TANGLES BY THE SEA

I have finalized new classes for the upcoming summer months of July, August & September.  Hopefully, there’s one just made for YOU!

In  addition to the great location of the Icarus Creative Arts Studio, I have a July class scheduled in the Pacific Beach area at the Seapoint Studio! If you live closer to the beach areas, this might be the class location for you.  Both sites are unique, creative and fun!

Remember … If you would like something more specialized for yourself and/or a group, contact me and we’ll set something up that is more to your liking.

… Anything is possible …

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of sharing an afternoon with nine new students of the Zentangle Method.  But, for the first time ever …. I forgot the name of a pattern I was teaching!  So frustrating, it just wouldn’t come to me.  All of a sudden, about ten minutes later, BAM, there it was.  Festune!  Festune! I kept thinking it started with an “S” and couldn’t get that out of my head.  Anyone else ever had this happen!?

I hope my “senior moment” (and I am a senior I guess) didn’t scare them away.  Hoping to meet up with them at another class down the road.  Here’s a sample of their beautiful work.

This was our second tile
Zander, Printemps, Poke Root, Poke Leaf and ….. Festune!

Our “Classroom”
Elena, Susie, Jan, Jolene, Elizabeth, Nancy, Renee, Michelle & Jenny
The colorful Icarus Creative Arts Studio

I haven’t participated in the Diva’s Challenge for a while.  I’m getting in on this one a few days late … only being saved by the Canadian holiday of “Victoria Day” today.  Thank you Queen Victoria!

I created a couple tiles and couldn’t decide on just one …

The Zendala has a mass of  Jetties and looks too black.
Perhaps I went a little overboard with the “bit of black” theme?!

The second tile was loosely constructed starting with an orb in the middle.  Then I just continued to grow out using Mooka on all sides, adding Henna Drum, Poke Leaf and Flux.  Last week, I taught a class on Zendalas so I think the circular shape with Mooka was a carry-over.  I liked trying to get a Zendala feel in a free form manner … no border or string, just flowing out from the center.  I should have used a Zendala tile, but I grabbed a piece of paper I had stuffed in my journal and tangled away.  Definitely didn’t follow any basics on this one!

Just spent a great Sunday afternoon sharing Zendalas with eight new friends at the Icarus Creative Arts Studio in the Bernardo Winery.  Had a brief show and tell to start, then we got into the circular art of the Zendala.

We used pre-strung tiles for our first attempt.  I gave a choice of a new pen (White Gelly Roll, Burgundy Le Penn or Graphic One) to each attendee.  At this stage of our class gatherings, we all have a mixed bag of pens so I was trying to bring everyone up to speed since we were going to be coloring some large black areas.  Plus, I didn’t want anyone to leave with a new pen of some kind!

I used three of the basic patterns – Hollibaugh, Poke Root/Leaf, and Purk to fill our string.  We all did the very same tile and yet, wow, how different they all look.  AND THEY ALL LOOK AWESOME!  Made me so proud to see them all.  The picture below doesn’t really do them justice as I took it from an odd angle.  But, I think you will agree how nice they all are.  Some who chose the burgundy pen, opted to use it in their tile, and it incorporated very well with the black ink.

We then started another one, but didn’t get those quite done.  I showed what patterns to fill in where.  I can’t wait to see them completed the next time we all meet.

My dear friend, Janet Masey, also a local CZT, came to my class today for the first time in my “teaching career”.  It was so awesome to have her there and to share with her just how far we have come since that day in 2013 when she introduced Zentangle to me and said … ‘let’s do this’!   Zentangle has enriched our friendship so much … and how do you improve on a friendship of forty-six years (yes, we were high school buddies … cruising the beaches of San Diego in her cute little dark green VW bug with our beach chairs hanging out the back!)

And, that is one of the things I LOVE about Zentangle … I have met and made so many wonderful friends through this experience.  It is so much fun to meet with other people who share their excitement over this art method.  I’m always looking to meet some more so come join us!

Beautiful work created by
Tess, “Judy, Judi, Judy”, Kathy, Karin, Sharon & Janet

Yesterday, I led a class entitled “Patterns & Paper” at the Icarus Creative Arts Studio.  Six ladies, who have recently discovered Zentangle, shared their Sunday afternoon together as we learned eight new tangle “patterns”.  The “paper” came into play when we folded Lotka paper into Beckah Krahula’s “Folders for ATC and Tiles”.

First off, we did the paper folding, creating two – one for regular tiles and then a Bijou size folder.  After learning the new patterns, each person took out a Bijou tile and created a monotangle with their choice of one of the new patterns they learned today.  Everyone went home with their Bijou Folder and one completed Bijou!  It would have been fun to make a 3.5×3.5 tile as well, but everyone was in agreement that they wanted new patterns to add to their Tangle Libraries.

It was a very good afternoon spent with new friends and followers of Zentangle!

Note: the Lotka paper came printed with
this nice black and white design.
We did not tangle the folders!

As usual, the first Diva Challenge of each month features a pattern created by “the tangling public”.  This months tangle was created by Lynn Mead called “Fassett”.  It looks complicated, but it is quite simple.  This is a fun pattern that can be used different ways.  I opted to do a mono-tangle for my submission this week.

Last weekend, I had the privilege of sharing an Introduction to Zentangle Basics class with six awesome ladies.  They learned eight patterns and completed two tiles.  Their first tiles look great …. and the good news …. they had fun creating them.  I’m looking forward to seeing them again soon and sharing many more patterns as they expand their pattern libraries.

Crescent Moon, Hollibaugh, Static & Cubine

Printemps, Poke Root & Poke Leaf, Zander, Festune

The Diva has a guest Blogger for this week’s challenge – Jane Reiter, CZT, who has given us a “Stacked Bijou Challenge”.  When I saw it my first thought was “this will take too long”, but I got out some paper this evening and worked my way through  five layers!  I used very simple patterns as I just wanted to see if I could get this done.  I really like the idea now that I’ve put one together and will definitely give it another try when I allot myself a little more time.  I think you could really come up with some pretty pieces of art.  (This kept me away from the bag of milk chocolate Easter eggs that kept calling my name ….!)

About a month ago, I started a “Cross Country Tile Collaboration” with CZT’s Lauryn Eldon, Charlotte Carpentier and Maria Pahos-Benson.  We each started three tiles, creating a string with four spaces.  After we filled in one of the sections, they were mailed “round robin” style to one another.   This was kind of a spin on the “Traveling Tangles Project” written about in a Certified Zentangle Teacher Facebook post.

Today, I received my original tiles back in the mail.  I LOVE THEM!  Everyone’s work is so beautiful.  How fun to see how we all interpreted the strings and what patterns we used.  I highly recommend giving this a try.

Made these Bijou Tangled Gardens to put in student supply kits for “Tangled Garden Class”. So fun to make and share.

I’ve scheduled new classes for April, May and June at Icarus Design Studio located on the grounds of the Bernardo Winery.  There’s a class for everyone in this mix!

Two Intro Classes are scheduled – Sunday, April 3rd and Sunday, June 5th.  In between those, a new class “Patterns and Paper” is set for Sunday, April 17th.  For those of you who have been coming to my classes, it’s time to expand your tangle libraries!  This class is about new patterns and new  papers to use for your tangling.

With May being a busy month with Mother’s Day and graduation season starting, one class is on the calendar for the 15th.  We will be tangling “In the Round”, creating beautiful Zendalas.  We will use a pre-strung tile, as well as learn how to create your own.

Besides the Intro Class on June 5th, a fun class with some color will be held on June 19th.  You’ll get an outline of a hummingbird, proceed to fill it with different patterns and then add some color.  It’s just another way to show how you can take your Zentangle method outside the 3×3 tiles and unleash your creativity!

Sign up now to save your place as seating is limited for each class.  Use the Paypal button over in the right column and you’re all set.  Hope to see you in the upcoming months!