Diva Challenge #309, Made by Joey #158 and other stuff...

Diva Challenge #309

"Noom"

Noom is the latest pattern presented by Zentangle HQ. I thought I'd give it a go in the round along with some of my Mac 'n Cheese (Sandswirl and Tipple) patterns since I enjoyed them so much last week. I used a watercolored zendala.

Made by Joey #158

Finish My Tangle Alphabet Series: "M"

featuring; "Mi2"

additionally: "Msst"

Another Bijou in my alphabet series.  I'm creating headers for my pattern library binder.

More Mac 'n Cheese

I had a pretty intense week and took the occasional break to Zen. Armed with only a pen and a couple of tiles I had pre-strung I did a little bit here and there. I shaded them last night and finished them with a coat of clear nail polish. I generally avoid graphite shading because I tend to make such a mess, but not only does the nail polish seal it all, it also deepens the contrast which I lovelovelove.

A Travelling Tangle bookmark

I finally finished

Joann Cook

from Hoover, Alabama

sent me this

The Cheese Stands Alone;-)

me at The California Artisan Cheese Festival

Petaluma California

This past Friday I participated in a competitive event where I presented my  "Ultimate Best Bite" at an event celebrating California artisan cheeses.

My illustrated recipe: 

Flatbread cracker, kale pesto, cheese, 

finished with a drop of limonato olive oil &lemon zest

I'm a Cheesemonger at a specialty food market and have only been doing this for two years. It was my first time ever competing and participating in an event such as this. I had to create 200 bites and then stand at a table all day talking about it, over and over and over... It was exhausting!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Your thoughtful and generous comments delight and inspire me!

Diva Challenge #308, Made by Joey #157 and Other Artsy Stuff..

Diva Challenge #308

Mac 'n Cheese

I was so ready for a challenge like this. With so many new patterns being introduced daily, it can be overwhelming and I can get a little ADD searching for that next great pattern only to find myself being more anxious and less productive. 

Last week Zentangle HQ blogpost's topic was Revisiting a Basic Comfort and concluded with the question "What are your Mac & Cheese tangles? and why?"

I commented " Mooka and Sandswirl followed very closely by Crescent Moon" I neglected to add Tipple which I use in almost everything I create. I also neglected to add Why?

I can't draw a straight line to save my life. I loves curves and auras. I love the freedom of Mooka. It was the most difficult pattern for me to grasp initially until I made a little tweak to it by finishing each cluster to one point.  Auras are such an easy and satisfying enhancement. I could draw Sandswirl all day long.

This week's Diva Challenge continued on that theme. I had some time with my morning coffee and enjoyed creating my Mac 'n Cheese tile. Basic. Simple. Zen-ful;-)

Made by Joey Challenge #157

Finish My Tile Alphabet Series: L

featuring: Lee Lee

additionally: Lollywimple and Landgirlz

This is a Bijou (2" tile) series I'm working on as headers for my pattern library binder. It's funny though because I haven't added much to the binder over the last 2 or 3 months. There are so many times I stop myself and think "How many patterns do I really need?"
These next 2 pictures are ATC's I made for some Travelling Tangles swaps I'm preparing to send out. I created these last week, though they didn't intentionally reflect HQ's blogpost, they must have been influenced by it because they are clearly my comfort zone. I remember thinking that each person who receives one of these is seeing something new to them, so why do I feel I have to reinvent the wheel with each ATC if I enjoy drawing these:

on watercolor ATC's

on tissue paper tinted ATC's

Here's an incoming Travelling Tangle tile:

This is my finish to the tile below sent to me by Mary Dewick in the UK

I was still in Zingo mode and had admired Simone Menzel's tile submitted for the Diva Challenge. I pretty much just copied her technique;-)

On Eni Oken's Facebook Group Shading Zentangle, there was a focus on Echolines. I created several tissue paper tinted tiles using a torn edge technique inspired by this post on Laurel Regan's Alphabet Salad blog. I went a little nuts. It appears Echolines is my newest Mac 'n Cheese pattern. I used a dip pen on these hence some unsightly blobs;-)

Thanks so much for stopping by. Your thoughtful and generous comments delight and inspire me;-)

"Aimee"

Diva Challenge #307, Made by Joey Challenge #156, IAST Challenge#188

Diva Challenge #307

"Zingo"

This weeks Diva challenge was inspired by the latest and most delightful video in the Kitchen Table Tangles series from Zentangle HQ. This one features Indy and Mazzy, Molly's young daughters. They are super cute as they masterfully demonstrate their tangle "Zingo" (I think it's their tangle). 

Made by Joey#156

Finish My Tile Alphabet Series: K

featuring: "Kiss"

additionally: K-leesi, Kandy Ribnz, Khirkee and Kizzmet

This is the latest in my Bijou series as I work my way through headers for my pattern library binder. I've adapted Joey's strings/starters to feature her selected pattern within the confines of my letter font using black ink to define that part of it, then using however many additional patterns I can include within the remaining parts of the "string" using brown ink. 

It's a String Thing Challenge #188

Adele's string

patterns: Fricle, Zinger & Fescu

This is probably the first time I've tackled the IAST challenge before the Diva and Joey. I had a couple of water color zendala rounds I'd created for a Travelling Tangles swap that I never ended up signing up for. I've had them on the back burner in the event I needed to produce something organic. It's funny though, because as I'm looking at it now, on the screen, as I type this, I'm struck with the feeling that it doesn't feel finished. Hmmmnnn....

I just found this Travelling Tangle I finished last week. I'd forgotten all about it. If I'm not mistaken, the Kitchen Table Tangles post had just appeared on my feed as I was pondering this start.

Debra Huff, from Oceanside CA, sent me this "Twinchie" (or Bijou) with just the gold metallic loop in the middle. I went on a crazed Feng Shui photo purge of my phone pics and sadly deleted the starter pic. I'm not too fond of the clumsy brush pen marker shading...but...it is what it is...my first attempt at "Zingo".

Anyhoo...Thanks so much for stopping by. Your thoughtful and generous comments delight and inspire me!

Diva Challenge #306, Joey Challenge#155 etc....

Diva Challenge #306

Use My Tangle Monday

featuring: Amphora by Lily Moon

The first Monday of the month challenges us to use a pattern submitted to The Diva by one of her many fans, fellow CZT's and loyal followers.

I am (as are many) a huge fan of Lily's work. She's truly a superstar in the world of Zentangle. I'm so glad Amphora is the chosen one because I needed a reason to finally get this pattern right. I've attempted it before with disappointing results and let it go. I have a really hard time keeping wavy lines consistent, especially when they need to mirror each other. I was also frustrated because I'd get it too cramped. So, I practiced this for quite a while in my sketchbook and realized the problem I've had all along with it was drawing it too small. I had my AHA! moment, grabbed a watercolor ZIA tile I'd relegated to the slush pile and...well...there ya go;-) I still need to work on Amphora in what I call "wallpaper" mode or fill. Hopefully later in the week.

Made by Joey #155

Finish My Tile Alphabet Series: J

featuring: Jellyroll

additionally: Jalousie and Jilli

This is a Bijou series I'm working through as page headers for my pattern library binder so I try to stick to Joey's parameters as best I can whilst maintaining a style consistency through out my series.

I also want to share a progression series I'm calling "The Bare Bones". I  used last week's "It's a String Thing" tile and posted the progress photos here. I'd love to hear from you if you find this sort of thing helpful and would like to see more. Many thanks to those of you who already commented on it. I know I always love seeing how others work through a tile.

Here's a Travelling Tangle I finished this week:

My finish to...

Debra Huff's starter

This was for the Year of the Rooster swap. The task was to start a tile using either rooster colors or feather like patterns. I used a dip pen and red ink to complete this. I was inspired by some work I'd seen on Eni Oken's Facebook group Shading Zentangle using Echo Lines. I love how this tile turned out.
Last week I was visiting Laurel Regan's blog, Alphabet Salad. She presented a set of beautiful note cards she'd created on watercolor paper she'd hand torn just using a metal ruler. I gave it a shot and then used tissue paper to color them.

Re-used tissue

I created this for the "Por Fin" Shading Zentangle weekly challenge

but I really don't want to shade it...yet;-)

Sketchbook WIP

Official Zentangle Patterns page

I'm trying to get all of them;-)

Thanks so much for stopping by. Your thoughtful and generous comments delight and inspire me!

IAST Challenge #186 and The Bare Bones

String Challenge #186

Pi string featuring Pokeroot, W2 and Wacho

Adele challenges us to a piece inspired by Pi Day (3.14) with some Pie inspired patterns.

This one started off well, then took a wrong turn or two before I got it back on track. I had just made a new set of tissue paper colored tiles and found one that I thought could work with the string. I don't know why, but I started this off with a some trepidation. I'm not a fan of Pokeroot (though Pokeleaf is one of my favorite patterns) and that put me in a mood...which for some reason ignited the idea to track my process and give you The Bare Bones:

Aligning the string with the colors

The only thing I knew from the get-go was where I wanted W2

I like it big so I can decorate it

Wacho in the red corner came next...so far so good

decorated Wacho in the W2...good!

then I had the idea to try a little pattern morphing

risky move 'cuz I'm not good at it

...sigh...not going the way I'd like it to...

I think the transitions look clumsy...maybe an Aura will help (or not)

I almost chucked it at this point and put it aside

...later that day...

more auras

a little better but I'm still on the fence

shading with a Tombow paint pen

it's looking better

 a little pink colored pencil

highlights with a white Prismacolor pencil

better!

Finishing off with deeper shading, grey Tipple in the corner

some white gel pen highlights and (satisfied sigh) Done!

I actually can't stop looking at this tile now;-) So there you go. The anatomy of my tile.


Thanks so much for stopping by! Your thoughtful and generous comments delight and inspire me;-)