Saturday, September 22, 2012

Icosahedron Fun

ICOSAHEDRON:  A shape that has 20 faces.   If you have the original Zentangle kit, you have one of these!  I used mine a lot when I first got my kit and started tangling.  If I didn't know what tangle to do next, I rolled the die and did whatever tangle came up.  Quite awhile ago, I saw this on someones blog and copied the template (from MathIsFun.com), for that someday when I get around to it.  Well, the someday came and I ended up making several of these, on cardstock paper.  I put a tangle on each of the 20 sides along with the tangle name.  I had a couple of Zentangle 201 (Beyond the Basics) classes this week and gave them away to all of the students.  They absolutely loved them!  Fun, fun, fun!!!

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Challenge 87: Pinwheels for Peace

This week's challenge from the DIVA is to make a pinwheel in honor of International Day of Peace on Sept 21st.  You can read all about it at the link to her blog.  This is the 2nd year her challenge has honored this day with tangled pinwheels.

Like all tangles I start out to do, I have no pre-planned idea on how they will turn out.  When I sat down to start, i was thinking about peace, and the John Lennon song "all we are saying, is give peace a chance", was going through my head.  I love listening to all kinds of music when I tangle, and sometimes none at all.  So, with no music on, I grabbed a round zendala tile and drew my pinwheel.  I started thinking about how words would look inside and for some reason John Lennon was stuck in my head, so I used a line out of his "Imagine" song, and did the words.  I am far from a lettering artist, but decided to give it a try.  Then I tangled in the other sections of the pinwheel.  I always think of pinwheels as being bright and colorful, so I added color pencils.  It looked plain, so I tangle around it.  I think it turned out to be a happy little tile, with a great message! 


TANGLES:  Baton, Zedbra, Keenees, Golven, Sanibelle

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Challenge #86 Break Fee

This week's challenge from The Diva is to break free of the border.  When I teach my classes,  I always tell my students to not let the string or border restrict you.  If you want to cross over the lines, by all means do it.  Go with the flow in whatever way your tangle is calling you to do so.  I often go outside the border, so this was a fun challenge for me.  Thanks again, Laura for providing this weekly challenge for all of us! 


TANGLES:  Scroll Feather, Flourish, Angel Fish, N'Zeppel, Printemps

Monday, September 10, 2012

Zendala Dare #22-Monodala

Erin, at The Bright Owl blog posts a Zendala Dare every Friday.  I started out doing these on a regular basis, but other activities intervened and it's been awhile since I posted one.  I had to look back on my blog to see when I did the last one (gasp...#9) oh my, I didn't think I missed that many!  Anyway, I really liked this week's template and on the first Friday of the month, Erin throws in a little extra challenge.  This week's is a monodala (a word she made up, and I love it).  It describes doing the Zendala Dare using only one tangle.  It was so much fun, I did two! 

MONODALA using Hurry on one and Crescent Moon on the other. 

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Challenge 85: UMT-Copada

It's the 1st of the week of the month again, and time for UMT (use my tangle) at I Am The Diva's blog.  This month we get to play with Margaret Bremner's tangle, COPADA.   This is a fun little tangle that I have used a couple of times.  I love Margaret's blog, which I have learned so much from, and her art work is beyond gorgeous!  One of the things I have always loved on her blog is the mandala's she has created with the apple peeler corer as the template.  I have made quite a few now too, and got it out again to play with Copada.  It worked well with one of the blank Zendala tiles.  I really debated on whether to use color or not, but I gave it a go with two Prismacolor water color pencils.  I still have a lot to learn with using color, but it sure is fun practicing.  Thanks, Margaret & Laura! 




Sunday, September 2, 2012

Challenge 84: Blind-Sighted

Another interesting challenge from the DIVA this week....close your eyes and draw your string.  This is about letting go of control and making something pretty out of a strange blind string.  This one was a hard challenge for me because I like the illusion of control....hahaha.  I didn't want to over think it, or plan what to put where.  I just went with the flow and added one tangle at a time and was surprised with the result.  That's the true beauty of Zentangle!  Besides, I was out of town all week and I'm really late getting this one done and posted.  We enjoyed some time over on the western slope of Colorado, visiting wineries, orchards, and sightseeing.  A very restful week...aah much needed! 





New Class Schedule Posted

See the class schedule tab above for the Basic and Beyond the Basics classes posted for Sept 6th - Oct 6th.  Would love to have you join us for a class or maybe two!