Category: Gray Tiles

Start to Finish

11/21/2020

Here is the start of a mandala, just the beginning linework.

I drew this last night while studying one of Romi Marks' videos. I screwed up the center--but luckily, there are "no mistakes!" in Zentangle® and so I just kept going and did my own thing in the center. And I like the way that came out. I also changed a few things in the next layer.

This is one major thing I learned about drawing since I've begun to draw regularly. In fact once I began drawing in the Zentangle® tradition it was resoundingly, repeatedly, and overtly reinforced.: There are no mistakes--keep going and see what you can make of what is in front of you. 90-95% of the time, not only can you work through whatever is there but you can actually surprise yourself with a good result.

It's the same in meditation. And, I believe, in much of life in general. What about that other 5-10%? Anywhere from "meh, or disappointing," to a genuine catastrophe. But still, those odds sound pretty good to me.

So I persevered and began adding color. Big difference! Encouraged, I drew the outside of the tile and stopped there for a bit, having worn myself out for the day:

And here below is the finished tile. I'm glad I stuck with it.

Black Micron 01 and PN, assorted Prismacolor pencils, graphite, Signo Uniball White pen, White Prismacolor on a grey Zendala tile.

Whatever it is you are pursuing, whatever it is you are seeking, whatever it is you are creating, be careful not to quit too soon.
--Elizabeth Gilbert

Start Where You Are

11/5/2020

Tangles: Auraknot and Orbs, on a silver tile with Micron 01, graphite, chalk pencils.

We have no choice but to start from wherever we are, yes? I've finally had the time to start tangling again, but my recent lack of practice means I've gotten very rusty. No matter. It's just where I am in this moment. The tile at left is not one of my favorites but it's the truth of things.

The tangle is Auraknot, one that I've never quite "gotten," always making mistakes. In the past its' been frustrating! This time I finally got it, and did it successfully. One time as the frame, and then five additional times inside the frame. I was excited and pleased for myself!

But here's the thing: I'll probably never like this tangle. Even now that I know what I'm doing with it, it's just not that attractive to me. Maybe with more practice? We'll see.

It does make me think of the old saying from the I Ching, however: "Perseverance furthers." It was so satisfying to figure out how I'd been going off-course and correct myself. Now this tangle comes easily to me.

Many lessons for me here. We really can only begin anything from right where we are in that moment. And repetition can really pay off--in daily life and in formal meditation. Finally, we each have our preferences, and it's important to notice them.

With all that is going on externally in this country, tangling provides such a lovely respite and rest. And the more I do it, the more begins to come back to me. I'm working my way through Gratitangles2020 and I'm way ahead in the month already because I'm enjoying the process so much. At this rate I'll be done early. Here are two more tangles.

Tangles: Any, plus some Fescu. On a silver tile with black Micron 01, Prismacolor and chalk pencils.

More Gratitangles2020. Tangles: Shattuck and Mooka. Done on watercolor paper which someone else had painted; using White Gellyroll pens 05 and 10, white chalk pencil, and Prismacolor pencil.

Wishes

5/5/2020

Thanks to Romi Marx for the inspiration. General's Chalk Pencils, Micron 01, graphite. Tangles are Well, Printemps, Tipple, and some fragments.

“When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.” ―Fred Rogers

I'll Fly Away

5/4/2020

Gray Zendala and Gray Bijou tiles. General's Chalk Colored Pencils, 01 brown and black microns, graphite, embroidery thread. Tangles are Purk, Vega, Crazy Huggins, and a bunch of fragments.

Normally I don't do any type of tangling on representational art, but I made one exception for this small project yesterday. It borders on being too cutesy for me but what the heck. It's the product of a webinar I took from Zentangle® headquarters in lieu of the large multi-day seminar they had to cancel due to the pandemic.

We'd all like to "fly away" from our current global situation. I am lucky to be healthy so far, but have at least one sweet friend who is battling for her life at the moment. Everyone fighting this (and really that's all of us, even those who aren't sick) is under stress. I'll Fly Away is an old gospel song done by many choirs and artists since the 1930s. It's in the repertoire of the hospice chorus I sing in. Since I finished this tangled balloon, I've been hearing the song in my head. If you click on the link above you'll hear Alison Krauss's version, recorded for the film, O Brother Where Art Thou, which had such a great soundtrack.

Here's the same piece photographed this morning in better light and on a white background. Amazing how different things can look under different light. Much like the way we view problems in life.

Twenty Days

1/25/2020

Zendala created on grey paper which I cut myself by hand. Prismacolor pencils, blue Micron PN, Gold Gellyroll pen.

Although I worked on this only two times, it took twenty days to finish it because after I got it started on the 4th of January (see below)--

End of the first session. Glad I took this to remind me of the start.

--it took three weeks before I had time to get back to it. I kept looking at it with longing, but simply could not carve out the time to sit down and finish. This type of dilemma always points out to me how over-committed I am.

Here is a picture of how it looked yesterday as I picked it up again and was about 1/4 of the way through finishing it. I had put down a first layer of color on the green "leaves (top half) and was putting down a blending layer (bottom half) when it occurred to me to take a picture at this stage.

and here's another photo, different from the one at the top of the page (different lighting) of the finished piece for contrast.

It's interesting to contrast this version to another version I did (in December) as I was taking a class with The Tangled Yogi. The December 10th version was a situation where I just had to go with pencils I happened to have on hand; this one is more "me" in terms of colors and execution. I highly recommend Romi's videos and classes as I learn a lot from watching and emulating.

A video is also a great way to jump-start one's practice after a long hiatus. After I've been away from tangling for a few weeks, it's so helpful to follow along with what someone else is showing in order to rev up my own mojo. Once I've done that, I'm ready to go off on my own again.

Beginnings

1/4/2020

The beginning of a new year and the beginning of a new tangle project.

I've a long way to go on both.

“For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.”
― T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

Long Gap

12/25/2019

Whew. The last two weeks have been a blur, and none of it holiday-related. I'm not a holiday celebrator (no offense to those who are--if you enjoy it all, more power to you), so most years, while others may be stressing out buying gifts, sending cards, gathering with family, I am nurturing my introverted self with quiet and reflection--I love it! But not this year. Visitors--welcome indeed but unusual for this month--a few minor health inconveniences, a couple of intensive workshops, and on and off insomnia have combined to create more stress than usual. But it's all good, and it will all straighten out.

Many projects are underway. I have been working to finish my punched pillow. First I had to un-punch and re-punch some areas, and then begin the finishing process. It's a time-taker but I hope it will be worth it. Here's what I re-punched:

The problem: Somehow a too-big space between two petals.

Beginning the repair: rip out the dark blue on the back and re-punch with more peach. This is the start of it.

I got that fix done (all will be revealed once I get the pillow completed), and now I'm into the messy process of creating and binding the back. This boring looking beige-y broadcloth was the single fabric I could find that would not clash horribly with the front. Hopefully it won't show once it's done. I'm creating an "envelope back" for the first time, and sure hope it works.

Next up: a good friend and I were lucky enough to go to a workshop with the Zentangle® folks at the Kripalu Institute in Lenox, Massachusetts, and the focus was creating a Compass Rose. I had made one before in 2016, and you can find it HERE in this blog. I wrote about the origins there as well. We used a very different method this time (no protractor, just folding the paper). All of us made small Zendala versions first and here was the class mosaic (some are missing from this mosaic):

Clearly these aren't "Compass Rose" pieces; they are just practice pieces. Pretty, nonetheless.

We then moved on to beginning the actual Compass Rose. I wish I'd thought to take more pictures. I only have one "before" photo, below. Wish I'd taken pics from the folding-stage through the initial black and white stage, then adding color, then embellishing, etc. This (below) was perhaps almost halfway through. I wasn't enamored of it at this stage. That is an understatement.

Start of the drawing. Meh. Feeling blah about it. Micron PN plus watercolor on a gray Opus tile (10" square). Not my favorite thing at this point.

We then added the North arrow and used the Embedded Letter tangle technique. I liked it a bit better but was still dubious. We added a bit of gold gellyroll as well. Still dubious. However, that was as far as we got in the workshop and I took my tile home, where it sat for over 2 weeks until I had time to get to it.

That happened today. Below is the finished (??) piece.

Compass Rose: Micron PN, Gold Gellyroll, Gold Finetec watercolor, blue General's Watercolor pencil, White Chalk Pencil, graphite. Gray Opus tile (10" square) Photographed on a matching bedspread! I really tarted up the original and like it much better now.

Yup, working and taking my time on it definitely improved things.

Finally, I took a chance on a product I saw on a Kickstarter campaign and it arrived last night. I haven't yet had a chance to play with it:

Looks like it will work great, but I've yet to take it for a test-drive.
Just too darned busy.
A good night's sleep would also help.

"Last night I dreamed I ate a ten-pound marshmallow, and when I woke up the pillow was gone."
--Tommy Conger

Trying It On

12/9/2019

Tangle is All-Stars. Graphite, blue Micron 01, chalk pencils, white gellyroll on a gray tile.

Teaching myself the tangle All-Stars by Tomàs Padros. I'll be doing this one again soon, so this one was just for practice.

Deep Listening

11/24/2019

Gray tile, black Micron PN, graphite, white chalk pencil, white gellyroll. Tangles are Ratoon, Flux, A-Frame, Tipple. This is based on a class ZenLinea posted on the SkillShare website. My further experiment with it is below.

A friend stopped by my house today, exhausted and distraught, sharing a very sad but very familiar story of serious family trouble. I think I may have been the first person outside the family she told. There was nothing I could do but listen. I can only hope that being present with her, and listening, was enough to help.

She was here for hours. After she left I had to help myself, so I did this "variation," of the tile above, experimenting with what I'd learned in Zen Linea's class to produce this on a Bijou tile (2"x2"):

Bijou (2"x2") Renaissance (tan) tile, Brown Micron 01, brown colored pencils, graphite, white chalk pencil, white gellyroll. Tangles are a variation of Ratoon, a variation of A-Frame, and Flux.

Listening with loving-kindness was the only thing I could do.

I am frequently reminded, as I hear other people speak of what they are going through, of how fortunate I really am. I am grateful for my life, with all its warts and minor upsets and imperfections. And with all its privilege and grace.

Compared to what some of those who matter to me are going through, I often feel like the luckiest person on earth.

May she and her family heal. May all those who suffer heal. May all of us know peace.

Late Night Tangles

10/19/2019

Oh boy! New gray-toned paper to play with.

On a new Zentangle® gray tile. I really enjoy working on toned paper. Bales (day 8) and Lola (day 9) for Inktober 2019. Gray tile, Micron 01 in black, graphite + white chalk pencil.

I'm beginning to think I do my easiest tangling late at night. Both the previous work and the work below were done very late. It was after midnight when I finished each of them. I'm thinking that being tired slows down the critic in my head, plus at that time of day my goal is really relaxation, and I don't care much about what comes out of the pen. The result is usually better than the more self-conscious efforts when I'm more alert.

Days 10 and 11 of the Inktober 2019 project. Cubine in the background and Instaflux in the foreground. Microns 01 and 03 in black, plus General's Chalk Pencils; done on a gray tile.

I take note that in meditation, focusing on the current moment and not worrying about the "results" is prime. And so is acknowledging that there is an inner critical voice; realizing that the voice is "just thoughts," and that thoughts are not the same as facts. We do not have to believe or pay attention to thoughts that pass through our heads, and that goes for the critical voice as well.

It's difficult to have fun or to achieve concentration when your ego is engaged in what it thinks is a life-and-death struggle.
(W. Timothy Gallwey)

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