Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Ending November Early

With the holidays and other events filling up the last weeks of November, I combined several tangles from the November challenges #Gratitangles and #Giveatangle2017 into the same tile.  Some I like, others not as much.  Even though I practice Zentangle most days, I am more or less mindful and meditative depending on the day.  Today, in combining 15 tangles (and forgetting one) in one tile, I lost concentration, made a mistake in setting down the basis of beeline, and was then frustrated.  I rushed the rest of the tangles and shading, giving up on the idea of a "perfect" tile.  Ah, perfect is the enemy of good.  I forget the "no mistakes" mantra of the Zentangle community.  It's a practice.  One I definitely need.

Day 18-21: pokeleaf, bales, fengle, flourish

Day 18-21: phroz, mooka, huggins, Bronx cheer

Day 22: ta-da and fandango


Day 23-30:   With drupe, amphora, zinger, rixty, laced, cruffle, benumber, cubine, viaduct, 'nzeppel, (incorrectly started) beeline, JJ, golven, purk, and chainlink. 


Friday, November 17, 2017

Zentangle Happenings

In addition to my November challenge tiles, I've been doing other Zentangle practices.

I had an influx of followers on my FB page, Yankee Tangler, and so drew up this little primer quickly to help them jump right in.




I made this after finishing Eni Oken's Tangled Letters; it follows the same process even though it's a peace sign.  I added the pencil Sandswirl in the background for added texture.



I made this after my uncle died, as my family drew together to celebrate his life.



And this was for my mother-in-law on the day of her recent eye surgery.



This is a tile that I'd started weeks ago and with which I was displeased.  But I saved it to try again.  No mistakes!


I bought some new gray brush pens, Sakura Koi.  I'm trying them instead of graphite; they give me more control.


Here's the completed tile, with a rainbow from my prism cast upon it.

And finally, I had another henna party, this time at a friend's house in honor of another friend who has breast cancer.  We adapted the Indian art form usually practiced by women for weddings to honor our friend and surround her with supportive female friends at this time of challenge and difficulty.  

Here's my hand, which I did (freehand):


And the hands of the women at the party:


Grateful for November Challenges

My tiles for the November Challenges #Gratitangles and #Giveatangle2017:



Day 1: Squid and Striping

Day 2: Vitruvius and Cockles & Mussels

Day 3: Schway and ING



Day 4, 5, & 6: Drupe, Dragonair, Twirl, Inapod, Aquafleur, Strircles


Day 7: Amphora
Day 7-8: Spoken, Zinger, and ING

Day 9: Umble and Noom

Day 10: Betwinkle and Zonked


Day 11-14:  Papz, LaBel, Huggins, Verdigogh, Twile, Warped Eggs, Scallamp, Y-Ful Power.


Day 15:  Molygon and Organic


Day 16: Sandswirl and Swarm

Day 17: Snaylstrayl and Papermint
SaveSave

Friday, November 10, 2017

Personal Mosaic

One of my favorite parts of a Zentangle class is the class mosaic, a gathering of all the various tiles made by students.  Both similar and widely divergent at the same time, the class tiles together demonstrate the breadth of creativity--and give me some great ideas!

So this morning, with sun beaming in the windows on this otherwise cold day, I made a few of my own personal mosaics, from the tiles I keep in a box.  They aren't really in any order, though I can see similarities in groups I must have put in the box at the same time--comfort tangles, new techniques, similar strings.

And Eris helped . . . .





Thursday, November 2, 2017

Top of the Class

Two recent injuries--a bum knee and, subsequently, a low back spasm--have me doing more from the great comfort of my bed.  I joined Eni Oken's Art Club and have been working my way through several of her classes.  I really liked the classes on tangling letters and words, which can be combined with the shading little details information.  I can't wait to see how these new techniques affect my practice. If you are looking for an easy and relatively affordable way to expand your Zentangle practice, especially if there isn't a CZT nearby, I highly recommend her videos and ebooks.

Here are some pages from my sketchbook as I worked through the lessons.

Shading Tiny Details

Fractalized Tangles

Tangled Words

Tangled Initials

Radial Zendalas

November Challenges

For November, I'll be combining two challenges: #Gratitangles and #Giveatangle2017.  On the lists are many tangles that are new to me, which is my favorite part.


#Giveatangle2017

#Gratitangles




Day 1: Squid and striping

Day 2: Cockles & Mussels and Vitruvius

#Inktober2017


Here are the rest of the tiles for #Inktober2017, a challenge to complete a tile with a tangle a day.  I really enjoyed the challenge and am starting a new one, actually two, for November!  It's a great way to learn new tangles and to eliminate decisions about which tangles to use.



Day 16: Tripoli

Day 17: Shattuck

Day 18: Ix
Day 19: Hibred

Day 20: Hollibaugh


Day 21 and 22:  Meer and yin cut

Day 23 & 24:  Pokeleaf and florz

Day 25: Singapore Slingshot

Day 26:  Wibble

Day 27: Cadent

Day 28: Joki

Day 29, 30 & 31: Oof, naida, and q-belle