11-11-11

Certified Zentangle Teachers all over the world did Zentangles, and Zentangle inspired art beginning at 11:11 a.m. or 11:11 p.m. and posted their creations on their Zentangle Yahoo group and on their Facebook page. I am also hoping that some members of the Zentangle Club of N.E. Ohio joined in the celebration of this unusual date. The Certified Zentangle Teachers were also honoring Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, the founders of Zentangle, because of the recent passing of Rick's mother. It is Veteran's Day and we remember with deep gratitude all the sacrifices that our Veterans have made, and are making, for our country. See zentangle.com for more information about Zentangles.

Zentangle Challenge #44 - Tangled on the Inside

The challenge this week is to do a tangle (or tangles) within a tangle. This was another one of those fun ones to think about -- tangle options kept popping up in my head for a few days. I knew I wanted to do "Rick's Paradox" for the tangle string, and then settled on "Crescent Moon" for the inside part. I love "Rick's Paradox" because it is so fun to do, and I remember Rick teaching it when I went to get certified as a Zentangle teacher -- what a fabulous memory! And I usually teach "Crescent Moon" first in a class. It is so fun to see how happy participants get as their tangle unfolds. It's a tangle that gives people confidence right away as they start their marvelous Zentangle journey.

Zentangle Challenge #43 - Sunflowers

This week's challenge was suggested by Penny from South Africa, where they have Bandana Day, which is run by the Sunflower Fund. This is an organization founded in support of their bone marrow registry for people who have leukemia. Every year, sunflower bandanas are sold and the proceeds go to the Sunflower Fund. Our sunflowers this week, which are coming in from all over the world, are in honor of South Africa's Sunflower Fund and people everywhere who are struggling with leukemia. I am dedicating my sunflowers to the memory of my best friend from my childhood, Mary Elizabeth Kettlewell, who died of leukemia when I was 12 years old. My daughter, Maribeth is named after her and it pains me to know that, while progress has been made, there is still no cure. Sunflowers remind me of happy memories, hope, renewal, and possibility. Please go to iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com to visit the other entries -- just click on each name. Entries will be coming in until 10 p.m. EST on Saturday. I would also be so pleased if you left a greeting here by clicking on "comments" below.

Zentangle Challenge #41 - Duo Tangle - Jonqal/Opus

This week's Diva challenge was another tangle combination - Jonqal is the straight one, and Opus is the curvy one. It was fun to think about for a few days, and today I finally got a chance to play with it. I was almost all done, when for some reason I checked the instructions for Opus again. My memory had failed me, so I had to start all over! Having to do another Zentangle is not the worst punishment in the world -- just another excuse to listen to classical music and go off into a world of peace, calm, and meditation. Hooray for Zentangles! Check out iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com to see entries from around the world. Just click on each name and be delighted! You can also get the directions for the two tangles there.

Zentangle Challenge #37 - Kiss My Grids!

My friend Jean Rogers, who is also a CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher), just had knee replacement surgery. She just got home from rehab yesterday, so tonight we had a picnic dinner and did the Zentangle challenge for this week together. Even though we were in the same room, we sure came up with very different interpretations -- which was a big part of the fun of our Zentangle evening! The challenge this week was to put a grid on a string (the string creates the area where you put your tangles, which are the patterns). Jean and I both love grid tangles, so we we really enjoyed seeing how our Zentangles developed. Jean named her creation, "What's New Pussycat?" and added color with watercolor pencils. I even created two new tangles -- Pleez on the bottom, and Flex on the top -- at least they are new to me! Thank you, Laura for another great challenge!

Zentangle Extravaganza!

Zentangle® Extravaganza
Sat., Sept. 10 & Sun., Sept. 11, 2011
Highland Tower Party Room
900 W. Market St. – Highland Square

9 – 9:15 a.m. – Sign in – (register in advance by 9/7 with Carol Bailey Floyd – 330-414-3505) Zentangle experience required for all classes except Tickle Me Pink!

9:15 - 10:15 – Beginning Zentangle instruction (ages 7-107) – Carol Bailey Floyd, CZT $15.

10:30 – 12 p.m. – Design Your Own Tangles! With inspiration from magazines, photos, and our surroundings, we will capture tangle patterns, name them anything we want, and incorporate them into a wondrous Zentangle tile. Carol Bailey Floyd, CZT $15.

12 – 1 p.m. – Bring your lunch, or join us for an Aladdin’s party tray – love offering.

1:15 p.m. – 3 p.m. – Tickle Me Pink! – A fun way to explore the application of Prisma color pencils with Bob Williams, graphic designer. He will demonstrate applying color, gradually enhancing Zentangles, on B&W Xerox photos, colorizing laser and inkjet prints. $20.

3:15 – 5 p.m. Decorate a Wine Glass Participants will receive a wine glass, a black painting pen and have access to other colors. Sparrow Kelley, CZT, will teach some new tangles for customizing a unique keepsake. $20.
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1 – 1:15 – Registration – Sunday, September 11

1:15 – 3:00 p.m. A Zentangle Fairyland - Create fun environments where fairies can play! You can decide if your fairies want color, sparklies, or a more traditional Zentangle approach! Carol Bailey Floyd, CZT $20.

3:15 – 5:00 – Zendala – A mandala is a sacred circle. Discover the fun of creating its relative the Zendala, with a surprisingly simple technique that produces dazzling results!
Estelle Goodnight, CZT $20.

CZT = Certified Zentangle Teacher - see zentangle.com to learn about Zentangles
Additional PARKING across from Walgreen’s – call 330 414-3505 to be buzzed in

Zentangle Challenge #32

Carole Ohl (Zentangle artist extraordinaire), the guest Diva for this week, has invited us to use four different tangles any way we choose. I have looked at a lot of the other entries and been dazzled! It's been fun to try out some new tangles, and to think about them for a while before I started playing -- in the shower, while driving, in bed before I go to sleep, etc.! Thinking about Zentangles is almost as much fun as doing them, but not quite! The tangles were Pais (by Mikee Huber), Zedbra (by Laura Harms and Margaret Bremner), Keenees (by Donna Hornsby), and Baton (by Carole) and you can find instructions on how to do them at iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com. You can also see entries from all over the world, with interpretations that will make your heart happy! Just click on each person's name and you will see their blog.

Zentangle Challenge #24 - Stripes!

One morning, I woke up dreaming about stripes in a shell. My beloved father-in-law was a shell collector, and he passed away many years ago, much to my chagrin. So shells are very sentimental and special to me. I thought about this shell for days, and looked at all kinds of tangles, just thinking what might work. I even did some sketches. But at the last minute, I decided to go with a variation of a simple tangle that I saw, and one that I made up called "barnaca".



I had already decided to do a Zentangle as part of my birthday present for my dear friend, Rose. I wanted to do a rainbow, so when I saw the challenge for this week was stripes, it fit in perfectly! After I added a little color, I couldn't resist adding a little sparkle. On the back, I put this quote: “We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” by George Bernard Shaw. Then I put the Zentangle on a holder that says "PLAY" to further emphasize playfulness! Hooray for fun, creativity, and play!

Zentangle Challenge #21

The deadline for entries for the "I am the Diva" Zentangle challenge is midnight on Saturday night. I am just getting mine in under the wire! The challenge this week was to incorporate the new official Zentangle tangle called "Oof" into a Zentangle. Maria Thomas, co-founder of Zentangles, created this pattern that is inspired by a stained glass window in the medieval collection at the Cloisters in New York City. It is so interesting to see how a tangle is constructed. Once I learned how to do "Oof" (what a hoot of a name!), then I could think about it during the week and think about the "strings" that would best serve it. It is also a tangle that can have many variations, so thinking about those, and playing around was fun, too. I am convinced that when you have a creative project in the works, the whole rest of your life is enriched and enlivened. My husband Tom and I went to hear a dear friend sing and play guitar tonight, so I took advantage of the magical atmosphere to let my Micron pen join in the merriment and together we played around on the tile. Then when I got home, I finished it up. Hooray!

Royal Wedding Zentangle Challenge!

The "I Am the Diva" challenge for this past week was to do a Zentangle inspired by the Royal Wedding. What a fun idea! I was immediately drawn to the wild hats that were worn by the women attending this very proper wedding. Apparently these hats are called "fascinators", and it is easy to see why! So much of the news is serious, it was amusing during the week to look at pictures of these outlandish hats and the wonderful faces of the women wearing them! They were walking tall and proud! Hooray!

My favorite hat (which many people criticized) was the bizarre and fabulous hat worn by Princess Beatrice! I was also thrilled with the hats worn by Victoria Beckham, Princess Eugenie, and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. My strange looking Zentangle is a tribute to all of their bold and amazing hats. Let's have a round of applause for the marvelous hat fashions at the Royal Wedding!

William Morris Zentangle Challenge

This week, the "I am the Diva" Zentangle challenge is to do Zentangles inspired by the artist William Morris. My friends, Jean and Maria got together with me last night and we had some wild fun trying to even come close to doing some of the background effects that were part of what made William Morris so famous. Here are my two entries.

You can go to iamthedivacztblogspot.com to see previous entries, and to find out each week's challenge, which is posted

every Monday. You do not have to be a Certified Zentangle Teacher to participate. It's a sharing thing, not a competition. You can find out more about Zentangles at zentangle.com.

The link to "I am the Diva" is to the right on this blog.

Zentangles in Zanesville!

On Thursday, I had the privilege of teaching Zentangles (see zentangle.com) to the Zanesville Appalachian Arts Project group at their exciting gallery. As I was passing out kits, one gentleman said he didn't need one, that he was going to woodburn his Zentangle. He had his woodburning equipment set up and was ready to go.

It's fun to teach Zentangles to anyone, but teaching to artists who are already creatively aware usually produces some very interesting and exciting results.

I had a chance to meet a lot of artists who use different mediums and it was fun to introduce them to Zentangles. I wish I lived around Zanesville so I could see how the Zentangle approach might manifest itself in their art in the future!

At the end of the class, David J. Yocum, my woodburning artist, presented me with the piece of oak he had been working on! It is the most exciting treasure to have come from my Zentangle teaching career so far.