Glass disc Christmas ornaments: 2.5" glass discs with Dura-lar® inserts

Well it is that time of year. Actually I am a little behind schedule to have many new things for the holiday season. Completed one of these and then took me quite a while to get anything else done. Doing these really makes it clear why the Zentangle® method is easier. Whenever try to do ZIAs, get into the issues that do not come up with the basic method. I obsess too much about color combinations. Oh well, I just have to remember to start and see where it takes me. 

These are glass discs and the inserts are 2.5" circles of Dura-lar®. The drawing was done with Microperms and the color was added with either Prismacolor or Faber-Castell polychromes. The polychromes seemed to cover a little more consistently but was pleased with the way that they all turned out. Do not have WIP pictures. The first is a finished one. 

Tangle is Stella with generic leaves.  Cut the circle just a smidge too small so this insert moves in side the disc.

Here are 3 more on Dura-lar Decided to complete all of them before I put them inside the discs. Was just a preference. I like them all but think my favorite is the one in the upper right. That one also gave me the most difficulty deciding what colors I wanted to use. That is what all the color marks on the side. Not sure how much it helped but did help decide to go ahead with certain colors and just let it happen. I also used the Prismacolor metallic silver and gold pencils in this one. I am not sure what the leafy purple tangle is called. I have a lot of variations in my journal but did not write down the name of the tangle. It is similar to Amarin by Debbie New but not sure. It is possible that it was one of those challenges that was to play with Flux and see what different variations could come up with. The basic structure is very similar to Ynix.  Unfortunately not writing down the names of tangles is something I  do too often.  Here are the 3 I came up with.

If you have not used Dura-lar before, it comes in sheets or a roll. I bought a pad of 9"x12" sheets. They will accept ink, pencil, and colored pencil. These are matte finish and can be drawn on both sides. I chose not to do that as you can pick up the image on both sides. I did not try it but it claims to erase easily.  On next ones may try to do some with my colored Microns. will have to be fewer tangles as do not have as many colors in those. Could also use my IdentiPens as the ink in those is similar but there are a few more colors. Not sure if I will get to them this year or not as I have a couple of other projects that I need to work on. 

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Go Tangle !!

Combining tangling and Pyrography: Burned cross

 Trying to get a little more regular about posting things, but since I am out of the habit do not always think about it. I am working on inventory for a Winter Market that I will be participating in later this year. Here is an item that I recently finished. It combines two things that I like to do, tangling and wood burning. I do not do typical pyrography as I do not try do pictures. I would like to have more time to work on that but that will have to wait. I am also digressing.  I purchased the blank from a craft store. It is approximately 8" x 5". 

I use a Razer tip SS-D10 burner. I used a F9S pen for the words. It is listed as a pen for writing. This is the small size.  I used  an F14D Blunt Heel Knife to do the pattern. The small shading was done with a a F5S small spear. 

I thought about doing a little shading with the spear or another shader, on the Shattuck pattern but opted not to. 

I have a calligraphy pen that I have not tried yet. Before I try that will probably practice on some scrap wood to get the feel of it. 

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Go Tangle !! 

First Post in a long while: Cheryl Moote's PAX dove

 I have woefully neglected my blog for quite some time.  I have also not done much tangling lately. this is the first thing I have done in quite some time. I had seen Cheryl Moote's PAX dove before but did not have time to do anything with it. Finally decided I needed to get back to some basic tangling. I ordered her template, which you can also get at mootepoints.com. There are 3 sizes. This is the smallest of the 3. I think it would make an interesting ornament. While it is 3-D, you can easily flatten it so it can be stored. 

I used Faber Castell Metallic Colored Ecopencils for most of the color. I also used Staedtler colored pencils for some of the colors. Did not do any blending. Would be something that I would probably do to finish it. The Tangles are made with an 01 Micron.  Here are a few pictures of what I came up with.

The above is to give you some idea of the size. 

Here is a front view

                                                                                    

Was trying to get both views

 

Here is the back of the wings

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated'

Go tangle !!

Another stretch of my comfort zone: Ventures into Edward's Crochet Imaginarium

If you are new to my blog, welcome. If you have been here before, you know that I have done knitting and crocheting for years.  Most of things I did were either afghans or things for the kids as they were growing up. That latter was a long time ago as they are all married and I have 7 grandchildren.  I tried some small things like the "No Fuss" Fish, but most of what I have done lately is limited to mittens, cowls, simple hats and such.  I was sent a link from someone, I blame my sister, of a fellow Zentangle® artist who did something for her grand children. It came from Kelly Lord's "Edward's Crochet Imaginarium".

This was a long journey as I started, and restarted, this numerous times.  I had to  rely on one of the Zentangle® method tenets of don't evaluate/judge but focus on the process. Boy was that hard with this one. That does not mean that I am satisfied with everything with this item but it did help me  try to keep some realistic expectations. Use what happened to learn. Perfection is not the goal and sometimes it is the enemy.

I just call this my Big Green Monster.  I thought that working on the larger size would be easier.  After trying it, I am not so sure.  Here is what resulted in my attempt.

The head and body measure about 14".  The eyes are not like the ones in the directions.  I tried but they turned out like they did.  I added the mouth as it I thought it looked weird without one. I have to work on how I put the stuffing in. Think I over stuffed the body and head. 

Thanks for visiting.  As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.  

Go Tangle!! or create what ever art you enjoy.

Out of my comfort zone, Needing something different: Water color journey

Have really neglected my blog lately,  Will  not go into all the things that have been a distraction. Who would have thought that the first post back would be on something other than Zentangle®.  I have been struggling with not feeling creative with anything decided to pull out some old things that I had started and then stashed them away for a while.  In this case we are talking about years. If you have been at my blog before you know that other than the Zentangle® art, my art training ended in elementary school. I guess my journey into Zentangle inspired Art allowed me to venture out into other things. Some of the tenets of the Zentangle® method is that there are no mistakes, appreciate the process and don't judge. Thinking that anything else I would do was not good enough for a long time kept me from trying. I tried to go back to those tenets when I tried something new, whether is was  pyrography or painting.  I think I unknowingly started with one of the more difficult mediums.  At least that is what I have heard from other people that have more art experience than I do.  They seem to think that it is easier to work with acrylics.  I have not comparison as I have not pulled those out yet. I chose water color because of some paintings of some people that really fascinated me. I guess ignorance has it's place.

I guess I have rambled long enough. I do not remember when I first posted this. I did not want to spend a lot of time to look for the original. I was basically the background with a bare tree.  I pulled it  out and just decided to start adding some things and see what would happen.  Like anything that someone does they are aware of the things that did not go the way they planned. This is the case with me. One of the things that I continue to struggle with is the difference using a brush vs. a pen. Not sure how much time I will have to devote to it, but I do not want to give up on it.

Here is what I have come up with. Not sure if it is finished yet or not.

Overall I am pleased with the outcome.  I do not know what else I would want to add.  I am thinking that it is best to keep it simple.

Thanks for visiting.  As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Go Tangle!! or make whatever art you enjoy.

Pyrography: Using the Zentangle® method with other mediums

I enjoy tangling and I also enjoy trying new ways to use them.  I have experimented mostly with adding color and pyrography. I enjoy the latter but it is more of a challenge and takes more time to complete the work.  Recently, in preparation for an event, I have done a few more wood cuffs.  All the ones that I have done before have been grid tangles or variations of them.  I had wanted to try more organic tangles but was more apprehensive about it.  Was difficult to get away from that inner critic that would whisper, "what if you make a mistake?". It was not that I was uncomfortable with the tangle but using the burning pen is a lot different than using a Micron. To borrow a phrase from a well known athletic apparel firm, I had to tell my self just do it. Here is the result.

It is not the easiest piece to photograph.  I was pleased with the results.  I used the smallest pen I had which really did help with the control of the curves.  The shading is done with a shading tool.  I do not know that this tangle has a name. It is just one that I have come up with as a way to draw a flower. Sandy Stein Bartholomew I think has a similar one in one of her books. I do not think she named them either.  I think she referred to them as embellishments. 

I have a number of  these cuffs so hope I can get some more done. I also have some basswood plaques that I have not decided exactly what I want to do with them.  This gives me some flexibility, and confidence as will probably do some organic tangles with a phrase of something. Lettering is still something that I am working on.

Thanks for visiting.  As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged and appreciated.

Go Tangle !!

Getting things ready for a show: Framed ZIAs

There are two shows coming up that I am planning on entering some pieces.  Not sure if I will enter the same pieces in each show or not. One is a show that is a general show and there will be judging.  The other is a show that is having an exhibition on Zentangle® art.  There will be no judging of this.  The show is organized by a lady that took a class from me a number of years ago.  She is a retired art teacher and had been doing pattern drawing with her elementary students for years.  She was intrigued that someone had come up with a way to teach it.  When she came to the class she wore a cap that she had tangled on.  Her goal is to introduce different art forms to people.  Besides having a few pieces in this part of the show, I will be at the show one day and be demonstrating it.  Not sure what all I will do but may have some 2x2 tiles with gel pens available to let people try a few things.  Here are two of the newer pieces I have had framed that will be entered in either one or both of the shows.

Is a little hard to tell from the picture but the frame for the tip picture is similar to a shadow box.  It is not real deep. 

Thanks for visiting.  As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged and appreciated.

Go Tangle !!