is for me to chronicle my artistic journey, I've been touched by the people who have commented about my posts.  It means so much to know that my words and artwork have meant something to others.  A few people at Tangle U said they enjoy reading my blog (and even asked if I'd be blogging this weekend).

When you fall in love with something like Zentangle art, you are welcomed into an amazing community of artists.  I am humbled and inspired to be part of this esteemed creative circle.

Thank you all!

I can't wait for tomorrow's classes and even more creativity to share.

Here's to the next 100 posts!

My Tangled Garden: New Class Coming Soon

After lunch, we created an organic garden wih Meredith Yuhas.  I am beyond in love with this technique.  

Who wants to sign up for my first class teaching this?  Date TBA but not TBM (to be missed)!

Flowers, vines, leaves, and a variety of sprigs.  To use a favorite family word, this piece is spilling all over!  I love the use of botanical patterns combined with the shading and light/dark contrasts.  Love love love love love this.  

Do you think I had fun?  :)