The Diva's Bi-Zen-Tennial Celebration!

Laura Harms hosts the Diva Challenge each week. This is her 200th offering. Each week Laura posts a prompt,  a tangle, an idea, an event -  something specific for us to tangle and share.

Wow! Getting brave here! This was my drawing the very first time I participated. I'd been tangling for a couple weeks and this was the first drawing I ever posted online. It was April 18, 2012, her 66th challenge. (I've learned a bit since then.) The challenge was to use auras.

Jump forward to almost three years later . . .

. . . and this week's challenge is to use our bread and butter tangle, the one we turn to most often, and draw a monotangle using it. All the way to the edges. No frame. And to have the number '200' on the tile somewhere.
Basically what that means is to use only one pattern and make it go all the way out to the sides. I chose to use TootsieMoon, which is one of my own patterns. I showed it in both the positive and negative formats.
Thanks, Laura, for 200 awesome challenges! Happy Bi-Zen-Tennial, y'all!

The Diva Challenge

Quib - Square One

A couple posts back I mentioned a facebook group I am a member of. It's called Square One: Purely Zentangle. The focus of the group is to go back to square one and enjoy the beauty of true zentangle. 
This week Square One is challenging us to use the tangle quib. You can see the step out here. Quib is not a personal favorite, but it is interesting to draw. I filled my quib with tipple, a staple tangle for me. 
Why don't you give quib a try - then you can post your work on the facebook group Square One: Purely Zentangle. It's a good practice - returning to your roots. 

Build a Basic Art Journal Page

New to art journaling? Afraid to get started? Unsure of where to go with your page? Not sure what product to use? 

Today let's start with a basic two page art journal spread. If you don't have the specific products I use, just remember - these aren't rules, they are more like guidelines. (To quote an old pirate or two.) So grab whatever product you do have and jump right in.

Facebook has a new group for all of us die-hard Dylusions Ink Spray people! Check out the group - The Dylusions Facebook Challenge. This month's challenge was to use turquoise, pink, leaves, and as many Dylusions products as you could. Here are two pages in my art journal.

I am working in my 7 3/4" x 9 3/4" Strathmore watercolor journal. The dylusions colors I used are - bubblegum pink, calypso teal, fresh lime, and vibrant turquoise. Remember the colors blend and bleed better when you spritz on some water. Once I got the colors the way I wanted them to be, I used a stencil from Joggles called Endless to make the curling bits of water. Next I randomly added white acrylic water bubbles using the Dylusions Dotted Flowers stencil. 

With a StazOn ink pad, I stamped a school of fish using the Ocean Backgrounds Dylusions stamp set, and at the bottom I stamped some waving bits of seaweedy stuff from the Dylusions set Doodle Parts. 

These little sea critters are the Dylusions Under the Sea stamp set. I stamped them onto some cardstock and colored them with Pitt Artist Pens. 

I cut out all the little guys and started arranging my elements on the pages. Several different washi tapes called my name - and they had leaves! Even better!

Then I started attaching it all with score tape and some tape runner adhesive. 

Here are some fun details.

Left side page.

Right side page. 

 So much fun! Again, the Facebook group is called The Dylusions Facebook Challenge. Check it out - you know who you are. Please don't be shy about starting an art journal - if you don't already have one. Just jump in with both feet and get started. You'll be glad you did!

String 119, and More TootsieMoon

 Time for another string challenge. Each week, Linda Farmer posts a string challenge on Tangle Patterns.com.  This week's string came from CZT Linda Fine.

This is what Linda gave us. I took the string, drew it lightly on my 3 1/2" tile in pencil, then began with the basic steps of TootsieMoon along the string. Then I just kept auraing the Tootsie filled string. Last? Shading. What a difference shading makes with TootsieMoon! Love the way it turned out!
Seriously, check out Tangle Patterns for all the newest tangles, some looks back at what we were drawing a year ago, and some pretty fun strings!

Bronx Cheer and APR 120

Today's post is going to be short. And to the point. My left wrist is killing me. Lots of pain around the bottom joint of the thumb. I have my hand in a brace and from experience I know the pain should subside by tomorrow. Starting to think I need this looked at by a doctor. 
Anyway, on the facebook group Square One: Purely Zentangle® where we are challenged to get back to the basics in zentangle, the prompt this week was bronx cheer. That would be all those little blackberry looking bits above. Maria Thomas came up with this tangle as a way to cover up mistake areas, blotched areas in our drawings. Our prompt here was simply to make the bronx cheer part of the drawing. I left the stems off and buried them within the printemps. Added a little waving flux and some beadlines and am calling it done. 

Linking up to the Artist's Play Room for the week. There is a whole week's worth of time for you to add some art of your own!

TootsieButter?

 Some time back, my friend Sandy Hunter did some experimenting with taking two tangle patterns and turning them into one. Kind of a mash-up, if you will. Last night I was drawing Michele Beauchamp's blooming-butter and thought it would really mix it up well with the TootsieMoon that I've been working on.

This is a drawing of blooming-butter that I posted a couple months ago.

And here is the step-out for TootsieMoon. I took those arms of the blooming-butter flowers and turned those into arms of TootsieMoon. What shall I call it? I think I'll call this drawing . . . TootsieButter!

Linking up to the Artist's Play Room. 

Floral Challenge #14 at Joey's Place

Last night on facebook I posted the above picture at The Creator's Leaf. I was just starting on the new weekly challenge that Joey runs over at MadeByJoey's. This week's task was to tangle some flowers, or use patterns that resemble flower parts, or use a flower shaped string. I decided to go floral - they are some of my favorite things to draw! And literally everything you see in this picture is a tangle pattern, several with auras. (Auras are those black areas that surround and mimic/aura the tangle itself.)

I used my Stillman & Birn 7" square Zeta Series sketchbook and a Sharpie fine point pen. For patterns I used printemps, flux, tipple, mooka, sunz, fescu, and flora. Lots of loopy, swirly, yummy garden fun!
Check it out at Joey's place -  and join in on the tangletivity! 
Next up - I am going to use some yummy Grumbacher's watercolors and add some spunk to these flowers!

Joey's Weekly Tangle Challenge #13

Recently I came across a new tangle challenge - from Joey. She is a serious creator and crafter, and now she is offering a zentangle challenge each Monday. This week's challenge is: tangling in a circle. I expect most tanglers are going to work on mandalas, I chose not to go that route. We were allowed to use one circle - I decided to make that circle my string. I used a portion of crescent moon. Unless there is another tangle that looks like an uncompleted crescent moon - then I used that tangle :).  Throw in a little fescu (I'm just now seeing that no tangles are supposed to go outside the circle, sorry, pretend those outer fescus aren't there) and a little diva dance rock 'n roll. And there you have it. My first Joey challenge piece done. I didn't shade this piece because I might go back and watercolor it. Then, I will shade with color. If you want to get involved - you know you do! - check out Joey's page right here.

(Now I just need to go back and check out challenges 1-12. Joey leaves them open-ended so we can go back at any time and post to those link-ups as well!)

In Honor Of . . . My Dad, Zendala Dare #17

The Zendala Dare's challenge this week is to honor someone who has been touched by cancer - either still fighting, or someone who lost the battle. She gave us this template:

and asked us to keep that someone special in mind as we tangled this mandala. 
I thought about that one for a few minutes. In my circle of family and friends, my mom, dad, mother-in-law, nephew, an aunt, several uncles, a sweet photographer friend, several friends at church, even myself have all heard that doctor's diagnosis of cancer. I think the one that impacts me the most is my dad. He battled cancer for years, running tests every 3 months for 4-5 years. Dad died a little over six years ago - not from cancer, but from a heart issue. Of all the illnesses my parents went through, from Dad I received his cancer genes, and from my Mom - her diabetes. 
This tile was fun to work on. In his healthy days, Dad loved being out on the water. Riding around in his boat, putting across the lake, throwing a line out for a fish, setting up a trout line, fishing for cod off the docks of Newfoundland, or casting a net for shrimp - it didn't matter as long as there was water. This tile just reminds me of water and boats and maybe some fishnets in the background. 
Thanks for a fun challenge, Erin! Head on over to The Bright Owl and check out the Zendala Dare. It is not too late for you to post a zendala of your own - in honor of someone you love!

Pear . . . Pear??? Yes! APR #18

When Jenn said this week's challenge in the Artist's Play Room was going to be pears, I thought . . . pears???? Turns out she was serious - hahaha! I've never drawn a piece of food in my life. I figured this would be one challenge I would wait out and see what she had to offer next :). But - last night I had a few minutes and thought, why not. I surprised even myself with the above drawing, which I colored with my Derwent Inktense Pencils - love those pencils! At first I was going to tangle the pears, but I figured I'd better quit while I was ahead.

Then tonight - I thought I'd make a special pear. I was looking at princess quotes for something else I was working on for facebook and had this idea. So. For all the princesses - here you go - cause once you are a princess, you are always a princess! Thank goodness, too, cause who doesn't want to be a princess!

Visit the Artist's Play Room here to check out all the pear offerings - and I promise they will be more serious - and artistic - than mine!

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I am also going to use my tangled Princess Pear for the ZIA Challenge this week - tangled fruit. You can check them out here:

String 009

Tangle Patterns is hosting another string this week, the offering of Sue Zanker.

My first tile came together really quick! I decided to just tangle along the string with pokeleaf. Then I added the background of blox - one of my tangles. I'll try to add the steps once I get them drawn out.

Second offering - an assortment of tangles. Cadent, hollibaugh, yincut, swarm, scallops.


Both tiles watercolored with a child's paintset from Wal-Mart. Haha! It works great! I also used Pitt Artist Markers in the first. You can see the string tiles at Tangle Patterns flickr page.

Diva Challenge #79 - 2012 London Olympics

This week's Diva Challenge - hosted by Rho Densmore, CZT - is all about the olympics coming up next month in London.

The following is quoted directly from the International Olympic Committee: "The five rings represent the five continents. They are interlaced to show the universality of Olympism and the meeting of the athletes of the whole world during the Olympic Games. On the Olympic flag, the rings appear on a white background. This flag translates the idea of the universality of the Olympic Movement. At least one of the colors of the rings, including the white background, can be found on the flag of every nation in the world." 

To check out all the olympic inspired tangles, head on over to the Diva's page here.