Forgiveness

Forgive me tanglers, for I have sinned. It has been 3 weeks since my last blog post.

While I could offer a plethora of excuses (I have been pretty busy) this lapse has been brought to you by another bought of my self-doubt and a feeling of being overwhelmed.

I started to dive into the cause of this recently, so I can better understand it. I know there have been many books written on the subject, but from what I can tell, in me at least, is that I have too many projects. Too many kits. Too many things I started and then did not finish. But why? I am going to write about this more in-depth in the coming weeks, as I stretch my legs into new role. I have recently revamped my web site, and updated the online store (hit that Home button at the top when you are done here to see the fruits of my labor, and sign up for my newsletter.) I am working at being more productive, and I am going to take you all on the journey with me to share with  you what I find.

But for now, to prove I have not been slacking…let me take you through my past couple of weeks. I had to go to Santa Barbara on business. I decided to take the Amtrak up, so as to save driving hassles and perhaps tangle on the train. That turned out to be a no-go as the thing sways the whole time. I did get to read a lot, which was cool. And in my meetings, I finished this piece (mostly coloring, trying out some Polychromos for the first time.)

Celtic Hearts - Polychromos

I did not do the Diva Challenge #321. I could make a lot of excuses for that, but I just don’t like drawing with my non-dominant hand. I finished the shop model for the Tick-Tock Tangle Clock class from last Saturday instead.

And…if you would love to do this, a kit is available (in limited quantities!) Click on over to the store.

I took a book making class with the awesome Deborah Pace, CZT. We made hardcover books (a first for me) and I think I see a lot more of these in my future. I even set it up in my bag in bag so I could carry it around to work in (although it is still blank inside…) The cover is a piece of wallpaper from a sample book we have a the shop.

Then I jetted off to Austin/San Antonio for a few days to hang with the small human (we went to Schlitterbahn) and to see Iron Maiden.

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I did get Diva #322 done. I love AquaFleur (I think you may see this again later in the post.) I did this in my green Latka journal. The paper is REALLY rough and bumpy.

Diva #322

I started (or rather continued) an Opus tile for the August 19th class Summertime Blues – an Opus Undertaking. This is going to be grand fun, with a whole class dedicated to blue pens, tangling in tangles, and using shapes for strings.  You will not want to miss this one! I will have it up in the shop to reserve your spot sometime this week.

Summertime Blues WIP

I also folded up a cute tile frame set for my Celtic Knot Bijou tiles. This was fun. Try-piggy and Stone Bijou approve.

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I hung out at the shop on the 4th (nothing better to do, really, and I hate crowds…and it is pretty hot here right now.) Whilst demoing techniques to put raised gold on tiles, I popped out this little number for the Diva Challenge #323 – Home. Mixing pointed pen with regular Zentangle is pretty fun!

Diva #323

I have been using the new Pigma Micron PN (Plastic Nib) quite a bit lately, and I really like them. This is on an Apprentice tile, so it worked well for the pointed pen as well, but the little bit larger nib of the PN suits my tangle style. I have them available in singles (Black and several colors) and sets (6 and 8 pen multi colored) in the shop. And the red and gold? Those are FineTec Pearlescent watercolors, applied to a pointed pen. Next best thing since sliced bread. I have those in the shop as well. The new palettes with an updated gold arrangement, and these awesome 12 color sets, and 6 color iridescent sets.

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The iridescent even look cool on white paper, very subtle. (and shiny, even though that does not photo well.)

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I started this week spending my Open Studio time on Sunday sewing. Would love to have more people join me! Sew, tangle, journal, whatever you like to do. Come hang out.

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AND…not last…and certainly not least. This week’s Diva Challenge (#324) Hearts – with guest blogger Jessica Davies, CZT, from Maryland. The minute I saw this post, I knew it was time to finish that heart-shaped box I started at Tangle Island in 2015. It is VERY challenging to draw on a bumpy, curved, irregular surface, so I chickened out after I started the border around the lid and did not finish it. Until today. And I think I may tangle the bottom part of the box later.

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The San Diego (and SoCal) Zentangle Friendship Group met at the shop today, too, and we played with the FineTec, had a bit of show and share, and visited. We have such a great time. I really enjoy the camaraderie of my fellow CZTs (we occasionally have some of our students in the group as well, but not today.) And dear Denise brought me this cute little piggy note pad! A much better result to what started out as a rather awful Monday!

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And did I mention that my African violet finally bloomed? It has only been 6 years!

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I have a couple journal pages to get caught up on, so I better get to it.

Make stuff…it certainly made me feel better, and I know it will make you feel better, too!

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It Doesn’t Always Work…

Have you ever tried something and it didn’t exactly come out like it did in  your head? I do (sometimes n a pretty regular basis) and it can be really frustrating, whether it is in art or in life.

That’s about how this week’s Diva Challenge (#320) came about for me, to use Margaret Bremner, CZTs tangle Dansk. I had started something in my black Venice Journal whilst experimenting with white ink in my “FrankenPen” set up. It was clogging like crazy, the paper was too bumpy, and it just didn’t work. But it’s my Venice Journal (one of 2 small handmade books I purchased in Venice, hence the name) and I can’t just tear out the page and go to the next one. So it sat on my desk for a week or so, then I thought, I can just tangle around it and it will be ok.

Diva #320

And now the page is rescued.

BTW…if you would like your own “FrankenPen” to experiment with, you can get it here. I include regular fountain pen ink with it, and it has a twist-type empty refillable cartridge in it as well. I do endorse the use of any non-clogging inks that will work in a fountain pen. Both the Bleed Proof White and Pen White clogged like crazy, so I don’t recommend those, but there are many other lovely colors on the market that work well. This is the last one I tried with Pen White before I basically ruined this nib:

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It was grand fun, and thankfully, the pens are not expensive. I really had an anger management moment with it.

On the nicer side of regular pointed pen tangling, I got these done this week, both before and in our class on Saturday. Feather QuillGold WreathWhite Heart & Flowers on Kraft Card

That last one has Relief Paint for the gold accents. It really does give it just a bit of dimension and is really easy to use. I have a few tubes of it in the shop, in 3 shades of gold, a copper, and a silver. I even tried it on a rock.

And I will have an “Intro to Golden Tangles” pointed pen kit up in the store early next week. I am writing up some pointers to get people going. You are going to LOVE tangling with this method, and the FineTec is so classy looking.

OK…my to-do list for this afternoon is REALLY long. But, on the brighter side of that, the new website and store may be up in the next week or so. Whew!

Make Stuff!

Different Kind of Stripes

Ok…we all know I am not good at following directions that well. I did 2 versions of this weeks Diva Challenge (#316) whilst practicing some pointed pen tangling. The challenge was to use some form of stripes for a string. The first was a rather free form diagonal striped ATC. Done with a dip pen and some red gouache I already had mixed up. I think for run of the mill tangling, I need to work on this more.DIva #316 - 1

And because I am still working on getting the consistency of Bleed Proof White correct in my “FrankenPen” I did another one. This one, I purely stuck to the more flourish lifework type tangles that work better with a pointed pen, and I am much happier with how it looks. And, you get to see a pen, and the ink comparison!

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I think I finally have this figured out, and will write up an instruction when I am ready to make up a few of these pens for those who do not want to “do it yourself.” I’ve figured out the viscosity issue with using this pen, making it a nice, portable alternative to carrying around a bottle of white ink to dip into. So far, I feel like I won this battle!

And from last weeks Diva Challenge (#315) I could not leave well enough alone, so I went back in and shaded it with some gold Pan Pastels…it is very sparkly in person.

Diva #315-Shaded

And I tried some different ink on different paper:

Pointed Pen on scallop paper

You may ask, CharKat, why are you doing so much pointed pen work?

Simple! I want to teach YOU how, so I need to practice. And guess what? The class is the 10th of June! I am working up a wonderful experience for you, and would love to have you at the shop. But never fear…if you can’t make it to me, I will have the class kit available for you online, and maybe even a little video instruction after the new website goes live!

Also on the upcoming schedule for June, Book Making Basics, where we will make some tools we are going to need for upcoming books, and make our first starter sewn book, like the one you see here:

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Sounds like fun, eh? I will have the schedule up here, on the old site, by Wednesday.

I have been a busy little bee this week. Between working up samples and experimenting with a few new things, I worked in my little Iona book:

And finished a couple pages in my Tangle Journal:

And, as if that wasn’t enough, when I was filing and cleaning up my office, I found a project from TangleU 2016 that I didn’t finish, so I finished this Zero Drawing Technique piece:

Zero Drawing Create Love

Man, it felt good to do all that this week! My brain feels awesome, and my heart is full. Finishing things, and cleaning up, has really been nice. Now I just need to hire a housekeeper for the rest of the house!

And on that note, I am going to put more pen to paper, and raise a glass of Single Malt to remember a friend who left this world 8 years ago.

And make stuff!

Golden Molygons

I have a confession to make. Since TangleU, I have become a bit obsessed with pointed pen tangling. To the point (pun intended) where I have been trying to make it more portable (per a suggestion from Cherryl Moote) by converting a fountain pen. So far, I am still experimenting with this, as I’m not completely happy with how runny the ink seems, so I will be trying different things here until I like it. (Regular fountain pen ink tends to bloop up and if I am not watching it carefully, said bloop ends up on my paper…)

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But, when I switched back to my regular dip pen with gouache, it seemed much better.

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I am finding the Zentangle tiles a bit tricky, as they seem pretty rough and fibrous. Smoother papers work better for this. So that led me to try some Kuretake Gold Sumi Ink I had on black Artist Tile paper that I cut to a Zendala size. And what better way to practice than on this week’s Diva Challenge (#315) for a foray into Molygon. Molygon was featured on Kitchen Table Tangles with Rick & Maria on the Zentangle Mosaic App this week, and after watching the video, I thought I would give it a shot with my golden ink.

Diva #315

I figured to not do any shading on that, but I may go back later and try it with a gold Pan Pastel and see how that works.


I have been VERY  productive busy bee this week. Not only did I get a good portion of my office cleaned up, sorted, and filed, but I finished a few things.

First up, another book from Cherryl Moote’s class at TangleU. The closure is a wooden dolphin that Elaine gave us on the last day as a reminder of the event, so I drilled some holes in him and used some muted turquoise ink to distress him a bit. IMG_4971

I also finished my Visigothic Versals project from the workshop we had with Risa Gettler. I think we may hold it again in the fall, so don’t feel left out.

The World VV Project

It is a pretty big piece, so  you would have to see it in person.

And today, we had a great meet up with the San Diego Tanglers Friendship group at the Bernardo Winery. Nancy Robinson, CZT, gave us a great tutorial on Zen Gems, and I made this turquoise lovely.

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If you would like to see some great examples of how to draw and color these, check out this free download of Tim McCreight’s Practical Jewelry Rendering. Not only does it cover stones like this, but also cut gems, gold, silver, and pearls. And did I mention that it is free?

I did a few more in my journal as well..

And I think I really like the new Dingbatz. So much that I managed to make a giant one on a journal page I was working on in an art journal.

Dingbatz Bridge

And in addition to all that, I drafted a new logo for the web page, but you will have to wait to see that.

Gotta get to making dinner now!

Return to…Normal?

Whew. Whenever I travel, I love where I go and what I do, and by the end of my journey, I am always glad to be home. When I travel for TangleU (Continuing Education-thype event for Certified Zentangle Teachers) there is also a euphoria of spending an amount of time with my tribe and kindred spirits. But there is also a Post Conference-Funk that Cherryl Moore so eloquently wrote about here.

I am going through the post-euphoria phase, trying to finish quite a number of unfinished projects, but also pleasantly surprised with that I accomplished. We had so many great classes this year, it was an amazing learning experience, and really pushed my boundaries into a few things I had a previous fear of…like using a pointed dip pen for about anything, much less tangling. But that turned out to be something I really took to!

That was so much fun! Another one was the Pan Pastels. I purchased them quite some time back, and never really quite “got the hang of” working with them. I have a few more pieces to finish of this, but you get the idea.

TU Pan Pastel Hibiscus Tag

And I would be remiss if I didn’t again evoke the name of Cherryl Moore, because I spent not one, but 2 classes with her. So far, I have finished one of my journals from her Thursday class.

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Leather cover, Arches Text Wove interior. I have one more like that to fold and finish tonite, and then to figure out my finishing for a cute Coptic stitch book with 32 lb bond and a watercolor cover (yes…I will share that when I finish it!)

Nysha Nelson also had a very interesting class, where I actually completed tiles. We looked at different color combinations and shading techniques. It was quite nice to see what differences there were in everyones tiles from the same set of instructions.

Needless to say, I had a great time, and got to share space with some amazing people!

I also got all my Diva Challenges done while I was gone, but didn’t get them posted. So starting with #312 – Coffee, Tea or Me? I spilled out the last drop of wine from my glass and let the tile dry. I tangled it with a purple Pigma Micron PN and shaded with a purple chalk pastel.

Diva #312

And then there was #313 – Earth (Amanda) Day. I have to confess that I took this with me on the trip to work on, and finished it just as that day was announced. The background is Art Graf water soluble pigment/graphite. I used the sepia colored one and water to cover the page, then erased through several different stencils to get the shapes. Tangled with a Pigma Micron PN in sepia and then “colored” with Peerless Watercolors.

Diva #313

It reminds me of the U.S. Forest Servies’ commercials with Woodsy Owl. I think they were in the 1970’s. Woodsy Owl says Give a Hoot…Don’t Pollute!

And finally, this week, #314 – Use My Tangle – Scallamps by Sarah Uram, CZT. I thought this tangle had a lot of potential, so I decided to pair it with some corner Dingbatz that were featured in Kitchen Table Tangles recently.

Diva #314

And I know you want to know about that cute book! That brings me to the 2nd week of my recent trip, after TangleU we headed to Austin, Texas, to spend time with the most adorable G(r)ay Batman on the plant. (He can’t say his “R”s well yet…)

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We did lots of fun things; went to Natural Bridges Wildlife Ranch, where we were nearly eaten by an ostrich poking his head in the car, explored a cave at Natural Bridges Caverns, and spent a lot of time in the pool.

But, I also had a side trip to collect on my birthday present. Most of you know that I am rather obsessed with handmade books, so when I saw a segment on Iona Handcrafted Books that someone shared on FaceBook, I knew that was a place I needed to be. Be sure to check out the video on their website, so you can see why I was jazzed!

It smells so good there. I purchased a photo album gift for someone…and 2 books for myself. The smaller one is a “Cub 25” that they do not have listed on the website. It has bamboo paper, and I am finding that it really likes just about any pen I have put to it. And it has enough tooth to shade well, and enough thickness to tangle (or write) on both sides of the paper. It is tangle sized too…which is a fun, but the thicker pages are a bit of a chore to hold open in the smaller format. (read, I will tangle in this every night till I fill it up!)

The smaller book was to hold me over until my big one was finished and I picked it up on the way to the airport (really close by if you are in Austin.) This one is 7.5 x 7.5 inches, has yummy butterscotch leather, a dark brown lace, and a a vintage rosette/back plate from an old door knob on the front flap that has Celtic knots on it. 100 pages of watercolor paper. I can’t wait to take this on our Australia/New Zealand trip this year!

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I cannot say enough nice things about these books. All their paper is meant to be used on both sides, so no bleed through even with a fountain pen. I am thrilled!


On the note of what is going on with the shop/website. I am taking some time this month to do a complete reset on both. There is a very limited class schedule this month, and I will post a couple of Open Studio times when I get a minute. The website is in process, and I hope to be live with a whole new and very unique shopping experience for the Zentangle® enthusiast. Bear with me…

Make Stuff…You Will Feel Better!

 

Mac-n-Cheese, Please!

Ok…this week is a little light, for a couple reasons. First off, I had to spend a lot of time with this handsome little devil last week:

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(The boy, not the guy in the dog suit.) I learned the capacity of a 4-1/2 year old at Disneyland almost out-lasts the adults. (We got there just after 8 a.m. and left as the park was closing at 11 p.m., shopped at the outside store and got in the car at nearly midnight.) “Can we go on one more ride Gammy?” – Sure…the tram to the parking lot…hahaha

Add to that, I was a little under the weather all week. Today is the first day I am feeling marginally human again, can speak above a whisper, and do not appear to be dying. But, I can still  hold a pen!

So this week’s Diva Challenge (#308) prompted us to use our “mac-n-cheese” tangle. That is that tangle you got down, that you use in pinches, that is “your thing.” For me, this rotates on occasion. Usually, it is Fengle, Printemps, and Tipple. But this week, I revisited one that I really, really like, and for me, is more meditative than most. That tangle is Bloom, by Helen Williams. Like I did here, I mostly use the random version, rather than the dot grid. because it is just fun to see where it will go.

Diva #308

I went with the shaving foam marbled tile again, because I feel like I wanted another crack at picking the right pen. The Micron wasn’t working so well on it, nor did any other fiber-tipped pen I tried. I could have used a Gelly Roll, but when I reached in my pen bag, out popped my trusty medium nib fountain pen loaded with a Carbon Ink cartridge. And boy, did that do the trick! (Caveat, these tiles are a bit larger than typical Zentangle tiles, so the fatter lines were good, and hey, that’s my style anyway!) I filled in my aura with a gold Metallic Gelly Roll, and then did some rounding in the sharp corners. I do love this tangle. Do pop on over to her website and check it out!


While I still do not have the April schedule up, I want to give you aheads up (again) about a great weekend workshop happening at CharKat’s. Risa Gettler is going to be teaching Visigothic Versals on April 8 & 9. But, you say, I am not a calligrapher (yet!) It is OK! This is a graphic intense hand, laid out on graph paper first, and then transferred to your final project, making it appropriate for all levels of artists.

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If you LOVE Zentangle, you will adore this! There is a supply list, although 90% of it will be available for purchase if you do not already have the items in your arsenal. Lunch is included, both days (catered daily by Which Wich, and can meet any dietary need!) The price for this intensive workshop is $120 per person.

If you are from out of the area, never fear, there are accommodations available right across the street, and I am willing to help you get situated, make arrangements, and keep the studio open after class hours for those that want to continue working on their projects.

Space is limited for this workshop…sign up now!


And mark your calendars for May 12 & 26 (in the evening), as I will be finally (yay) teaching a Book Making Workshop. In this 2 part workshop, we will design our books, paint the wooden covers and spine pieces in the first session, and then in the second session, we will assemble (sew!) our books and create our colophons. This is a preliminary example of what we will be doing:

Class will be 2 Fridays, from 6:30-9:00. All the book materials will be provided, but you can bring paints, stencils, or anything else you would like to use. I highly recommend Milk Paint or Chalk Paint (I will have some, but colors are limited to, well, that graphite gray.) $75 per person (bring wine! its Friday nite!)


That’s all for this week. I am off this weekend to a business seminar to learn more about how to entice you to come take classes a the honeycomb hideout so we can stay open!

Make Stuff, You Will Feel Better!

Tangles in a Jar

Amphora – a tall ancient Greek or Roman jar with two handles and a narrow neck.

Or…this weeks Use My Tangle (UMT) by Lily Moon for the Diva Challenge (#306.) It is a pretty cool tangle, with lots of potential. The tile I used was marbled in shaving foam by my friend and fellow CZT, Annette Carlo. It was too pretty to tangle over the marbly parts, so I left part of it original.

Diva #306

Last week’s postcard winner (by rolling the dice) is Michele Wynn. Drop me an email so I can send it out.

Had a play date with Deborah Pace this week…we made these adorable little books for our joint birthdays.

 

And while I can’t tell you why…this happened for a journaling prompt I had this week….

I am putting the finishing touches on the Celtic Knot drafting class for this Saturday. It is not too late to sign up, but space is limited. AND…if you are not in the area to join us, do not fret. I will be making it available as a kit after the class!

Quill You Be My Valentine?

Wow! What a week! And other than Flyboy getting called into work this morning, it is shaping up to be another epic week.

Being a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT) makes you part of a really diverse, really cool family, with one common goal. No matter where you are from or what you do, you instantly have community from that one thing. I had the great fortune to meet up with one of my fellow CZTs this week, turning a FaceBook friend into a real-life encounter. Flyboy and I went down to San Diego to have dinner with Suzanne Fluhr and Mr. Excitement himself! And of course, gelato happened.

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We started another calligraphy class this week, but I had to do one more Boxed letter for Valentine’s Day!

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On Saturday, we started off the day with a lovely Valentine inspired class applying quilling to Zentangle. We explored the basics of quilling, shapes, and building structures. I am pretty certain everyone had fun. There was a lot of laughter going on. And I think some great creativity. I can’t wait to see what they tangle them into!

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Of course, I had to finish one of mine quickly for this week’s Diva Challenge (#303). I’m not saying who gets it…but I am pretty sure you can guess.

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A few students stayed on for a 2nd class on Black Tiles, so I made that a little Valentine as well. So many cool applications on Black Tiles, and everyone is quite unique!

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On Sunday, I took a book making/color pencil on velum class from Helen Schafer Garcia at the San Diego Botanic Garden. While I did get mine fully assembled, I will have to finish my drawings later.

The gardens are beautiful this time of year, with as much rain as we have had, there was no shortage of fun things to draw. I am particularly fond of succulents, for their mandala-like qualities.


Whew! Busy week! Fun Week.

And off to finish that other journal cover for tomorrow’s class.

 

From a Paradox to a Hamadox

Hama – WHAT? Hamadox…a really cool tangle pattern from Diana Schreur, CZT, which is a cross between Rick’s Paradox and Hamail (Tina Hunziker, CZT). It is this weeks’ Use My Tangle (UMT) for the Diva Challenge (#302.)

I actually started this tile during the Super Bowl, from a Zendala drafted with Ann Grasso’s 4-n-1 template (from a class at TangleU 2015.) It goes along the lines of one of my goals to “Finish” things this year. I had been doing the Paradox in the corners, and set it down for the night. Then viola! The next morning, this UMT came out.

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I also have a bit of a “new materials” review for this as well. I tangled with the Derwent Graphik Line Maker pens in Graphite. I like them, very much. It is nice for when you want a grayer black (also comes in Sepia and Black), and good for some great shading. The shading, I did with Stabilo CarbOthello Chalk Pastel Pencils. Very similar to the General’s but the colors seem a bit more vibrant. I am really likely them, and they can also be blended with a water brush (I have not tried this yet.) I will stock both at the shop as soon as my supplier has them available.

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Also tangled and shaded this piece with the same pens/pencils. I should have taken a before picture, but it was a mono print piece that I got when I first started taking classes, before becoming a CZT, from Sharla Hicks.

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We had a great class with Risa Gettler on Medieval Boxed Capitals. Her next technique class will be on February 23rd, on Vining and Diapering. More Medieval stuff! And we will start a study of Uncial this week (Thursday from 5-7.) This will be a project driven class, spaced out over about 6 weeks, with 3 in person meetings, and plenty of contact time via email with Risa.


I have been taking a watercolor journaling class the past few weeks, and I am particularly proud this week, of my first perspective piece. I even used one of my own photos, from Cardiff Castle in Wales.

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And one last piece to share, from my green latka journal. Mostly playing with a loopy string, and trying out a few tangles I hadn’t done before.

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So I have not slacked at all this week! AND, finished 2 old pieces, AND got the blog post done (goal is no later than Tuesday!)

Make Stuff…You will feel better!

Moebius in Purple

Wow! Not only was yesterday Moebius Syndrome Awareness Day, but this week coincided the Diva’s 300th Challenge. 100 of something is awesome…200, an amazing feat…but 300! OUTSTANDING! It’s hard to think that I have been participating in this for just a little under half of that time, and I feel like it is such a part of my life. This is something I write in my weekly list of things I MUST do. It is a habit, and a good one at that.

This is my 3rd Moebius Syndrome Awareness Day tile. I feel honored to know more about this rare genetic condition, and would encourage others to read about it more. Laura’s (the Diva) son is just about the most adorable kid I have ever seen. I know his facial expression is a result of his genetic abnormality, but just seeing him makes me smile. So much so, that I had to get these, and I think of him every time I use them!

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So this week, every year, the Diva asks us to use the Moebius symbol in our tile. Their color is purple, which I love anyway, but I used it on a black Zendala this year. I sprayed it with a purple luminescent spray, then did a very little bit of tangling on it. I feel like I rather over did some previous ones, and wanted this to be a bit simpler.

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I seem to have been on a Zendala roll this week. I did this one for a prompt in a group I am in, but I think it is pretty cool.

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And, I had a fun time with some lovely Girl Scouts this week. They earned their Black and White Art badge, and got to learn about Zentangle!

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I am taking a watercolor journaling class with Helen Schafer Garcia at this time, and have to share this. I feel like I am starting to get the hang of drawing again, after a pretty long hiatus. Check her blog for classes in Portland Minneapolis (and even one at the San Diego Botanical Garden! I am going to that one…join me!)

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There are still a few slots left in the February special class “Quill You Be My Valentine.” Be sure to sign up before they are filled! Quilling and tangling! What’s not to love.

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Time to go make art!