Bright Owl Zendala Dare #85

It's been awhile since I completed a challenge or posted. We moved to a new house, and it's been a busy month with renovations starting right after we moved in, followed by Christmas! Here's my submission for this week's Zendala Dare. I don't have a printer set up yet, so I quickly drew the template by freehand, deliberately curving the three lines that cross. I've never used Rick's Paradox willingly before, but it fit really well today. Meer is a favourite of mine. PS It's -29 Celsius in Saskatchewan right now, and my finger tips are very cold, even in my house.

Zendala Dare #85

Diva Challenge #146

The Diva's challenge this week was to create a duotangle using Well and Pea-Nuckle. I'm still in the midst of moving, so I haven't been doing any challenges. While at work, I started doodling Pea-Nuckle in my sketchbook because it's a new pattern for me, and I ended up with this Well and Pea-Nuckle duotangle.

Zendala Dares #80, #79, and #78

Today is Remembrance Day, and I am grateful to the people who have given their lives and fought for the freedom I enjoy in Canada today. Thank-you.

Zendala Dare #80

I went crazy with colour for the Zendala Dare #80. I started off with the beginnings of wired in the center, but it turned into tons and tons of aura, which I think coloured in with gel pens.

Erin gave us the additional challenge to tangle outdoors, but I decided to pass on this one. It's been bitterly cold and windy here in Regina, Sask., and I think I'll stay indoors where it's warm (and where there are babies, cats, and dogs to cuddle with). :D My thoughts were on the outdoors though so maybe that counts a little.

I had my iPad set up beside my workstation for this zendala, so I took pictures as I went along. I always think it's neat when people do that. What I like is that I could have stopped at any step along the way but went for full out colour. 

Zendala Dare #79

For the life of me, I couldn't get rid of that blank spot between the above pictures and this paragraph. 

I think my second submission for Zendala Dare #79 is hilarious. I completed it over two days, and I think I had a complete mood shift during the 24 hours between doing the two inner circles and the two outer circles. This is my second submission and I submitted my first with this template in my previous blog entry.

Big thank-you to Rick and Maria for bringing Zentangle to my life. I just love it and will be grateful always.

Here are three of my submissions hanging in my Zentangle spot in my kitchen (on the right). 

Zendala Dare #78

I really liked the template for Zendala Dare #78, but I didn't get a chance to submit it until now. I completed two very different zendalas using the template. The first one has a lot of colour using coloured pencils.

Here's a picture of this completed zendala on my display shelf in my office.

Here's my second submission for Zendala Dare #79. It's very different from the first. I was excited to use Pauline's Pigtail here. 

Other ZIA

Here's something I just did in my spare time. It's on a watercolour washed postcard.

I think I need to calm down for awhile when it comes to Zentangle. I did quite a few challenges and dares this week, and it's been intense. Nick and I bought our first house, and we're moving November 26. I think I may take a step back from challenges (and deadlines) for awhile and focus on using Zentangle to meditate, be mindful, and remain grounded during the busy weeks ahead.

Here we are by the sold sign of the house we bought:

Diva challenge #143

This week's challenge was to use the new pattern "Cruze" by CZT Caren Mlot.  You can see the step outs for this tangle here. 

I like this pattern but found it really hard to incorporate, so a good challenge for me. I went maximalist but think I'll do another one with more of a minimalist style. I am looking forward to seeing what other people did with theirs to see if I get some ideas of how to use this type of tangle. 

Note, this is not drawn on a renaissance tile. It's just the lighting that makes the tile look creamy. I could have edited the colour but it looks nice so I left it. Thx! Meg

Zendala Dare #79

This week's Zendala Dare by the Bright Owl can be found here. I like the template a lot and I really like what Erin did with the template. Because of my printer settings, I always end up printing the template smaller than the Zendala tile, leaving me lots of room for extra borders, which I actually realy like! The red dots are done with watercolour pencil. Sending my gratitude and thanks to Rick and Maria!

Diva Challenge #141

Here's my submission for The Diva. It's a bit late. I don't know if I drew the patterns right. I read through the step outs for Fengle and then drew it from memory. Thins look okay though when I look at the finished tile. I haven't been tangling in awhile because I've been sooo busy with buying a house. I got going with a Zendala last night and noticed how much more grounded I felt today. I had to continue with more drawing tonight. Mindfulness rocks.

Zendala Dare #77

I like the end product a lot more than I thought I would. I haven't given it away yet, but here it is in the office I share at work, so at least it's being shared that way. I'm really nervous about sending it out into the world so I don't know if I'll be able to bring myself to do that. Maybe I could leave a photocopy somewhere?

Diva Challenge #139

The Diva's Challenge this week was to use 8s Parte Dos in a tangle. I had to practice this tangle a bit in my sketchbook and look at how other people were using it to understand it, but it was worth the effort. I would like to see more success in the future with making it look 3D.

Zendala Dare #76

I took an Adventures in Zentangle Class this past Sunday with Lisa Heron, CZT, of the Zenned Pen. I always feel more creative after a class. There are a lot of patterns here that we practiced then, including knase, meer, and cadent. I had some questions for Lisa about positive space, negative space, and tonal value that she helped me with. I feel like I understand these a lot better and was able to employ them here. I don't think those things are important to Zentangle, but I found it meditative to consider these factors as well. 

Diva Challenge #138: Borders

This week's Diva Challenge is to create borders by drawing what you see around you. Sitting at my desk, I saw a woven basket, wrapping paper, the wood grain on my desk, and the handle on a lint remover, which have been drawn in that order starting on the outside.

Diva Challenge #137: Knights over Tipple

Zendala Dare #73, Lamp Inspiration, and Back to Work for Me!

Zendala Dare #73

Here is my first of two submissions for the Zendala Dare #73. I bought some gel pens and was really excited to use them. It's a bit overboard . Colour can be great, but it's another dimension to consider. My husband calls this the "Flower Power" Zendala.

Using my iPhone I changed the colours to Sepia and then to Black. The simpler basic colours create a nicer end product.

Here is my second submission for the Zendala dare. There was a lot I liked about my first Zendala that I tried to recreate in this one using black and silver gel pens. This one has a tribal feel to it that I tried to preserve throughout the whole piece.

Other ZIA

This drawing is based on the lamp in my living room.

Winds of Change

This is my last week of my maternity leave! I start work October 1, and I'm also going to be studying for my registration exams. Possibly I'm spending extra time on Zentangle this week knowing I'll not have the time to dedicate to Zentangle as I have over the past ten months. It's going to be an interesting change. I'll be learning to be a working mother and to find balance in my new role. I hope I also stop feeling guilty for dropping my son off at daycare!

Here's my little monster with his own form of art entitled "Spaghetti and Meatballs Extravaganza."

Diva Challenge #136: A Whole Lotta Pokeroot

The Diva challenge this week was to use colour in a tangle. I combined this challenge with another project I'm working in right now. I'm reading One Zentangle a Day by Beckah Krahula and the below assignment was to practice pokeroot until I felt comfortable drawing it and then to practice shading and drawing it to create depth.  Pokeroot always reminds me of cherries so I used red and green for colour. I drew it to create layers of pokeroot growing over each other, then coloured the top layer is red whereas the bottom layer remains unshaded (except in the top left corner which I shaded red before making this decision). This is drawn in two pages if my sketchbook, resulting in the crease in the middle.

I find pokeroot really hard to draw so decided to practice lots, resulting in a whole lotta pokeroot. The first picture below was my first practice session with pokeroot, and the second picture was the next day after sleeping on it. My final strategy is to slow right down and be very mindful of my strokes. Also, I have to draw the circles the same way I draw tipple by being mindful of drawing an orb. Otherwise, my circles in pokeroot end up long and oval, which I don't like. Whenever my circles become oval I'm getting hasty. I also struggle with making pokeroot look like it's bursting out in clumps; instead I end up with rows of pokeroot each growing out of each other,which is less natural. I worked left to right on this drawing and got better at bursting as I went on. 

I broke two micron pens doing this exercise by pushing too hard, driving the nub up to the pen. Very frustrating, and a sign I'm not yet very zen yet with this pattern. More mindfulness required. I like it a lot better though. 

Zendala Dare #73 and Finished Tangle Box!!

I must really have my sh*t together this week because I managed to complete two different challenges, totaling three tiles. It's really impressive to me that one of them was a Zendala because I find Zendala's so much harder, although so much more beautiful. I'm taking a Zendala class in a few weeks, which I'm hoping will help me feel more comfortable with Zendalas. The hardest part for me is getting the outline onto a piece of paper for me to use. I'm curious about how other people do this. Here is my submission for Bright Owl's Zendala Dare #73:

Meanwhile, I have finally finished my tangle box to help me pick patterns for my tangles! This project has been going on for two months. My tangle box is my version of Sandy Hunter's (CZT) tangle jar, but I put the papers in a box rather than a jar. The box, which looks like a book, fits on my bookshelf more easily than a jar would have. I would have preferred a jar, but surface space is limited in our house. Things that can be piled on top of each other work a lot better. Here are the pictures of the box. I just love it, and I used it to pick out the patterns for my zendala above. I've been working on it steadily for weeks, so I'm excited to be able to dedicate that time to drawing now!

Diva challenge #135

This week's Diva challenge was the use the new official Zentangle pattern, Well. I was also inspired by the Challenge 131 slide show the Diva sent out this week. Here are my two submissions, which each use three of the same patterns.

I'm not sure what the striped pattern is on the second tile below henna drum (maybe it's striping), but it was inspired by this tile by LeeAnn Denzer's second tile here.

Diva Challenge #134

Even though my Diva submission is late, I had to post it. This was a hard one or me, and I never did come up with anything good. I tried all sorts if different sketches, bad this is my final product.

Life is getting busy again. I've enjoyed being on maternity leave, which has allowed me lots of time to spend time with my son, finish my dissertation, and discover art again. I think I'm going to have less time for art for awhile, especially now that I'm studying for my EPPPs. This is probably one of my last pieces for awhile where I'll be able to spend lots if time trying different things. 

Watercolor, bales, and tipple

Regular watercolor 

Watercolour and owl

Today, my mom brought me a bunch of beautiful watercolour supplies from her stock. She was showing me how to use them, and I did this quick bales with tipple using watercolour pencils. My mom has such as huge influence on me. She has taught several watercolour courses. Having her "on demand" really influences which mediums I choose to explore.

This owl was a bit unexpected - he jumped out of my pen! I just love owls and would like to get a tattoo of an own on my right thigh. I drew him using instructions found at Art Is Fun. I just found this site and am looking forward to the watercolour abstract and mixed media tutorials. 

Diva Challenge #133 - Tipple

This week the Diva challenged us to use tipple in our work. I loved this challenge and had a burst of creativity because this was such a simple challenge. I was excited to be able to focus on other features than learning the tangle and figuring out how to incorporate it. As you can see, I produced a number of tiles where I was able to try different colours, shapes, and paper. I'm working on stepping outside the box, so to speak. Rick and Maria always have these nifty tiles where they've only filled one corner and go right to the edge of the tile. I was chatting with Lisa Heron of The Zenned Pen, my CZT, at her class last Sunday about wanting to try that, so I used this opportunity to try that out.

Tipple is one of my favourite patterns and shows up in a lot of my tiles. I loved having it play the leading lady in these tiles rather than a supporting character. Further, the simplicity of the pattern I was using made it possible for me to relax and try these other things.

I also enjoyed such a simple and peaceful challenge because I've been feeling really stressed about my son's starting daycare next week. He's only 10 months old, and I'm so sad that I can't stay home with him longer. He's changing so fast, and I'm never going to have the opportunity to spend time with him the way I have over the past 10 months. He's just so little and he needs me! But he needs me to work too because that's what best for our family. The stress from his starting daycare has led to my chewing the skin off the side of my thumb and gaining five pounds. Thank god for tipple.

The first two tiles in this post are my submissions for the challenge, although I created three additional tiles (also included below). I think I'm done doing tipple tiles this week, but a few more may show up. I really wanted to do one with watercolour. I've never used watercolour in Zentangle, but my mom just passed some watercolour pencils down me that I'm dying to try.

Diva Challenge #133 - First submission - This is my second ever white-on-black tile. I used white charcoal (you know how I love charcoal) and my brand new beautiful Zenstone. This is mine and my husband's favourite. It's classic and simple.

Diva Challenge #133 - Second submission - I think blue is one of my favourite colours. I find it completely soothing. It probably captures my predaycare mood perfectly while also soothing my frayed nerves. Blue doesn't try to cheer me up. It just soothes. 

Additional Tipple #1 - This is on a Zendala tile, and I used twenty different colours pencil crayons.

Additional Tipple #2 - I used three different metallic Sharpies (gold, silver, copper) to add colour.

Additional Tipple #3 - I used selected pencil crayon colours for shading. This one makes me think of a diagram of a molecule.

Past work

I drew these in 1999 before the creation of Zentangle. I see a lot more creativity in my past work than  in my current work. I threw out most of my work from then. I was going to throw these put too but my husband wouldn't let me.

These are drawn on regular white paper with pilot pens.

This one has a diameter of 18 inches:

This one is 18 inches in length. I used to dislike its simplicity but now like it. 

This one is 1 meter long.