Zendala Dare #107

Did not realize how out of practice I was in doing Zendalas. I have used the round Zendala tiles before but more recently it has not been with a template. It is taking me a little bit of adjustment having a template and deciding how I want to use it or even what tangles come to mind when I look at it. I have to admit that the recent templates have been an additional challenge for me. The template is similar to a string and it is a guide that you can decide how you want to follow. I have tended to not modify the templates in the past. May have to revisit that. Here is what I ended up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Auraknot, Finery, Fassett, and Zenith

Shading done with HB, 2B, and 4B pencils

I was hoping to participate in the Zendala Dare a little more regularly. Have not been able to do so. Will have to examine that as I continue to have a number of other things that are occupying my time. Not sure if some of the challenges lately have been the style of the templates or just my lack of doing them. Am looking forward to looking at what others have done. If you have not done so would encourage you to go to The Bright Owl and look at what others have done. Give it a try yourself. You do not have to use a circle tile to do it. 

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

Square One: Ready " Auraknot"

The most recent prompt from the Square One Facebook page is the tangle Auraknot. This is one that has a lot of interesting possibilities. People tend to either like it or they struggle with it. I have not had a particular difficulty with it. I did look at the video from zentangle.com just a refresher since it has been a little while since I had used this tangle. You can view the video here. The problem after looking at it was deciding how I wanted to use it. So I decided to incorporate a number of different possibilities.  Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used. Auraknot, C-scape, Flux, Zinger, Tipple

While this may look complicated, it is like a lot of other tangles. You just have to keep track of the sequence. They are not easy to find, but there was one section where I did  not. I started with the 3 pointed clover like figure. I did 2 auras of this and then did the triangle. I did 2 auras of this and then did the curved lines that went through out the whole pattern. This I only did 1 aura before I went back and began auraing the different figures. Then you  just have to decide when you are going to stop.

If you are on Facebook go to the Square One: Purely Zentangle page and you can see other great pieces that people have created.

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

Go Tangle !!

Diva Challenge #172: Duotangle - Auraknot vs Mooka

Did not get a chance to do anything for last week's challenge. I like Duotangles, but some are more challenging than others. Like a lot of others, Mooka is a tangle that I use, but not always satisfied with the way that it turns out. Really tried to just let it flow. I think maybe I got carried away. I was not that dissatisfied with the way that the Mooka turned out, but I think that it got too busy with the lines and the Auraknot got hidden. Tried to help this with a some highlighting, but not sure how successful it was. Will not have time this week, but really need to do a little more work with the black tiles and white pens. I have not done any for a while. Forgot how tricky the shading and highlighting can be. I did enjoy doing this though, so that was a plus. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Used an Insignio White Angelic Colour gel pen for this. I think this has a smaller nib than the other Insignia pen. Used a Zenstone to do the shading. 

If you have not all ready done so, would encourage to visit The Diva's blog and look at the other pieces submitted. I plan on trying to look at them. There are usually some really great pieces of art. 

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

Go Tangle !!

Zendala Dare #55

Erin at The Bright Owl picked a unique template for this weeks challenge. She has not posted what she did yet. Am anxious to see what she does. I have to admit the first thing that I thought of when I saw the template was Auraknot. It was not calling to me, it was yelling at me. So I chose to listen. I was not sure what else to do but as is many times the case, once I start the tangles emerge. One of the harder things to decide what to do was the center. I did not want to leave it blank. The next struggle was to fight my urge to fill all the different spaces. the Flux around the outside was the last thing that I added. It looked okay without it but all that space just did not seem right. I did resist any urge to fill in the spaces between the Newell. I don't remember the last time I completed a challenge so quickly. I really enjoyed doing this and thought it was a great template. Hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Newell, Auraknot, Flux, Scrawlz(variation).  Not sure that the center, or the intertwined lines  is actually a tangle.

If  you have not all ready done so, would encourage you to visit The Bright Owl to look at what others have done with this template. Check back frequently throughout the week as there are always new additions. 

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

Go tangle.

Diva Challenge #102: "DuoTangle v. VI: Auraknot/Bunzo"

The Diva presented another great challenge. It was doing a DuoTangle. The two tangles that she chose are both tangles that I really like but had not really thought much about doing together. I was anticipating getting started but kept delaying because I was not exactly sure what I wanted to do. I even looked at more things other people submitted than I usually do because I was just having a hard time getting started. In true Zentangle® style, I took deep breath and began. I had a vague idea that I wanted the two to intertwine so I did have to think about how I was going to begin ( remember - no erasers). Once I started though it flowed very well. Isn't that the case with a lot of things when we are unsure. We focus on all the things that might go wrong or not work out and don't get started and just deal with what happens, trusting that we have the ability to deal with what happens. We have resources to deal with a less than perfect situation. Hopefully another lesson reinforced to tuck away for later.

My thoughts are a little heavy though as think of this and a family that I know, and their extended family, grieving the death a their 19 year old nephew, cousin, son, and brother. He was killed when his car hydroplaned, flipped over into a ditch filled with 4 to 5 feet of water and could not be freed soon enough to revive him. He was returning to college at Ball State. As I think of this I am mindful of what David wrote in Psalms 28:7, The Lord is my strength and my shield: in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped. We try so hard to arrange/control things in the way that we think is best and take care of people that are dear to us. We need to do what we can, but we still need to trust, because we are not in control. We can only "trust and be helped". I hope that is what his family is experiencing now.

For this Challenge, I chose to return to the basics and did a traditional Zentangle® style tile. It is on a square tile and only in black and white with shading. As hard as it was for me to get started I am pleased with the result. I tried some different things with the shading and for a first effort feel it turned out well. Not sure that it shows up as well in the picture as the real tile. Here it is. I hope you enjoy it.

If you have not all ready, I strongly encourage you to go to I am the Diva to look at the other great pieces that people have done. The variety and talent amazes me every week.

Almost forgot to mention a self-proclaimed benchmark for my blog as I surpassed 5,000 views this week. I appreciate all the Challenge, Dare, and Flickr participants, friends and family, and followers and other visitors for making it possible to reach this number in what I consider to be a short time since I only began this blog in August 2012. A big THANK YOU to you all.

I am glad that you visited. As always comments are encouraged, welcomed, and appreciated.