Making Old Things New Again

June 30, 2016June 30, 2016 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 7 Comments

Wow…another whirlwind weekend and right into a busy week! Time flies when you love what you do! I am blessed and grateful on a daily basis to be able to do what my heart tells me to do.

In my early days of Zentangle, I would start a tile and if it did not go the way I wanted it to, I would banish it to a pile of Forgotten Tiles (rather like the Island of Misfit Toys in Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer.) I just could not seem to figure out, at that time, how to make them work, and I would not toss them out because they held some value for me.

So, for this weeks Diva Challenge (#273), I dove into that pile to find one that needed some love and a bit of a “Tangle Remix.” I picked this tile, that I was not happy with the Betweed on, but I had done such a nice job on the gold I did not want to toss it.

And I used the adage “When in doubt, black it out.”

And once that was dry (I left it overnight) I went back to work on it, with the gold pen on the black areas, and a little Rick’s Paradox. I thought briefly about putting more, but I t think it really needed a little white space.

See, all better now!

I spent this past weekend up in Big Bear, California at a retreat called Dancing with Petals and Leaves: Mixed Media and Color Play put on by Sharla Hicks, CZT and artist of unbelievable talent. It was an intense weekend (Thursday – Sunday) of color theory, tangling, print making of all sorts, and outstanding food.

By the end of Thursday, we had done color theory and alcohol printing and I made this awesome piece.

We did a lot of tangling, using the “What ifs” and exploring different forms…

And we played with print making on a larger scale, using big tools!

And lots and lots of other fun things…

Oh, and did I mention food? We ate VERY well.

And I will leave you with this…my pile of things that need to be worked on or finished is so much larger now!

And be sure to join me in July for some fun stuff! Stay Crazy My Friends!

Ellish and Adventure

May 24, 2016 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 18 Comments

Sorry for missing last week. I was off on vacation…and I did take things with me to do, but nothing got done. I’ve caught up, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that this week’s Diva Challenge (#269) is the new official tangle, Ellish! I got to learn this one at TangleU, from Molly Hollibaugh herself, so that made it pretty special. It was one of the very few things I’ve finished from that trip (and I actually finished it in class!)

I do like this tangle, and if you alter the center shape, it can even be a “C”-ish. I’ve been working some other alternate shapes to make it conform to different letters, but they don’t look quite the same.

I also finished Diva Challenge #268 (A Bit ‘o Black) but was busy working on the schedule for June so I didn’t get it posted in time…but here it is!

I was on a bit of a Mooka roll, so I just went with it. I really like the look of black and white on the Renaissance Tan tiles.

I have been working pretty much non-stop since we got home, but the fruits of my labor is a really fun schedule coming up in June (July and August should be posted soon, too!) I have included some Zentangle for Kids sessions for the summer break. Those should be loads of fun!

And I’ll leave you with a teaser of what I did on vacation. While I was born in California, I grew up mostly in Arizona. And in my 54 years on this planet, I have NEVER been to the Grand Canyon…until now.

There are simply no words…but we loved every minute of it.

And…back to work for me!

Sorting Stacks

March 30, 2016March 30, 2016 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 10 Comments

First off, I hope everyone had a

As typical, mine was quiet, as Mike was at work. I did get a lot done, and the house got cleaned!

This week’s Diva Challenge (#261) was issued by guest blogger Jan Reiter, CZT, who challenged us to Stack Bijou. Now, I have to tell you, I was a little intimidated by this. That seemed like a lot of work! And we know how famous I am lately for not finishing anything. So…I rummaged through all my “pretty paper” collection that isn’t particularly good for tangling on in great quantity, and cut up 6 “stacks” and a Bijou-sized (2×2 inch) tile. And I stared at it for a little while. Then I went to town…and I tangled them from the biggest to the smallest. It went a lot faster than I thought it would, but then I always make things more complicated than they need to be!

This was a lot of fun. And believe it or not, the Bijou-sized tile and the far outer frame are from the same paper! Since brown was my “theme” I went with a sepia Micron too, so that was nice, and a copper Gelly Roll on the accents.

UPDATE: I realized while I was filing this weeks photos after I posted the blog that this Diva Challenge marked 100 & 101 consecutive challenges!

So you know I haven’t been slacking, I have been busy with shop models for upcoming classes. I know you want to join us this Saturday when Origami meets Zentangle! The project is based on a design from Hans Werner Guth, called “Jump” and tangle inspired by Dorian Eng, CZT.

To sign up, head on over to the Class Schedule Page!

I have been participating in a Round-Robin tangle with 3 other CZT’s and received my tiles back yesterday (and I’m sending the next batch out today, I promise!) I think they came out really cool, and it was a lot of fun working with everyone on this. We all have really different styles, and that melded together very well.

And…So you don’t think I missed last week’s Diva Challenge (#260), I did that in my journal in church this week. Yes…I listened to the talk…and yes…this helps me concentrate on it rather than making my grocery list in my head or thinking about what I am cooking for lunch. I love Shattuck, it is such a versatile tangle!

And, for everyone that knows me, no week is complete without a little rock n’ roll! We headed to Las Vegas last week to see Billy Idol at the House of Blues. I was deaf in my right ear for a good while since we were next to the speaker, but what a show, and what great seats! It is hard to believe he is 60! (hubba hubba!)

Back to packing for TangleU! Here’s a sneak peek at what you will be able to score at CharKat’s after I get back…

Tangle them…Color them…Embellish them! Wear Your Art!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Kicking Rocks

September 25, 2015September 25, 2015 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 6 Comments

Kicking Rocks…not out of frustration these days, but to find cool ones to tangle on!

I have recently returned from a lovely Zentangle retreat with the totally awesome CZT’s of Vancouver Island (Tangle Island 2015) and while I was there, one of the “Make & Take” activities was tangling on rocks and shells. I picked both, naturally, since I have to try everything!

So I thought it was rather serendipitous when this week’s Diva Challenge (#236) was to tangle on something you do not normally tangle on (like anything that isn’t paper for most people.) Since I tangle on anything that holds still long enough, I just went with what I was working on. A rock…and an oyster shell. I used a lot of things on these, but would like to point out the Twinkling H2O’s that the shell is highlighted with, and the Sakura Decorese Pens that work really well on non-porous surfaces. These pens were designed for nail art, and the ink stays a little raised.

And some more of my Tangle Island projects (4 down, 14 to still finish!) First is a found objects collage. I may or may not really be done with this, as I should probably still tangle on it a little.

And a nifty little tangleation of Cadent.

We also spent a few days in Vancouver, mostly to go see AC/DC at BC Place. That was a very emotion moment for me, knowing it was the first time I have seen them live, and probably the last time too. I very much doubt they will continue after this is over, and I can’t say I blame them.

And we did a bit of walking on the day of the concert…16 kilometers worth! But I really enjoyed it, and even found some tangles!

And the beginning of fall colors.

I gotta get moving now, have a class on Black Tiles at the shop today!

Stay Crazy My Friends!