My Life In Pictures

May 24, 2017 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 9 Comments

Had a great weekend in Riverside at the Norton-March Alumni Association Reunion, but that put me behind this week, so I am still trying to catch up!

Needless to say, I was not nearly as productive as usual, only just squeaked out this week’s Diva Challenge (#317). The assignment was to tangle around a picture (from a magazine) and we all know how well I follow directions! And…I am still on my pointed pen bender, so I just had to be different. I printed out a picture of my great-grandparents, mounted it on a background, and tangled them both with sepia and gold ink (in my trusty pointed pen.)

Lizzie and Billy never looked so good! (I have the original of this picture, along with their marriage certificate, framed. They got married in Custer, South Dakota, in 1899.)

And I did get to finish my “FrankenPen” experiment with the Bleed Proof White in my fountain pen. It is a bit tricky getting the consistency right, and if you leave the pen sit, the ink does dry up. So this is a work in progress to make this a more “portable” art form for me. I think I may be relegated to “normal” colored inks in the pen. But that will work fine, as I just got some exciting new colors to try!

Still working on the new, improved web site. Bear with me, but in the meantime, you can check out the current class schedule for June here.

Make Stuff!

Return to…Normal?

May 2, 2017May 2, 2017 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 10 Comments

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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…)

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!

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!

Square Pegs in Round Holes

April 13, 2017April 13, 2017 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 3 Comments

What? I know what you are saying….Char…what happened to the new web site? I can tell you that it is currently under construction, so I will have to blog here for at least the next couple weeks. I probably won’t be making lots of updates to this page, except some final clean ups, but the new site, I am hoping, will be live on May 1. I promise, it will be worth the wait! And a whole NEW shopping experience to boot.

This week’s Diva Challenge (#311) is Circle Square String Theory. Use at least one circle and one square as your string. Cool. So I chose another one of my prided Zendalas, this one a pretty marbled looking one in blue and pink. and traced a Bijou tile, and made a few circles with my trusty Helix Circle Maker (and did the outer ring with it too.) You may have noticed that I am using Celtic knots a lot, as I am further exploring the techniques I teach in Ready or Knot (my Celtic knot kit, available in the store after TangleU.) I also used my Tangle Dice to help me select tangles for the rest of the spaces, as I am getting a bit stuck in a rut of using the same old same old all the time. That was a lot of fun (and another cool thing that will be available in the store after TangleU!)

I think I made my Arc Flower too small, so it was a bit dicey to shade. But a bun organic looking tangle nonetheless.

We had a lovely weekend workshop with Risa Gettler on Dancing Spanish Letters (formerly titled Visigothic Versals.) I am still in progress with my piece, I need to add the art to it, but here is a preview:

I have to say I am really enjoying the creativity of this hand above the others I have learned. I am already plotting out text for an artwork I started 2 years ago and shelved for lack of ability to write words on a page.

We also had a fun meeting of the San Diego Zentangle Friendship Group, where we had some lessons on backgrounds grids and tangles. I whipped out one of my watercolor tiles that had a paint blot on it and did the background in Fife. Good Stuff!

It is smaller than a regular tile, and on watercolor paper. Tangles in Sepia with a sepia Conte Crayon for the border.

ok…back to work for me…have to finish the laundry so I can pack. We are taking off for Florida on Saturday! yay! Next week, I will post from there!

Waybop or Knot

February 21, 2017 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 16 Comments

I’ve been working on a “secret” project …putting together files and samples to teach Celtic Knot Drafting on March 11. So this week’s Diva Challenge (#304) was right up my alley, as it involves the new tangle from Zentangle® headquarters called Waybop. I’ve used this a few times already, and really like the interwoven quality of the tangle. I decided to carry on with the February heart theme and play with this. I am dipping into the pile I have of pre-dyed/colored tiles. This one was watercolor sprayed with alcohol while it was still wet. The accent tangle is a deconstructed minimalist Cyme.

And as far as the “secret”…here is a preview – On another one of my pile of colored tiles.

Class is on Saturday, March 11. Space is limited, and it is already filling up, so reserve your spot soon!

I’ve been on a bit of a roll this week, keeping up with both my watercolor class (that ends on March 7th) and my online journaling group (goes all year.) Here is a Zendala I did recently, using one of Jenny Perruzzi’s Zencils for collaging on one of my journal pages.

And…I finally finished this bracelet I started about 3 years ago. I’m shocked that the cats didn’t knock it over and spill the beads in that time frame.

But, alas, I need to get on with my callligraphy practice, and work on the handouts for the Celtic Knots class (yes, there will be handouts!)

Heading out to Palm Springs and Phoenix this weekend. Sammy Hagar at Morongo, visit Mom, and see the Giants play the Reds in a Spring Training game. It’s a rather quick trip, so we won’t be in Arizona long.

Make Stuff…You Will Feel Better!

From a Paradox to a Hamadox

February 7, 2017February 7, 2017 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 10 Comments

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Welcome to 2017

January 9, 2017January 10, 2017 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 17 Comments

Ok…I know…I did not really need to take a few weeks off from blogging. Not good for business, etc. But sometimes, you have to refocus your intentions and get some things done. Get through the holidays. Spend time with loved ones. Make art.

I set some pretty lofty goals for myself this year. All measurable and attainable, though, so I know I can do it. The first one is to get my blog posts in on Monday. So, I think I did that! (1 down, 51 to go!)

What better way to start off the New Year than with a new Use My Tangle (UMT) Diva Challenge! Challenge #298 comes to us in the form of the tangle Orbs-la-Dee by Anneke van Dam. It is a nice filler tangle, and has a few cute variations. I decided to use it on a tile where I was testing the Sakura Micron against the Copic Multi-Liner SP. I wanted to see if I could tell the difference, so I divided the tile in half and tangled the same tangle on both halves.

Honestly, there isn’t a lot of difference. To the naked eye, the Copic looks slightly different when next to the Micron, but if you used just the Copic, that difference wouldn’t matter. I think the deal here is the price points more than anything else. They are both pigment inks, archival, etc. But I think my real love of the Copic is that it is more economical in the long run, not to mention more environmentally friendly. It is refillable, and has replaceable nibs. The refills last longer than a Micron, and the nibs stay juicier a lot longer. So instead of carrying extra pens when I travel, I only need refills. The con side to this is the starter price of the Copic. I sell the Microns for $2.25 US…the Copics are $11 US. But…the refills are the price of a Micron….and last at least twice as long.

And…as luck would have it for you, my readers, I can supply these lovely pens for you! (Leave me a note below.)

So you know that I have not been slacking over the holidays, I shall produce proof!

First up, I participated in the 12 Days of 3Zs Challenge from Zentangle®. Although I got my tiles late and did not finish them in time for the actual contest, I did, in fact, finish them before Christmas! They make a pretty mosaic star:

And individually:

These tiles are a lot of fun, and take a little less time when you only have a short time to tangle. And the pre-strung set take the stress out too!

At our December Friendship group meeting, we had a nice gift exchange, and I was the lucky recipient of a handmade latka book, from my friend and fellow CZT Hiroko Hashimoto. She tangled on the covers:

And I realized that I have a huge stack of these really cool journals and books, and I do not use many of them. I have yet to make one pen stroke in the journal I received at CZT training. So, I decided now was the time to start! The paper in this one is really interesting…it has a lot of texture and character. It also pills excessively when shading (hint: use a lint roller prior to spraying fixative.)

I have been trying to do a page or 2 a week. Seems like a good place to try out some new things.

I noodled around with my Scan ‘n Cut 2 some more and came up with these snowflakes:

The paper is an Astrobrights Metallic card stock, and I used Sakura Glaze pens on them. It is a fairly non-porous surface, although they say you can print on them with an ink jet printer. I have tangled on this paper with a regular Gelly Roll pen, but I find the Micron does not show up well.

Also came up with this cute little ornament from 3 Bijou tiles.

I did an end of the year recap on my FitBit…I walked over 1,300 miles! The chart was interesting. I started playing PokemonGo in July (my FitBit broke in August, so I was without it for 10 days, and I was sick a good part of December.)

This year, I am setting a goal of 1,500 miles. That is attainable, if it ever stops raining. The rain is a conundrum for me. We need it badly here in California, but it is severely cramping my walking! But…the rain also gives us beautiful rainbows.

That was the most magnificent one I have ever seen, and it was right from my home studio window.

I am not going to tell you to stay crazy anymore.

I am going to tell you to make art. It will keep the crazy away!

Merry!?…Happy?!…Whew!

December 16, 2016 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 16 Comments

Needless to say, I am feeling a little behind this holiday season. Evidence points to the fact that while I generally have finished my Christmas shopping (always before Thanksgiving!) and the decorations are up and the house looks mighty festive…the packages are not wrapped, and things have not been mailed. But, in my defense, I was a bit under the weather for about a week, and that set me behind. And, I have been a bit busy at the shop (which is a good thing.)

I started doing the Diva Challenge at #161. Now that we are at #297, that seems like such an age ago. I had already done 2 of the past Christmas Challenges…so I filled in the rest for this weeks Challenge – Holiday Bash. So here, is a recap:

Diva #1 was Simiplicity. What better way to show simple and Christmas than a white ornament tangled in the basic tangles in black. Although it did need a bit of bling with the glitter glue (and that was mostly to hide a weird glue incident when I used the wrong glue to stick the sides together.) I glued 2 pennies in the middle for weight.

Diva #52 was “Give”. I cut out a hole lot of stars based on Cris Letourneau’s Star pattern, to attach to cards and gifts this year. They are super quick to tangle up, especially when I cut and pre-scored them with my Brother Scan n Cut 2.

Diva #100 was New Tangles and A Diva Dance. While Diva Dance isn’t a new tangle anymore, it surely does make a great tree base in my card with a quilled angel and gothic calligraphy lettering. I am still working on my calligraphy skills…

Diva #148 was Merry Happy. Celebrate the season in your own way. I found a cute set of metallic pens at Daiso (Japanese discount stores where everything is $1.50) so I decided to give them a try. 8 colors, but they didn’t really look different on the black paper I tried, but they looked festive in a Squid nonetheless. Hard to tell that is a lot of different colors on the scan, in person it is pretty subtle as well.

I also realized while I was writing this, that I had not completed Diva #198 “Keep It Simple”. I guess that gives me something to do this week! (Brilliant)

We had some fun classes this past week…starting last Saturday with an Ornament Extravaganza. We did 4 different ornaments and folded the Zendala gift box for later tangling.

A festive Zentangle 101 class with bonus Crescent Moon study at the end:

And tangled on paper bags in tribal styles on Thursday:

On Monday, we had our annual San Diego/SoCal Friendship Group Christmas meeting, where Wendy Gray led us in the making of this lovely lotus fold “Squash Book” to hold Zentangle tiles. It was a lot of fun!

I am working on the January Schedule today, so that should be up by Monday. If you are in the area, be sure to come hang out tonite and art to your hearts content. Open studio from 4-9 ($5 drop in fee). Bring whatever you are working on, and have some festive cheer!

If I don’t post nest week, Merry Christmas, and Happiest of Holidays to you and yours!

Sometimes, You Just Have to Walk Away…

October 26, 2016 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 11 Comments

Right before I left on my fabulous vacation back in September, I was wearing my super cool Tangle Me Crazy Lotus Mandala t-shirt.

I stopped in at my favorite Japanese market (Myrukai) to pick up dinner and a few groceries on my way back from our very fun Tangle By the Bay retreat. One of those grocery items was my favorite radish kimchi. Well…apparently on the trip home, it got a little shook up. And being a fermented food, it was seeping a little from the pressure in the bottle…and when I opened it (over the sink, of course!) it exploded…all over my t-shirt.

Now…I had planned on taking that t-shirt with me to show off to the European CZT’s at our meet up in Cookham, UK. So I pre-treated it, and washed it…still stained…I did it again…still stained…and one more time…still stained. In utter frustration, I doused it liberally with Spray and Wash stain remover and threw it in the laundry room sink. I was very sad.

So nearly 3 weeks passed, and when we unpacked after the trip, I found myself with a mountain of laundry to do (although we did some it at the laundry mat in Venice…how cool is that?) So I see the shirt in the sink, pick it up, and low and behold, the stains are GONE!

I guess the point here is, If you do the right thing, with the passage of time, everything comes out all right. And…if you want a cool t-shirt like mine, click here…you can buy them at my shop!

Ok, enough of my travails. What you are really here for is to see pretty things!

This week’s Diva Challenge (#290) is a duo tangle of Flux and N’zepple. I love both tangles, and decided to use Flux as my container. And I was being fall-ish with the Renaissance Tan tile (or lazy, because that was what was in my bag and I did not feel like walking upstairs to get a white one…lol.)

And since I didn’t get a post done last week, here is the Leafy Goodness that is Diva Challenge #289!

I am really loving combining quilling with Zentangle. They go together so well. I will be doing a special Christmas quilling design class in December, so be on the look out for that!

We are also up to Gothic Calligraphy at the shop this month, with an ongoing series being taught by Risa Gettler. I was playing around whilst practicing my letters the other day, and playing with Hannah Geddes’ Mandala Template. And this happened.

Well…I couldn’t just leave it like that…and I had a clock I had disassembled in the shop that needed a new face. So now it turned into this:

So long Sons of Anarchy clock…lol.

I did not realize how busy I have been these past 2 weeks until I started writing my post. I started a purge and organize campaign both here at the home studio and the shop, trying to make things more accessible and easier to find. (that, is a long story all of its own!)

I made it through my entire fabric stash so far, dumped all the fabrics I had been holding onto for costuming and what-not, and organized my quilting stash. Emptied out the little used filing cabinet for the bigger pieces.

And folded all the fat quarters into an ArtBin Super Satchel. That felt really GOOD!

And not to be left out, I finally found a container to get all my Gelly Roll Pens in one place.

I will contain this mess!

AND…lastly…I have a pineapple guava tree in my backyard that I planted 3 years ago that has never fruited, until this year. I was blessed with an abundance of fruit, more than we could possibly eat before it spoiled, so I found a recipe and made chutney out of it.

And you cannot have a great chutney without some curry to go with it!

Yum! (and, it was pretty healthy homemade!)

Speaking of healthy, I am walking my fish this week…(Pokemon Go thing…it amuses me.)

And now I need to get back to work…Stay Crazy My Friends!

Double-ING Up

August 22, 2016August 23, 2016 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 8 Comments

So…you may have noticed (or not) that I was absent from posting last week. I was spending time with my adorable grandson and his parents. We had all kinds of adventures; the beach, Balboa Park, the pool, and, of course, the Hotel Del Coronado for a fabulous sunset.

And I did actually get last weeks (#280) Diva Challenge completed, I just didn’t get it posted. And now, the Olympics are over. I was pretty underwhelmed by them this year, and watched none of the coverage. I am usually all over that…not sure what my issue was. I used a Renaissance Tan Zendala because I thought, well, Rio and tans and Arukas looked like Carnival to me.

And we also had a fun class exploring the Tints on Tan technique by Marty Deckel. And who knew wearing 2 pairs of glasses was better than one!

But…I did this weeks (#281) study of ING to complete the page in my step out Tangle Journal…so I almost feel like I was cheating, because it was nearly complete already. Not sure if you can tell, but there are actually 2 rows of ING there, with the pearls separating them. I like it. ING was the “new” tangle for my CZT Seminar (#14) and I love it’s angular-ness. Very architectural!

I have finished a few other pieces this week…tried Lynn Mead’s Abeko in my purse journal, along with a Zedbra frame I had already started.

I am happy to say that I have both the September AND October Schedules up on the site now, so be sure to check out the upcoming classes. I will be on vacation for a little while during that time, but will be working around it!

AND…drum roll…Risa Gettler will be teaching BOTH Italic AND Gothic Calligraphy starting in October at the shop! I’ll be adding those dates to the schedule in the next few days. EXCITING!

Did you know you can order online from me? Check out my Square store linked here…I am in the process of adding more pictures and spiffing up the online shop…everything your tangly heart needs!

And I know you want this, so I will leave you with this beautiful macaroon from E.A.T. Marketplace. I swear they are my one weakness….salted caramel…sparkly gold…

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Dueling Tangles

May 11, 2016 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 7 Comments

Another busy week here at CharKat’s! I started a new planner this week, and I seem to be getting a lot more done, which is nice. I hope the honeymoon lasts with this one. It is a bit more compact than my last one, and fits in my purse. Yes, I know there is technology that I can use in its place, but I like paper…I like to use a fountain pen to write, and I like to make notes and tangles and sketches and jot down ideas…so the technology is a time suck for me, because…SQUIRREL! (or FaceBook or Pinterest, or Candy Crush) So I am making more of an effort to stay off the technology!

This weeks Diva Challenge (#267) was a Duo Tangle: Pokeroot vs Drupe. Now, I am not particularly fond of Pokeroot. I don’t really use it much (make that ever) so this took a bit of prodding to get me to do it. ‘Nuff Said…

On Monday, the SoCal Zentangle Friendship Group met at CharKat’s, and I showed them some of my cool projects (the finished ones) from TangleU and led us in a couple of tangles. We learned a new tangle from Zentangle HQ, called Ellish (if you haven’t seen it in your newsletter yet, it will be coming soon!)

And K-leesi by Sharon Robinson.

Speaking of TangleU Projects…here are some books I’ve finished from Cherryl Moote’s Class:

They are still blank on the outside, but so cute!

And I am seeing a lot of finished t-shirts! All so different, and so pretty. What fun it is to wear your art. Here is one is black and white from Izumi Sato, my fellow SoCal CZT:

And this pretty, almost electric looking colorful one from Karen Sandoval:

Judy Englehart submitted this lovely:

And this bright bit of spring from Julie Gladstone:

If you want to color your own t-shirt, I still have them available in my online store. I can ship international, but you will need to email me your order instead of going online (charkattangles@gmail.com) Click here to get to the store, and don’t forget the Gell Roller for Fabric and Fabrico markers for color!

I am putting the final touches on my larger piece for the May 21st class (May Flowers featuring the tangles of Helen Williams) and I am really liking what I’ve done here. I don’t normally post works in progress, but I thought this might be the time to make an exception!

I think that bottom flower looks a lot like this Japanese beauty, so I am probably going to color it the same.

And on that note, I need to skedaddle! But, I’ll leave you with this: