Diva Challenge #343 and Sketchbooks

Diva Challenge #343

"Dewd"

The eco-print I started with

I had a feeling this one would appear sooner rather than later. I played around with Dewd a bit when the video first appeared a few weeks back. It's not as easy as it looks. I figured Dewd would be a great addition to my eco-printed series. I also had another go at Paradox. This was really fun to draw. After the first row of Dewd, I thought it might be better to just do straight up stalks, but I was already invested. 

Sketchbook stuff:

After days of deliberating how to start the new DIY sketchbook I shared last week, pondering themes and whatnot, I just dove in with a prompt I saw on Draw Tip Tuesday earlier this week. It seemed like a bit of a train wreck as I moved through it and that was the intent. It took the pressure off of any thoughts of perfection. In the end the black background really pulled it together.

The first page of my new sketchbook
Gratitude with Attitude

I'm working through my first attempt at a handmade bound book:

Little Zen Menu November prompt mash-up

Zendala string #103, Less is More (in my world) and a little Betweed

This is the Fearless, Fun & Funky sketchbook. It's a hot mess. The pages are all wonky because my punched holes are off-alignment, the spine is too wide so the whole thing lies crookedly and the thread work was really clumsy (hence the washi tape)...but, it's all good. I decided to really have fun with it because there is nothing I can do to mess it up any more than it is.

First I threw a bunch of watercolor at it, using some cheap paint I got at Daiso for $1.50 for 8 tubes. I had fun swirling around the colors and then closing the page to get a mirror imprint. Then noodled around with lettering and using various black liner pens. I had a bit of a scare when I clogged up my new Lamy fountain pen. I should have known better because the cheap paint was very chalky. I did have great success with a really inexpensive Pentel Stylo.

I'm getting back into the Little Zen Menu prompts from the Facebook group Tangled & Journaled Too.

LZM: FeatherFall/Mooka

LZM: It starts with one small circle  within another circle

This was a mash-up of several prompts including:

watercolor, Zendala String #116, Huggins and Printemps, Joki, Cruffle and Dark

YogaCat
🐾😼❤

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

Diva Challenge # 332, Joey Challenge #182 etc...

Diva Challenge #332

"2 Squared"

Ha-krall, Abukas and Printemps

The Diva is back from her Summer hiatus. The challenge is to create a string using 2 squares.

Joey's Weekly Challenge #182

9 piece ensemble series

ATC #5 

Featuring: "Muscari"

Additionally: Pixioze, Batumber, Striping, Paisley Boa and Fescu

The "92 Days" Summer prompts are complete and now we're moving on to a series of prompts called  "The Little Zen Menu" from the Facebook group Tangled and Journaled Too! 5 or 6 prompts are posted every Saturday to choose from. I have one last pocket journal to complete so I decided to start with the weekly zendala template (selected from Erin Olsen's "Weekly Zendala Dare challenge  from her blog "The Bright Owl") and incorporate as many of the other prompts as makes sense.

Zendala template #43

Rixty

Yellow/Green

Zendala Template #58

"Dyon"

"Binda"

inkidoodles.com (Melinda Barlow's Echo-lined Mooka)

blue/violet

Travelling Tangles completed this week:

my finish...

...to this inspiring start by Deb Huff

my finish...

...to this start by Stephanie Jennifer

I came home from work last night to some lovely Travelling Tangles in my mailbox. Aimee commandeered them;-)

"Why you needs happy mail? you got me!"

My nieces had given me and my sister gift certificates to this art studio a couple of Christmas's ago and we finally got it done;-)

Drinking wine and making art with the family. Good times🍻❤😀

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

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

Diva Challenge #323

"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;-)

Diva Challenge #321, Made by Joey Challenge #170 and other artsy stuff..

Diva Challenge # 321

Non-dominant hand & Auras

My initial reaction to these left hand challenges is always "oh crap!", but usually, fairly quickly, followed by a sigh of relief. Letting go of perceived perfection with slow, steady focus on each stroke is extremely calming. The additional emphasis on aura'd patterns was actually a natural progression from previous challenges. During the last couple of Sunday streams, Laura was drawing Opus in one and Dansk in another, mentioning the keys to successful aura-ing. Even spacing, focus and my Aha! moment: Go Slow! So, of course, I started those subsequent challenges in that vein and then veered off course from time to time.

This challenge was just the thing to rein me back into the zen. For me, this was merely an exercise. I decided to go to my pattern collection and pulled out several of my favorite aura patterns and a couple of less familiar ones. I used Margaret Bremner's "Flying Birds" string and mapped out what I'd put where. I started with my mac 'n cheese "Crescent Moon". The last thing I did was "Verve". Those longer lines were the most difficult part and wonkiest...and...I love this tile! It looked a bit like a tree so I decided to stop and leave those wedges empty. The shading helped a lot.  Great challenge!

Tile Mapping (I just made this up-I think)
trying something new

Made by Joey #170

Finish my Tile Alphabet Series: "Y"

featuring: Yuma

additionally: Yah

The next to last Alphabet challenge by Joey. I have to say my set is quite spectacular. I'll post the whole she-bang next week. These were supposed to be headers for my pattern collection pages, but a few weeks ago I decided to re-organize it by pattern type:

Re-organization...for now

Travelling Tangles I finished last week:

My finish...

...to this sweet start by June Dal

travelling from Hawaii

My finish...

...to another of June's beginnings

My "92 Days" Project-daily drawing prompts from the Facebook group Tangled and Journaled, too!
Week 3:

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

Kitty-pic of the week

Diva Challenge #320, Joey Challenge #196 and My Prompt Journal

Diva Challenge #320

Use My Tangle: Dansk by Margaret Bremner

additionally: Isla, Wud and Tipple

I was only able to watch a little of Laura's stream on Sunday night because I had to work. I was delighted to see Dansk. It's been on my to do list as it's similar to one of my favorite fills, Sandswirl. I love aura'd patterns but I've always been a little unsatisfied with them because I realized (after seeing  and listening to Laura work through some aura'd patterns) I've been working too fast. The key to great auras is to go slow and concentrate on even spacing between each aura. I wasn't always successful here but I'm getting better;-)

I made a bunch of wine stained tiles awhile ago using a the dregs of a bottle of corked red wine. The color dried really weirdly. It started off grey and over time it's turned brown.

" 92 Days"

Daily Drawing Prompts

for the Facebook group Tangled and Journaled, Too!

My floral day was inspired by Michele Beauchamp's stripey flowers and I tried out Dansk here first. I had some bleed through from Orange day and I was not very happy with "Chence" day. The resolve of the strings is a bit clumsy. I need to watch Helen Williams video again.

Made by Joey Challenge #196

Finish my tile Alphabet Series: X

featuring X's and Orbs

additionally: Xenso

I created this series on Bijou tiles to use as headers in my pattern library binder. Last week, I decided to reorganize my patterns by type;-P

Here are more of my journal prompts for the week:

This is my favorite!

If I fits, I sits!

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

Diva Challenge #319, Made by Joey #168 and other stuff...

Diva Challenge #319: BEad INSPIRED!

beaded blooming butter

I was so inspired by this weeks challenge and Laura's post. She had a super busy week/weekend so the post was a day later than usual. It was worth the wait;-) 

I really love the stories and adventures she shares every week. This one was of particular interest as she'd gone on a field trip with her son's class to a National Heritage Park near Saskatoon. I'm half Cree on my father's side and though we moved to San Francisco when I was little, I'm still Canadian (born in Vancouver BC). When I was a kid, my aunts (who I never met) lived in James Bay, Ontario, in a place called Moose Factory. They would send us handmade gifts. Much beading on butter-soft suede was involved and my memory of those gifts and Beads of Courage inspired my tile this week. Thank you Laura!!

This weeks challenge is one of Laura's annuals, inspired by her creation and involvement in Saskatoon's annual 5K Color Run which raises money for Beads of Courage, an Arts in Medicine program for children that have chronic or life threatening illnesses. I think this is my third year participating in this challenge.

Made by Joey #168

Finish My Tile Alphabet Series: "W"

featuring: "W2"

additionally: "Waves"

As the alphabet series winds to a close, we all must be wondering "What's Joey cookin' up next?" I know what's cookin' on July 10th;-) Stay tuned...

It's a String Thing Challenge #197

featuring: Tint, Bales and Antidots

These are a couple Travelling Tangles I finished last week, unfortunately my starting pics were deleted in a mad phone feng shui purge.

May Monotangle Swap

started by Kat van Rooyen

with the dark orbed Molygon near bottom left

May Monotangle or Mooka swap

started by Josephine Wu

with the narrower radiating Betweed cones

and Mooka on the bijou

"A Little Summer Project"

Facebook Group Tangled and Journaled, too!

Day 1: One Little Word

Aimee inspired

Every day, for 92 days we are given a drawing prompt, to be collected in any journal of one's choosing. At Christmas time, I made several of these little pocket journals:

For this series I started a few pages with traced bijou and ATC templates. Just as I was setting up my journal for the first week and pondering my little word, Aimee jumped in the window from a wet deck and traipsed across my page;-P

My end game is to have a few pocket journals filled with inspiration that I may later slip into my bag for spontaneous, internet-less, out-and-about drawing sessions;-)
Here's what I did this week:

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