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Author Archive for Laura A. Sanders
01
Oct
13
On the Border
Here I am in front of my two ZIAS (over my head in black frames) at The Small Works Show in Greenville, SC. I won the Merit Award for my work, $75.00! I am going to work harder and a bit larger for next year, as placing artwork got $200, $400 & $600 prizes! The pieces that won were “Fish Out of Water” that I actually did as a Diva Challenge 123, and the other I called “The Beach”. (You will need to scroll down after clicking to see them).
It has been quite a while since I participated in the Diva’s weekly challenge (IamtheDivaCZT.blogspot.com)… seems it has been since my wonderful cat, Sam, died. I also got involved in textile pattern and surface design online classes ( SkillShare.com), and had to learn how to work with Illustrator and other digital art software. I was finally able to create patterns that I could upload to SpoonFlower.com, a great place to upload and buy/sell your own fabric designs. I do love patterns!
Also, I am going to the June 22 CZT training session in Providence, RI next year! I am soooo excited! Yay oh Yay! If any of you are going to be there too, let me know! To learn more about this, please visit Zentangle.com.
Here is my Zentangle based on a border that I found in my surroundings. I have these really cool beaded coasters, and I used the border of those coasters in my tile. The coasters have little jingle bells attached to the outer edge, and I noticed they kinda look like “Poke Root.” I love Jane MacKugler’s “Henna Drum” tangle, and have incorporated that into my tile. I also used “Sparkool” by Lara Williams to fit inside the curved border. As usual, I added my own embellishments on the edges, and I added auras here and there.
This was fun and a great way to use those patterns that work in long, narrow spaces. I had two mechanical pencils and adjusted the leads so that they would be of similar length. Then I held them together, put them perpendicular to the surface so that both leads touched the paper, and drew! I too had to make minor adjustments, but it was easy to do. I then went to my handy-dandy self-customized pattern guide and searched through my page of border-like patterns. I ended up changing a lot of patterns around, mostly to cover up errors ( :- / , but in the end, I enjoyed the creation, and I am happy with the result!
I have included a couple of Zentangles that I did but never uploaded as my poor kitty Sam died suddenly and unexpectedly, and I was too sad to do much. I think Coaster by Carole Ohl is one of my favorites. Others that I can remember are Facets by Nancy Pinke, and Boomerangs by Teresa Clerc. Mumsy by Sandy Bartholomew is at the bottom right, Aura-Leah version by Carla du Preez at the top right, Japonica by Sandra Strait, and official Zentangle® patterns, Mooka, Eke, and Pane.
(clicking on photos will enlarge them.)
Here is my Cirquital / Opus. Working on this helped me deal with all the anxiety and worry I was going through at the time.
Here is my template Zentangle featuring Footlites by Carole Ohl. I colored it with fine point markers.
For more information about weekly challenges see IAmtheDivaCZT.Blogspot.com and for Zentangle® information see my link , Zentangle® News.
I just discovered this weekly challenge, Adventures in Monotangles, found on Roy Stauffer’s blog, Mindful Creations .
I was so excited to see that he had chosen “Cadent”, an official Zentangle® pattern. Cadent offers soooo many possibilities! I have put into my sketch/notes some ways to play with this pattern:
(as always, clicking on photos will enlarge them:-) )
Here is my first tile. It includes organic, floral forms done with Cadent technique.
Next, is a tile in which a large Cadent grid is the string. I call this one “Cadent Quilt.”
And last is one that occurred to me as I was falling asleep: what if Cadent pieces were doubled or transparent or floated? I also played with color on this one with Derwent Inktense pencils. I have not done much with color , so still experimenting.
This is another tile I did before the monotangle challenge, and it features Cadent.
The floral forms were created with cadent technique, as were the “leaves”. This Zentangle also features official zentangle patterns:
Cadent & variations of it, Poke Root, Springkle, Fife Variation, Tipple
By other designers:
Cruffle by Sandy Hunter
Organza by Ruth Howell
The seahorse, upper right, is my doing as well as little embellishments and the leaf forms on the left, under the floral forms.
This month’s “use my tangle”, aka “UMT”, is Birdie Feet by Owl Loving April. The pattern step out is here
I enjoyed doing this! I drew a string that made a wandering path through my tile, and filled it with Birdie Feet. I put dots all around the feet to remind me of bird seed. I surrounded the path with variations of Hollibaugh, Mooka, Locar, Tipple, Zander, and a variation of Scrolled Feather by Helen Williams. The upper right area is a variation of Hurry–filling the area with alternating lines .
Clicking on the image will enlarge it.
Zentangle® patterns used: Locar, Mooka, Zander, Tipple, Variations of Hollibaugh & Hurry
Variation of Scrolled Feather by Helen Williams
Birdie Feet by Owl Loving April
To read about weekly challenges, go to I Am the Diva CZT ( iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com )
To learn more about the Zentangle® process, go to my page, Zentangle News.
Facebook. Jeeze. I am like many others in thinking that I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook.
What I love about it is the ability share the little things of daily life with family and old friends that I may never see again.
Being around someone everyday, one shares the little things, the minutiae, of day-to-day life. That act of sharing creates bonds with others, and gives one feelings of comfort, belonging and stability. (That is, if the relationship is a positive one.) Sharing with family and dear friends is what I love about Facebook. I especially love seeing pictures of and hearing stories about my siblings’ children as they grow. Facebook makes it easy to connect, and is much more convenient than email. Email has become like the mail box by the road: full of non-personal missives such as bills, reminders, magazines, catalogs and junk mail.
Facebook certainly does have a downside, as just about anything else in life. I get annoyed with politically motivated rants, emotional “look-at-my-suffering” posts, the “here-I-am-every-hour-of-my-day” notifications, self-promotion, religious “honk-if-you-love-Jesus” or “re-post-this-if-you-are-my-friend” blather, and the constant “RIP’s” every time a famous person kicks the bucket–it’s almost as if a contest were going on to see who can be the first to announce the death! I “hide” those types of postings.
There are courses of action that can be taken to guard privacy. It takes a bit of time and thought to go through all of the options available in order to do a thorough job, but it can be done. I pretty much avoid all apps and games and contests that require complete sharing of information, and I have chosen who can view which photos, and what types of postings I will allow from certain “friends.”
I will admit, I do a lot of “hiding”, but the annoyances of Facebook, for me, do not outweigh the good things that I get from it. The reconnection with family members and old friends is priceless to me. But then, I am over 50, and at my age, these connections are more prized than ever. I also get a kick out of the “memes” and funny videos and jokes, and I enjoy being informed of new places to eat and upcoming events. I like cats.
As the old adage advises: All things in moderation. Facebook is what one makes of it, and I am glad that it is here, but don’t get me started on smart phones….
Summer in the USA involves 4th of July celebrations, trips to the beach and pool, picnics, family reunions, and fun!
I did Zentangles® reflecting some of these summer fun activities.
For more information on the Zentangle process, see my page “Zentangle News”
Tangle patterns that are not identified by designer are official Zentangle® patterns.
The first Zentangle I call “Starz and Stripz.”
(Click on photos to enlarge.)
Zentangle tangles featured are Bunzo, Fracas and Auraknot. I love Fracas for this event as it looks like fireworks! I played around with lines at the bottom left in a way similar to Auraknot , Hurry and IX.
The next is “Beaches”
The upper left corner was an improvisational design I did . The upper right is a variation of Leaflet by Helen Williams. The Conch shell form on the left was also improvised as I went along. The Conch shell design on the right features a favorite tangle pattern Fish Net by Mariët Lustenhouwer. Squid is in the center of the two Conch forms. In the very center is a version of Fengle. The left center form is tangled with Purk, and the right form is filled with Bales. Zinger is between Purk and Bales. Bottom left is Fünf (which means “five” in German) by Denise Rudd, and bottom right is Snaylz Trayl by Andrea “Cookie” Shuman.
This design I did for a friend celebrating his 60th birthday. This is the first time I have tangled a number or letter (still have not done a letter!)
This I call “60”. On the “6” you will see “LX“, which is “60” in Roman numerals, done in the same manner as the official Zentangle pattern IX. Featured are Purk, a variation of Eke, Knase and a variation of Knase, Twing and a variation of Rain. The “0” features a variation of Chainging, Cadent, Betweed, XYP, and Coaster by Carole Ohl. Around the edges are Verdigogh, Squid, Poke Root, Poke Leaf, Mooka,Pendrills, and Dooleedoo by Ksenija Volisavljevic. I had a lot of fun doing this!
This week’s challenge was prompted by the flooding in Calgary, and the heartbreak suffered by a community due to the destructive flood waters. This challenge is “open”, and I quote : “I only ask that you keep Calgary in your hearts this week, and any part of the Earth where people are dealing with incredible struggles and tragedy.” (IAmtheDivaCZT.blogspot.com)
My home state is Oklahoma, and I have nieces & nephews living in the Moore area. Thank God, they are OK. My heart breaks for the families who lost everything, especially for those who lost loved ones. So, my drawing is dedicated to Oklahoma. I used patterns that remind me of wind & rain & hail, homes, crops & brokeness. I also used “Hartvine” to show the love sent to the area, and flowers to show hope. I drew this week’s challenge on a 4-1/2 in square of print maker’s paper.
(clicking on any photo in this blog will enlarge it.)
The specific tangles used are listed here:
Casella by Connie Holsapell, Hurakan by Carole Ohl, Pop-Cloud by Carla duPreez, Cracked by Lori Howe, Hartvine by Lori Howe. Official Zentangle patterns: Nipa, Zinger and tangleations of Zinger, and Hollibaugh.
19
Jun
13
Zentangle Weekly Challenge #123
This week’s challenge is thought-provoking. It has to do with defining “Zentangle”, and working a Zentangle out of the parameters of what defines “Zentangle.”
From I am the Diva, CZT (http://iamthedivaczt.blogspot.ca/) :
” The challenge for this week is: can you do a Zentangle without using existing patterns or tangeleations* of them? And what are your experiences while doing so?
*patterns and tangeleations as far as you know”
These are my thoughts:
People design patterns all the time. So, is this challenge to make a Zentangle with one’s own patterns, created just for this challenge?
The Zentangle method was crafted specifically to help anyone have a creative experience that is meditative, aka “the zone.” As an artist, I am familiar with this state of mind, and I did not need Zentangle to achieve it.
Zentangle patterns need to be non-representative, and achieved “one stroke at a time,” 3-1/2 inch square, and in black & white with shading. Anything else is “Zentangle Inspired Art”, which is what most of us end up doing after we get the hang of it.
You CAN certainly experience the creative/meditative state of mind without the Zentangle method. You can also create a Zentangle with original patterns, although it may take a while to come up with them, or it may be similar to what a lot of us did on our own before we ever heard of “Zentangle.”
So, for this challenge, I resorted to the way I would doodle and draw before I ever heard of Zentangle. I had the same experience, the “Zen”, but I did not have my catalog of patterns that gives me endless possibilities. I felt somewhat limited.
This is the first attempt. I call it “Litter.” I wanted to try again…
This one I call “Wurmz.” Nah…..
This is the last one I did. “Fish Out of Water.” The “fish” was not supposed to be a fish, but when I finished, I thought, “That looks like a fish!” So, I worked a few details into it. What I really noticed about working this way, the way I do my fine art, actually, is that I draw on the natural world for my lines and forms. I realized that when I drew the first one, which is why I added the “litter” to it: pull tabs, bottle caps, cigarettes…
Is it a Zentangle? No, but it could be called a “ZIA.” Did I experience the “Zen”? Yes, I did get “in the zone!” It was not as much fun, though. I kept thinking how other patterns that I know and love would fit in this.
Good challenge! Thanks, Diva!
15
Jun
13
My Newest Zentangles and ZIAs
I have been busy! I purchased and downloaded the 2013 Edition Tangle Guide from Tanglepatterns.com
and printed out the pages, cut out the patterns, and glued them all into my Tangle Guide sketchbook. Why would I do that, you ask? Well, I like to look for patterns according to the type of pattern they are, and alphabetically arranged patterns are not very helpful. So, first of all, I separated Official Zentangle Patterns from all the rest, and arranged them according to type— Grids, Checkerboard type, Spheres, circles, stripes, mazes, concentric, diamonds, triangles, plant-like, etc. I just went through and started putting them into piles with similar characteristics. Then I glued them onto pages. Then I did the same with the unofficial patterns. Took a couple of days, but now that it is done, I have a great reference for my patterns! I did make sure that I included the designers’ names with each pattern so that I can refer to them.
Anyway, with that in place, I went through picking a few patterns that I had not used, and began creating Zentangles. Here are a few:
This one I call “Windoz”. I worked with Pane, which I love for its open look, and Pea Nuckle, Diva Dance, and Striping or Bongo, it’s kinda both… Hazen is the window-looking one that I rounded the corners to, and added the straps/ties to. Hazen is challenging to me, so I am going to keep using it until I get the hang of it. I decided to fill the “panes” of Hazen with the very organic looking Poke Root. Poke Root is one of the best filler-tangles out there! I LOVE Poke Root!
This one I call “Carpetz”, using my own grid pattern, Spyz. I have used Jute a lot, because as yet, I have not been able to do it accurately! I also love using Pepper and Jetties as fillers.
This one I call “Assuntaz” . I saw the “scrolly” version of Assunta,on the left, on a Pinterest post of tangle designs by “Tangledlady.” She does beautiful work. The other Assunta, on the right, is my own tangelation. I filled the open space in the middle with floral type patterns. I love Henna Drum by Jane MacKugler.
This Zentangle was done on a 4-1/2 inch square card designed for the Letterpress system (Lifestylecrafts.com). It is a thick paper very similar in texture to the Tiepolo paper used for Official Zentangle tiles. This tile features Courant at the top, then Eke, Ahh, combinations of Striping & Shattuck, Yincut & Orlique, and the bottom is filled with different patterns and tangleations such as Verdigogh, Chainging, Poke Root and Poke Leaf, Tagh, Ynix, Locar, Squid, Tidings, Flux, Mysteria, Sedgling, Springkle, and Floo. Whew!!!
laurasoriginalart 