Thursday, December 17, 2015

Diva Challenge #248 - Gift of Zentangle, and Throwback Thursday #7 - Finally after a month off!

 
 
 
Gentle Readers,
 
I finally returned to this venue after a month-long break, a "just because" gift of down time to myself.  When your passion starts to feel like work, it is time to hibernate for a while and then come back. 
 
Two happy things prompted this return, even though I am in the throes of cookie baking, card writing and party planning (and attending - nice!) 
 
First, Linda Farmer posted my tangle "Oybay" on the Tanglepatterns.com website.  Lots of people visited my blog as a result of that, so I figured I should at least let folks know I am still alive and kicking.  One of the things included in the post with the tangle step outs was the tile shown below.  I did this right BEFORE the ZenGem craze started.  I have no idea if anyone saw it and knew they could absolutely do better!  But they certainly started posting gorgeous gems and (thank you dear artists) tutorials on how they drew the gems. 
 
This was a perfect segue into a Throwback Thursday #7.  Here I have taken my original tile and reworked the gems in the second version.  I also added some amped-up shading.  I don't think these are actually the best gems I have done (I'm still practicing like crazy - literally crazy!), but they are certainly improved in the second tile. I added regular Prismacolor pencil on top of the Inktense originals and topped them off with Gelly Roll highlights. What a difference! 
 
If you have a throwback you would like to add, I'd love to see it.  Click on the link at the bottom and enter your URL.

 
original version

new and improved
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Diva Challenge - Gift of Zentangle

I am so grateful to have someone poke me in the butt sometimes and make me get something done.  Usually, that someone is my husband (thank you, darling...) but this time it was our Diva.  I have been wanting to make something for my granddaughter, but somehow there is always something going on.  I have been taking instruction in calligraphy from a great lady in my community, Desiree Mansell.  She has been working with me on the Uncial alphabet, and I really love it.  I am still at the kindergarten stage, but I thought I would try something fun.  I took a paper and aged it with distress inks, then used a fat pen point and lettered her name "Pemba".  Unfortunately, the ink bled a bit on the paper I chose, but I forged ahead anyway.  I tangled around the lettering, actually in a random sort of way, and I am pretty pleased with the result.  So here is my entry for this week's Diva Challenge.  I show it scanned in and then framed.

 

So that's all I have this week.  I probably will not post again next week, so I will take this opportunity to wish all my dear readers the most Blessed Holidays and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!
 
Antonine
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