Diva Challenge #364: Remake of a Classic

This week's challenge, to remake a classic, didn't really catch my fancy at first. I just didn't feel like going back through my old tiles. (Or maybe the problem was finding them! I have a stack on my desk, a mobile in my entry, a bulletin board in my closet, two albums on my shelves and "streamers" in my office.) I decided to take my demo tile from last Sunday's aura class and remake it instead.

My "streamers"

Tile #1

My remake (L) and the class tile (R)

Looking back at the challenge today, I decided I really did need to go back in time a little further than last week. I found the tile I drew in my first class with a CZT, in February 2015.  I've drawn this "tile #1" composition dozens of times now for intro classes, and enjoyed exploring other possibilities. I'm looking forward to sharing it with future students.

Spending more time in the garden has been great, but I haven't been tangling as much. I decided to follow a Kitchen Table Tangle video I had missed, with "Articulated Molygon".

First try

And an entry in my art journal

""One touch of nature makes the whole world kin."

--Shakespeare

When I wasn't drawing fantastic crawlers, I was in the dirt, pulling weeds after the generous rain. Here are the stars of the garden this week.

Aura

Japanese spirea, with a visitor

Thanks for checking in! Hope you have a beauty-filled week.

More auras for Laura!

This weekend, I'm teaching a continuing class on auras. (Pretty timely, as this week's challenge was to use auras.) This is an aura sampler I made for a demo tile. It shows the many ways to aura that I could recall. Can you think of any more? If so, leave me a comment and I'll add it to my list!!

Diva Challenge #363: Laura's auras

I love the fact that our Diva CZT, Laura Harms, has "aura" in her first name! To celebrate her May birthday, we were to use auras on our tiles this week.

Yesterday I attended "Red for Ed" day in Raleigh, the capitol of North Carolina. From all over the state, over 20,000 teachers dressed in red rallied for education. Rivers of red flooded the streets and squares. We called for increased spending on students, more schools and more competitive salaries for teachers. (North Carolina is sadly below average for all of these.) The largest education rally in the state brought in news crews from all over the country, as reporters followed what is now the 6th state in the US to see teacher protests. (To my great surprise and delight, I was interviewed by a French journalist from Le Monde!) In spite of the rain and muggy heat, we all took pride in showing our unity and dedication to the kids of our state.

Lining up to march

TV crews interview 2 marchers

Today I took advantage of a break in the rain to do some weeding in the garden. These small red leaves from a redbud tree caught my eye.

Thanks for your visit! Have a fantastic week!

Diva Challenge #362: Somnee

A confession: I have not tangled much this week. Instead, I've been "drawing", i.e. designing and planting, my garden. Here are the stars of the week:

Between gardening sessions, I did some substitute teaching and taught an Introductory Zentangle class at our local makerlab. I felt that my hands no longer knew how to hold a pen, after so many days of digging, shoveling and raking. I did manage to do two tiles with Somnee, this week's Diva Challenge. With plants on the brain, I really wanted to try an "organic" version of this tangle, but didn't have time. Maybe next week?

Happy Mother's Day to my stateside friends!

Enjoying the patio with my daughter outside the restaurant after Mother's Day brunch

Thank you for visiting! Have a lovely week!

Diva Challenge #361: Amanda Day

It's good to be back! Thank you, Diva, for this week's Earth, or as her son Artoo calls her, "Amanda", Day challenge. I repurposed a cracker box for my tile, and used a plastic cottage cheese cup for the string. (I'm now collecting these for a class on Paradox in circles.) Starting out, I wasn't very happy with the direction I seemed to be taking. As time went on, I started seeing elements of nature: sunshine, rain, waves, wind, mountains, flora. 

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During our two-week break, spring came and went! I thoroughly enjoyed getting out for some walks in the forest and some work in the garden. I witnessed the opening of my first peonies! Rebirth ensued. 

Between walks and gardening (and some substitute teaching), I continued to "grow" my art journal.

"Dawn". Listening to the birds before sunrise is a life-giving force for me. When I googled "Why do birds sing at dawn?" I found an intriguing answer that went into the journal. "I sing for I have survived the night." The cherry blossom tangle is "Ying", by Cat Kwan.

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"Dream". This page started with no conscious connection to the prompt, just a desire to play with leaves. I googled "What does it mean to dream about leaves?"  "It is time that you shed the old memories and struggles of life. Enjoy the changes of life. Be courageous and bold to face the changes. Life would be boring with no changes." New leaves can't grow until the old ones fall.

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"Unfurl". Helen Mirren said,"If it were all truly known and planned and determined, [life] wouldn't be worth living, just a giant to-do list waiting to be crossed off." The Cadent tangleation came from Rick's latest Kitchen Table Tangles.

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"Ripen". From Brigitte Bardot: "Il est triste de vieillir, mais agréable de murir." (The translation should probably be "mature" rather then "ripen". Poetic license!)

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"Presence". Playing with stamps on coffee filters and tissue paper, I created this after finding a quote from Winnie the Pooh. "If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever."

Thanks for visiting! Have a pleasant week!