Diva's Weekly Challenge #373: Draw with your non-dominant hand

When the Diva announced this week's challenge, she acknowledged that there would be no middle ground in our reactions. It was groan or grin at the idea of drawing with our non-dominant hand. Personally, I grinned :)  Because Zentangle is all about the  process, not the product, we focus on our mindfulness during our practice. Drawing with my non-dominant hand forces me to do this, and to    s l o w    d o w n.
I sat down for the challenge on Wednesday, which happened to be the day when "Patience" was the Inktober prompt. I had done my Inktober drawing that morning. However, when I came back to it that evening, I realized I had goofed in the last two steps. (That's why it just looked like N'Zeppl!) It took me a while to find a way to re-program my hand and pen, and once I found it, I didn't want to stop! I decided to continue with the Diva challenge, and draw Patience with my non-dominant hand. At first the squiggly lines were annoying, but I focused on the sequence of steps I had personalized. After over an hour, I liked the look, so I started inking in the areas between the "blooms". I did a few, and decided that I like the open look best. It reminded me of delicately tatted snowflakes my aunt Kathleen used to make.
Only later did I see the connection: non-dominant hand drawing takes a lot of patience.

I found much to be grateful for this week: the fall weather, time to work in the garden, my enormous  clouds of Sheffield mums that are feeding pollinators and appreciating shinrin-yoku, or "forest bathing". I also took some time to play with "dingsplatz", the latest Kitchen Table Tangle.

Monarch butterflies bring me so much joy!!!

Thanks for your visit. Have a lovely week!

Diva's Weekly Challenge #371: Onion Drops

Better late than never : )

My DC#371 tile came into existence in my gratitude journal this week, after the worst of Hurricane Michael hit Chapel Hill. I was grateful for a safe, dry place to seek shelter from the 60 mph (90 kh) winds which were downing trees all around me and knocking out power lines.

Lar and I were happy to get out of town after the storm, to visit my daughter and her husband. We had a relaxing Sunday together making Halloween decorations for the front stoop.

I left the sharp instruments to them and tangled three small "zebra" pumpkins.

Thanks for visiting! Have a safe and happy week!

Diva's Weekly Challenge #372: Dewd

Inktober certainly keeps me tangled up! Between Inktober, substitute teaching, hurricane cleanup and medical stuff, my Dewd came to life only this morning. This was my first go at the wonderful Jody Genovese's WigWag. I definitely need to practice it.

Thursday I enjoyed teaching another "lunch and learn" class in a local company. Here are some of the Halloween-themed tiles:

Today is our last class of 2018 at the Durham Southwest Regional Library. I like to show examples of Zentangle for holiday decoration and gifts. We'll also be doing a "Blowing Leaf" greeting card. (I found this great templates for leaves.) Here's my demo, which uses some of this week's Inktober prompts.

Thanks for coming by! Have a great week!

Diva's Weekly Challenge #270: Mezzanine

When I saw the Diva's challenge tile this week with Heidi Sue's Mezzanine tangle, I thought about henna designs and India. I used Mezzanine three times in my gratitude journal, and each one was totally different. (Apologies for the blurry scans.)

Mezzanine for the string (my favorite)

For Inktober, I decided to do one large piece with all the tangles rather than 1 small piece for each day. I also thought it would be fun to introduce Inktober to my class today with a 5.5 x 8.5 piece using this week's 7 tangles and a string with the number 10. Here's my demo:

How's your Inktober coming along?

Thanks for your time. Now that I've figured out that I can't post  comments using Safari, I look forward to seeing your blogs and expressing my gratitude for your ever-present inspiration! Have an inspiring week!

Inktober Tangle Prompts