TANGLES BY THE SEA

Seven of us spent a beautiful San Diego afternoon “Holiday Tangling” at Icarus Creative Arts Studio on the grounds of the Bernardo Winery a couple weeks ago.  Some enjoyed a nice glass of wine from the tasting room, and others enjoyed sugar cookies made by “yours truly”.

Class began with learning three holiday-ish patterns – Verdigogh, Stella and Crystal.  A list was also presented of other patterns that could work for any type of holiday creation.  We used Zendala tiles to create wreaths, using whichever patterns we wanted to select.  “Verdigogh” and “Stella” were popular but you’ll see a few “Crystals” in there as well.

Each person received green, red and clear jelly roll pens to add a little sparkle to their tile.  Think the concept worked out very well!  These same techniques, patterns, etc. can be applied to gift tags, greeting cards, etc. – whatever you can come up with.

My next class will be an “Introduction to Zentangle” where you can begin your Zentangle Journey and enjoy all the other classes that are planned for the next three months at Icarus.  Hope to see you at one of them!

My class schedule for the first three months of 2017 is now posted.  Check out the Class Descriptions or Quick Glance Schedule for a listing of what’s coming up in the New Year!

I’ve had a good year sharing Zentangle with some awesome people.  It’s exciting to see someone get excited in their very first class and then continue on with their journey!  I love sharing my passion for Zentangle and look forward to doing more – hope to see you join me sometime in the next year.

Happy Holidays to All!

Today, at Icarus Creative Arts, I had the opportunity to share Zentangle with six lovely ladies.  These ladies have been following my classes for quite some time now and I’m very appreciative of their time in allowing me to share Zentangle with them.

The class this afternoon focused on Autumn.  I gave them a choice of paper.  They then could chose their choice on pens – black or brown, or a mix of both.  I gave them each a Sycamore tree leaf to trace on to their selected medium and a selection of patterns that I felt worked well with this.

We divided our leaves into eight sections and filled them with various patterns – Flux, N’zepple, Printemps, Tipple, Poke Root, Mooka, Tagh, etc.  When done, some opted to add colored pencil, while others added a little Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust pen.  Each person received a black Zendala matte to frame their piece of Autumn.

Once again, we all used the same pattern, and look how different they all turned out.  Thanks again ladies – was a very nice afternoon spent at the Winery with you all!

Tess & Liliana

Judy & Judi

Sharon

Shelly
(unfinished beautiful work)

This week’s Diva Challenge was in honor of Halloween.  There are so many ways to tangle and involve patterns that fit for this holiday, but I chose just one (and a little Msst).  And it’s one of my favorites!

My tile features “Kunstler” created by Margaret Bremner.  I just love these crazy shapes, and like to see how different they can be made depending on the original lines.  Add a few eyeballs, and it looks like these guys are huddled up and waiting for what’s coming next!

Here is my quick entry for this week’s “Diva Challenge … Leafy Goodness”.  I’m off to Central California to celebrate my father-in-law’s 90th birthday so not a lot of time for posting this morning!

With Fall in full swing, the subject this week centered on all the beautiful colors associated with the leaves of the season.  I reversed the colors on my tile, using it on the background.  This was applied with Tombo markers and blending pen.  I don’t think it’s visible from this photo, but when I finished I sprayed Imagine Crafts Shimmermist on top of my work.  It added such a nice accent.  I’ve never used the Shimmermist before and I’m afraid I might go crazy with it!  Perfect touch for the upcoming holidays!

The Diva Challenge this week was to use the Zentangle pattern, “Gourdgeous”, a perfect pattern for Autumn.  I taught a pattern class last weekend and this was one of the patterns I introduced to the students.  I had to assure them that it takes a little practice to get the shaping right, but that all gourds are not created equal!

My whole life, October 1st has been my favorite day of the year.  Living by the water, I see a difference in the colors and smells around me … it just feels “fresh”.  Could it also be because my birthday is this month and I think we gravitate to the season in which we were born?  Scorpios rule!

And, because I love Fall, this challenge was a fun one for me.

Patterns used: Gourdgeous, Zander, Flux and Asclep (Cheryl Lees Haley)

It seems that most classes offer a few new patterns to go along with “the theme of the day”.  This Sunday, October 9th, my class will center on “Just Patterns” so you can concentrate on learning several new tangles and adding them to your tangle library. The next time you want to create a “themed” tile, or ZIA, you’ll have more patterns to chose from!

It’s only Week #4, but if you’re tired of watching the San Diego Chargers already, come treat yourself to an “Introduction to Zentangle” class this coming Sunday, October 2nd from 1pm-3pm.  The class is being held at the Icarus Design Studio on the grounds of the Benardo Winery.  It’s a great place to visit with lots of shops, restaurants, AND live music and dancing on the Tasting Room Patio all afternoon.

Zentangle is a fun and easy way to create beautiful art, as well as helping you unwind and destress from a busy life.   Absolutely zero art experience is necessary so don’t let that stop you.  In fact, you will surprise yourself at what you can create in just this one lesson.

There are three seats left as of September 28th.  Hope to see you Sunday! 

The Diva challenged us to get to the “zen” of our Zentangle practice and just let it go ….  In other words, she challenged us to get back to the basic of Zentangle – the pen, the tile and you.  So many people have to create the “perfect” tile to put on display which creates tension and stress.  The whole point of Zentangle is to relax.

I like to think that is how I always practice Zentangle.  I’m not into creating great works of art – I like my little 3.5×3.5 tile and am amazed at the patterns I can create.  I do this because it brings me joy and into a very peaceful space.  Trying to create all the stuff to impress other people just isn’t for me.  And this is how I like to share Zentangle with my students – the pure, simple process of Zentangle.

I sat in my backyard next to to the fountain, listening to the birds and water.  I also live right by the ocean so the sounds of the gulls and water added to the atmosphere.  I have to admit my yard is very peaceful so it’s pretty  hard not to relax and get into the “zen” of tangling.   All these sounds guided me to Mooka -the constant motion of the pen without raising it was nice and quiet.  It’s simple and doesn’t take a lot of thought – just go and flow …. much like the sea.  This was a great Challenge that I enjoyed lot.

Had a fun evening doing a little “organic ocean” tangling with Judy and Julie the other night.  I’ve met with them a few times now, creating some fun “stuff”.  We’ve done our pets, an “organic garden” and now, this time, our little ocean ZIA.  This class, I pre-watercolored Apprentice tiles and Bijous.  We first completed the larger tile, then I wanted to show them how they can take the very same tangles and create a smaller one on the Bijou.  Lots of fun!

Looking forward to our next get-together!

Patterns – Rixty, Squid, Coral Seeds, Angelfish, Phycops, Printemps, Cruffle, Fescue, Tipple

I’ve also had an “Organic Garden” class last weekend with Laurie and Karin.  As I  often do, I forgot to take pictures of our completed work.  Karin had to leave a  little early so she completed hers at home then sent me a picture.  She wanted to create a “tree” on her tile and came up with her own (right side of paper).  Very nice.   (We did these on Strathmore Artagain paper.)

I had been playing with gardens prior to the class, as well as checking out my new Suzanne McNeill “Floribunda Woodland” book.  Lots of little embellishments for Zentangle ZIA’s.  Since I was doing a garden, I picked out a little frog and put him in the “pond”.  Gave him a little color just for fun!  Check out Suzanne’s book if you have a chance.  There’s also a “Floribunda Basics” with lots of flowers, vines, leaves, etc.  As I said, little embellishment ideas!