Monday, November 5, 2018

SUUUUUCCCHHHH a long time!

It's been a long time since I posted anything, but I wanted to make a quick post to add a Tangle I've been working on.

123 O'LEARY

I love border, or ribbon tangles, and this one seems to flow easily and works well with other tangles. Here in my example, I paired it with a combination of Dewd (official Zentangle) and Hanny Waldburger's beautiful Icantoo.  (would that be Icandewd? Dewdcantoo?) and also Kuazeela from Eni Oken.

The name of the tangle is a bit of a story.  I went to the dentist, and he thought I might be grinding my teeth (ewww..) at night.  I realized, though, it isn't at night.  I do it all day long.  Music runs through my head all the time, especially when I am working on something.  It could be Sousa marches, the Calypso song from Beetlejuice or the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves - whatever shows up in my head at the time.  Rather than hum the tunes, I just grind out the rhythm silently.  

Whenever I drew this tangle, I realized I was working through that old playground song "One, Two, Three, O'Leary" as I made the strokes. Bouncing the ball, it is one, two, bounces and the third bounce you swing your leg up and over the ball.  Here, do the first two S curves, and the third S curve continues down and around to the spiral.  

Sometimes I vary the number of S curves, as I did here, or vary the shape of the spiral into a Printemps-like spiral or open it out into more of a Mooka type end and then add some auras or echo lines there.  There is a good potential for variations, I think. 

Hope you like it!

ZENTANGLE ART I'VE BEEN UP TO

In the long time since I've visited this blog, I've been working on bunches of stuff, but not the same challenges I was doing in the past.  While I still do some Zentangle every day, on an official tile, in a sketchbook, or on the back of an envelope, I still follow all my favorite tanglers and rejoice with every new group of CZTs.  With the holidays coming, I know there will be the annual Zentangle 12 days of Christmas, which I usually only manage to complete two or three.  This year, my rotating holiday dinner will be Thanksgiving, so maybe I can settle down to do a few more.  I have been following Eni Oken's Art Club https://www.facebook.com/EniOkenDesigns/, and have had lots of fun working on her imaginative ZIA applications.



 
 
LIFE STUFF GETS IN THE WAY
 
I had a little hiccup last year when I underwent cataract surgery in both eyes, and required a few additional procedures.  My eyesight is now pretty good...BUT... where I previously was extremely nearsighted, now I am extremely farsighted.  My brain is having a hard time adjusting, and I still don't have a good pair of glasses for detail work.  I have ordered some, but they are not in yet - with luck, next week.  

I NEED AN ADDITION ON MY HOUSE
 
Additionally, I am suffering from brain scatter with a new focus on calligraphy that is new to me - both brush and pointed pen, and watercolor.  My plan is to combine the three to make lots of wonderful cards and frameable quotes, etc.  That's the plan, anyway...  Then, there is the pressure now to do a Christmas card with my newfound skills. 







I have spent mucho dinero on supplies for both and have done some online classes, all of which have been fun, but I still feel disoriented.  Probably because my brain can't handle all these separate things at once. 

So to cap that all off, I registered for a two day class on painting portraits in OILS!  I have done portraits in acrylic, but I have never worked in oils, so I am scrambling to do some prep work before the class, like mix up some paints and get a feel for the brushes, various fluids, caring for the canvas between sessions, etc.  More supplies.  Amazon just loves me.  Indeed!
 

LIFE BEYOND ART - WHAT?

 
My husband and I have a very full SOCIAL SCHEDULE (yay, but oh boy!) over the next two months.  Next week my husband will be accompanying me to his very first opera!  It is a relatively short modern production and will be jazz themed, which he likes very well.  Maybe next I can get him to one of the oldies but goodies, like a Mozart or Puccini production.  Maybe.  

Yesterday we attended a fabulous wine and food festival in Phoenix and had the pleasure of meeting Chef Marcus Samuelsson.  What a sweet and gracious man!  This event was a highlight for us, and we plan to do it again next year.  

So, that's all I have to report for now.  Maybe no one will read this, but like any journal, I write for myself as much as for others.
 

REFLECTIONS

 
As we enter this holiday season, let us all remember we are brothers under Heaven.  Peace and good will must be the hallmark of the day, and let us rejoice with possibilities as we enter the new year.  But, I am getting ahead of myself.  First, Americans, get out and vote tomorrow!

Namaste,
Antonine