In The Pink, with Diva Challenge #262 Fassett, Square One Focus Morse, Shading "Slits", and Other Stuff...

Gentle Readers,

So the porcelain bunnies and speckled artificial eggs are tucked away again for another year, and now we move forward to those days where keeping cool is the priority.  In my younger days, I never bothered much with seasonal decorating.  Once I had my surroundings satisfactorily arranged, I left them alone.  I was never one of those people who rearranged the furniture on a weekly basis.  Although, I give kudos to those who do, as they don't have much dust under their furniture!

Now, I seem to be much more attuned to cycles and seasons.  Just as Picasso had his blue period, I now seem to be in a pink mode.  After four-plus years in this house, we finally got our act together and chose paint colors for our rooms.  Most of the colors are predictable - a muted bluish-green for the master suite (LOVE IT), deep gray for the den and a dark mushroom color for the guest room that makes it so restful.  But in the main living area, I shocked everyone.  We painted the ceiling and a little adjacent hallway pink!  Officially, it's Mesa Rose, but it definitely is a conversation starter.  I wanted to keep the neutral colors in the room but add that glow that blush does to your face.  We both love it, surprisingly.

With the onset of spring, I tucked away the fur-ish sofa throw and the winterberry color pillows and substituted lighter, fresher looking accents. The quilt is a long time thing that I somehow always find a spot for.  The pillows, except the far left one, which I made, are my favorite "ON SALE" type.  I feel renewed!

Now on a roll, I decided to pink up my own look.  If you can't have fun, what good is life?  I don't have an employer to placate, so I do as I please these days.  Anything to distract your eye from the wrinkles, right?  LOL!

 

 

You know, it amazes me to think back on my earlier life when I had all these preconceived notions about what was "right" and "proper".  I have these purist tendencies that have always kept me a bit uptight and anxious.  Principles, we need principles!  I have this obsession with things in full "sets".  My children just shake their heads and laugh.  I always needed things to be "authentic" or nothing.  But, as many people do, I seem to have acquired at least a little bit of wisdom in my old age. I am trying to breathe, relax and go with the flow.  Enter Zentangle, I guess!

 

 

DIVA CHALLENGE #262 FASSETT

 

I tested this lovely tangle out a number of ways in my sketchbook, making them super straight or curved, fatter (more lines inside) or skinnier or more open (less lines).  When I did a batch with a big open triangle in the middle, I saw the light, as it were!  Here I have layers of openwork Fassett.  I hope I achieved a bit of 3D effect.

 

 

 

ZENTANGLE SHADING "SLITS"

Eni Oken's Facebook group Shading Zentangle https://www.facebook.com/groups/shadingzentangle/,  has begun posting themed challenges.  This week I was surprised and honored to have had one of my tiles used as inspiration for the challenge.  Eni said she saw my tile (which was posted on this blog and on Zentangle Mosaic), and got to thinking about the concept of "slits" in the page created with a line and some shading. 

 

 





 

I attempted another version using only black and white, and tried to get more "lift" to some of the slits.  I traced Bijou tiles on a standard tile to make a little photo album effect, and then inserted some Zingers with Ruutz.  This was fun, but I think I like my earlier, done for no good reason, one better.

 

 

 

SQUARE ONE FOCUS "MORSE"

 

Chris Titus has put the focus on Margaret Bremner's tangle "Morse".  I did this tile, and then immediately started thinking about Good N Plenty candy.  Why does everything make me think of FO-O-O-O-O-D?

 

 

 

NO REASON - SOMETIMES THE BEST REASON

 

I have been going through Maria and Rick's new book, Zentangle Primer, and have again been inspired to bring myself back to those original Zentangle patterns and see what I can do with them.  It's amazing what those two, and Molly, do as they combine those tangles into the most beautiful, mysterious and astonishing creations.  I am awestruck every time I see their work. 

 

I had a couple of round coasters from a hotel visit that were tucked in my purse, so I pulled them out to be the round alternative to a standard tile.  Smaller than a Zendala, which begs to have more complex designs, these are the small-commitment size of a regular tile.  I pulled out my training materials from my CZT seminar, and started to really study some of the tangles there.  I realized there are some that I may have never seen in "live production".  Maria had demonstrated a new way to fill Hollibaugh, which I used as an anchor pattern, and then I added Frondous, Patena and Ambler, all new to me.  I think I'll use them again! Frondous, in  particular, has that strong drama effect while falling into the category of organic tangles, many of which are too ethereal for my taste.  Here I made Patena very straightforward and "regular", but next time I will break free of the mold a bit.  It definitely is yearning to be free...  This was fun!

 

 

 

So, Dear Readers, thank you for stopping by.  Once again, I apologize to those of you whose work I love to see but on whose blog pages I am inexplicably unable to leave comments.  I just don't get it!  If anyone knows why a Google ID or name and URL won't work, please let me know how to fix it.  Actually, I have even had problems issuing replies to commenters on my own board, so please don't feel unappreciated.  I truly love to hear from you - you make my heart sing!

 

Namaste,

Antonine