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Yes, things are broken in this world in so many ways at the moment, but:   This strange little tile was the result of my listening to a "voice-guided" meditation posted by the Zentangle® folks on YouTube. The primary tangles used were Hollibaugh and Tipple, plus a bit of linework. Black Micron 01 and graphite. Looks like some type of weird sea-creature.  This is a photo of a line of people about 40 long, each practicing social distancing, outside a grocery store at 8.15 this morning as I was waiting to get in to buy food. We almost never see this sort of thing in the USA. Strange times for all of us the world over. At the same time, I was grateful that food was available and I had the money to buy it. Not everyone does. All the news is so troubling; I need something to introduce joy, so I've begun another rug, using scraps. Curious to see where this will go, but I have got it started--yay!  Hand-dyed wools on linen. Design by me. "Blueness doth express trueness." --Ben Jonson Spotted this on the internet and in the midst of the pandemic mess it made me smile a bit. Truth. So important. And gratitude to whoever wrote it:  Not much to do with all the closures. Fine with me, as I get to stay home and do art. Here's more Mooka practice (Mooka is named after Alphonse Mucha, the Art Nouveau genius)
Bizarre. Surreal. Just some of the words I'm thinking and also hearing from others as the pandemic ramps up in the USA and other countries. There's the cascade of cancellations, the hoarding of odd things (toilet paper, really?) leading to empty shelves in stores. I could, but won't, go on. With all the cancellations I've been able to focus a bit more on art. I just finished this small piece that's part of a group challenge. Meaning, a number of us are doing the same-sized piece with the same word on it, but other than that, we are each deciding on our own colors and border patterns used. It was fun to do this, and I'm doing a second one as a punch-hooked piece. I hooked this one in traditional fashion.  Welcome Mat, 2020. Size is slightly larger than an automobile license plate. Traditionally hooked using hand-dyed wool strips in size 6. I didn't plan this and just made-it-up-as-I-went. And it probably looks that way! I like it though. Today I took an online class with Joanna Quincy (a CZT from the UK) on the tangle Mooka, which I've used for years and love. But I know I can always learn tips and tricks and get better at anything, so I signed up. We did lots of fun practice and all did a similar tile. As you know if you read this blog, tangling is like handwriting and looks wildly different from person to person--part of its charm, fascination, and fun. Here is mine:  Tangles: Mooka and Tipple. Graphite and black Micron 01. And here is the mosaic of the entire class' tiles:  "Mosaic" of tiles from Joanna's Mooka Class. Fun to see the Differences in drawing and shading. Both rug hooking and tangling are incredibly relaxing, a much-needed, outrageously helpful characteristic right now. All forms of art practice can help us get through this. Read this fascinating article on the topic.
And finally, a quote from the late John Lennon which captures it all: Nobody told me there'd be days like these; Nobody told me there'd be days like these; Nobody told me there'd be days like these; Strange days indeed -- strange days indeed. This is a short tale of trust and patience. It's been weeks since I've had time to do any drawing at all--an indicator of how over-scheduled I've been. Yesterday I had a scrap of time in the morning and thought I would do some tangling...and then noticed a curious reluctance. It had been so long since I'd picked up a pen that I was losing my confidence and was afraid to try. Not good. So I went to my desk and began with a new-to-me tangle called Avos by Maria Venekens, CZT. This was my first attempt with it. I was surprised at how tentative I felt. I started with this, below and really did not like it:  Tangle is Avos, from Maria Venekens, CZT (with some Mooka in between). Micron PN in Black and Prismacolor pencil. Gold gellyroll dots around the edge. Nope, not happy at all with this. I had to force myself to start adding color. Did not feel like I had drawn it well, even though this was a first attempt. The internal critic was in full voice. I considered tossing it, BUT I know from experience that Zentangle® teaches patience, persistence, and trust in the process. So I put it aside when I ran out of time and vowed to keep going later. Last night I went back to it just before bed, and I'm so glad I did. Here's the final result:  I deeply appreciate the lessons the Zentangle process teaches about life, not just about art. A particular result may not be a masterpiece, but it's possible to love it all the same. What I've learned from the process is to keep going and trust, and things will usually work out fine. Perhaps not perfectly, but certainly "well enough."
Meanwhile, this is a lovely tangle and I hope to use it more in upcoming projects. |
ABOUT ME I'm a textile artist (traditional rug hooking, punch needle rug hooking, and other textile arts), a long-time meditator, a certified meditation teacher and coach, and focused on learning about the interplay of art, creativity, and mindfulness every day. 
Certified, 2021
Certified Zentangle® Teacher, 2013
Certified by AmyOxford.com at The Oxford Rug Hooking School, 2016
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November 2023
SITES TO WATCH:
Insight Meditation Society Oxford Rug Hooking School Zentangle: The Official Site Green Mountain Rug Hooking Massachusetts Tarot Society 
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