" Earth Day " - Weekly Challenge #67

April 22 was World Earth Day, so, as you may have guessed, the Diva has suggested this week's theme to be...... Earth Day.  Please see Laura's commentary here. 

Wouldn't it be nice if we, each individual human person living on planet Earth, would honor our planet every day by being more conscoius of recycling, water preservation, air purity, trees, plants, rivers, streams, oceans, etc etc etc........... 

Here is my challenge/contribution to thoughts of Earth Day.....
  


ZIA - 5" x 7" sketch book; Sakura Micron Black #01; Prismacolor Pencils; graphite shading.

Happy tangling...
..... and thank you for visiting.

ps:  Happy Birthday, Mary!  luv you lots
 

" Auras " - Weekly Challenge #66

This week, the challenge theme is to draw a Zentangle or ZIA and add an 'aura' to the tangles.


I love echo quilting.... and echo drawing.  And auras add a unique dimension to a tangle.  They can be numerous, or 'just a few'.  For this challenge, I was feeling that I wanted this tile to be soft - and 'quiet' - as my mind needed to be clear and uncluttered, so I chose a simple and limited succession of echos/auras around my tangles. 


The results.... made me feel good.  (My typical Zentangle response.......)

Traditional Zentangle - 3.5" sq tile; Sakura Micron Black #01; graphite shading.

Thank you, Laura.


Happy tangling...
..... and thank you for visiting.

" Huggy Bear " - Weekly Challenge #65

This is UMT week, which features a versatile tangle created by JJ LaBarbera.  Her tangle instructions are here.  The Diva has challenged us to learn "Huggy Bear" and use it in a Zentangle or ZIA.

Huggy Bear can be taken to so many levels and in so many directions.   Before I view the other entries of any Weekly Challenge, I complete mine.  After my tile is finished, I check-out everyone's little work of art, and I'm always amazed at the different expressions of creativity!  The variations of Huggy Bear are just fabulous.

This is my first attempt at drawing Huggy Bear, and I'm adding it to my little book of FDP  (frequently drawn patterns).  Another fun challenge.

Traditional Zentangle - Sakura Micron Black #01; graphite shading; Prismacolor Premier pencils; chalks

Thank you, JJ and Laura.

Happy tangling...

..... and thanks for visiting.

P.S.  Happy Birthday, Kai!  Love you lots...

" Fortune Teller " - Challenge #64

This week, the Diva is using her 'string theory' as the basis for our tangled design - which means we are all using a common string.  After drawing the four outside string/lines (dot-to-dot/corner to corner), that string is then divided into eight fairly equal triangles.  And as the tangles cozy-up next to each other, they are forming a symbiotic relationship.  Nice.

The resulting 'string design' sorta resembles a folded-paper game we played in elementary school, called a 'Fortune Teller'.

See the Diva's award winning blog and detailed instructions here.               

There are so many possible design zen-binations for this challenge!  What fun.             

Traditional Zentangle - Sakura Micron Black #01; graphite shading.

Thanks, Laura.

Happy tangling, everyone.....
... and thank you for visiting.

" Fengle " - Weekly Challelnge #63

This new tangle from Rick and Maria is called "Fengle" (pronounced fangle).  

Laura Harms, The Diva, says:  "You may have noticed lately, that a new tangle has been popping up in mine and the work of my fellow CZTs.  It's called "Fengle" - and the story goes that it was named after a Sushi restaurant called "Fengs", which is pronounced 'fangs'.   So, Fengle should, in theory, rhyme with Tangle?  Now it's your turn to get all Fengled up! "

Here is my interpretation of this swirling, spinning, twirling, twisting tangle pattern.  I'm still a little afraid of it, so my design is plain and simple (but swirling).

Zentangle - 3.5" sq; Sakura Micron Black #01; Prismacolor Premier; graphite shading

             

Happy tangling...

... and thank you for visiting.

PS:  Happy 105th Birthday to Merci!!  Love you........

" Spiral vs Paradox " - Weekly Challenge #62

Tangle 'Paradox' within a 'Spiral' string.  This week's theme has been suggested by Marizaan van Beek, CZT.  The Diva says:   "The challenge is to use spiral together with paradox.  Your basic string should be a spiral and tangled with paradox. More than one spiral string can be used.  LUCKILY FOR ME (and for you!) this week's challenge will be brought to you by Certified Zentangle Teacher, Marizaan van Beek, all the way from South Africa!" 

 It took a bit of planning for me to figure out how to tangle Paradox within the Spiral string, while, at the same time, leaving each Paradox pattern to stand on its own.  Final results were a surprise to me.  Each step seemed to lead me in a different direction.  Sorta like the path of life.  And in the end, there is something to share.

Traditional Zentangle - Sakura Micron Black #01; graphite shading.

Happy tangling.....
... and thank you for visiting.

" Golven " aka " Waves " - Weekly Challenge #61

The theme for the first Monday of the month is reserved for us... [we tangling humans who are creatively enthralled with the art of Zentangle (R)].  The first Monday of each month will feature a home-made tangle, chosen at random.  The Diva says:  "This week's tangle, called GOLVEN, comes to us from Mariët.  GOLVEN is the Dutch word for waves.  You can find instructions for her tangle here."

I often visit Mariet's blog.  Her flair for the artistic is quite evident.  She does such lovely work.

When Mariet first demonstrated her new tangle called Waves/Golven, I diligently gave it a try.  I gave it several tries.  Although I did not expect it to look exactly like hers, I did expect a reasonable facsimile.  Didn't happen.  So, I sorta pushed Waves/Golven over to the "Tangles that Frustrate Me" list.

After this challenge was posted, I knew I would give it another try.  Then I read Margaret Bremmer's post  "Two New Tangles Attempted.....".  This was my 'ahh-haa' moment.  And as Margaret said, "Then I realized that I hadn't exactly followed the directions!"

I had not exactly followed Mariet's directions!

I was omitting Step 4, which was to heavily shade the corners.  So, the secret is to follow the directions, huh?  Yep!  I love, love, love the way Waves/Golven looks when it's finished and shaded.  It's a very lovely and versatile tangle.  Thank you, Mariet.  Wonderful tangle.

Traditional Zentangle - Sakura Micron Black #01, graphite shading.

And thank you, Margaret, for pointing out the obvious.

Happy tangling.....
... and thank you for visiting.

March - in Tangle-a-Day Calendar

Today is March 1, 2012..... the 61st day of this year.

March 1 is (usually) the 60th day of the year, except in leap year, in the Gregorian calendar.  There are 305 days remaining until the end of the year.

A Pisces born on March 1 has strong views on morality yet does not confuse them with deeper, spiritual truths. Their need to understand their motivations is strong, and it defines their character. They are competitive and give their best at every opportunity, always believing that attitude, more than ability, promises success.

Here is my interpretation of March 1st, 2nd & 3rd in the Tangle-a-Day 2012 Calendar....

Sakura Micron Black #'s 005, 01, 03; #005 Brown; graphite shading

On this day in history:
     1961 President of the United States John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps.
     1936 The Hoover Dam is completed.
     1912  Albert Berry makes the first parachute jump from a moving airplane.

Specials on this day:
     Beer Day, marked the end of beer prohibition in 1989 in Iceland
     Self Injury Awareness Day

Happy tangling.....
...and thank you for visiting.

" Duo Challenge - Cirquital & Munchin " - Weekly Challenge #60

Oh, goodie!!  DuoTangle week!!!  I love this. 

The Diva says:  "This week, try to PUSH yourself out of your comfort zones.  Your challenge, should you chose to accept it, is to create a tile or ZIA (Zentangle Inspired Art) using ONLY TWO TANGLES - Cirquital & Munchin - and nothing else.   It's trickier than it seems. "

Like I said, I really love the DuoTangle theme.  Zen time..... 1-2-3...... dots, border, string.... GO! 

I wanted to make this a loosy-goosy, free-flowing, non-conforming type of design duo, so I may have given Cirquital and Munchin a bit of variation......, but that is allowed, isn't it?  Lol.  This was fun.

Traditional Zentangle - Sakura Micron Black #'s 01, 03; graphite shading

Thank you, Laura!

And congratulations to the newest group of  CZTs in Class #8!!  Welcome to the family.

Happy tangling.....
... and thank you for visiting.

" Mardi Gras " - Challenge #59

A week of celebration....... Mardi Gras!  This weekly challenge is the closest I have ever come to celebrating this festival..... and it was, indeed, fun to do the Mardi Gras research!  The Diva's challenge goes like this:  "Mardi Gras translates to Fat Tuesday - which traditionally was a day to eat rich/fatty foods - to INDULGE... one last Hurrah before Lent began the next day on Ash Wednesday.  This week's challenge - create a tile or ZIA using the prompt: Mardi Gras."  

I have always been fascinated by "jester" characters in movies.  Why?  Perhaps because they represented humor and brought a sense of reality to even the darkest of medieval plots.  (... and I really hate movies with a dark, morbid storyline.)  Maybe 'reality' is not the politically correct word here, but for me, humor & reality are a match made in heaven.

Zentangle Tile 3.5" sq. - Sakura Micron Black #01, 005; Sakura Micron Colors #05; PrismaColor Pencils; graphite shading.

Thanks, Laura.

Happy tangling.....

... and thank you for visiting.