Life is like a kaleidoscope

 "Life is like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope. A slight change, and all patterns alter."

-Sharon Salzberg

It's been two weeks since my last post, and the kaleidoscope of my life has gone through major, major changes. But, thankfully, I've had this quote that opened the Zentangle Project Pack 17, to consider. 

This Project Pack includes 24 triangular (3Z) tiles. Each kaleidoscope consists of 6 tiles that all use the same string and 4 tangles.  When I started working on it, I was minimally motivated. "What am I going to do with all these tiles?" I had a LOT of trouble focusing and had to begin over several times. I was not enjoying the experience at all. It became another piece in the increasing frustration and failure that I was already feeling.

Another project, doing an interview for a documentary about Zentangle, came to the rescue. Although preparing for this project initially felt like another "thing on my plate", I realized that I was reviewing the basics of Zentangle that are so important when we practice the method. Everything begins and ends with gratitude and appreciation. Life doesn't give us an eraser. Make every stroke as beautiful and deliberate as possible, and if it comes out different from what you intended, work through it, work around it, work over it, but keep going. Silence the inner critic so that the inner creator can move the pen. Anything is possible, one stroke at a time. Breathe. Be patient.

Repeating these mantras has brought me through these 2 weeks. Although I still have 2 more kaleidoscopes to complete for the Project Pack, I share with you what I have so far. Each piece measures 7 inches across.

With gratitude and appreciation, I wish you a week of wonder and new understanding.

Potpourri Week

With gratitude and appreciation for another week, I present you with its fruits. No theme emerges. This week I drew for the sake of drawing.

I found this in my stash of watercolor tiles that I  prepared after scratching my cornea. I enjoyed just dropping paint and gold pigment. 

Even though my watercolor stash is healthy, I couldn't resist creating another background. The Signo gold pen is so comforting in my hand. I added shading with more watercolor. This tangle, by Daniel Lamothe CZT, is called Autumnal.

This week's Meals on Wheels cards.

Bales as a reticula

#tanglingforUkraine

Day 1 of Project Pack 17. We will be making a kaleidoscope with 6 3Z tiles.The quote introducing this project was compelling to me:

"Life is like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope. A slight change, and all patterns alter."--Sharon Salzberg

I look forward to sharing more of this experience with you next week.

Outside the box?

The 3.5 inch Zentangle square that we all know and love was designed to simplify our compositions, much like the use of one black pen and graphite. It works, and for years, I have felt little if any need to venture "outside the box".

This week, finding less time for tangling, I picked up a 2-inch square, a Bijou tile, in black to play with an idea I had seen on instagram. I was pleased to create something in a short amount of time. The next 3 days, I continued with my exploration. Finally, I mounted the 4 tiles together on gray card stock.

My tangling continued "outside the box", when I picked up a scrap with distress ink. From my "Try This" pinterest board, I chose BonSai. (I love drawing this one. Nice rhythm and focus.)

I wanted to make a card for a friend's upcoming birthday. This was fun to do, and I found a free Google font--Special Elite--that looks like an old typewriter. The butterfly is from Pink Monarch Prints on etsy.

This morning, I continued with a Phi tile format. I really needed to do something with a LOT of white space. I used Ginilli and some Tripoli. After all my color tiles, which I enjoy so much, I wanted to "rest" with some black ink on white. (Interestingly enough, my week actually began by purging the tiles on my walls in my studio space, to leave more space--for wonder, for breath, for rest....)

And for all those suffering from the conflict in Ukraine, мир: