String Theory - a Diva's Weekly Challenge

Weekly Diva Challenge #187 was to use a "blind" string, that is to draw the string with your eyes closed. As you can see, my string didn't exactly fill the tile. I was thinking of fixing it by turning the tile over and adding more (with my eyes closed of course!) but decided to just use what I had since that is kind of the point of the exercise.

Blind String

I am working my way through One Zentangle a Day by Beckah Krahula and am on Day 26 so decided to make this tile cover that purpose as well. I'm glad I made it a two-fer since it took me at least twice as long to do this than it usually does!

Tangles Used: Poke Leaf, Festune, Flux, Growth, Nipa

Along Came a Spider - Paper Embroidery

Last week I rolled out my newest design for a test run at the Vintage Stitchers chapter of the EGA in Pleasanton, CA. It was great fun showing these avid stitchers how to create the paper embroidery ornaments. Once they got the hang of the crescent stitch used they really went to town. They take less than 2 hours to stitch so most were well on their way before the evening was out. Here is mine:

Along Came a Spider

I can't wait to see their pumpkin harvest at the next meeting!

Paper Batik

Wednesday I experimented with a paper batik process using a white Sakura glaze pen to doodle on some paper and then adding watercolor after the ink was dry. After they were done I re-wet the backs, placed them between sheets of wax paper, and pressed them under some books to flatten them. I released them this morning and here are the results.

This was my first try on an off -cut of paper

Here is my second experiment on a slightly larger piece of paper

The first piece worked as I had expected it to work but on the second piece I kept thinking my pen wasn't working. As it turns out the second piece of paper was a different quality to the first and soaked up most of the glaze ink resulting in a very subtle batik. Both are interesting and I think it is time to glue them into the studio journal for future reference.

Leaves as a String - a Diva's Weekly Challenge

This week the challenge was to use leaves as a string. I decided to use a pumpkin leaf as my string and to tangle on a pumpkin shaped Spring Board. (I guess I had pumpkins on the brain because I was teaching my pumpkin design last night for the first time.) I had fun filling the different parts of the leaf with various tangles. I am not sure that it actually looks like a leaf in the final analysis but the point was to use a leaf as a string not to make a picture of a leaf so I am reasonably pleased with the outcome.

Tangles Used: Onamato, Huggins, Chillon, Echoism, Yincut, and Amaze

I'm also including the results from week #183 here (that was the X-Did challenge). I didn't have my blog up and running then but I did do the challenge.

Tangles Used: X-Did, Flux, Reef, Onamato

Tangles Used: X-Did, Printemps, Flukes, Eke, Zinger, and Sampson

Tangles Used: X-Did, Estwire, Nekton, and misc. barbed wire tangles

Waiting to Dance - a Diva's Weekly Challenge

Having two new-to-me tangles this week gave me something to distract me while waiting for a procedure at the doctor's office and then some more while recovering that evening. Needless to say I have pages and pages of ideas in my sketchbook but this was the one that wanted to be on the tile this morning. The challenge was to use Phicops and DivaDance in a duotangle, that is two and only two tangles. I hope you enjoy it!

Tangles used: Phicops and DivaDance

Our "Just" Deserts

Since this blog is mainly going to be about my designs and design process I thought I would occasionally mention some of the artists that have influenced my art over the years.

I have recently been playing around with repetitive pattern drawing again. Something I haven't done in years but have always enjoyed. This has brought to mind a time in 2007 when I went to the San Jose Museum of Art in San Jose, CA and saw an exhibition of Il Lee's abstract artwork done in ballpoint pen on canvas. This was an aha moment for me. Here was a serious artist creating large pieces "just" by doodling with a pen. His pieces are large and complexly simple and I was entranced. This experience allowed me to view my own doodles in a new light. So often we dismiss our own pieces as "just" doodles or with some other negative term. In reality we are creating art, feeding our own need to create and just possibly creating an aha moment for someone else. So doodle, or noodle, or stitch, or plant, or whatever it is that you do to bring out your creativity and share it with the rest of us!

It's Rain ING - a Diva's Weekly Challenge

This week's Diva Challenge was to use ING, the new tangle from Zentangle®. On the first piece I almost immediately felt as though things had gone terribly wrong but stuck with it and am fairly pleased with the result.

Tangles used: ING, Mooka, and, Tipple

The second piece is a plea for rain here in drought ridden California!

Tangles used: ING and Rain

I really like this new tangle and can see lots of possibilities. I look forward to playing with it some more.