Blog Archives

Tangling Class

10/29/2018

Mosaic of tiles from new students in yesterday's class. To "round out" the mosaic, I included 2 of my own tiles--the one in the upper left and the one in the lower right. Everyone else's tile were from brand-new students. Micron 01 and graphite on 3.5" tiles (Fabriano Tiepolo printmaking paper).

Yesterday morning I taught a beginner class in the Zentangle® method. What a fun group--these were all rug hookers and they were really enthusiastic since they area already so creative in their textile designs. We had a great time.

I used the inexpensive portable projector for the first time, and it was "good enough" to get the job done, much to my relief. While I wish it were brighter, it was clear enough that everyone could see what I was doing.

In order to create a full mosaic, I included 2 of my own tiles. On the far right of the bottom row is the tile I did during the workshop yesterday. My other tile was from a previous beginner workshop that I taught. I included these to avoid gaps in the class mosaic because we didn't have an even number of students, but I think if you look at each of the other tiles you will see what a great job the students did. Hopefully, I have created a few more enthusiastic tanglers.

We finished up with some very plain linework on a Bijou tile (2"x2"):

Wonderful individual interpretations with the linework!

Oybay and Others

10/26/2018

Tangle: Oybay by CZT Antonine Koval. Micron 01, Rainbow Lead Pencil.

Another Inktober2018 inspiration. I had totally forgotten this one, and now I remember how much I loved it! That's been a big benefit of this challenge--recalling and enjoying tangles I'd only ever done once. This picture will serve to represent Inktober Day 28, but it's actually a picture I drew in 2015 and blogged about previously HERE.

The creator of this tangle says she named it Oybay because the orbs looked like pearls in an oy-ster and oysters live in the bay. Just looking at this 2015 first try makes me itch to try it again today, and perhaps I will.

Inktober was very productive for me and even though I was so ill for so long in the middle of the month, it was easy and fun to keep up or do a few tangles in one day to catch up. By now, coming off this intense illness, I had a fair amount of catching up to do. I decided to work in my pre-strung journal, as I noted yesterday. So far I'm not thrilled with working directly on the journal pages because it's hard to turn the entire journal (versus the ease of turning a tile and then pasting the tile into the journal).

So although I had a GREAT time doing these tangles, the page itself looks busier than I would like and some of these would have been nicer if I had been able to turn the journal more as I worked. Nevertheless, I am done with Inktober2018 and just loved the experience.

Whoops, one of the tangles isn't labeled, probably because I'm not quite done with it yet. Another oddity was the Yuma tangle (lower left thru the upper half of the rectangle), which I did with a Micron PN. I will have to take another look at that pen. It looks so blue. I used another PN in places on this page and it appears totally black. A mystery. I wonder if I have a blue Micron PN?

Taking Some Lines for a Walk

10/25/2018

I was able to spend the late afternoon tangling in one of my journals. I was working on the Inktober challenge which has been so inspiring. While I don't think any of these were entirely new to me, there were four I've never done more than once. Here is the progression:

On a pre-strung Zentangle® jounal page, I started with Yuma, a tangle by CZT Tina Hunziger:

Day 22 of Inktober2018. There's a tiny bit of the Printemps tangle on the left of this one, but this tangle is Yuma. Done with a MIcron PN pen and graphite. I know I've done this one once before, but doing it again today, I really had a good time.

Next I added Ixorus to another pre-strung section.

Ixorus, an original tangle from HQ. Black Micron 01 and graphite. Done for Inktober2018, day 23.

I still had time and there was plenty of room on the page:

Lower right section is the tangle Patience. Done with Micron 01 and graphite for Inktober2018, day 24.

Actually, I realize I'd never done this tangle, Patience, before. Surprisingly, it did not require Patience but did require a high focus. I will use it again.

Below is where I parked the project at the end of the day today.

Tangles: SandSwirl by Karry Hein and G-Belle by Yu Ru Chang. Both done with Micron 01 and graphite for Inktober2018, days 25 and 26.

There is plenty of room left on the page and I'll continue.

Very hard to believe Inktober--er, OC-tober, is almost over. Already.

Seven Days Later

10/24/2018

JEEZ. Six miserable days in bed, coughing and hacking away. Too sick to tangle. Ok, end of whine...let's just say the last week was memorable and not in a good way, but it's in the rear view mirror now and I'm thrilled about that.

Finally today I was well enough to sneak in a tangle (or rather, 3 of them). Ahhhh! Feels great. Textile work will have to wait a couple of weeks, for unrelated reasons, but I look forward to getting back to that as well.

Tangles: Abeko, W-2, Hamadox. Part of the Inktober2018 series, days 19, 20, and 21. Micron 01 and shaded with graphite on a regular white tile. Then the original photo was run through an iPhone filter, which added the color.

Tiny Tangle But Big Cough

10/17/2018

Black Bijou tile, 08 White Gellyroll, General's White Chalk Pencil. Tangles are Narwal and Luv-a. Days 17 and 18 of Inktober2018.

Did this today on a 2"x2" bijou tile. It was all I could manage as I'm down for the count in a major way with a severe chest cold and lots of coughing that reverberates right down into my toes. The kind that makes you exhausted. I've been mostly sleeping for two days. The good news is, it's a cold and I'll recover. Unfortunately I'm missing some exquisite weather--cool and sunny, the best of autumn. But eventually I'll get better and get myself out there.

Glad I had the energy to do this tiny tangle.

Making Time

10/14/2018

There is really no time to write today so I am just posting this tile which was so relaxing to do. That is, after all, the point of Zentangle®. Ahhhhhhh...

A leaky Micron 01 black pen, graphite, Rainbow Lead Pencil, General's White Chalk pencil. Tangles are Inapod and Joki. Done for Inktober 2018, days 15 and 16.

Dedication

10/12/2018

A couple of beloved friends are struggling right now. How helpless we feel when time and distance conspire against our desire to be present and helpful.

There is not much I can do from here at this moment, except send love. With that in mind I did this tangle last night, and dedicate it to all who are suffering right now.

3.5" Strathmore white tile. Tangles are Ando and Dewd. Micron 01 black pen, white Gellyroll 08, graphite, and Rainbow Lead Pencil. Done based on prompts from Inktober2018, days 13/14.

I've been pondering this quote from an anonymous source (I've seen it attributed to several people):
"Healing doesn't mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives."
...and also this one, from Georges Braque:
""Art is a wound turned into light."

May it be so.

Bijou

10/10/2018

Now the head cold is really starting to kick in. After waking up at 2.15 in the morning and being unable to get back to sleep, I did this tiny tangle on a Bijou Zentangle® tile. Bijou tiles are 2"x2" only. It's my version of the tangle Copada (not the classic version), done on a white Bijou with an 05 black Micron, graphite, and General's Watercolor Pencils. Part of Inktober2018, day 11.

Wishing I Had a Wand.

10/9/2018

Looks like I'm coming down with a cold, but I'm still into drawing and managed to get a bit ahead on Inktober2018 (Zentangle® version) so here are two more of the tangles on one tile, representing Days 9 and 10:

Tangles: Fe-Ba and Sez. Black Micron 01 on a Zentangle tile with graphite.

...Dedicated to all those in the world tonight who are dealing with suffering in any way, shape, or form. Two much-loved friends are going through very different things, and I know there are so many more than just two. This is where I had a wand to wave to make things better. Oh, how I want to make things better.

Hasty

10/7/2018

A hasty post in the middle of a too-busy day. Did this last night just before bed. I'm not keen on either of these tangles, but this is part of the Inktober2018 challenge, days 7 and 8, so I gave it a whirl--on a round black Zentangle® tile.

This isn't one of my favorite tiles but I'm choosing to work on quantity on the theory that quantity improves quality. Not sure you can tell that by this one! Black Zendala tile with gold gellyroll and white gellyroll, gold and white chalk pencils. Freehanded. Tangles are: Onion Drops as the border, and Cockles and Mussels inside the white 'nzeppel.

And just for fun, a friend traveling in Thailand, on her way to Bhutan, sent me this close up picture of the dashboard of the vehicle she was traveling in on her visit to Chiang Mai.

Closeup photo of the dashboard inside a tuk-tuk (a tuk-tuk is an auto rickshaw) in Chiang Mai.

Pais and More of Other People's Work

10/6/2018

Below is my version of a tangle called Pais, which is the Day 6 tangle in the Inktober2018 challenge. I'm curious as to why I seem to be keeping up with this challenge when I rarely can with others. Maybe because I'll be teaching a class soon and want to practice as much as I can, or maybe just because these tangles are "monotangles" (only one tangle requested per day, although there's no rule saying you cannot use as many as you wish). At any rate, I'm having fun.

Pais (the tangle name) used as a string with many other tangles inside--some Wud, Crescent Moon, Tipple, Striping, a hint of Diva Dance, Meer, and others. Done on a tan Zentangle® tile with a brown Micron 01, blue and white colored pencil, some chalk pencil. I had fun with the background on this one also.

Yesterday was an odd day. It's been a tough week politically (to say the least) and then I had a few additional major concerns about friends. I just couldn't settle myself, no matter what I tried.

Finally I dragged myself out of the house and went to see this wonderful art exhibit by Jen Luck Hale, below. I had seen the publicity and knew that colors would help me cheer up. And they did. If you are anywhere near Western MA in the next month or so, don't miss this one. It's not just "snowflake-y" cut paper, it's cut paper in great colors with nature as the theme. Plants, birds, fish, insects...it's all there. And oh, the colors! What a talented artist she is. From what I have read, she does NOT draw on the paper, but just "cuts by eyeing it." Wow. Read about her process HERE. Details and a couple of photos below.

Don't you feel better just looking at those colors?

This (below) is only a small portion of what is on display.

© 2018 to Jen Luck Hale, all rights reserved. I fell in love with and bought this one, titled "Four Bugs." I can only find three but perhaps what looks like a lizard to me is actually a bug? I love it. I've left it there for the duration of the show and then will claim it.

© 2018 to Jen Luck Hale, all rights reserved. This one's called "Night Shift." It may just be my favorite. I had to content myself with buying it as a card, though, as I didn't see the actual piece on display. Darn...

Done or Not Done?

10/5/2018

Can't decide whether to leave this here or keep going. This is my Inktober2018 Day 5 challenge response--Fleavy. I did it on a used coffee filter, a technique I learned with CZT and fabulous artist Cheryl Cianci a few years back. I thought I was going to fill this in with additional Inktober tangles, but I like this so much I'm not sure. Hmmm.

PS, I need to iron it a bit to get the wrinkles out.

Tangling on a used coffee filter. Tangle is Fleavy. Blue Micron 01 with blue colored pencil and white General's chalk pencil.

How to Make Anything Look Better. Maybe.

10/3/2018

INKTOBER 2018, days 4 & 5 (two for one today): Ginili and Facets

Here is the original tile below. I like it, though I'm not absolutely crazy about it.

And you know what that means: experimentation with an iPhone app again. Two other renditions are beneath the original.

Done on a Strathmore tile with a black Micron 01 and graphite. Tangles: Ginili and Facets.

Same image run thru an iPhone app with interesting results.

Same app, different filter. All glammed up!

The question is, is it a form of cheating to alter something digitally? Or is it a valid way to make art?
I confess I wouldn't want to give up either method, the "Plain Jane" version or the digital experiments. In this case, my favorite is the glammed-up version.

Inktober 2018 Yah

10/2/2018

Doesn't that title sound like an affirmation? Yah as an alternative way to spell yeah. But in fact it's a tangle by CZT Emily Classon and somehow I've never tried it before. So I tried it out today. That's the beauty of tangle challenges; there's always something new to do.

Here is my Plain Jane version, my original tile. It was fun to do this even though the gold gellyroll pen tended to pool when I stopped or started, causing wobblier lines (I was going over and over a few lines to try to even them out, resulting in not quite the effect I hoped for. But that's ok--live and learn.

Black tile, gold gellyroll pen, General's Gold Chalk pencil, and a bit of blue colored pencil.
Below is an iPhone app-version, my favorite of the "iPhone-altered tiles" I tried. I'd love a few yards of fabric made from this:

And finally, I played with a triptych that includes the original tile and two experiments. Fun!

Inktober2018 Mooka

10/1/2018

I should know better than to start these challenges, as I never finish them! So right here, right now, I'm declaring that I'll do what I can but I'm not going to stress out over it. Here was my plain Mooka tile (underneath which you can see how I tarted it up repeatedly with an iPhone app):

Mooka and also Easy Mooka, done on a black tile with a gold gellyroll pen and a little "Nord" in the background. Also used a General's Gold Chalk pencil for a further bit of color and shading.

I do love Mooka. Of course, I can never leave well enough alone, so I had to mess around with the original on my iPhone. Results below. I rather like both the plain and the fancy..

What did we do before computers? (We had much saner lives, methinks.)