Intentions, Orbs-la-Dee, and another Zentangle® Audio Meditation!

Yay! It's been the most wonderful art week! My surgery hand is getting a little stronger and more cooperative every day. (The hand that needs surgery is complaining from all the art work this week, but I'm ignoring it for now... as I ice and soothe it with painkiller gel.) I've worked on a couple of projects this week. 

First... a sneak peek of my 2017 Intention piece. (I will have it finished soon and will share the finished project in a future post.) I am combining prompts from a couple of groups that I'm participating in this year, Our Tangled Lives and Life Book. 

I wanted to choose a tangle/symbol to represent my journey this year... I chose Printemps, a lovely spiral shaped tangle that I am always drawn to AND love to draw. I wanted to cut it out and incorporate it on my page... as I was cutting it I saw the waste paper was creating a spring effect! YAY! So exciting! I had to use it! 

Playing around with Printemps placement...

I messed around with placement and then had a Eureka! moment... I love it woven together showing that sticking to my "habits" (word for the year) will help spring me to what I want to be. I didn't know how I wanted to add my word to the piece at first, would I collage over and add? That didn't feel right... and then it came to me. I would use a clear glaze pen that would show the words in only a certain light and it would add a little dimension. I adore how you can see it... it's there... it's important... yet it disappears if you're not paying attention. It reminds me that I need to be vigilant to stay on track to make actions into habits. I wanted the spring to lay flat or spring up so I was careful with how I glued, allowing for a little pocket to tuck in the middle of the spring Printemps... (3rd photo)

"habits" written in clear glaze pen and spring released...

Spring tucked into lower printemp spiral...

I've progressed a bit more from this point but will share all of that next time. 

Now it's time for this week's Diva Challenge #298 Orbs-la-Dee by Anneke van Dam. It has been quite some time since I've participated... I've missed you, Laura! Orbs-la-Dee is a very versatile lovely pattern by Anneke. Definitely a lot of fun to play with. I decided it would be perfect to explore on my new Zentangle 3Z tiles. Yay! My first triangle shaped tile. I am in love... the size is a little smaller AND so much fun to arrange into mosaics when complete (I've seen others do this and can't wait to have enough complete to do it myself)! I decided to isolate a section of the tangle to highlight the shape of the 3Z tile. It begged to have 3 gems added, again a tribute to the 3Z tile. It's titled, "3 gemZ."

"3 gemZ" Diva Challenge #298 Orbs-la-Dee

Finally... I created a Zentangle® Audio Meditation for Kelly Barone's, Tangle Troves™ subscription service filled with tangling treasures last year. You should definitely check out the service it is so much fun to get new tangling things in the mail every month! All who subscribed have had private access to this audio for the past 10 months. Today is the day that it is available here! Yippee!! I plan on producing more ZAM's during the coming year. 

So... Number Four as created originally for Tangle Troves. 

You will need the following: 

Bijou Tile (2 inches by 2 inches) or tile of choice (instructions are for bijou sized tile)

Micron 01 pen

Pencil

Tortillion or Stump

...and a nice quiet place :)

This meditation will take approximately 25 minutes. Please remember that you can pause the audio at any time if you need a little longer to complete the instructions. Most importantly... listen... and draw... there are no mistakes. 

I would LOVE to read comments from all those who participate. If you would like please post a photo of your tile on your blog/flickr/instagram, etc. and post the link in your comment. This will allow others to view your version of the meditation. It's so much fun to see everyone's artistic interpretation! DON'T PEEK UNTIL YOU COMPLETE THE CHALLENGE! THERE IS NO CHEATING IN ZENTANGLE! 

A SITE MAINTENANCE NOTE:

I pay a fee to have Vimeo host these audios. I would appreciate any help to defray this cost that anyone is willing or able to provide. You can find a contribution button in the side bar on the right... There are three choices $2.50/$5.00/$10.00 just click to select. Thank you in advance SOOOO very much to any who would like to help out once in awhile. Any amount is greatly appreciated.  

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit! I adore seeing who's been here... please leave me a little note! :)

Losing Time...

Oh my! Where did the month go?! 

I haven't taken the time to do my nails with fun Jamberry wraps in over a month! It was nice to take advantage of a rainy afternoon to spiffy them up. I used Butterfly Kisses, Faded Bouquet (retiring at the end of February), and Daydream in this combination. I LOVE it! I think it looks like a little taste of springtime.

Springtime Nails!

BREAKING NEWS and it's the best. news. EVER!!! Disney nail art now available at Jamberry! Check out all the AMAZINGLY MAGICAL designs here! 

I am very excited about a project I'll be completing this month for Kelly Barone, of Whimsy by Kelly. She is a Certified Zentangle® Teacher and the proprietor of Tangle Troves™. Tangle Troves is an AWESOME monthly delivery of Zentangle supplies and inspiration. I think it is so exciting to have a box of TREASURES show up in your mail each month. You will always be surprised and delighted by what she so thoughtfully assembles. SNEAK PREVIEW!!! I will be creating a Zentangle Audio Meditation specifically for  subscribers to enjoy. It will be included in the March Box.... So sign up now, if you haven't already, to get lots of great supplies AND have exclusive access to the Zentangle Audio Meditation. 

Last month a photo I submitted to the Facebook group, Zentangle: Tangled & Journaled, Too!, was selected as the header of the week. I am so honored and excited that it was chosen. This is how it looked...

My art as group header for the week!

I did start working on a mixed media piece this month... This is the stage it is currently at, waiting ever so patiently for me to get back to it! 

First few layers of papers/paint...

I can't believe how quickly February has passed. I have been overwhelmed this month with things that needed to be done... putting art on the back burner. I hope to be back on track and catch up during March! At least through all the busyness I have kept up with my daily tangle of the day in my journal. I look forward to taking the few minutes every morning to explore that day's tangle. Sometimes I only have time to follow the step out and other days I can explore variations. I am grateful for each moment. One of my favorite nail photos this month was from Valentine's Day. I had done my nails a few days earlier, and then on Valentine's Day my loving husband presented me with a famous blue box. It contained one of my favorite things... a beautiful PEN! I ADORE pens!  You have to appreciate how perfectly the pen matched my nails! I admired them both all day! (I may need to make a mental note to do this manicure every year to encourage more matching boxes filled with lovely items!)

Matching nails and pen! A perfect tangling combination!

I hope you have had a wonderful February and were more successful in your artistic endeavors than I have been this month! Looking forward to new adventures/art ahead! 

Audio Zentangle® Meditation #3, the Diva, and a New Weekly Focus

It has been such a busy time here... I meant to create this meditation last week and I obviously just didn't get to it. So many exciting things are about to happen. We'll be taking Cami to visit a couple of  college campuses so she can decide where she will go in the fall, AND I'll soon be off to attend Tangle U! Both are VERY exciting events! (Tangle U is a jam-packed event of Zentangle fun for CZTs.) New meditation later in this post!! ...wait for it... :)

I taught a "Dewdrops & Tangle Enhancers" class at the end of March. One of my students (soon to be a CZT! Yippee!) told me that she had shared my first audio meditation with her book club. Four of the participants had NEVER had any experience with Zentangle before... she showed me the photo... my heart was thrilled! THEY ALL CREATED BEAUTIFUL ZENTANGLE ART! No visual prompts were necessary. :) Thank you so much, Bonnie, for sharing this with me. (As to not give away the pattern to anyone who hasn't completed the meditation, I am not posting the photo here... However you can click this to see the photo! No peeking, if you haven't tried it yet!)

The Diva Challenge #211 this week is to use the tangle pattern, Flux. I created this tile using a brush pen, and shaded by smearing the ink slightly with a water brush. (Laura... I'm sending lots of healing thoughts Artoo's way. xo)

Diva Challenge #211 : Flux : Brush Pen Practice

I have begun to participate in a new weekly tangle focus. It is a video site created and maintained by CZT, Jane Dickinson, called Video Tangle. She curates daily Zentangle videos and produces weekly video slideshows focusing on that week's tangle. Last week's tangle was Munchin... here is my submission. (You can view all the lovely art submitted for this tangle on the video here.) It is fun to see your art in a video and the site has LOTS of great reference material! You'll have to check it out! 

Munchin Focus Tile

So... now for the next installment of my Audio Zentangle Meditations. Here is the third one!

You will need the following:

Bijou Tile (2 inches by 2 inches) or Original Tile

Micron 01 pen

Pencil

Tortillion or Stump

A nice quiet place and about 20 minutes

I would LOVE to read comments from all those who participate. If you would like, please post a photo of your tile on your blog/flickr/instagram, etc. and post the link in your comment. This will allow others to view your version of the mindful meditation challenge. It's so much fun to see everyone's artistic interpretation! DON'T PEEK UNTIL YOU COMPLETE THE CHALLENGE! NO CHEATING!!  (Already finished?! You can see my version here.)

Here are the links to the first two:

#1 : Tangleation and an Audio Meditation

#2 : Zentangle Audio Meditation #2 and a little Jonqal

A SITE MAINTENANCE NOTE:

It seems that quite a few people have been listening to my Audio Meditations... (This makes me VERY happy!) I received notice from the audio hosting site that I had surpassed allowable traffic for my free account, and must upgrade to keep content available. So now I have a "Professional" account, which is the next level. Of course, there was an annual fee. I would love any help to defray this cost that anyone is willing or able to provide. You can find a contribution button in the side bar... Thank you SOOO much to any who would like to help out once in awhile. Any amount is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for visiting! I adore seeing who's dropped by... please leave me a little note! :)

Zentangle Audio Meditation #2 and a little Jonqal

It has been a beautiful weekend. Temperatures in the 80's... We've spent the afternoon floating in the pool and relaxing. A wonderful little preview of summer. I feel spoiled!

I spent part of the afternoon (not while floating in the pool) finishing up this tile from the "Shades of Gray" Zentangle® class I taught late last month. It was such a wonderful class. I wish I had remembered to take photos of the tiles. Everyone created such beautiful art! (Hopefully at the next Beyond the Basics class I can photograph the tiles from this class, if everyone remembers to bring their tiles back!) We spent a portion of the class working on a variety of shading techniques. So.much.fun! I wanted to demonstrate what a HUGE difference shading can make to a tangle. You can make one pattern look like something completely different all with where you lay down your graphite or add a sparkle (highlight). This tile is an example of one of the tangles (Jonqal) we worked on in this class. It shows the tangle unshaded, and shaded two different ways. Isn’t it amazing to see the difference?!  There are sooo many ways to shade this! Jonqal was a tangle that gave me that AH...HA... moment in shading when I first started tangling. I held back my tile at arm's length after adding shading, and realized that the combination of sparkles and shading had created an illusion of a coil on a striped background... it BLEW MY MIND!! I was hooked on experimenting with shading from that moment! 

Jonqual : 3 ways

It has been way too long since I've had a chance to participate in the Diva Challenge...  This week's challenge #208 is to use the tangles Cubine and Poke Root. You can see all the details of the challenge here. I am so happy to have a piece to submit. Thanks, Laura, for another fabulous challenge! I had so.much.fun!

Diva Challenge #208 : Cubine & Poke Root : "Reflections"

I have had such a lovely, kind response to my first Zentangle Audio Meditation Challenge. I appreciate all those kind Zentangle enthusiasts who have left me comments here, on Facebook, or emailed me. Each message was treasured. Thank you! 

So... let's try it again! Here is the SECOND Zentangle Audio Meditation Challenge. (Didn't have a chance to try the FIRST one? It's here!) You will need the following:

Bijou Tile (2 inch by 2 inch paper tile) 

or original Zentangle (3 1/2 inch by 3 1/2 inch) tile, if you prefer

Micron 01 pen

Pencil (HB or softer)

Tortillion or Stump for blending

....and a nice quiet place :)

This challenge will take approximately 25 minutes. Please remember that you can pause the audio at any time if you need a little longer to complete the instructions.  Listen... and draw... there are no mistakes. 

I would love to read comments from all those who participate. If you would like, please post a photo of your tile on your blog/instagram/flickr, etc. and post the link in your comment. This will allow others to view your version of the challenge. It's so much fun to see everyone's artistic interpretation! DON'T PEEK UNTIL YOU COMPLETE THE CHALLENGE! NO CHEATING!    {Finished? You can see mine here.}

 

Thank you again for stopping by for a little relaxed focus... Enjoy!

Tangleation and an Audio Meditation

This week Cami and I taught a Beyond the Basics Zentangle class, Tangleation Exploration. It was a blast! We explored many versions of Cadent in this class. (A special shout out to Margaret Bremner for her oh-so-wonderful ...and then some series! Thanks!) We were so busy working tangle after tangle that the two hours went by in a flash, and class had to end! 

Lots of Cadent Variations! 

I was disappointed that we didn't have time to work through a traditional tile in class. I woke up in the middle of the night with an idea... What if I sent my students a "bonus" with my wrap up email? The bonus of an audio meditation for a bijou tile. I became very excited about this! I decided to give it a try.

I had fun figuring out how I was going to do the audio, and creating it. I have been wanting to try this since being led through an audio meditation by Molly Hollibaugh at CZT Seminar last year. I sent the finished audio to my daughter. She and her boyfriend gave it a try and sent me the results... So. Awesome.  It made me think... I wonder if I can add this to my blog... a little fun for all! It would be so cool to see everyone's interpretation, especially as they won't have a preconceived notion of what tangle they are creating... you just listen... and draw... there are NO MISTAKES. So... let's give it a try!

Get ready! Grab a bijou tile (or 2 inches by 2 inches square tile), micron 01 pen, pencil, and tortillon (or stump, or q-tip for blending). Find a nice quiet place, and take the next 10 to 15 minutes to listen, and create... one stroke at a time.

(If you are on a mobile device you may need to click "Watch on Vimeo" to play.)

When you finish your tile please take a photo and add it to your blog/flickr/instagram etc. Then comment here and include the link in your comment so I (and all who have completed the challenge... no cheating... don't look before you do it!) can check it out! I would like to post a new audio meditation every few weeks. We'll see how you like it and go from there!

I hope you participate! I can't wait to see the results and hear what you think!