Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Diva Challenge #230 ZenDivaDala, TNTM #32 "A", SQ1 Strung Schway and more

Good morning dear friends!

Since I THINK all the vacation laundry is finished, and since we spent some happy time this weekend at Maggiano's restaurant celebrating my sister-in-law's birthday (WAY too much really yummy food, but worth every calorie... er, bite!), I am ready to settle down and get back to some sort of schedule.  Made the beds and spiffed up the bathrooms, rolled the trashcans out to the curb, had coffee, and after this post, I will spread out the yoga mat for some "Yoga Over 50".  My stuff never bends as far as that of  the 62-year-old instructor on the screen, but oh well...  After that, a little tangling, fix lunch, make a couple phone calls, computer (shopping?) time,  nap, fix dinner, a little TV and bed.  If that sounds boring to you, you haven't worked for enough years.  I love retirement!

I must say, internet shopping is my blessing and my curse, and since I retired, I spend far too much time surfing, to say nothing of how Paypal and Amazon OneClick make parting with my money so very easy! 

This week I purchased a variety of white and gold metallic pens.  A few weeks ago I got a big black paper sketchbook, so I've been having fun experimenting with how each pen works.  Some make fine lines, some are great for pooling into big fat dots, one even has a shiny finish to the ink when dry.  My sketchbooks are never anything like the beautiful journals that so many in our Zentangle community produce (see the latest news from Rick and Maria to find photos of her incredible journal!)  No, sadly, my book is a big scratch pad in which I just experiment and scribble whatever new tangle was posted online or whatever pops into my mind at the moment.  I often do some playing around with what can I connect to what and how would this tangle look in a circle or as a border.  Very therapeutic, though, and I do keep all of them handy for reference.  You understand, though, there is no structure, no order, no contents or dates in these books.  That's just not how I roll.  Hey, my underwear drawer and cabinets are all neatly organized - even plastic containers - that's enough!



This week, the Diva's guest blogger was Erin Olsen, of The Bright Owl fame.  She asked us to use her Zendala template for our entry.  I was itching to use those new pens, so I transferred the template on to a black Zendala tile.  I traced it on the back side with a white chalk pencil and then flipped it over and used an embossing tool to trace onto the black paper.  Worked like a charm!

Here is what I got.  At first, I was not warming up to all the circles, but in the end, I embraced them and had fun. I wish the gold showed up a bit better in the scan, but in "real life" it looks quite nice. I am also learning that shading with a graphite pencil on the black tiles is not exactly right.  This time I switched (mid stream, unfortunately) to a "charcoal" colored chalk pencil, and it was just right.  It works well with the texture of the black paper, and I'll file that technique away for future use!



For the That's New To Me #32 challenge, the random letter was "A", and the guest artist was Karry Heun.  I chose Arnia by Maureen Stott and Alien Crest by Gael Shepherd.  I used Karry's tangle Stitch.  This one took a bit of planning and sketchbook try-outs, but I am happy with the results. Does anyone else see sardines here?


Square One: Purely Zentangle focuses on Schway this week.  I don't often use that one because once you draw it, you have to figure out what to do with it.  If I put it in a tile with other tangles, I get stumped, so it rarely makes an appearance.  Here, I decided to see if it would work on a curve, getting progressively bigger.  Once I had it drawn , I just took it somewhere strange.  I did something similar with the tangle Whirlee a while back (November 2014), so I must have some fixation with things on a string.  I call this one "Strung Schway".

 
Finally, I just sat down with a Renaissance tile and played around a bit.  Somehow, these tiles with their soft colors make everything look a little better.


Thank you for stopping by today, and know that I cherish all your comments and insights!

Namaste
Antonine

29 comments:

  1. Lots of wonderful tangling here! I think my favorite is the last.

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  2. I know what you mean about disorganized play pages. I open a different book every time. I can't find anything to go back to, so I just realize I will have to reinvent the wheel for each tile LOL! Loved your piece when I saw it on Facebook. I especially like the shadows. I like your black Zendala. It's always fun to play with new pens. Yes, sardines :) And, you're right, the Renaissance is currently my favorite because everything looks pretty.

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  3. Great round and natural elements in your Zendala. So beautiful. Sarah.

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  4. I became exhausted following your schedule. I wish I could be that productive. Being day-night reversed doesn't help. I'm very impressed by your zendala on a black tile for Erin Olson's challenge. I think the gold looks really nice in the scan, so I'd love to see it IRL ( in real life) if you don't think the scan does it justice. I can't quite picture what you used for the shading.

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  5. I became exhausted following your schedule. I wish I could be that productive. Being day-night reversed doesn't help. I'm very impressed by your zendala on a black tile for Erin Olson's challenge. I think the gold looks really nice in the scan, so I'd love to see it IRL ( in real life) if you don't think the scan does it justice. I can't quite picture what you used for the shading.

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  6. I became exhausted following your schedule. I wish I could be that productive. Being day-night reversed doesn't help. I'm very impressed by your zendala on a black tile for Erin Olson's challenge. I think the gold looks really nice in the scan, so I'd love to see it IRL ( in real life) if you don't think the scan does it justice. I can't quite picture what you used for the shading.

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    1. Productive? I was thinking what a lazy old lady I've become! Thanks for your kind comments on my work. See my response to Margaret Blank's note about the shading. Maybe I'll work up some examples and post them next time.

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  7. I agree with you, retirement is great (except for winter when you have to heat the house all day or find somewhere else warm to visit lol). My schedule is nothing like yours and yet very similar ie humdrum. You managed to fit purk into a Zendala, fantastic! Hmm what is it that makes us think of sardines, it is not as if you drew a tin or anything lol. Your Schway looks like a Georgian ladies fan and your last tile is lovely, I am always a sucker for sea snail type tiles.

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  8. I was amazed by the renaissance tile, it is just so very lovely. I then went back and looked at the others again because it blew everything else out of my head. The Zendala on black is really pretty and the gold looks subtle on the scan. another idea for shading on black is to use a Zenstone, which gives a very soft white- ish finish.

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    1. Thank you, Margaret! Glad you liked the Zendala. I use both a chalk pencil for highlighting on black, but sometimes you want an area to "push back". On the Purk, under the rim of the gold bands, I used the charcoal to cast a shadow. I also used it in the center section. White to raise portions and the charcoal to drop the "meet points " down.

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  9. Lots of lovely work! Nice choice to make a white on black zendala. It reminds me of sea shells ;-)

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  10. It's all lovely! I'm just learning about which supplies to use on black. I too have tried regular pencil on a black tile and found it lacking. I'll make note of the "charcoal" chalk pencil for future use.

    The renaissance tile is beautiful and the color accents the tangles beautifully!

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  11. I love all of these! I'm inspired to get going in my black sketch book (a re-purposed photo album I dug up somewhere). Your renaissance tile is absolutely gorgeous.

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  12. I love your Zendala - I still have difficulty with black tiles. Looking for a soft way to shade. The shading on your tile is sublime - charcoal color chalk is soft and soothing. I'd be hard pressed to choose a favorite. They are all great.

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  13. Wonderful pieces! Great zendala on the black paper. The touch of gold gives nice accents. Your renaissance tile is absolutely beautiful!

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  14. Wow, you were busy indeed!!! Some beautiful art in this blog, I like the zendala on black paper.

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  15. wow! these are all amazing. Your use of highlights makes that last one so luminous, and I love your work white on black. The A challenge tile is WAY cool, but I must say I've never seen Schway look so extremely cool. Great work!

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  16. Antonine, Thank you for leaving a bit of laughter on my blog! I loved the little helmet comment. Now that's all I see when I look at my Zendala. It's a good thing though, cause it makes me laugh!! :0)
    Anyway, your work here on your post, is just beautiful! I love the black page that you did sketches on. Just lovely!! And yes, I see sardines!! Too funny!
    See you next week! :0) Annette

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  17. Yep, I see sardines too. This is all lovely work! Thanks for being part of the TNTM challenge this week!

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  18. You were busy. They all look great. Like the negative space that you used in your Zendala. Your Renaissance tile at the end is stunning. Great shading and highlighting.

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  19. Stitch is unbelievable! Fantastic tile!

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  20. Its to much to react on each tile, but al your work is very beautiful!

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  21. Wow! These are all quite striking! Not only do they show movement but they are so dimensional!

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  22. These are just gorgeous! I love your steady lines and stunning shading!

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