So long, squiggle. (See it grow: finale)

Having known several writers over the years, I've often thought about editing a piece of writing and how we "edit" in Zentangle art. We don't use erasers, so we might take an "oops" moment and cover it with ink or graphite. We might morph the marks into another pattern. Or we might just leave them, like a loose thread on a Navajo blanket. There is almost always an addition to the mistake, although on rare occasions we might cut the mistake out!

Last week, in my post "Oh, noooooooo!!!!!" I described how I had inadvertently made a squiggle in the white space around the large project I was working on, and panicked for a moment before continuing to work on the rest of the piece. Not sure how I was going to finish it this week, I knew I had to do something. I would not just leave this to the side, unfinished, or throw it away, or cut it!

I took a few days to play with collage. No connection to my Zentangle work, just for relaxation and something different. Then I took a class on creating a gold look with colored pencils. I just needed to clear my mind before going back to the Fragment of Your Imagination Challenge 2023 piece. I'm glad I did.

"A Fragment of My Imagination", 11x15 in.

I'm grateful to 7F5RStudio for the Fragment of Your Imagination Challenge. Grateful to Lindy's Magicals (and the squiggle!) for inspiring me to leave the fragments and see the flowers. Grateful to the Zentangle crew for Project Pack 19 and the courage to think big. And grateful to Rick and Maria for giving me the desire and the means to get reacquainted with my inner artist.

Happy 300th!

300 posts since 2016! Whew! Thank you for all your encouragement and support over the years! I couldn't, wouldn't have come this far with you!

I'll jump right in with a relevant tile from this week, that was not originally intended as a subject for my blog. Serendipity strikes again!

Yes, "Remember how far you've come." This was a meditation one morning this week. I needed a "note to self" to help me to remember to remember. Even though some days require more energy and strength than others, it can help to put them in context with your entire journey. Think of all the rough patches you've been through, of how you've survived challenges and hardships that are just a part of life. Remind yourself of your strength, of what it felt like to move through them into calmer times. What did you do to get through them? Did you call on your friends, your family, your faith, your furry friends? Where did you find resilience? Did you go for walks, do meditation, write in a journal, draw, listen to music, workout? As you remember how far you've come, how can it help you continue your journey?

My week continued with a lovely treat from Lar, through a gift card to Lindy's Gang. New toys, new colors! I've been working on making swatch charts for all the colors I have. (I have way too much fun making these!) To add to my nerdy fun, I bought these little palettes from the Dollar Tree to have the colors at the ready! I'm using my 1-inch hole punch to make the swatches, which I glue onto my spreadsheet. (I'm laughing as I type this!)

I started trying the Lindy's Magicals on Renaissance tiles this week. I had seen examples of this on the 7F5R Studio website, and would never have imagined that they could be so beautiful. The color sinks into that buttery soft tan paper, while the glitter seems to glaze the surface. I'm learning how to work with them. Here is my first go:

I wish you could see the shimmer better. My photo doesn't do it justice.

Here are two white tiles with the Magicals. I used a glaze pen in the first to create a little 3D effect.

Finally, a traditional black and white tile from my journal.

I invite you to remember how far you've come, if you face any difficulties this week. And please remember how much I am thankful your support.

With gratitude and appreciation.

Mental "Well"ness Month

Zentangle is proposing a series of short videos for the month of May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month. They are available on YouTube and involve using the tangle "Well".  I've enjoyed the first two.

Week 1

 

Week 2

I've been on the road a bit lately, and just enjoying getting out of my bubble for the first time since the pandemic started. Lar and I ventured out as far east as Interstate 40 would take us this past weekend, to the Atlantic ocean. We both experienced awe and wonder at seeing the waves "breathe" after a five-year absence. Sunday night, the moon treated us to a spectacular full lunar eclipse, with an extraordinary orange super moon. (So serendipitous, as we didn't plan this. In our wooded neighborhood, it would have been impossible to experience.) The sun never settles for second best, and we marveled at the colorful sunsets over the Intracoastal Waterway and the sunrises over the ocean. It was all a lovely reminder of how important it is for our mental and physical well-being to give ourselves time to rest, to wonder, to experience awe.

With my road trips, the #SummerFraganic2022 prompts have helped me to continue tangling with fewer supplies, time, space. (I pull random tiles out of my pre-dyed tile stash and throw them in my tiny kit.)

Day 5, with Ginilli

Day 6, with Chainging

Day 7, with Marasu

Please give yourself time to care for your mental health, in whatever way you can. We live in difficult times, and need to pile good experiences on our plate! If we're depleted, we can't look out for each other!

Meals on Wheels

"What do we do with all these tiles we make?" My Zentangle students frequently asked for ideas. I usually pointed out that they stood alone without frames, could be tucked by the corner behind light switches, made into cards or gifts, hung from ribbons, placed in albums, only to receive blank stares. And I understood! I, too, was starting to have tiles pile up.

One day, my friend and fellow tangler Melissa offered a new idea. What if we used them for cards and gave them to our local Meals on Wheels clients? Melissa offered to set it all up, and a community service was born. Since October 2020, we have made cards every week. Sometimes, we use Zentangle artwork, sometimes stencils or freehand drawing. Each card has a personal note. There are currently 4 of us in this group, and a few others contribute as well. Every so often, we get positive feedback from some of the 165 or so clients. These always make our day! And getting together with my friends, Melissa, Pamela and Becky, to share our results, has lightened the monotony of the pandemic! We gather every two weeks, usually in one of our driveways, and catch up for an hour or so. A breath of fresh air!

This week, I decided to raid my "tile drawer" to make 41 cards. I added some digital paper words from  Pink Monarch on etsy.

After I made my cards, I had a little time for some random tangling.

Rozhki, with watercolor

Gray distress ink with blue Microns

If you're in the Triangle area and would like to join our team, email me!

The 3 R's of Resilience

Do you remember the 3 R's of education? Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic. This week, I finally made a tile that was taught in a Tangle for Solidarity lesson from June 2021. (This is a free class offered by 7F5R in Singapore. I highly recommend it.) As I drew along during this meditation, I realized that we are heading into our third year of the pandemic. What a sobering thought. I began to think about how we've all changed, and how, hopefully, that includes some positive personal growth. (Yes, it's drawn on the back of a Zentangle tile.)

Later in the week, I read an article about coping skills that West Point cadets learn that can help us deal with the pandemic. I had to find a way to summarize this important lesson, and create a "note to self"! I call this "The 3 Rs of Resilience".

Other goings on...

Sand Swirl Tree, on youtube

Blattwerk, Dealys and Yerba

What resilience skills have you learned during the pandemic?