Challenge~ Mardi Gras!

The theme for this week's Diva Challenge is Mardi Gras or, in other words, time to roll out the fun! For my first tile, I used Sakura gelly roll pens in the Mardi Gras colors and, in Zentangle fashion, just let the tangles unfold without any intention or expectation.  I don't know if I like it or not.  It is very different and I wish I didn't use any black.


While I had the color pens out, I used the purple for the second tile and there is something about this one that I do like. And, for the fun of it, I am also including a couple other tiles I tangled made this week.

Thanks, once again Diva and Zentangle community for the opportunity to enjoy this delicious relaxing art form!

Diamonds Challenge

So this week's Diva challenge to use Four Diamonds as a string  was one that I was happy to take on. Anything with a  grid seems to be a grounding starting point for me when I am stymied as to how to begin a Zentangle tile.  I decided to fill in the background with black, inspired by how Maria described doing so as a meditation in itself.  What with all the various rumblings in my head, some meditation seemed like a great idea!  The diamond string offers so much versatility it will be an idea to use again and again.  So here is my tile.  I am not thrilled with the results, but the process was great!  I used a white Gelly roll for the little border tangle.  I do not have a name for it, but I do seem to be using it here and there in my tiles.  Hint, hint, names welcome:)  And if you haven't already done so, do read the post that tells the story of the Four Diamonds Fund to fight childhood cancer and how it came about. 

Challenge: Sanibelle

I really enjoyed making my tile and using Tricia's beautiful tangle, "Sanibelle" for this week's Diva Challenge.  It is so lacey and delicate and easy once you take your time with it. Patience is  always the virtue needed most, isn't it?  This  tangle reminds me of the sea anemones we used to have in our tropical fish tank.  I loved watching the way they flowed back and forth and filled with water.  Maybe that was on my mind with this tile, because I seemed to be pulled towards the organic "fern" which looks kinda like seaweed and an underwater feeling overall. Even though we are having such a mild winter it is still nice to dream of tropical places!

I am so glad Tricia's tangle was chosen for the challenge.  She is an incredible CZT and creates amazing Zentangles and Zentangle Inspired Art (ZIA).  If you haven't seen it, check out more of Tricia's work at her blog: Tangle with me

And special congratulations are in order this week for Laura, aka Diva as her blog was voted Most Fascinating Blog in the teaching category.  Her sense of humor, creativity, and dedication to the Diva Challenge and the Zentangle community are really special and she so deserves this honor!  Go Diva!

Non-Dominant Challenge

After taking a couple weeks off from the Diva Challenge I have been itching to get back in the fray. 
This week's challenge is to tangle with your non-dominant hand and, oh boy, it was not easy!  It was a very humbling experience to say the least and it REALLY made me appreciate how much easier it is to work with my right hand. I started another tile immediately after creating this one just because I wanted to experience the ease of doing just that.  Using my left hand was quite entertaining -- sometimes it seemed like I could make several pretty good strokes in a row then WHAMMO  the hand just wouldn't do what I told it to.  Filling in the black that I so enjoy was a real test of patience. It was all I could do not to grab the pen out of my left hand! 

On the positive side, it was eye-opening and made me appreciate the acceptance and support within the Zentangle process and community.  There are no mistakes in Zentangle!

Two Great Classes

I was fortunate enough to teach two different art classes at Middletown High School earlier this month and I am so happy to share the resulting mosaics right here.  One class was an AP art class and was just 9 --- terrific --- students.  The second class was almost 3 times that number, but even though the classroom was packed, the kids were very attentive and really took to Zentangle.  Congrats to their teacher, Susanne Suprock for being innovative and inviting me to teach.  What a pleasure!

White on Black Workshop

This week I had the privilege of teaching a Zentangle workshop featuring white on black to 18 teachers and community members at Chariho Middle School. 
I am such a fan of the striking look of white on black, and this was the first time I had a group this large for this variation.  We used official Zentangle black tiles, white Sakura gelly roll pens and white charcoal pencils.
Rick's CD Sounds made for beautiful and mesmerizing background flute music and 2 hours zipped by while the class created 2 tiles.  I just love the resulting gorgeous mosaics.

Tile 1: Flukes, Pais, Keenees, Fife

 

 

Tile 2: Vega, Tagh, Keeko, "geo-mix"*

*I am calling the grid tangle with the circles and squares inside "geo-mix" until I locate the correct name:)

CHALLENGE - Fife Tangle

The Diva challenge offered up this week is to use the new tangle, Fife, created by Molly Hollibaugh.  Its a good one, for sure, so if you haven't had a chance to try it out, the directions are here in the recent Zentangle newsletter. Fife is  a tangle that quickly gets you into the "Zentangle Zone". 

Fife and Knightsbridge