Diva Challenge #133: Tipple - Love it or hate it?"

This was a great challenge. I use Tipple a lot. It is such a relaxing tangle and it is a great fill and embellishment. In deciding what I wanted to do with this challenge I chose to use other tangles that I see as using very simple strokes. Part of this is that my mind is not as creative as someone like Shelly Beauch. I admit I saw what she did as I get a feed on her blog. Her tipple wave is unique and a great piece of art. If you have not been to her blog, would encourage you to do so and see what she does. But I digress. It so happens that most of the tangles I used are also some of my favorites. The only one that I have not used a lot is Hi-Cs. To me these tangles represent some of the basics of Zentangle® in that you use simple structured strokes to create beautiful patterns. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Tipple, Hibred Betweed, Hi-Cs, and Shattuck

I mentioned Shelly Beauch's Tipple creation, but I did not look at a lot of the others before I completed mine. I try not to unless I am really struggling as I do not want to be overly influenced by what others have done.  Now I plan on going to I am the Diva and enjoy what others have done. Would encourage you to also.

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

Go Tangle !!

Diva Challenge #132: "Non-Domonotangle"

My first reaction when I saw what this challenge was, was to take a pass. I looked at the tangle that was chosen and thought a little more and decided that since it was a grid based tangle that might make it a little easier. Did not think I could tackle an organic flowing tile with my non-dominant hand. I may not have thought that through completely.  Drawing the string was challenging enough and maybe should have been enough to send me running for the hills. But I pushed ahead. I did remember from when I broke my wrist a number of years ago and I had to learn to print with my left hand that there were certain rotations that just seemed easier to do. So I set out and did have to focus and found myself turning the tile more than I usually do to be able to make the rotations. The more I continued, I was finding new challenges. The grid lines were a little tough. But in some ways I think that trying to do the fill was even tougher. It required a steady hand which I definitely do not have with my left hand. All that being said, I have to say that I was not disappointed with the end result. It definitely took longer to do than it would have with my dominant hand, but I am pleased with it. I hope that you enjoy it.

I have only looked at few other submissions, mostly from people whose blogs show up in my reader. I plan on going to I am the Diva and looking at all of the great art work. Would recommend that you do also.

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

Go Tangle !!  

Zendala Dare #70

This week's Zendala Dare was interesting. I liked the way that the template looked but I did struggle trying to decide what I was going to do. Some of it is that I think there were a number of smaller spaces that made it difficult to use actual tangles. I like line work, but did struggle ( probably obsess) with what to put with it. I tend to think more about doing Zendalas than I do the square tiles anyway. I think I really need to try one using a random string. After seeing Erin's I was also challenged to use one of the black zendala tiles that I have. I have had them a while. While I have used the black square tiles, I have not used any of the zendalas yet. It was a lot more interesting transferring the template, but I managed. Will have to work on that. Not really sure what I think about these. I do not dislike them but they do not evoke any strong connection either. Shading on the black tiles is always a challenge. I used the gray Fabrico marker. I do not have one of the new zenstones. I will probably order some the next time I order things. Here they are. I hope you enjoy them.

I actually did the black one first. Tangles used: Betweed, Shattuck

This was my second attempt. Tangles used: Crescent Moon, Zinger, Purk, 'Nzeppel 

Have not looked at what has been submitted by the others. Since I am getting this posted early in the week, will have to check back regularly. Would suggest that you do the same. There are always some great things posted on The Bright Owl.

Here is a little extra ( I guess it is depending on your perspective). I usually do not post these things but I did have a little time to play last week.  The first is a mini-version of the one line, one breath technique. It was interesting to do. Not sure how much I will play with it. Not really sure what to make of it. Can get lost in the process though.

The second one I was trying out some new things for me. One is that this is a larger size than I usually do. It is 11"x 14" (27 x 35 cm) piece of Strathmore Bristol vellum.  This is also the first time that I used a water color wash. I had seen others examples but never tried it myself. Will probably try on other paper, but this is the pad that I had available. I used my Inktense pencils.

It is not finished yet. I put out all the tangles that I was going to use. Will post later when it is finished. I may do other posts in different stages of completion.

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

Go Tangle !!

Diva Challenge # 131: "Monotangle - Dex - teria"

This week's Diva Challenge was using the tangle Dex as  monotangle. I like this tangle but it was a challenge to come up with something as a monotangle. The few post I have looked at have expressed similar thoughts. I ended up doing two tiles. This is mostly because I was not thrilled with the first one. I am not sure why. The second one everything just seemed crisper. I chose the circles as I had wanted to practice the sphere technique posted by one of the other CZTs. I think it was Margaret Bremner, but I could be wrong. The ones that I saw other people do I thought looked really great. I still have some work to do on this but was satisfied as a first attempt. Was not as pleased with the way the picture came out. I avoid using the flash because the graphite will "shine". the shading is not as mushy on the actual tile. I hope you enjoy them.

I did use a stencil to make these circles. I do not think I could ever make such uniform circles free hand.  

I have only looked at a few of the other submissions but plan on doing so the rest of the week.  If you have not looked at them would encourage you to go to  I am the Diva and look at what other people  have submitted. 

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

Go Tangle !!

Zendala Dare #69

Ever have a template that when you saw it you knew immediately what you wanted to do? That is what happened with this weeks Zendala Dare. Just because you know what you want to do does not mean that the end result is always what you imagined. I am not disappointed with the outcome, it was just different. I knew that I wanted to do Diva Dance and organic tangles. Had a couple of different ideas about the circles but decided quickly on Cruffle. The process was fun. I enjoyed doing it. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Diva Dance, Cruffle, Fescu,  Miscellaneous organic features 

I would encourage you to go to The Bright Owl and look at the other great submissions. If you are looking at this early in the week, check back there often as people submit things through out the week. You do not want to  miss the great pieces that others complete.

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

Go Tangle !!

Spinner Board for Zentangle classes

Had been wanting to make one of these for a while and never got around to it. I took some pictures along the way to show how I put it together. I did the reverse of what some did and used the clip board as the top. I did this so I can take it off and use it by itself. But I get ahead of myself. Will attempt to go through the steps with the pictures.

I bought a  ¼" 2' x 4' piece of hardboard. I cut it down to 24" x 20".  This was what I used for the base.

This picture did not turn out well because the hardboard is a dark brown. I essentially found the center of the hardboard by using the square.  I measured to the middle of each side and used the square to draw intersecting lines in the middle.

I then did the same thing on the back of 22" x 25" Tote Clip Board that I purchased at Hobby Lobby(with a 40% off coupon). 

Here is a close up of the lines intersecting and on each axis I marked 3" from the center. I was using a 6" square lazy susan plate

I used these lines to set the plate and then drew around the edge to mark where the plate should be. On the hardboard base I also marked the screw holes.

 These are what I used to attach the lazy susan plate to the base. They are ¼" long. I used these so there were no sharp points protruding behind the board to snag on anything. They are a bit expensive ($.80 each at Lowe's)

I drilled four holes in the hardboard in the circles that I marked for the screws. I then pushed the threaded post through the hole from the back side.

I then flipped the board over, aligned the holes and screwed the plate to the base. (Actually before you screw it down you will want to skip down 2 steps and draw the outline of the plate on the back of the clipboard.)

Since I wanted to be able to remove the tote clipboard I used industrial velcro to attach it to the lazy susan plate. I am trying it in the corners first to see if that will be enough hold. I have more that I can add if need be. I attached the hook side of the velcro to the plate.

I then put the fiber side of the velcro in the corners of the plate outline on the back of the clipboard.  

I then attached the two, and placed it on the easel. This is a picture of the finished product. It is on a table but the legs of the easel extend so it can be on the floor, which is the way that I usually use it when I teach. I did cut down the pad so it would fit on the clip board. It is about 22" x 24" . Next time I will probably cut it a little longer.

Mine is a little different than others as my base is smaller than the tote clipboard. It still rotates on the easel fine. Will have to see how it works when I am teaching. I still have a piece of hardboard left so if I want to make the base larger I can. There is a cut-out in the clipboard for a handle so I am not planning on buying a portfolio case to carry it in. May do that later if I think it is worth it. That would probably be another 40% off purchase (or possibly a nice Christmas present) as they cost about the same as all the materials for the spinner board.

Hope this helps anyone that is looking at making one of these. If you have any questions, you can e-mail me or comment on this post and I will respond as I can. 

Diva Challenge #130 UMT v. XIX: Henna Drum

This was a fun challenge. I like using this tangle, although I have to admit I do not use it a lot. I can really get engrossed in doing this tangle. There was one of those unplanned opportunities though which I was able to incorporate into the tile. Part of what made this fun is that I did it without a string. This resulted in it being a little off center. I started in the middle and just let it grow. It was a lot of fun. As is usually the case, shading is the biggest challenge. Hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Tipple, Dansk, Henna Drum, Flux, Fescu, & Keeko

I have not had a chance to look at the other tiles and ZIA's that others have submitted, but plan on doing so now. If you have not done so go to I am the Diva and look at the other great pieces of art.

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

Go Tangle !!

Zendala Dare #68: Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

This was an interesting challenge. My first thought was to do alternating sections differently. I went back and reread Erin's directions and decided that even if the therapist in me could justify it, it did not really follow the directions as given. For one of the few times I was able to curb the oppositional part of my nature. I decided that this would be a good opportunity to try the Tombow markers that I got a few weeks ago. Had not had an chance to play with them yet. Overall I am pleased with the result. Since I had not used them before, was not prepared for the blue to be so dark. Tried to use the blender to lighten it. It kind of washed out some of the lines on the one paradox but I decided to post it anyway. Hope that you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Gneiss, Paradox, Purk, & Shattuck

I did use a gray Fabrico marker on the Purk. I also opted to not do any shading on the black/white side. Wanted to maximize the contrast between the two sides. If you have not been to The Bright Owl to look at the other submissions, would encourage you to visit often. There are some talented artists that routinely submit Zendalas in the Dare. 

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

Go Tangle !!