Challenge 173: Redux, Remix, Revisit

What an interesting challenge this week from guest challenger Sharla Hicks.  First, if you haven't seen the beautiful examples she posted on the Challenge post for her remixing of Mooka, take a look!! 

The challenge is to go to one of your "go to" tangles and try to do it differently, mix it up.  But also, think about one that maybe you haven't used in a while.  That said, I decided to take a look back at some of the first tiles I did and see what I really liked back then.  I have my first 5 tiles I ever did labeled and dated.  So glad I did that.  Anyway, what I found was my old friend the tangle Poke Root.  Now my version back then really should have been called tinker toys instead with the straight stiff stems and mechanical feel they give off, but it was one I really took time to practice and tried to master.  I finally think I got it and now feel really comfortable with the way my Poke Root turns out.  

So onto the challenge, trying to take something I know so well and mix it up was pretty hard.  Not so sure it is one of my favorites but I do like certain aspects of it.  I like the big and the small berries together.  I like the snake-like longer stems of the striped version and I think I like the color choice for the sets of 5 berries.  Originally I just had a pencil shaded background and that didn't work for me at all.  It really was an exercise in the power of the process.  There are no mistakes in zentangle, if I didn't do some of the things I didn't like at first, I would never have gotten to the things I do like about this piece.  

Now to share the old and new versions of Poke Root.

Tile #2 Created 8/26/2004  - Poke Root or Tinker Toys?

Poke Root Remix

Challenge 172: Duo Tangle Aura Knot and Mooka

First, thanks for all the well wishes.  Feeling great and glad to have my sense of taste back.  Sadly, now it is my computer that is sick, just stopped working yesterday.  Very annoying to have a computer that is not even a year old stop working completely.  Luckily have my Ipad so I can participate this week.  

This week's challenge is a duo tangle with Aura Knot and Mooka.  Two great tangles that I really enjoy. 

Happy Tangling!

Challenge 171: Beads of Courage

The month of May in Indy is always a whirlwind of activities and takes me away from tangling and blogging.  I know its now the middle of June but after a week and a half of being sick I finally have enough energy to tangle again.  Laying around like a lump with no energy to even tangle is a really low place to be.  Well I am finally back and ready to TANGLE!!  Last night after teaching a beginning zentangle class to the most enthusiastic and wonderful group of ladies at a quilt shop in Anderson, IN my creative strength has come back.  I am so glad to be able to pick up and get back to tangling for this week's challenge for Beads of Courage.  

Happy Tangling!

Challenge 165: UMT Camelia

Busy, busy, busy weeks lead to finding ways to multitask.  So...this week's challenge actually has me being a little proactive with a Mother's Day card.  A little Camelia and a banner and voila!   One down and one to go.  

Challenge 163: New Official Tangle Rixty

This week's challenge from the Diva is to use the new official tangle "Rixty" which was created for Rick's 60th birthday.  It reminds me of the official tangle Poke Root with the way the steps are broken down.  I used the opportunity to create a birthday card for my super cool brother.  I am pretty sure he doesn't check my blog  so I am not spoiling the surprise.  I always wait until I do my own challenge before I check out what others have done.  I can't wait to see how others used it and if anyone else tried a spiral.  Not sure where the Medusa-like striped fringe at the end came from but think it as some whimsy.  Tangle on my friends!

Challenge 162: String Theory - Initial String

So I've been working on a custom piece for a friend that uses glitter instead of pen...glitter tangles and it reminded me of my love for glitter.  I really do like creating art and drawing or painting with glitter.  I've pretty much finished those pictures (will post them when I am all done) and want to work on some more glitter tangles and thought this challenge would be a good practice for a piece I want to do in glitter.  I have a friend whose daughter is having a birthday soon and thought she might like a big tangled glitter Q.  Working with glitter is a little trickier than a pen but you can do most tangles.  I like the tangles for the Q and for the interior of the Q but not sure about the outside which is a tangle called chime.  I think it might look better in glitter than it does here.  What do you think?

Challenge 161: In a Quandary about Quandary

Quandary is the tangle for the challenge this week.  It is not one I have had the chance to try out before so as the title of this post suggests, I did find it a bit of a challenge myself.  Think it is one I will keep practicing.  For this challenge I used a blank zendala tile, my  Micron pens, some Prismacolor pencils and a white Sakura Gelly Roll.

Letter to CBS Sunday Morning

I can't believe I have been practicing zentangle for almost 10 years.  In that time I have often thought about how great it would be for CBS Sunday Morning to do a feature on zentangle.  I never really told anyone about it and luckily 2 other CZTs did and Maria and Rick asked us to participate in a campaign to see if they would do a piece on zentangle.  Below is my letter, card and zentangle I sent in.  Let's hope this works!

Hello, my name is Lara Williams and I am a huge fan of CBS Sunday Morning and have been watching for many years. I am writing to encourage you to do a segment on zentangle because I believe your show is a perfect match for introducing this amazing art style to the world. The honest, down to earth, inquisitive nature of your program makes it a great match and venue for reporting on zentangle.

I was first introduced to zentangle shortly after it was created almost 10 years ago in August 2004. Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas who created zentangle taught a class at a meeting I was attending. The easy step by step directions and focus it creates all while creating a piece of art had me hooked and I haven’t stopped tangling (tangling = drawing zentangle style) since. I pretty much tangle on anything and keep looking for new ways to incorporate zentangle into my art. When the opportunity came up in 2009 to become a Certified Zentangle Teacher I was offered the chance to attend and have truly enjoyed being able to share zentangle and teach others how wonderful and fun it can be AND that they too can be artists.

So what is zentangle? Each person who practices zentangle has their own story of what it is to them and how it fits into their life. To me, zentangle is a tool I can use to find balance in my life. I think of it as an active form of meditation that brings focus and peace to my life. I get lost in the patterns and time and worries just slip away when I am tangling. I feel that the process of creating a zentangle is the greatest benefit. The side effect of creating a zentangle is the beautiful artwork you create while following the process. It is also the most rewarding experience I have had as a teacher. Everyone who has taken one of my classes leaves with a little boost to their self-esteem. Many have never thought of themselves as artists and by the end of the class they have all created a beautiful piece of art. The wonderful thing about zentangle is that it can be taught to all ages and abilities.

So I hope this letter has inspired you to research and explore what zentangle is all about. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. I hope that you find as I believe, zentangle is a great match for your show. I am enclosing an original zentangle tile I created as an example.

Thank you for your time. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Card I sent with the above letter inside

Tile I included

Challenge 160: String Theory, Spiral Out, Keep Going (v 2)

This week's challenge is to use a spiral as a string.  I decided to overlap 3 spiral strings and then add some printemps to the background to keep the spirals going.  

Challenge 159: Top O' the Morning

This week's challenge was to create a St. Patrick's Day themed tile or ZIA.  I have created card templates available on my Etsy site and used one to make a Happy St. Patrick's Day card.  

Challenge 158: Duo Tangle Diva Dance + Crescent Moon

This week's challenge from the Diva is a duo tangle.  These are always fun challenges because Laura usually picks tangles that I don't get the chance to use very often, or they have been stored away in my memory somewhere waiting to be pulled out and used again. Crescent Moon is an old favorite and the very first tangle I learned way back in August 2004.  But Diva Dance is one that I haven't really had the chance to use much and I really liked all the possibilities with it and it has even inspired a new tangle I will be experimenting with.  

Happy Tangling!

Challenge 157: UMT Charlie

The Challenge this week was a Use My Tangle Challenge with Charlie, a Peanuts inspired tangle from Erin Olson.  

Happy Tangling!

Challenge 156: Curvy Grids

Grids on a curve are challenging and fun and really give a surreal look to some of the tangles.  I decided to tangle on a tan tile again this week. Really, REALLY enjoying these tiles and all the possibilities.  Had a lot of fun with the knightsbridge this week and being able to make it truly black and white because of the tan tile.

Happy Tangling!

New Tangle: Greek

Whenever I am traveling I am always on the lookout for new tangles.  Even when travelling to such exotic locations as Tampa for a conference.  I actually went to Tampa back in September.  We flew in on a Sunday so I thought I would treat myself to a day at their art museum.  To my dismay, most of the museum was closed except for their permanent collection of Greek and Roman art.  I do love Roman and Greek art so I took a look around.  On a couple of the pieces I saw a border pattern that caught my eye so sketched it out.  Finally had the time today to get it all stepped out.  

Happy Tangling!

  

Challenge 155: A Little White Space

Here is my tile for this week's challenge.  I used one of the new tan tiles and really had a blast with it.  I love the ability to use black, sepia and white and how well they play off each other. I also used some of the new patterns I added to my collection last week including Borbz, a variation of Jessicup and Fassett.  

Happy Tangling!

Catching Up: Tangle Pattern Organization

I subscribe to the emails from tanglepatterns.com and love receiving the new patterns each week, but hadn't been able to find the time to add them to my organizational system. Yesterday, I took the day off and spent a large part of it getting caught up and adding to my tangle collection.  It was a lot of fun getting to try out the new patterns and recording the step outs for each one.  I am always so impressed by the new patterns people come up with and I can't wait to try them out.  It is so awesome to have this great community of tanglers who can connect from all around the world and share these patterns. 

I still have quite a few to go to get caught up but I think I put a good dent in it.   

Happy Tangling!

Challenge 154: Valentangle

Happy Valentine's Day!!  I am sharing the card I made for Ned this year as my Challenge entry this week.  It is a spinning card that has the heart in the middle seem to spin around to reveal the bigger heart and message.  I used a piece of red paper for the heart on the front and then used some watercolors on the inside heart for the red and grayish sections I created a template that you can download in my Etsy store if you are interested in making your own spinning heart cards.  

Front of Card 

Inside of Card

Happy Tangling!!

Challenge 149: 2014

I thought I would start off the New Year with the first challenge of the year and get back on board with my tangling and blog.  I needed a break...what was supposed to be fun was feeling like work and I have enough work from 9-5.  I am happy to be back and tangling again and hope to see you in another post real soon.

Tangles: variations on barber pole, calli, tipple, baton and 'nzeppel

Happy Tangling!