Not the FULL Picture

Laura, our well-loved DIVA, challenges once again! This time, it's draw with your non-dominant hand. I have to tell you: I totally love this one. I often do an exercise in my Creative Thinking classes that pairs people up and requires each partner to draw the other partner, using the non-dom hand. Similar "rules" apply: pen only, no eraser, just draw!

So, I embarked on my tile, string first. A little wobbly, but not so bad.

The tile turned out pretty well, too.

I found that I was holding my non-dom (for me, the left) hand still and moving the tile a lot more (lesson one: move the tile!)

I had to move slowly and deliberately, guiding the pen through each stroke (lesson two: duh!)

I made Crescent Moon first, as that's the pattern I generally teach first but decided to take a "risk" and include Betweed, which requires concentration (for me) and Trentwith, a tangle of my own, just to develop some more mastery over it (lesson three: don't be scared!)

I found that shading was the hardest part, as I couldn't quite get the pencil to "behave itself" (lesson four: let the tangle happen!)

Now, here's the REAL story. What the string can't show and the tile doesn't show is the amount of effort, concentration, and work (in a way) this tile was. What DOES show that is the following photo, of the nib of a brand new pen. Not so new, now.

New Classes!

WOW! The class schedule contains sessions in October! Talk about planning ahead!

Something V-E-R-Y cool is coming up - at least I think it's cool. The lovely people of the Philadelphia Calligraphers' Society host an event each year called "The Writes of Spring." Quite a catchy title, in my opinion.

This year, guess who gets to be in the spotlight? Or should I say "guess what?" Yep. ZENTANGLE.

They have invited me to conduct a workshop as a lead-in to their event. Registration for the workshop includes admission to "The Writes of Spring." A pretty good deal, I declare!

I got the BLUEZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

That diva keeps pushing me out of my comfort zone! I love, love, love "traditional" Zentangle: black ink on the creamy page. Now, she wants BLUE!

Blue-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, I got.

It was fun. I may do more.

What about you?

Check out the weekly challenge that Laura poses:

http://www.iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com/

Tropical Tangles

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Just returned from a vacation in Florida. The nice part? Temperatures in the high 70s. Not so nice? Returning on a 19 degree night.

BUT! While I was there, basking in the warmth of the back yard, I was admiring the tangle pattern on the palm tree... As you can see, it's quite tangle-worthy.

I'm working on deconstructing it!

Squeeze Play

Last week (or so), at the class at Laurel Hill, I was reminded of the value of stretching while making a Zentangle. We'd made our first tile, and I had everyone stand up and do the "breathe and stretch" thing. The sighs around the room were my reminder.

I also find that I can sometimes develop a "death grip" on my pen. I relax, but my fingers often continue feeling cramped.

So, I've dipped into my yarn stash and made a cranium ball. I've recently learned that these are actually hyperbolic planes, but my language brain has always been stronger than my math/engineering brain so I will continue to call them cranium balls. They are just the right size for squishing and scrunching fingers into. I'm going to make a batch and let people use them during class.

Scruncho-scruncho.

Breathing... breathing...

Themes arise, don't they?

First, there was Laura's challenge of the week: Breathe....

(Well, actually, there was something before that, which I will get to in a second.)

Then, I noticed the pattern on my wash cloth.

I've been thinking a lot about my alveoli... which brings me to the thing before Laura's challenge: my current bout of pneumonia...

And I noticed that Samson looks a lot like alveoli, and so does my wash cloth, and I need to remember to breathe to expand my poor plugged up alveoli. So, here's my response to both challenges... Breathe and BREATHE! The big empty space in the middle reminds me to OPEN UP and let the air in!

A Thing a Day - Brave Undertaking

I'm not veering off the path of Zentangle too far... I love it too much! But, every now and again, it's nice to try something new. So, I signed up for "Thing A Day 2011." Like many other "things-a-day" efforts, participants are encouraged by others to post something handmade each day. Unlike other efforts, this one runs for February only! (Smart move: the shortest month!)

I actually used to post a "Daily Notion," and I miss that quite a bit. So, I'm thinking this effort might push me back in that direction.

For my TAD-2011 project, I'm creating an "Odd Fellow" every day. I'm not sure if it's possible to read the explanation in the screen clip I have here, so I will explain. I'm the Creative Designer for a local library's YA Summer Program. A few years ago, I wanted the participants to create self-portraits that were collaged, jointed figures. I cut about a bazillion little bits from magazines and catalogs... all aimed at getting the kids to make figures from abstract shapes. Well! The kids grabbed all the "ready made" faces and other body parts, and I was left with a giant box of clippings! Now's the time to use them! (some of them, anyway!)

After TAD is over, I plan to photograph the fellows and participate in the Million Little Pictures project.

You can read about Thing-a-Day 2011 here.

You can read about A Million Little Pictures here.

AND, how cool is this?!?!? Just as I went back to the Thing-a-Day blog, someone else posted her contribution: A ZENTANGLE. So neat, this synchronicity thing.