Home party . . . . and art store class!

      Welcome to nine new tanglers this weekend! I had the pleasure to teach two classes: one at a home party, and the other at Jerry's Artarama in Fort Collins.
     On Saturday, Monica and Dave hosted a home party/class. This was my first home-based Zentangle class, and it was so much fun! We started out with time to chat, have some great appetizers and wine, and get to know each other. Then we tangled!

From back to front: Kelly, Susan, Monica, Sheron, and David. (We also had great help from the two "fur babies"!)

... and here are the completed tiles!

Then, on Sunday I taught a class at Jerry's Artarama in Fort Collins. I have to say, Zentangle just attracts the nicest people! Again, what a fun group!

From left to right: Marion, Jan, Jen, Barbara, and me.

Here are their tiles!

Happy tangling, everyone!

On being a teacher and a student!

At the beginning of August, I had had the opportunity to participate as both a student and a teacher of Zentangle! I was able to teach a wonderful group of new tanglers at Jerry's Artarama in Fort Collins, and the next day I was in the role of the student, taking a class. I have to say that I enjoyed both roles equally well!

Our (very) talented class at Jerry's Artarama in Fort Collins. What a fun group!

As you can see by both of these tile mosaics, they were "naturals" at tangling!

The next day, I took the student role and went to Patricia Dusty Darrah's class in Denver. We worked on Fantasy Letters as Zentangle Inspired Art.

First, we discussed tangled that would be good fillers for our letters, spent some time practicing and "warming up", and then started tangling.

The next step was to color the tangles, cut out the negative spaces (a new skill!), then mount the letter on a black background.

(No band-aids were harmed in this phase!)

Here is the final letter, mounted onto a black background.

Diva Challenge #227 ~ Circus Life!

This week, Lee Darter, CZT 15 is the guest host for the Diva's challenge. Lee was in Sarasota, Florida which is the home of the Ringling Brothers circus and museum. This challenge was near and dear to my heart, because we spend part of the year in the Sarasota area.
       The challenge, itself, however was definitely a challenge! Lee asked us to create a tile with the tangles: Tropicana, Cack, and a choice of Florz, Linq, or Fescu. It was a trick to integrate these very different tangles into a somewhat cohesive group. After a while, however, they decided to play together nicely.
I hope this takes you to the circus! Enjoy!

I Am The Diva challenge: Simplicity!

After lurking and enjoying the responses to Laura Harms challenges ("I Am The Diva" at http://iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com/), I am **finally** stepping up and diving in!
This week Katie Crommet is the guest host. Her blog can be found at http://www.katieczt.com/. Katie chose the challenge of "simplicity".  She challenged us to be simple, know when to stop, and know that "we are enough".
     I enjoyed this ~ no over-thinking or stressing. It was one of the most effortless tiles I've done. Thanks, Katie!

Tangles are: Florz, Msst, Tipple, Printemps, and Flux.

   

Zentangle community

 What is it about the Zentangle community/family that makes it so supportive?  The Zentangle process does attract people who are (for the most part) friendly, sharing, and caring. The whole method itself is based on mindfulness, relaxation, and appreciation. Tanglers focus on being in the moment, letting go of expected outcomes, and "expecting the unexpected". In Zentangle, "there are no mistakes"!
     The practice of Zentangle not only attracts people who understand the philosophy, but it is self-perpetuating. I've seen this happen at gatherings (from over 100 people at TangleU to 4 friends getting together at the coffeehouse to share Zentangle) as well as online.
     On Facebook, there are many groups who share Zentangle- and Zentangle-Inspired Art. The     comments and feedback are consistently helpful and supportive, no matter how new or experienced
    the person is. I've been inspired by other tanglers who share new tangles, give challenges, and     contribute new techniques.    
     That being said, here are a few new tiles of mine which are the results of this sharing community: new tangles, ideas, and techniques!

Shelly Beauchamp  brought us Mak-Rah-Mee (here is a link to her blog: http://shellybeauch.blogspot.com/)
Jane Monk developed this curved variation of Hollibaugh  (http://janemonkstudio.com/)

 . . . . and here is my first (finally!) post to The Diva's challenge, which is SO much fun to watch and be inspired by!
You can find Laura Harms, the Diva, at: http://iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com/

. . . . So, I hope this gives just a taste of how we all inspire and support each other in this Zentangle journey.

PS ~ I've also been having fun with apps and my tiles:

     Enjoy ~~ and happy tangling!

Renaissance Tile class!

I have become more and more excited about the possibilities of the Zentangle Renaissance tiles over the past year. These tiles were developed to showcase shading as well as highlighting techniques based on the chiaroscuro method in Renaissance art. While preparing to teach this class, I looked up definitions and examples of the chiaroscuro method. 
Wikipedia defines it as, "in art, it is the use of strong contrast between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. Dictionary.com mentions that the basis of the word is equivalent to chiaro (bright) plus oscuro (dark).

This contrast of light and shade results in a dramatic effect. The technique was initially pioneered by Leonardo da Vinci, and it was further developed by atrists such as Caravaggio and Rembrandt. Rembrandt. 

Here are a few examples of chiaroscuro used in Rembrandt's paintings. I love the moody glow of the light against the dark!


A beautiful example of this technique by Maria Thomas, who developed Zentangle with Rick Roberts, is linked here to their blog: 
http://zentangle.blogspot.com/2015/06/art-method-sales-and-j.html

You can also find great examples of Zentangle Renaissance tiles in the FaceBook group: Square One: Purely Renaissance Zentangle

 And now . . . . . . drumroll, please! Here are Renaissance tiles done in class yesterday!

Everyone did a spectacular job!

Marti Morgan sent this image of her first (!) tiles from class last year along with her new Renaissance tiles from class yesterday.

Kathy Webb sent this wonderful 'collage' of her supplies in addition to a peek at her tiles!

Here is my most recent Renaissance tile.

If you enjoyed this post, have any questions or ideas, I would love to hear your comments! Thanks for stopping by!

Opus Tiles . . . and Tangles that Tango!

Last year, to help celebrate the 10th anniversary of Zentangle, Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas released the new Opus tiles. The word "Opus" refers to "an artistic work, especially on a large scale". These beautiful tiles are made of the same museum-quality paper as the original white tiles . . .  and in addition, Maria has inscribed the edge of the back with beautiful reminders of the benefits of practicing the Zentangle Method. 

    Here is a peek at one corner of the back: 

The Opus tiles measure 10.5" X 10.5"

I was so excited to see these beautiful tiles, because I love to work on larger Zentangle-inspired art pieces. The larger surface lets me be more expansive, and fit more tangles in!

The Zentangle-inspired art piece above is done on an Opus tile.

The spiral in the lower left of the Opus is an example of a technique that I love: morphing one tangle into another. Here, I started with the tangle Narwal in the center, and then changed it over to Aquafleur on the outside of the spiral.

 Narwal and Aquafleur. 'dance well'
because they each have
flowing ribbon-like lines what wrap around the main shape. 

On Linda Farmer's great site, TanglePatterns.com, she has a post on the vocabulary or terminology of Zentangle. (It really is something of a new language!)   http://tanglepatterns.com/zentangles/zentangle-terminology

Tango

” ‘Tango’ is our new term for two tangles dancing together. Just as in couples dancing, in tangle tangos, one tangle is more likely to lead and the other follow.” Zentangle Newsletter, November 18, 2012.

I love the image of two tangles dancing together! Just as good dance partners have similarities, and are compatible with each other, so it is with 'dancing tangles'. I love to look at the similarities between two tangles and see how they can blend into each other without "stepping on each other's toes". Do they both have curving lines? Are they grid-based? Do they spiral? 

Clearly, Narwal and Aquafleur both have flowing ribbon-like curves that seem to wrap around the central shape. 

This type of "dance" is just another characteristic of Zentangle that makes it a creative process. Here's to endless possibilities!

Just for fun, here is another example of tangles "dancing together".

Here is the original 11" x 14"

 . . . and here is a section of some tangles doing the tango. Mi2 dances well with:
 Raddox, Leaflet, and  a tangleation of (I think!) Jane Monk's Scrumble.

Happy tangling!