diva's weekly challenge # 241

This week's challenge is offered by Guest Blogger Paula Bramante, CZT 15 and is titled "Stones and Ceremony" and can be found here.

I chose to use a round tile that is about 3 1/3" wide and was done on a tan(ish) tile. 
The tangles I used are stacked stones and zinger...

(the tile doesn't have a black background, it's just sitting on top of a larger black tile...)

Sketchbook Oriental Goldfish

This Oriental Goldfish is lesson #12 in David Williams' book. This was a fun piece to draw. 

*I included two images to try to show more detail, although in both images the tail shows up darker than the actual drawing... I guess this is a byproduct of using a cell phone camera...

 
Strathmore Recycled Sketch Paper, fine tooth surface, WindpowerⓇ
5.5 x 8.5" 60 lb paper with cretacolor pencils

Sketchbook Roses

I've loved roses since I was a child. My grandmother's name was Rose which probably had something to do with it and the fact that my mom grew them when I was young. Combine that with the fact that there are almost an endless variety of roses and how could I not love them?

I am really happy with the way the two outer roses turned out but I think the middle one needs a bit of work...

Strathmore Drawing Paper, medium surface, 400 series
8 x 10" 80 lb paper with Cretacolor & Derwent pencils
(the color of the paper is actually lighter than what is shown in the image...)

Sketchbook Plumeria

Plumeria or Frangipani as it's also known has so many beautiful meanings (some are shown below the image). When I was looking up flowers to draw I came across this one and it's meanings and decided I had to draw it. 
 
Strathmore Drawing Paper, medium surface, 400 series
8 x 10" 80 lb paper with Cretacolor & Derwent pencils

• The frangipani is the national tree of Laos, where it is called dok jampa. It is regarded as a sacred tree in Laos and every Buddhist temple in that country has them planted in their courtyards. Many of the trees are hundreds of years old and are spectacular, huge, gnarled giants.
• Many Hawaiian leis are made from frangipani (Plumeria) flowers.
• Frangipanis are good hosts for dendrobium orchids.
• The frangipani is the flower of the city of Palermo in Sicily, Italy.
• Frangipanis won't burn except in extreme (over 500 degrees) temperatures.
• The frangipani is also associated with love in feng shui.
• In modern Polynesian culture, the frangipani can be worn by women to indicate their relationship status - over the right ear if seeking a relationship, and over the left if taken.
• In India the frangipani is a symbol of immortality because of its ability to produce leaves and flowers even after it has been lifted out of the soil. It is often planted near temples and graveyards, where the fresh flowers fall daily upon the tombs. 

 For more info on this beautiful flower, you can take a look at this page About Frangipanis & Plumeria


NOTE: the above list comes from this site...
 

Sketchbook Apple

This is another lesson, the 7th, from David Williams' book on drawing. I'm really happy with the way this one turned out. I may try this one again with color pencils to see how it differs.


Strathmore Recycled Sketch Paper, fine tooth surface, WindpowerⓇ
5.5 x 8.5" 60 lb paper with cretacolor pencils

Sketchbook Calla Lily

The Calla Lily is another favorite flower of mine so I thought I'd try my hand (pun intended) at drawing them. I decided to try a few different versions to get an idea on perspective. 

There's something very peaceful about drawing from Nature. I don't know if that is the case with other people but it is for me. 

Strathmore Drawing Paper, medium surface, 400 series
8 x 10" 80 lb paper with cretacolor pencils

Sketchbook Tower

This is another lesson, the 6th, from David Williams' book on drawing. I bought it after I found his candle & flame tutorial online. 

I'm not all that happy with the way the rocks turned out but I do like the tower itself. Not bad for a first try... will try it again in a couple of weeks to see the difference...

Strathmore Recycled Sketch Paper, fine tooth surface, WindpowerⓇ
5.5 x 8.5" 60 lb paper with cretacolor pencils

Sketchbook Cherry Blossoms

The Cherry Blossom is one of my favorite flowers... I decided less would be more with this one...

I used an 8x10" Strathmore Medium Surface Drawing paper that is an 80 lb weight 400 Series with a Cretacolor 9B pencil. 

This paper has quickly become one of my favorites. The drag on the pencil is nice and smooth yet "grabby" enough for what I'm looking to accomplish. 

Sketchbook Musings...

Life tends to get in the way when it comes to doing the things we love most. Or is that life itself? 

I haven't participated in the last 2 (or is it 3?) Zentangle Challenges due to life getting in the way. But, in the past few days I've been missing my sketchbook and pencils so I decided to pick them up again. 

The cat I drew in August but the others are all within the past few days... 

I'm hoping now that I've picked up my pencil again, I will feel that itch for my
micron pens as well... 

I've drawn this cat a few times, just because I have 3 of my own...

This Eiffel Tower I have seen drawn quite a few times and I thought I'd give it a try myself...

This candle comes from a tutorial on the web that really breaks down the steps. It's also part of a lesson in a book about drawing authored by David Williams which can be found on Amazon.com.

This one could use a bit of work, but overall I am happy with the end result. 

 

Phicops Circle

I found this frame and thought it would be perfect for a zendala tile though I don't do them all that often. I chose to do another phicops but this time in a circle instead of another spiral shape. Not really sure if this qualifies as a true zendala or not but that's ok. 

I really like the phicops tangle. I find it both easy and enjoyable to draw. That's probably why I tend to draw it so often.

I like the way it fits the frame... though due to the color of the frame with that matte silver finish I may decide to do another tile on a black background to see if I like that one better. But for now, I will leave it as is.

The background tile is a light tan and I used an 01 micron pen with some shading done in pencil... (the frame in the 2nd photo is a 4" frame)

diva's weekly challenge #232

This week's challenge was by Guest Blogger Holly Atwater, CZT and she has presented us with a unique type of challenge which you can find here.

Holly offered us the choice of following one of three meditations or using the Tangle Betweed in our tile. I chose the tangle Betweed and did it as a Monotangle...

For this one I chose to use a 3.5" square black tile with a white gelly roll pen...

diva's weekly challenge #231

So this week the lovely Sharla Hicks, CZT, has offered us a wonderful challenge she has named "The Undulating Tangles in C and S Minor" (for full blog post you can go here).

While I was reading the post I caught the words "series" so I was off and running with that and decided to do two tiles... 

The 1st is a revisit of one I did a while back that I inadvertently did backwards... but there are no mistakes in zentangle, right?? This pattern is phicops spiralation and is done on a grey background...

the 2nd tile makes use of the tangle Tri-Roda which reminds me of pepper, a tangle that I really like which is why I chose it when I saw it... (the centers of the tri-roda were colored in silver which is why they may look a little odd at first glance...)

Doodlestones

I came across this article and thought it needed to be shared.... 

Armed with a Sharpie and rocks, this guy is lifting people's spirits every day. There's more on Facebook as well Here...

Here's an excerpt from the article:

So what, exactly, are Doodlestones?
Bryan is an artist and amateur urban archaeologist and treasure hunter, and he's putting his passions to use by creating small stones decorated with friendly faces. He hides them in places where people cross paths as a way to help make his town a friendlier, kinder place. By geotagging and using location clues in the images he posts on Facebook and Instagram, he leaves behind a trail of tiny, happy artworks.

I'd like to include one of the images from the article but I'm not sure that I am allowed to do that so you will just need to click the links above to see more!

I think it's a great idea and wish it was something that was done in the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania area. Maybe Bryan would see it as an opportunity to bring it to the East Coast?

 

diva's weekly challenge #229

This week's diva challenge has guest blogger Sandy Hunter, CZT, challenging us to focus on Negative Space...

I really liked this one (though I am beginning to say that a lot lately) and I can't wait to see how others interpret this particular challenge! 

I chose Indy-Rella for my tile... or is it Isochor?? I can't tell which one it is... 

 

Yin Yang Daisy ZIA

I've wanted to do one of these for a while but could not figure out a way to make both sides even. Until yesterday, that is. I finally came up with a way to make it work and it was alright to use that way since this tile was a 'ZIA' or at least I thought so. 

Anyway, the tile itself is 3.5" in size and a tan kind of color. Tangles used are Hollibough and a sort of daisy type flower. 

 

diva's weekly challenge #228

This was yet another fun challenge... Natural & Organic are the themes for this week's diva challenge presented by guest blogger Cari Sultanik, CZT. 

Tangles used are: Locar, Pepper, Angel Fish and Stipple

The tile is actually white but the photo was taken at night so it's a bit darker....

Phicops Spiralation (ZIA)...

I came across this grey paper (cardstock, 65lb) and could not resist trying it out as a tile. It's original size was  8.5" x 11" so I was able to cut it down to 6 pieces at 3.5" square. It's not your traditional tile so I added the 'ZIA' to the name

On the left side of the image you can see where one of my cats (I have 3) insisted on getting her paws into the photo... but I don't mind... 

I also realized after I was almost done that I put the 'openings' of the shell facing the opposite way to the opening at the beginning. But hey... no mistakes, right??

Overall, I am happy with the way it turned out.

Renaissance Peels...

Renaissance (tan) tile with Peels, aka: garlic...

I've seen this with both names so I'm not sure what to call it...
I started out with a rounded sort of border but for whatever reason this pattern didn't seem to want to follow it...

Note: I added tan in parentheses after Renaissance because this isn't a true
Renaissance tile. It is just similar in color...

Henna Drum...

I've always liked this pattern but as usual I tend to stick with the same patterns out of habit. I'm trying to use some of the others that I like so my tiles don't all end up looking the same...

Ing with friends...

I've always liked the way Ing looked but haven't really used it as much as I'd like to. 

 I chose to do this particular tile on tan paper and used printemps, florz & pokeroot to accompany Ing with a smidgen of white charcoal pencil for shading.

The pokeroot in this one reminds me a bit of hollibaugh but that's alright. I like the hollibaugh pattern.

diva's weekly challenge # 227

What a fun challenge!!!

So, this week's challenge is by Guest Blogger Lee Darter, CZT and she's chosen to have you create a tile using the tangles cack & tropicana and then she goes on to explain that just like a 3-ring circus, choose from either florz, linq or fescu to add a third element. 

I loved this challenge! I actually enjoy all of them but for some reason this one was really enjoyable!

I started my tile with cack & tropicana and then chose to go with fescu as my 3rd tangle. 
I think a bit of last week's challenge, "simplicity" is still with me this week.... 

*As always, the link to the diva's challenge is to the right...

Tangles + Starbucks?

This afternoon I headed into Starbucks for my usual and this travel mug caught my eye. I am in there all the time and this is the first time I've seen these. You can see from the photos that there are loads and loads of tangles drawn on the surface... I had to pick one up! Especially since it was only $2.00 though it is not a heavy or thick kind of travel mug. It's a fairly thin plastic type but I didn't care. I loved the design on it and I thought I'd share...
 

  

 

diva's weekly challenge # 226

This weeks challenge is thanks to guest blogger Katie Crommett, CZT. 
and can be found here

Simplicity is what this challenge is all about... so, maybe I shouldn't have done two tiles for this challenge?! I wasn't sure if the first one was exactly what I was going for. 

I then started to look through one of my books "The Zentangle Untangled Workbook" and came across the Blossom tangle and thought it'd be perfect for this one... though I am now wondering if my tile is a little too close to the one in the workbook... 

The black tile's tangles are: zinger, wist & mumsy.
The tan tile is: blossom

 

Socc Monotangle...

I came across this pattern on Pinterest created by Erin Olson with the steps drawn by Vasilisinamari and thought it would make a very interesting monotangle. 

The steps show the inner sections colored in black but I chose to leave them white instead for this tile... 

 

Quib & Ennie

This was a fun tile to work on...

White 3.5" tile, black 05 micron pen & graphite pencil shading..
drawn on ...

Rixty as a frame...

I came across an image done by "a little lime" creator (a link to her page can be found to the right with the other links) where she'd rounded the edges of rixty so I decided to have some fun playing with the rixty pattern since I don't tend to use it often though I do like it. 

The patterns I used in this tile are: rixty, bales, ennies, nzeppel, pepper, isochor & stipple. 
It's not as clear as it could be but the tile itself is a tan color. 

Zentangle Tiles Display Options...

I am sure I am not alone in this dilemma. Not really a dilemma but I am allowing myself to be a bit over dramatic here.... We are allowed that flair once in a while... 

Anyway... Like most of us out there using Zentangle as a means for relaxation, or a creative outlet, among other things, I think we tend to end up with all of these tiles with the inability to display them. I know I have a few that I really like while others I am not so sure about. Nevertheless, I have an abundance of tiles with very few creative options for displaying them. 

I have seen many people post questions in various places about what to do with all of these tiles. Well, that brings me to the reason for this post. 

I was at Michael's Crafts Store a few weeks ago and came across these interesting frames. Actually, my mom pointed them out to me. Anyway, they are 5.5" square frames with a 3.5" opening, (perfect size) and have various different designs on them. Some even resemble a few of the zentangle patterns. They have a magnet on the back though I chose not to use them that way. I bought a small black easel type of stand to go with them, also at Michael's. You can see the photos below.

The frames cost something like $ 2.99 and the stand is about $3 - 4.00 (the stands come in various sizes) and work great for displaying a tile. 

I also found another great way to display my tiles that allows me to quickly change the ones I want to display at any given time. This one I found at the Christmas Tree Shop and was a whopping $6.00 and like the frames I mentioned above, comes in a large variety of designs and colors. The type I am referring to here is actually called a "French Cork Board" and I am sure can be found at a variety of stores. The one I have is roughly 16 x 20" and some have a pattern that allows it to be hung on the wall either in a horizontal or vertical position. What's great about this type of board is that the backing is covered in fabric and the ribbons that criss-cross the board hold the tiles in place without the need for a push pin that would put a small hole in the tile.
The tiles can also be placed at various angles and overlapping one another instead of all straight.
I chose this particular design because of what it says.

Well, I just thought I would share these ideas with others. I hope it helps to give some of you a few ideas.

diva's weekly challenge # 225...

This weeks challenge is thanks to guest blogger Jen Crutchfield, CZT. 

Since the challenge was to try to limit the use of colors or to use colors you would not normally use together, I chose to go with a green (odd sort of coloring) gelly roll pen, black micron and a white gelly roll pen. 

Tangles used: paradox & crescent moon...

diva's weekly challenge # 224

"Monotangle Tipple" ....

diva's weekly challenge #222

"Colors of the Rainbow" from 6/15/15

diva's weekly challenge #221

"Beads of Courage" from 6/8/15

Rolled Edge

Twiggee, Eenie & Cadent...
Drawn with black micron pen, graphite pencil shading on a 3.5" white tile

Twigee Tangle

Black square tile, white gelly roll pen, white charcoal pencil shading.
Tangle created on 6/17/15

Playing with strings...

I was playing with strings...

There are 8 different patterns in this one..
bales, hollibaugh, crescent moon, knight's bridge, eenie, (unsure of the other names)

Six String...

The name "Six String" comes to mind when I look at this tile...
Tangles: eenie, bales, knight's bridge, betweed, beeline, (unknown tangle)