My Weekly Duo-Challenge and Another Artsy Rabbit Hole

Duo-Challenge

Throwback Diva #5: Orbs

It's a String Thing Challenge #252

My random pick for this week's IAST companion was the Diva's prompt of "Orbs". This was not meant to be an orb overload, but it took on a life of its own because I love drawing orbs.

My start

It's so funny that I still wait until Monday to pick my companion.

Adele's challenge was to use the pattern Deeday as a string within  4 box string. This one got a little tedious I have to say and it wasn't until I posted the photo that I noticed how off balance the whole thing looks, but that's ok because I really love the orb side and the negative space😉

I managed to score this nifty mini-haul today from my neighborhood Aaron Brothers going out of business sale for all of $8.66. There we're about 30 of these Zentangle kits going for $6.57. I had to laugh because it sort of proves my suspicion that San Francisco is not a hotbed of Zentangle enthusiasts.

These are the Travelling Tangles I completed this week:

My finish...

...to Heidi Whitney's start

 A few days ago I had a very delightful read over at Margaret Blank's blog. She and I have exchanged many swaps over the years as we belong to some of the same groups. In this particular post she was lamenting, with her hilarious wit and cynicism, the angst she experiences when she attempts to start her incoming Travelling Tangles. She was currently lamenting over one of mine;-) I had to laugh because she brilliantly expresses the fears and uncertainties that all of us TT swappers feel at one time or another.

I had one of those experiences with Heidi's tile. I made such a mess of it at first. I picked up the wrong pen when I started with the Inapod. Not only was it black ink (Heidi used Sepia), it was also a large nib Uniball, quite bold and juicy. I spent the entire drawing in problem solving mode, a roller coaster of frustration and triumph.

My line work is never steady on a good day

In the end, it was a triumph. High contrast is always good, but I prefer to ease into it😉

 Another finish...

...to this Bijou from Heidi

My finish...
with a Lily Moon floral sun

...to this delightful start from Spring Taylor

My finish...

...to Jules Mack's delightful note card

It free- styled into a leaf sampler 😉

Yet, another new rabbit hole:

As I was YouTube surfing journal inspiration for my TTMMJJ, I discovered the Facebook group Trashy Junk Journals and its sub-set, Flow-ish Journals.

This is a Flow-ish Journal I'm making to send off to a swap partner.

I dove head first into this one. Within a day of my discovery and acceptance into the group, they posted the monthly swap. The theme was Grocery. You may or may not know that I'm a Cheesemonger in a small specialty market in San Francisco...so how could I not, right? 70% of what ended up in this book, I already had at home and the rest came from the recycling bins at work and my own grocery packaging from my kitchen. I had so much fun making this.

A Flow-ish Journal is a paper collection of inspiring recycling and assorted arted bits that are then meant to be removed and used in the creation of your own or your swap partners junk journal. It's a way to contain all of your junk so it's easier to use.
I'm just sharing a few bits as this pretty much took up my week in art but I don't want to give too much away in case my swap partner comes by. I already alerted her that I'd be sharing this here.

The cover is made from a shopping bag from the market where I work. I stitched one of my paint blotting napkins  (from the long defunct Trader Vic's restaurant), to the bag to complete the cover. I hoard these super thick napkins from a Holiday Inn sports bar near Blicks Art Supply.

The signatures are not bound but just tied around the spine with a ribbon so the pages can easily slip out. I attached several of my cheese pins to the ends of the ties. Many of the pages came out of some beautiful specialty food catalogs I got from the Fancy Food Show and my local Edible magazine.

Envelopes and pockets made from mailer postcards and weekly mailer flyers hold loose, arted tags and stickers that get scattered throughout. The butterflies are color copies of my original art. I also used painted junk mail windowed envelopes and deli bags with strips of assorted washi tape that can be removed and re-used. I have tons of really cool cheese stickers. Some I painted (there are two on the front cover, but most I left alone.

 I love the little food illustrations on this page from Edible. I decorated large paper clips with bits cut off a Racer 5 beer carrier. There are bits of my original art scattered throughout. The black and white sharpie doodles are done on scraps of card stock from the recycling bin at work.
This is quite a little beast, but it fits in a Flat Rate USPS envelope;-)


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