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

Red Thread Challenge

This week's Diva Challenge is guest-hosted by Cris Letourneau, CZT, challenging us to create a Zentangle using a single RED STRING.  This idea ties in with THE RED THREAD PROMISE, an organization dedicated to helping those in need of medical assistance.  Check out  Cris's blog if you would like to help by sending in your own tile from this challenge.  They will all be made into a poster and proceeds donated to the organization.  Cool idea.
After missing last week's challenge, I was glad to be able to jump back in and had a great time with my simple red spiral string.  Even had a chance to play with FIFE, a brand new official Zentangle pattern/tangle.
Thanks Chris and Diva for this great challenge and for generating awareness for another great cause. And Happy Thanksgiving to all in the US.

Poppies Remembrance Challenge - Lest we Forget

The Diva challenge this week is about poppies and remembrance.  I started thinking about my father.  My father served in WWII, but also sacrificed for his family every day. He's been gone a long time, but I miss his "one sentence" advice like, "Do the hardest thing first, and then everything will be easy after that."

I relied on some favorite standby tangles for this challenge like tripoli, a crescent moon variation, dex variation, and pendrills.  For the poppy I used a dual brush marker. I tried to keep it simple, like my father did.

Spooky Tangle Challenge

In keeping with the spirit of Halloween, this week's Diva Challenge is about a spooky or haunting Zentangle or ZIA.  My two offerings are kinda spooky for different reasons.  The first one is haunting because the weird colors clash so much! The second one, which I tangled on Halloween, made me imagine some sort of hole in the night sky. 

Punzel Challenge

"Punzel" is a new Zentangle pattern introduced in the latest newsletter (subscribe here) from Rick and Maria, AND its the Diva's choice  for this week's challenge.  This was my first attempt  and  I was not going to use the tile for the challenge because I was not too pleased with it.  Then my son told me he liked it and it looked like it was floating so I decided to add  color using a simple splash background technique from Marie Browning's book Time to Tangle with Color.  

For the next two I tried out Punzel on black tiles with a metallic gelly roll.  I still need practice on this tangle, but as I was going along, I found myself relaxing into a wonderful Zentangle meditation and that is such a benefit in today's stressful world! I am so grateful to have this art form and process.

 

"String Theory v. VI: Tangled on the Inside"

The Diva Challenge for this week was based on an idea from Jo in NZ to use a tangle as your string and tangle within a tangle, so to speak!  After  pondering about the best tangle to use, I settled on classic Shattuck and tangled a large version on my tile.  I didn't think to take a picture of just the string, but here is the end result in all its tangled glory.  It is kind of busy so I am not sure if you can even tell that Shattuck made up the string!  This was a creative challenge idea, for sure.

Sunflower Challenge

I LOVE SUNFLOWERS!  They are tall, cheerful and hardy and they are the theme for this week's Diva Challenge, courtesy of a Penny B, Zentangle enthusiast in South Africa, who tells us that "In Republic of South Africa, on 12 October we have Bandana Day, which is run by the Sunflower Fund.   This is an organization founded in 1999 in support of the SA Bone Marrow Registry for people suffering from leukemia" 
My grandfather died of leukemia and so this is for my Opa.  He has been gone a long time, but he was a great guy and I still remember him riding a bike in the backyard (he was Dutch) and I also still have some of his letters with his incredibly gorgeous swirly handwriting.  I had fun making this Zentangle-inspired sunflower and used a Sakura metallic gelly roll copper star pen for the petals.  I hope the sparkles show online.  Forgive me that this looks like maybe another flower more than a sunflower:)

Hope Challenge

The Diva Challenge for this week is about HOPE.  My humble entry combines the duo-tangle with Jonqal and Opus that I created for last week with a wee sign of hope springing up in the corner.  I ran out of time to submit last week, but I love these challenges and am so glad to participate whenever I can.  If one person finds renewed hope from this week's challenge it is all worth it. Sometimes all you need is a little bit of hope peeking through a crack.

Challenge ~ Pinwheels for Peace ~

This week Amy Broady, from my CZT #4 class, shared the idea of creating "Pinwheels for Peace" as our challenge. As I was lucky enough to spend some time with Amy during our training, I know what a thoughtful and kind person she is. This is  a wonderful idea on the heels of last week's love theme and a way to commemorate International Day of Peace, Sept 21. Teaching peace is one of the best things we can do, each in our own corner of the world. Happy Peace Day, everyone!

Challenge ~ All you need is LOVE

Laura, aka Diva, always comes up with a great idea for a weekly Zentangle challenge, and this week is no exception with LOVE as the theme.  I tend to shy away from red, but LOVED it so much, I made two tiles with the red gelly roll.

Fall Classes-- Getting back into the Routine!

Information is now posted on the Classes page about Fall class offerings.

I am offering Introduction to Zentangle and  Exploring the Dark Side of Zentangle, both at Bagelz of Wakefield.  Bagelz is a great spot, right in Wakefield very close to route 1.  They have a wonderful room that is perfect for a workshop.  They also have terrific coffee, bagelz, and black and white cookies!

I am also offering Home Class-Parties at your convenience in your home. Home workshops have  become popular and are really fun.  I expect the dates this fall to fill quickly so reserve as soon as you can.  This is also a good way to receive a $49 Zentangle kit at no charge.  Great holiday gift.

Last, but not least, Zentangle Workplace Wellness Classes.  Bring some calm to the workplace with this cutting edge meditative art form.  Help increase focus and relieve stress, while team-building.

And, of course, I always stock Zentangle supplies if needed: kits, pens, white and black Zentangle tiles, ensembles sets.

Happy Fall and happy tangling, one and all.

Challenge ~ Paradox ~ Pair of Ducks

Yes, you do have to concentrate to tangle Rick's Paradox! I completed this tile for the Diva Challenge and then decided the border would be fun to add to the mix.  Gold does not show well online(as in the shiny aspect), but the Sakura gold gelly roll pen is smooth as can be and lovely to work with. Maria, Zentangle co-founder had a great idea to use this tangle for the challenge. Paradox is not one of my "go to" tangles, and I bounce back and forth with love and fear of using it.  I will say that focusing on this tile was great for shifting my attitude and that is a bonus of making Zentangle art!

Weekly Challenge ~ GRIDS ~

Tangles based on grids are some of my favorites, from Knightsbridge to Bales to 'NZepple, Emingle,  and more, I find the grid tangles especially enjoyable.  So here is my Zentangle tile for this week's Diva Challenge.  Lots of grids with just a couple non-grid doodads thrown in for the fun of it.

Weekly Challenge -- New Tangle "Assunta"

So this is my first try with "Assunta", the pretty new official Zentangle pattern introduced by Rick in honor of Maria's birthday.  Assunta has room for numerous variations and if we lose power from hurricane Irene, I will have something to play with that doesn't require electricity.  Thanks for the challenge, Diva! 
PS Posting late due to Irene preparation and excitement.  Thankfully we escaped any real damage and did not lose power!

Weekly Challenge - Tile on a Tile

Just last week in a Beginner Zentangle class I taught with teens and adults, I was struck by the way one of the students made a very large border on her tile (quite brave, I thought).  She then proceeded to make a very striking Zentangle.  Margaret Bremner, aka Enthusiastic Artist has no end of creativity, and asked us to create a tile within a tile for this week's Diva Challenge.  I definitely want to do more of these, but here is what I was able to come up with for this go-round.  I would like to try more closely following Margaret's directions with a string throughout the tile.  Luckily the monotangle border of Hollibaugh gave me lots of options, since I didn't plan so well for dark and light!

Weekly Challenge: Opposites Attract

Diva's weekly challenge was offered again by stART's super talented CZT, Christina Vandervlist. This challenge sounds easy enough, simply use straight lines for the string and curvy tangles, or vice-versa.  I went with straight lines for the string since my usual habit is circular scribbly strings.  My usual habit must also be to mix up curvy and straight line tangles because I REALLY wanted to do that with these tiles. A great reminder of  many things we do by habit, routine, and instinct, and the effort required to change it up.

Betweed: More Patterns in Nature

The Zentangle pattern Betweed is so beautiful, and I am not always thrilled with my attempts to make this tangle. Recently I made this tile and took my time and was more pleased with the results. However, the real reason for this post,  is  an amazing discovery of a another "Pattern in Nature"! On my front porch,  organ pipe mud dauber wasps are busy constructing their nests and to me they look a lot like Mother Nature's version of....BETWEED!!

My version of Betweed

Weekly Challenge - Pendrills: Versatile and Habit-forming!

This week's Diva Challenge was to use Maria's brand new tangle Pendrills.  If you haven't seen it, check it out.  I had a great time wrapping all my tangled thoughts around this new pattern and enjoyed making some viney things around them, using them as a string for Emingle, and then,  I just had to experiment with some white on black. Thanks Diva for giving us an opportunity to focus on Pendrills and thanks, Maria, for such a versatile new tangle.  As always, you both are amazing!

 

Zentangle is for Everyone!

The very talented Carole Ohl, of Open Seed Arts,  was guest contributor for the Diva's Weekly Challenge.  She prompted tanglers everywhere to participate using 4 tangles: Pais, Baton, Keenees, and Zedbra.  I've made Keenees before (yes, the bikini-looking ones!), but it was a first time for each of the others.  Great way to try some new tangles and also contribute to Carole's show.  It will illustrate Zentangle as a way for everyone to express creativity in their own style. And, by the way, Zentangle IS for everyone!

Look! It's a Fairy in the Garden!

What a whimsical and wonderful assignment we had as part of the Diva's Weekly Challenge. Carol Bailey Floyd, CZT, and guest challenger, asked us to create a Zentangle that would be inviting for a garden fairy! I hope the fairy finds her way to a cool shady spot, along with some music, compliments of the G-Clef string my musical husband contributed. For this tile I used some organic-looking tangles a la Rick and Maria, Zentangle founders, plus one called Fern from the multi-talented CZT and renowned quilter, Jane Monk.

"String Theory V : Initialize"

This week's Diva Challenge features a fun idea from the very creative Christina of stART with the string being made by your initials.  It's a great method to use when you need an idea for a string.  I tried out a new tangle from Neil at Perfectly4med called Rokpool,  and it could become a favorite.  Thank you Diva, Christina, and Neil!

Just for the Joy of Zentangle

What could be better than sitting outside on a gorgeous summer day with the birds singing, feeling grateful for my family and friends, creating a Zentangle?  Tried a brown Sakura 05 with brown shading for a change of pace.

String Theory

For this week's Diva Challenge, Sue Jacobs, CZT, and guest challenger, posed this clever string concept. Using a string with some type of weight on it, drop the string on the tile and trace it to create a string for tangling. I decided to use the nametag pendant from my CZT training and let the beads fall on the tile.  I know I will use this string method, again.  Thanks Sue and Diva!

Turtle Tangle-- Patterns in Nature

Every year, in June, this turtle crosses our yard and goes into the woods. This year I thought we had missed him. He showed up one of the first days in July and was moving fast! I interrupted him just for a minute so I could share his striking patterns.

Trippy Tripoli and Fantastic Interns

This week's challenge to use the new tangle, "Tripoli" was a great opportunity to stretch  and take a trip to someplace new. As I made multiple tiles, mostly white or gold and turquoise on black, I struggled quite a bit with wiggly lines, and attempting to fit variations within the small triangle spaces.  So, it began:

Why isn't my hand steadier?  

Why doesn't this triangle fit in the circle the way it is supposed to?  

Why do all the other people posting on this challenge have such amazing results from this tangle? 

BUT, I kept going, and then I recalled the Zentangle blog post  reminding us that "With Zentangle, there's no need to allow "better" (or even worse, "perfection") to hold you back from the "good" of enjoying putting pen to paper . . . one stroke at a time."  How great that Rick and Maria, Zentangle's founders, continually provide the right context for this amazing artform. 

" Verdigogh, say hi to Dex"

Well, guess what?  The Diva's challenge to use Verdigogh and Dex tangle patterns for this week was definitely a challenge as I confess this is the first time I've made Dex. I, too, tend to tangle my favorites repeatedly and  somehow I must have missed the Zentangle newsletter with this pattern.  I love grid patterns and chose the method as in Cubine instead of the Cadent method to make Dex.  Shading was fun, although I may have had a heavy hand on this one!

Spiraling out of control and into my first BeTangled blog post

The Diva's weekly challenge  to use a spiral string was absolute fun.  Here are a couple simple Zentangles in white on black with my favorite Sakura Gelly Roll white pen.  Thanks, Diva, for the awesome challenges.  I enjoyed this so much,  it motivated me to (finally) start my  blog.  To see some incredible Zentangles and the weekly challenge, go here: http://iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com/