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Challenging Challenge #56

diane — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:34:51 +0000

This week “the Diva” gave us the challenge to use our non-dominant hand to create a zentangle. Her name for the challenge is “Non Dominatrix* v.2″ because it is the second time she has issued this challenge (the first being challenge #13). Since I am behind with the previous challenges, this was the first time I did this. Other than being a true challenge, I learned several things:

this forces me to slow WAY down,
my natural tendency for perfectionism caused me to “thicken” my lines to take out the wobbliness,
it is much easier drawing right to left since my left hand is my non-dominant hand (not the way I typically draw),
I rotate the tile much more (although I did not allow myself to actually move the tile to do the drawing),
I used much lighter pressure on the pen, but
I had a much tighter grip on the pen.

Here is my result…

Patterns used: Mooka, Crescent Moon, Knightsbridge, Msst, Nipa and the pattern I drew first, based on a building in London known as “the Gherkin”. I’m taking my boys to England over spring break so I have been spending a lot of time looking at all things London.

Welcoming 2012

diane — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:42:57 +0000

I love the start of a new year. I know you can change your life on any given day at any given moment but there is something about making changes with the start of the new year that seems to boost my confidence in making changes. Maybe it is the camaraderie of the world’s population making changes at the same time. Yes, I know that not everyone makes New Year Resolutions but there is a certain change that virtually all people make – that is changing the number whenever they write (or digitally enter) the date. This act used to be much more significant than it is today now that we live in an age where so much of our lives is driven by technology but I guess this is one of those areas in which my age shows.

One of my goals for this year is to share more of my time and talents with others. This is something that I try to do all the time but as my children have gotten older I want to find opportunities outside the realm of soccer, baseball and school. We have developed a tradition of working one of the beverage tents at the Taste of Madison that is held over Labor Day weekend. This year I am hoping to find some additional opportunities to do things as a family because I believe it is best to show the boys the importance of volunteering by giving them examples that involve them.

It is this idea of sharing that is behind the Diva Challenge #52 “give”. She asked us to give one of our Zentangles or Zentangle-inspired pieces of art to someone. Twenty years ago I gave my mother-in-law (to be) a dried flower wreath for Christmas. I noticed the last time we visited that she still had this wreath hanging in their dining room. I decided this year I would give her one of my Zentangle-inspired art pieces to her as a replacement. Since I have not mastered the art of photographing framed artwork, below is a scan of the original piece. A vote was taken when the family was together on Christmas day and it was decided that she should hang it on the diagonal (which I preferred, even though I abstained from voting).

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season and I wish you a calm and creative 2012.

Thursday – favorite day of this week

diane — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 05:01:57 +0000

I have a lot of reasons for loving Thursday, including feeding my addiction to the USA network show “Burn Notice”. But this week it is my Zentangle® for the 7th that has me really excited. Out of the seven Zentangles I did for the CreateMixedMedia.com‘s “Week as Art”, today is my favorite. It contains some of my favorite tangles and a technique I saw used in a 1905 Japanese textile design. I used the technique with the tangle at the bottom which unfortunately I don’t know if it has an “official name”, either by Rick and Maria, the founders of Zentangle or by another Certified Zentangle Teacher. I refer to it as “origami” in my sketchbook. The technique floats individual parts of the tangle above the whole to create a layered look. Great fun!

Last Minute Preparation

diane — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 01:36:12 +0000

Tomorrow is the second art/craft sale, the Holiday Craft Lounge, that I am participating in this month. The Holiday Craft Lounge has been organized by Anthology and is taking place in the lobby of the Overture Center, outside of Overture Hall. This event is part of the Downtown Madison Open House and is also to raise money and collect food for local food pantries. If you get a chance, please stop by. Entry to the event is a $1 donation or a can of food. The event runs from 10am to 3pm.

I have spent most of today finishing last minute projects and making sure that I have everything covered for the sale. I’m not only excited because I will be offering mini lessons on Zentangle® but because #1 son is coming along to help me out. He had a chance to go to the Badger game with his aunt and uncle or sit in the student section with his cousin but he chose to help me out instead. Here is another peek at items I will have for sale tomorrow.

These are the limited edition necklaces that I have created. The necklaces next to each other are the two sides of the same necklaces. All of the vertical designs are also available in horizontal necklaces. The design that is shown horizontally is only available in the horizontal format. Each design is limited to 100 printings.

If you stop by tomorrow, be sure to say “hi”.

For Sale – Part Two

diane — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 04:04:02 +0000

I promised a sneak peek at some of my zentangle-inspired necklaces and here they are…

These are hand-drawn designs on bamboo. Each of these necklaces is one-of-a-kind and features a different design on each side. Pictures don’t do these justice so if you get a chance, stop by Shorewood Elementary School tomorrow for the Craftamongous sale. The sale runs from 10 am to 3 pm.