December Tangle Calendar Update (12th – 18th)

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tangle

Here’s the latest installment in the tangled calendar project. This week I added Fohbraid, Pweeko, spaanders, Retro, O.M.G., Wirly Bird, and Not-a-knot. Thanks to all the tangle designers for their creativity!

CZT Ensemble Swap

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czt

At the Certified Zentangle Teacher Training #7 this past October, many of us signed up to participate in an ensemble swap. The ensemble sets are 9 tiles with a shared string running through them, so when put together, flow into each other nicely. The set is made by Zentangle and can be found here or ordered through me.

Here is the set that I will be sending to Jennifer Van Pelt, CZT,  (website here) who volunteered to coordinate the swap. I will be receiving 9 different tiles, done by 9 different artists. I can’t wait to see what they look like.

Thanks, Jennifer, for doing this fun swap for us.

My first class!

Today, I gave a “Mini-class” to 8 co-workers. I work in a Community Mental Health Center, and I titled the class “The use of repetitive drawing for mindfulness practice (Zentangle).” We use the practice of mindfulness frequently in our therapy work with our mental health consumers.  I talked about the feedback that Rick and Maria (Zentangle originators) have gotten of how the Zentangle process has helped some people with various forms of anxiety, insomnia, fear of flying, and attention difficulties. I noted how the practice of repetitive drawing of patterns might be helpful for developing relaxation and focus, especially for people who might have trouble with just sitting (in a meditative practice) or just focusing on their breathing.

Everyone really enjoyed the process of learning several tangles and they alternated between quiet focus and cheerful chatting and laughing. Since we only had an hour, we couldn’t spend as much time drawing as I would have liked, but I love how everyone’s turned out. I think they were impressed with their tiles as well.

I used the tangles of Crescent Moon, Msst, Tipple, and Cadent. Cadent was a little bit more difficult, but they all good naturedly developed some tangelations from it.

Everyone had a good time. And several people expressed interest in getting more information and purchasing some materials.

I am very happy and excited about my first teaching experience, and I want to thank my colleagues for being such great students!

My next scheduled classes start at the Community Art Center in January. See  the Zentangle Class Information page for how to register.

Tangled Birch Bark Christmas Ornaments

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hand made art

A few weeks ago, I attended the local annual Poor Artists’ Sale. Among all the other wonderful hand-made art items was the “Bark Artery” table, with lovely ornaments made from birch bark. The artist, Kristi Mills, from Big Bay, Michigan, makes items from the bark from aged, fallen or previously harvested trees. I took one look at her collection, and thought they would make great surfaces to tangle upon. Every year, I look to buy holidays gifts for the secretaries in my department at the Poor Artists’ Sale. I hit the jackpot with these, as they are wonderfully made from natural materials, and I enjoyed adding my own touch to them.

I gave the secretaries their gifts today, and they were all thrilled.

Tangle-A-Day Calendar December 1st – 11th

I’m continuing the new-to-me tangle calendar through December. Here are the links to the tangles: OOF Variation, Curled Vinez, Yagi, Featherfall, Pane, Gothic, Up and Across, Hurakan, Half Onions, Sprix, and Knoblesse.

Zentangle Challenge #51: New Tangle, FIFE

The Diva’s Zentangle Weekly Challenge is to use the new official Zentangle pattern, Fife (directions found here). I’ve practiced it a few times, and have had a little difficulty getting the one section that goes underneath the others (you know what I mean if you’ve done the pattern) to look okay to me. So in this one, I just left it out. 🙂

Also in this tile are Shattuck and Jetties.

Thanks for the Challenge and a push to practice this pretty tangle a little more.

Zentangle Challenge #50: Biggify

The challenge from I am the Diva website for this week is to make your tangles much bigger than you would normally do (while still using your standard paper size: for me the 3.5 x 3.5″ tile). Ok, now, this challenge was very difficult for me, since I tend to draw small. So although these tangles may not look that big to some of you, for me they are huge! I used the tangles: Cadent, Pepper, Shard, and Chainging.

Thanks for the challenge!