CharKat Says “Relax!”

September 19, 2016September 19, 2016 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 8 Comments

(you know that Frankie Goes to Hollywood song is playing in your head now, right?)

This week, I was privy to a discussion amongst Certified Zentangle Teachers (CZTs) as to whether or not we still use this art to unwind and chill, or has it become all work for us? And it did provoke enough thought to make The Diva focus this weeks “challenge” (#285) to really make me think more about it.

Most of what I post to the world, here, on FaceBook, and Instagram, are works of Zentangle Inspired Art (ZIA) that are truly amazing to me. I often reflect back at them and am in awe that I even did that…that it came from my pen. I get so focused at times on shop models and preparing for upcoming classes and creating art that I do lose sight of why I started doing this in the first place. Where do I find my Zen again? I often tell my students, whatever makes it Zen for you is what you need to do, but rarely follow that adage myself.

I started this tile last Saturday at our San Diego retreat Tangle By the Bay. I rarely finish things I do at retreat and classes, but I found this simple white Apprentice tile calling my name to come back. So this morning, with my nice cup of Earl Grey tea, before my morning walk, before the madness of my day (but after the cat woke me up too early because he was hungry) I picked up my pen and finished it.

The tangles were chosen by the roll of a dice. As were their enhancers. I would not have chosen to put them together on a tile, I don’t find it all that aesthetically pleasing, but I felt really calm working on it. The tangles were ones I know…I didn’t have to struggle with them. I rarely use sparkle as an enhancer because I am not particularly good at it. I never make my Printemps that big because they get wonky.

My rounded Crescent Moon took on a whole new look. Cool, eh? And I was trying out a new pen (Pentel Hybrid Technica 04) that took a bit longer to dry, so I had to be even more patient. Zen Found!

I did actually finish everything I started at the retreat, which is a wonder for me. We learned the 14 Shades of Gray technique, and I did this piece. Again with some fairly simply tangles, but it was fun.

Calligraphy classes start the 2nd week in October, so if you are in the area, be sure to check it out. Payment is to the teacher (Risa Gettler), so call the shop to sign up (951) 972-3015. Leave a message…I am on vacation starting Wednesday, but Olivia will be in the shop on her regular days while I am gone.

Prices, descriptions, and supply lists are here! (I will have all supplies available at the shop, no need to go hunting around for things!)

Place your supply order at the time of Registration and your supplies will be waiting for you on the first night of class.

Continuing Italic Calligraphy – 6 Weeks. Thursday Evenings 6-8 pm ($120) – Starts Thursday, October 13.

Now is the time of year when we want to use our calligraphy skills. This 6-week course is for those have taken calligraphy and want to review, refresh, revitalize and expand your command of Italic Calligraphy. We’ll review the letter-forms, proper ruling of paper, gouache and pen preparation, accurate ruling, posture, and breathing. Each student will bring his/her own project to work on consisting of words you love and long to write: It can be a quote, prose, scripture, et al. By working on your project we’ll learn various lay-outs and designs, word spacing, flourishing and many other elements that comprise a finished piece of calligraphic art. You’ll have my individual attention in each and every class. There will be a presentation of your work on the last class.

Supplies:

Nibs: For those of you who’ve had calligraphy experience you have your favorite nibs. For those who are relatively new a Speedball C-2 or C-3 is a good nib to start with. I like Mitchell nibs because they’re flexible. The letters are more lively and they help you develop a lighter touch. I recommend you try both and start to learn your preference.
Handles: Again, many of you have your favorites. Mine are Koh-I-Noor #127N because of the soft cork grip.
Gouache: black recommend Winsor & Newton ‘Lamp Black’
- gouache container
- 1/4″ flat boar hair charging brush
- water dispenser
Mechanical pencil (lining Pencil) and pencil sharpener
Ruler & Triangle
Paper for practice and final project.

Gothic Calligraphy – 4 Weeks. Monday Evenings 6-8 pm ($80) – Starts Monday, October 17

Participants should bring in a poem, quote, scripture, et al that want to use for their final project. Individual attention on every letter and with their Final Project. Make up classes available.

Class one: Lower case
Class two: Upper case and Drop Shadow techniques
Class three: Batarde Capitals
Class four: Final Project presentations

Supplies:

mechanical pencil (lining pencil) and sharpener
ruler: Lenex super 20″ (no slip) is what I demonstrate with and recommend
Papers: practice and for final project.
Pilot Pen 3.8mm (green top)
Tombow N-89

And now, back to work on my Travel Journal for the trip…oh, and packing!

Next week’s post will be from Germany!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Life is a Trip(oli)

September 12, 2016 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 9 Comments

I feel like I have been busier than a one-armed paper hanger these days. Between trying to keep up with shop stuff, the upcoming retreat in SD, Sunday Funday market at Vail Ranch Headquarters, vacation packing/planning, and the usual housework, I am spinning in all directions at once. (Oh, who am I kidding…housework…ha…like I do that. I finally remembered to put clothes in the washer today, and promptly forgot about them.)

Before I get to cool pictures of all the aforementioned activities, I’ll trip right into this week’s Diva Challenge (#284) – a monotangle of Tripoli. I have a stack of tiles that I colored/dyed that I have wanted to start working through, so I pulled out one that I did with some pretty greens. I think I used one of the dye inks on this one, because when I started working with the white pen, it picked up quite a bit of the green.

It kind of reminds me of the felt flocked wallpaper we had in our house when I was in 5th grade. I dig it…lol.

I also finished the origami piece I was working on last week. We had a really fun class on Saturday, and I finished it up on Sunday at in the sweltering heat at the market. (High on Sunday was 88 F, today was 76 F. It is just not fair!)

We have a pretty nice set up with our booth there, it just gets pretty sunny…

I played a little bit with the circle drawing I did on my Brother Scan N Cut 2 last week.

I decided to finally “test drive” the Chameleon Markers I got for my birthday and color it. I was originally going to test the gradient features you can use with these pens…

But, I found them to be really cumbersome to use. It was pretty impossible to get a consistent gradient, so I settled for just coloring without the blender. I do find the caps hard to remove (nothing to hold on to really…) and once you get the cap off, I can see how easy these would be to lose as there is no place to stick them on the pen. All in all, I can’t say that I am impressed for the price, and will more than likely not use them all that much, if at all. (the struggle with the caps is a HUGE deterrent for me.) But, they did make a pretty final product.

And…back to work…I think I am going to try to sort this laundry out…and I have to figure out Mail Chimp…and finish my travel journal for the trip…and set up for classes this week and next…and…and….ARGH!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Check…Mate!

September 7, 2016 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 6 Comments

This week is full of final detail planning for our upcoming European adventure, but you know I always take time out for my Diva Challenge (#283)! This week was a Use My Tangle (UMT) by CZT Aleesha Sativa, who currently resides in Thailand. Her tangle, Center Square, is a play on Knightsbridge, with lots of coloring! I tried to make it a bit less angular with a wonky grid, and some Printemps. I used of of my pre-dyed tiles, and spiced it up a little with some Shimmer Mist. I wish the sparkles showed up better in the pictures…but…I think you get the picture.

Had a fun Tangle Journals session with my regular crowd, and one of the tangles we worked out was Arukas. My student, Angela, did some “what if” exploring with different types of lines. I thought it was pretty neat to see different progressions!

I also got a bit of sewing done this week. Up-cycled one of Mike’s old shirts into an apron, and learned a practice lesson on making double-fold bias binding. I was thinking this might make a great class for some basic sewing skills!

And not to be left out, I have been noodling around with my new Brother Scan’nCut 2…seems like a lot of potential for some stuff to tangle on! It cuts, it scans, it draws…possibilities are endless!

And now I have to get back to the vacation planning…more like planning how much beer I can drink at Octoberfest…lol. I am open for any suggestions on places to see or things to do around Munich and Venice. I have some things in mind (And I lived outside of Munich as a child) but I am always open for new ideas!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Blueberry Rorschach

August 31, 2016 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 6 Comments

Sounds like a new recipe, eh? They are very tasty, but also such a pretty color on paper! Read the blueberry ink blots…what do you see?

It was almost too pretty to tangle on. The tile has actually been sitting in my “to be used” pile for quite some time, so when this weeks Diva Challenge (#282) asked me to spill something, I used this one. Started out with an idea, saw a lot of orbs in it, so I tried a new tangle (Starcrossed,) and an old one (Nipa.) Kept it rather simple to keep the blueberries in place.

I’m trying really hard to finish some things lately. A lot of my larger pieces suffer after I start them for a class, and some take a lot longer to get into the completed pile. I pulled this one out last night and finished it while I was watching baseball. It is on some really smooth paper that didn’t shade well, so I used my Cool Gray Fabrico Marker for shading.

I feel pretty good about this one, as it was finished in the same month it was started in!

I’ve been working up some new patterns and ideas for upcoming classes…this week I was focusing on December and ornaments.

Look for this on the schedule! While it looks complicated, this modular origami is one of the easier ones I’ve found, but I made it a little harder by using a heavier weight paper. Silver and black are pretty!

We also have several fun things in the works for September and October. First up in September. Join us for Art & Aromatherapy (Monday September 19, 5:30pm-7:30pm.)

We will share the many healing aspects of essential oils and aromatherapy and explore calming creative art projects including Zentangle, watercolor designs and mandalas.

Bring your moms, bring your daughters, bring your sisters, bring your girlfriends! Self-nurture through creativity! All ages are welcome! Join the fun. We are offering this class for free but will graciously accept love donations for materials ($10-/person suggested).

On Tuesday, September 20th, join me for Mandala Drafting. I will show you how to use tools and templates to draft the shells of your mandalas to make some spectacular work.

And not to be left out, in October, we will welcome Risa Gettler to the studio to teach calligraphy.

RISA GETTLER, author, artist, calligrapher and instructor, combines her education and career in graphic design with her lifelong study of Letter Arts. Risa’s art can be seen in The Smithsonian Institute, The Washington National Cathedral, national and international art publications, CD jackets, wine labels, and juried exhibits from Washington State to the Washington, DC. The pursuit of honing her craft has lead Risa to advanced and special focus calligraphy studies at the Accademia Delle Arti Calligrafiche, Cittadella, Italy, St. John’s University via a Scholossberg Scholarship, the Marquis de Sentmenat School of Design, Barcelona, Spain, Princeton University, The Getty and Huntington Library, and the UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Risa has been a featured guest on radio and television programs. Teaching began from 1993 to present for the University of Riverside X, Riverside Art Museum, Oceanside Art Museum, calligraphy guilds and international lettering conferences. Her work is featured in the centennial edition of Speedball Textbook. Notable clients include His Holiness Pope Paul, II.

We are currently working on 2 courses. Monday nights, starting October 17th, we have a 4 week study of the Gothic hand. The price will be $80 for the series, plus supplies.

And then on Thursdays, starting October 13th, a six week series of Formal Italic. This series is $120, plus supplies.

I should have a more thorough description of both courses up soon, and all supplies will be available for purchase at the shop, so you don’t have to go run down things you need!

Olivia and I have been having fun out at Vail Headquarters for their Sunday Funday. Art, live music, food, and fun. It is a new event here in Temecula, and takes place every Sunday afternoon from 12-5. The next time we will be there is on September 11th. Be sure to come check it out!

Ok…I think that is really quite enough for this week!

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!

Merely…Auraknot?

August 11, 2016August 11, 2016 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 8 Comments

Ok…I am spent. But its been a great week so far. It did involve a trip to San Diego, with a Poke-Walk through Balboa Park…

And for a little history lesson…those beautiful buildings were put up for the 1915-1916 World’s Fair. I know by European standards, they are practically new, but for California standards, they are quite amazing! They are in use and beautifully maintained, and the park is really beautiful.

And finished off the day with some oysters at Beerfish (that place is amazing, too!)

But, I digress from what brings you here! This week’s Diva Challenge (#279) was a Duotangle featuring Meer and Auraknot. It did take me a couple of days to get my head wrapped around this, because I could only see it the same way I think everyone else saw it…but you know me, I had to be different. So I grabbed a dyed tile, and my compass (gasp!) and put in the basic flowers shape. I thought I would monochrome it, but it was looking really bland, so I went back in with the black Micron and finished it. Shaded with a chalk pastel.

Not quite as exciting as I had hoped for, but hey, sometimes things don’t work out like you want them to.

I also finished this gem this week…watercolor and Twinkling H2O background using the plastic wrap technique…I was playing with shading using Prismacolor Premier pencils, and not entirely sure I would do that again…but I do like how it turned out.

That’s all for now, I need to jump in the shower and go shopping…groceries need to be acquired!

Stay Crazy My Friends…and Catch them all!

(Actual step counts from last week are unavailable, but the FitBit is back and another 2 pounds is gone.)

The Night of the Dead FitBit

August 2, 2016August 2, 2016 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 11 Comments

So…not sure if anyone remembers an old US television program from the 1960’s called The Wild Wild West. They did a movie one off of it a few years back with Will Smith, but the original series featured Robert Conrad. He was rather like William Shatner in Star Trek, he always got to make out with the girls, shirtless scenes, and really questionable acting skills. So, what made me think of this was that all of the episodes of The Wild Wild West all started with “The Night of…” for at least the first 2 seasons.

So on Sunday night, I woke up to a strange light in my bedroom. Mike was off being Flyboy, so I was alone…and it was a bit creepy. Then I realized that my FitBit was stuck in update mode…and thusly, died that night. I was sad, because I had become really used to having that. It was my light (literally,) and the one thing that kept me honest about my walks (and justified that playing Pokemon Go was worthwhile for exercise.)

But…it was still under warranty, and they are sending out a new one post-haste.

So the second night of this week is actually a Knight(star). This week’s Diva Challenge (#278) was to use Daniel Lamothe’s tangle Knightstar. Daniel is one of our newer, and probably youngest, CZTs. He came up with this whilst in math class, and I think its pretty keen. He did a video for it you can see here, and as you can see, I did some step outs, of a sort, for it. Cool stuff!

Lots of fun things going on at the shop this week. Saturday was a Zentangle 101 class, which was a lot of fun. We had time to explore a “what if” with Crescent Moon, and did that on some ATCs at the end of class.

Also got a few things finished (but not framed…) This one is a study of Printemps with Sepia Micron on Fawn Stonehenge. Shape was a stencil. (you may see a theme this week…lol)

Sparkle does not photograph well, but this one has an iridescent background sprayed through a stencil on black paper. Use the Moonlight 06 to draw on top of it.

And this was hibiscus tea, sprayed through a stencil. Tangled with purple LePen and Metallic Gelly, shaded with purple Chalk Pastels. On Garza Papel and I am not sure why it looks yellowish, but it is very white.

And I started this one…on a day when I was a little down in the dumps, but it made me happy when I got at least the basic outline done. Designed with Margaret Applin’s Medallion Master Series stencils. Laid out on Stonehenge White 24 x 24 inches.

So…I think that’s enough to entertain you for this week. I’m off to further lament the death of my FitBit…at least it updated for the day before it died, so have last weeks totals.

Stay Crazy My Friends…Catch Them All.

(Last weeks totals: more than 42 miles walked, and 1 more pound gone)

Walking ’round in Circles

July 26, 2016July 26, 2016 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 10 Comments

Seems to be a moving kind of theme this past few weeks. I have been a lot more active, and seems like the Diva Challenge (#277) is right there with me. This week’s theme is Running ’round in Circles. But…I am a walker. I loved to run, and missed it a lot when I had to stop because of joint and back issues…but…I still walk. And I can do circles. I found tile in my bin that looked like it had a circle on it for my string (Twinkling H2O background!)

And I decided to stick with an “orby” type theme…

It is so sparkly in person…one of these days I’ll figure out how to photo the sparkles.

I also got this one in during yesterdays private lesson. I love working on Kona paper. It has such great tooth for using the General’s Multi Pastels on. The glow is amazing! (5.5″ square)

Over the weekend, I did a new weekend crafters market at Vail Headquarters. It was super hot, so there weren’t many people out. I will be doing this once a month and then a bit more frequently right before Christmas. Here is our little set up:

And now, I’m off to practice calligraphy, since I have not done that all week.

Stay Crazy & Catch Them All My Friends!

(Last weeks tally: 75,259 Steps, 38.03 miles, 4 pounds gone!)

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!

Red Hot in Black and White

June 20, 2016 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 10 Comments

So, I’m not going to wax all poetic about the state of anything this week except the HEAT WAVE we are experiencing here in the Southwest (and I dare say, other parts of the country. Staying inside and tangling sounds like a great alternative to going anywhere, but I did have to go into the studio today for my monthly session with my “kids” (11 year old girls!) I made a pit stop on the way home to pick up some groceries and stop into Michael’s (for my foreign friends, that’s a large arts and crafts store here in the US.) Everyplace was like a ghost town, I was only one of two customers in Michael’s. Rather eerie.

This week’s Diva Challenge (#272) was titled “Black and White and Red All Over.” I had a bit of fun with this with the girls today, as we learned a few new tangles and used stencils to make strings to tangle.

So…while that was cute, I wasn’t sure that “qualified” for my weekly Diva entry, so I had to do another tile when I got home…

I have been hard at work this week, finishing up stuff and things, and shop samples, and putting together the schedule for July!

If you are in the area, I have a little creative time management going on this Wednesday, with Pocket Journals.

And later in July, this awesome Black and White Summer.

So if you get a chance, come on down!

Back to work for me! Stay Crazy My Friends!