Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Diva Challenge #323, Made by Joey #172 and a New Technique

"Home"
4 x 6" ZIA on my first eco-printed paper
my "audition" piece
 trying out a bunch of colored fine liners, colored pencils and markers

This week, Canada celebrated Canada Day and here in the U.S. we celebrated Independence Day. Laura challenged us to create a tile that celebrates home.
Yesterday was my birthday and I'd arranged to have a couple of extra days off this week. It was cold and overcast and I was perfectly happy to spend the day at home with Aimee doing what I love, drawing with a cup of tea (later on, a glass of wine) and watching BBC/PBS Mysteries. I'm currently on season 8 of The Murdoch Mysteries, a Canadian TV series. Somewhat apropos since I am Canadian, born on the 4th of July;-)
On Monday I made my first Eco-printed paper (some of the results below).  When I read the Diva's post yesterday morning, it was the perfect prompt to put pen to my new paper, created by my local flora. The entire drawing experience was "Home" for me. 
The urge to eco-dye was presented to me few months ago whilst oogling these remarkable images from Margaret Bremner's blog, The Enthusiastic Artist where she generously led us through her first attempt. I was amazed at the beauty of the artwork that resulted from the gorgeous organic colors and shapes that emerged from the paper alone. I put it on my back-burner To Do list and decided my birthday week stay-cation was the perfect time to  take the plunge. 
I spent my last two work days collecting all manner of leaves and wild-flowers on my walk to and from the bus stops, including a short detour through Golden Gate Park. I work at a gourmet market with a lot of fresh flowers so I asked one of the florists  to save me any trimmings/culls thus ending up with a great pile of foliage all total, most of which I can't name. The best results came from the Eucalypus leaves and some lovely magenta wildflowers I gathered on my short walk from my apartment to the cafe around the corner. 
This is the one I finally got the nerve to draw on for the Zia above:

  

the first reveal
I can't even describe the joy I felt opening up my packets of paper


pretty cool huh?

Made by Joey #172 from Guest Blogger Ilse
"Auraknot"
sepia dip pen on a water-colored tile

Joey's taking a Summer break so she's lined up some guest bloggers (mine appears next week). I was delighted to see this one from Ilse at Zentangle Zoo. I love Auraknot yet rarely use it. Great challenge!

Here are the results of this weeks "92 Days" daily drawing prompts from the Facebook group Tangled and Journaled, Too!

Rewind day was a chance to revisit a favorite. 
I loved the Text prompt so I did it again.
It's sort like black-out poetry



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




at

32 comments:

  1. jeanchaneyazJuly 5, 2017 at 2:09 PM

    Your dyed papers are just glorious! The completed tile picks up the shapes and colors in a beautiful way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michele WynneJuly 5, 2017 at 3:01 PM

      Thanks Jean! It's been a delightful project resulting in some good times ahead. The drawing part could use a little more finesse, but I'm pleased with the way it turned out😉

      Delete
  2. trudiJuly 5, 2017 at 5:56 PM

    Yes, great coloured tiles they did turn out beautiful. Ah, it will be nice to see your Challenge on Joey's next week Ilse's was fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michele WynneJuly 6, 2017 at 8:08 AM

      Thanks Trudi! I'm looking forward to the next series of Joey's guest posts. See you next week;-)

      Delete
  3. Anne's tangle blogJuly 5, 2017 at 11:01 PM

    Like the tile and I'm absolutely doing this eco-dye method. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michele WynneJuly 6, 2017 at 8:11 AM

      Thanks Annemarie and you're welcome. Eco-dyeing is my new favorite thing. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of your first attempt;-)

      Delete
  4. Susie NgJuly 5, 2017 at 11:04 PM

    These self printed pages look fantastic. I clicked on your link to learn more and found out, cooking is involved. NO!!! I don't cook. No, I mean, I DO NOT cook and I NEVER HAVE cooked and I DO NOT know how to cook, I HATE cooking. Tell me to lift the hood of a car to find out why the engine won't start. I DO NOT do that either. BUT!!! I have an old fashion Thai steamer. Yeahhh! I will try that. Love projects like that.
    Ah! next week at Joey's...will meet you there.
    Tiles: Love the outcome of your big tile for DIVA 323. Home is whatever you make it. And again lots of beautiful artwork done within the week. On a more personal note: I am working on a disaster plan for my bungalow. Maybe then I will also get more tiles done.😛😛😛

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michele WynneJuly 6, 2017 at 8:15 AM

      Thanks Susie! I'd love to see the results of your steamer method when you try it. I'll see you next week at Joey's place;-)

      Delete
  5. rainbows and raindrops July 6, 2017 at 12:27 AM

    oh wow. your paper is GORGEOUS. I really adds a different dimension to the tangles. Wow.

    I love your work and your journal too!

    ReplyDelete
  6. IlseJuly 6, 2017 at 1:18 AM

    Happy birthday :-)
    As always, I love your work! Those gorgeous tiles of course, but I'm also very curious what this beautiful paper will look like once you've enchanted it with zentangle.
    Auraknot looks lovely and very ''Michele' :-) Thank you for participating in my guest challenge!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michele WynneJuly 6, 2017 at 8:23 AM

      Thank you Ilse! The Diva piece was the first attempt at drawing on the paper and I pretty much obliterated the delicate imprints and colors, but that's how roll;-)
      Thanks for the fun challenge.

      Delete
  7. ria matheussenJuly 6, 2017 at 2:34 AM

    Lovely Auraknot for Ilse's challenge.
    It's always interesting to show us a look into your sketchbook, filled with beautiful tangles.
    Me too, love the eco printed paper technique at first sight and your DIva hometile is absolutely stunning (with guest star Aimee)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michele WynneJuly 6, 2017 at 8:28 AM

      Thank you Ria! I do love that pic with Aimee sleeping in the background. She's my favorite thing about "Home". I'm currently collecting my next batch of foliage (this was so much fun) for round two. I'm going to press them and let them dry out first and see what happens;-)

      Delete
  8. Ragged RayJuly 6, 2017 at 3:12 AM

    Wow - I had high expectations of what you'd do with your lovely eco dyed paper but you far exceeded them! That piece is stunning - you've really worked with the subtle colours. A think of pure beauty! And I'm really excited to hear that eucalyptus works well as that is the one tree we have in our garden!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michele WynneJuly 6, 2017 at 8:34 AM

      Thanks Jem! I got a little carried away with that first piece;-) After a lengthy stare-down I decided that if I screwed it up I could turn it over and screw up again and it would all be ok. It was fun.
      A great side bonus was the batch of caramelized onions I got to cooking while the paper was simmering in the pot;-)

      Delete
  9. AnonymousJuly 6, 2017 at 6:33 AM

    Thanks for sharing your eco-dying story and your stunning results. I've been seeing Margaret Bremner's eco dying for a while, but yours are inspiring me to try it myself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michele WynneJuly 6, 2017 at 8:38 AM

      Thanks Pat! You definitely need to try this then if you were already inspired by what Margaret did. Even though I've got a couple of dozen pieces of paper to entertain me for the next several months I want to do this again. They make gorgeous note cards just on their own. I think I'm going to make a bunch for Christmas gifts.

      Delete
  10. AnonymousJuly 6, 2017 at 6:36 AM

    Where is the link Susie refers to for learning more about eco dying? I'm not spotting it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michele WynneJuly 6, 2017 at 8:05 AM

      Pat, Susie's referring to my link to Margaret's blog post.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousJuly 6, 2017 at 12:11 PM

      Got it, thanks, Michele. You'll undoubtedly see, one place or another, what I come up with, unless, of course, it's a total bust.

      Delete
  11. Anita A Westin CZTJuly 6, 2017 at 2:27 PM

    Thank's for sharing this inspiring work! Love it!😍

    ReplyDelete
  12. Tangles and MoreJuly 7, 2017 at 8:10 PM

    The eco-tiles are great. I have not tried that yet. There is so much to look at in your Diva Challenge tile. Great patterns/tangles.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michele WynneJuly 7, 2017 at 8:57 PM

      Thanks Donald! Yeah... I went a little crazy on the Diva, especially with Aquafleur. I finally found a great way to use it😉

      Delete
  13. Susan TheronJuly 8, 2017 at 2:08 PM

    Lovely tiles as usual.

    ReplyDelete
  14. HeidiSueJuly 9, 2017 at 5:25 AM

    hey Michelle...all of these are terrific...love the leaf stained paper. I just received a couple of pieces stained using Margaret's tutorial on her blog. My new Penpal Helene lives in QL and follows Margaret, and she sent me some! I can't wait to play! And possibly, maybe some day, make some for myself? Well, your work as always is so yummy. But my favorites are the journal work. Neat concept, and the little bits of text make it extra special.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michele WynneJuly 9, 2017 at 7:17 AM

      Thanks Heidi! This eco - printing is so cool. You definitely have to try it. Start saving your yellow/ brown onion skins and collecting interesting leaves. This has turned me into a nature lover. I look at every tree I pass. The journal prompt are great you should jump in and give it a go😉

      Delete
  15. Stephanie JenniferJuly 11, 2017 at 8:50 PM

    The first tile made me "ooooo" out loud. And look at the sleepy kitty in the background. Hehehe

    ReplyDelete
  16. UnknownDecember 2, 2017 at 12:19 PM

    Michele, I'm just now reading your post and am very inspired to try eco-printing! I see that I missed a lot while I was gone ;) . Your papers are beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michele WynneDecember 2, 2017 at 2:33 PM

      Thank you Sidney! The eco-printing is really fun and a great surprise because you don't know what's going to happen.

      Delete