Diva Challenge #243 Just a Tiny Taste, SQ1 Cyme, and Throwback Thursday #6

THROWBACK THURSDAY #6 - ALL ABOUT REFLECTING - DID YOU FEEL GOOD?

This is the 6th Throwback I'm posting (a day early, even!), and I want to share why I am offering this to participants.  One of the things we are asked to do in Zentangle is to reflect on the work we have done and how it made us feel.  It is not a contest or really even a challenge.  It is an invitation to reflect on not just the last tile we had in hand, but on some we did some time back.  Today, I wanted to look back at something that made me feel good when I finished.  It was not because I completed a "challenge" (although in this case my entry was for a challenge), but because I was just pleased with both the process of creating this piece and the final result.  I recall that I was very relaxed as I added each simple element and then took my time with the shading.

I did this in the spring, hence the Easter egg look.  I love the look of brown eggs, and was happy to include some in my design. Reflecting on it now, I also see that I put in some bread.  Not exactly Italian Easter Bread, but close enough.   I love the tan paper.  This was done in my sketchbook, which is a slightly different color than the Renaissance tiles, but which I may actually like a bit better.  I just had fun doing this and was really gratified when I had it finished.  So here is my Zendala.  I rarely do them, and I felt so good when I did this!

So I invite you to click on the link at the bottom of this post and show some Zentangle work that you remember made you feel good.  That's what it's all about, really. 
 

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Diva Challenge #243 - Just a Tiny Taste

This was a very enjoyable challenge for me.  I tend to get carried away, not only with Zentangle, but in most areas of life.  I have long conversations with friends just when it is time to go home.  I always cook way too much - Honey, we really do need eight different appetizers!  If one Fannie May chocolate is good, then five must be better, right? 

So here we have been asked to use restraint.  This time we just want that one perfect jelly bean.  This is a life lesson for me.  True to my form, I didn't stop at one, though. So much for lessons learned...  Here are three that I did, the good Jelly Bellies, and maybe the booger flavored one as well.

First one I did - maybe not the best...

 

 

Are those root beer jelly beans?  Yum!  I like that tiny taste!

 

 

Maybe a taste of licorice in this one!

Speaking of taste, I thought I would put in an update on last week's tasty prospect - that Gourdgeous giant squash I had.  I did cook it, but the best part was the beautiful butterfly that grotesque thing became when I cut it open.  Another life lesson in there, I believe...

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Square One - Focus Cyme

What to do with those precious tiles you screw up?  The ones that you can't turn into "opportunities".  Well, you can cover the wrong turn with black ink and use it as part of your string!  That's what I did here.  Cyme is one of those "focus" tangles that I rarely use unless forced...er, directed to do so.  It turned out OK, and I did have fun with the pen switching.

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So that's all I have this week.  Short and simple, and hopefully sweet!

Know that I cherish all your thoughts and comments, and especially your Throwback participation.

Namaste,

Antonine

 

Diva Challenge #242 Gourdgeous; TNTM #44 "M", SQ1 Verve and THROWBACK THURSDAY #5: MOST UNUSUAL

Welcome Gentle Readers,

It's not even Thanksgiving yet and I'm already working on my Christmas dinner menu.  That's because, for ONCE in many years, I'm not hosting Thanksgiving! Don't get me wrong, I love that turkey dinner.  I've got it pretty well in hand, although when we moved to this home I had a bit of an adjustment just getting used to the new oven, new refrigerator space, new grocery stores, etc.  But this year we are to be guests of relatives, so my thoughts are drifting to that other big day!  I'm switching from the big bird to the little ones...Cornish hens.  I'd like to think about quail but I'm a bit chicken (harharhar).

Once you have the main course in mind, then there is the big question of the sides.  I have been wanting to make my old famous mushroom lasagna with the homemade pasta and five pounds of (expensive) specialty mushrooms.  But 1.) I don't have access to the local farm in Illinois where I used to buy big sacks of mushrooms for a cheap price, and 2.) the Mr. is not a lasagna fan.  To make a dish that takes two days of preparation and then have him not love it is a waste. 

This brings me to the Diva's challenge...Gourdgeous!  I am going ahead with my lasagna with a twist this year.  I'm going to use mushrooms, some toasted ground hazelnuts (from our trip to Oregon this summer), a nice Béchamel sauce with nutmeg and....THIS bad boy:

Whoa! This is some kind of Italian variety squash that is supposed to have a drier flesh, making it especially good for pasta fillings.  I'm going to cook it this week and freeze it for my new version of lasagna. 

Which, of course, brings me to the Diva challenge.  This little image seems a dim reference to the glorious real thing, but I love this new pattern anyway!

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Suzy Mosh has asked us to use the letter "M" and patterns by Kathy Barringer.  I chose Margaret Bremner's Moving Day, Carla Jennings' Maise and Kathy Barringer's Antique. 

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The Square One: Purely Zentangle focus was Verve.  I have never used this before, but I sat there on Halloween and started playing with it.  Things got a little spooky...



Something is watching you!



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THROWBACK THURSDAY #5 - MOST UNUSUAL

As I go back over a couple of years worth of Zentangle drawings that I have done, I wondered what was the most unusual thing I have done.  When I first got the Renaissance tiles, I was very taken by their aged appearance, and I started thinking about the old drawings done in the various natural sciences.  Even the most distasteful examples of life on this planet look beautiful in the hands of these artists of old.  So I decided to draw my take on some life forms.  Looking back, I see that my techniques were rudimentary, but oh, I had fun!  I'm planning a new series using some new enhancements such as colored pencil or watercolor and marker shading, but didn't feel the need to wait for that eventuality.  Here is what I did back a while ago.  My favorite part is the high heels and high top sneakers on the grasshopper!




What have you done that is unusual?  I'd love to see it, so click on the Mr. Linky and post it here!

 

Thank you for stopping by today, and know that I cherish all your thoughts and comments, and especially your participation in Throwback Thursday.

 

Namaste,

Antonine