My Zentangle Life!

Thank goodness for Zentangle!

There has been a LOT of activity around here - some of it was actually tangling!  Thank goodness! That is what has been keeping me sane in this crazy life that includes purging, packing, eventually putting house on  market, and moving to new digs. . .can you say "stress?"  Chaos?  That is just one of the blessings Zentangle is in my life.  Stealing the quiet time to do it is a challenge but tangling is better than Prozac for me!!!

I taught a great class last Saturday, March 14, at The ArtistAngle Art Gallery in Frederick, MD.  We had 10 students taking the "Zentangle Intensive" class.  It started with a 2.5 hour "Intro" and then we did a 2.5 hour "Next Step" class after lunch.  Wow!  Just look at the work from this class!

We packed a lot of info and tangles into the first class and tiles:

First tile "Intro to Zentangle" class

Second tile "Intro to Zentangle"

Our lunch choices were to order in from Black Hog BBQ  or go out on their own in Frederick (which is a foodie destination, for sure!).  Since the lunch break was from 12:30 - 2, there was plenty of time to do either.  Most of us wanted BLACK HOG!

The second half of this intensive class included "Next Step in Zentangle" and beyond.  It started with a meditation tile adapted from a recent meditation posted by Holly Atwater, CZT, on her blog  "ha! designs."  I recognized the tangle from almost the first line (Nippa, one of my favorites) so I took great liberties with my presentantion and realized I could make just a few changes and reinforce the "drawing under" technique and illustrate weaving lines.  Thank you, Holly, for a great meditation!   Her voice is so soothing and suited to the meditation technique (better than mine, for sure).  But look at what the class did with it! ! !

Class meditation tile - no visuals except on shading/defining orbs.

My original tile from Holly's blog.

Basic Nippa on Bijou tile

Next we did a quick Bijou (2" x 2" tile) with visuals to learn the basic Nippa tangle.  Nothing "basic" about it!

What keen students!  Very adventuresome and confident group.  The large tile was the one I used to demo the tangle.

The next tile was a real joy!  Cosmo tangle by Sonya Yencer, CZT.  Cosmo is a wonderful tangle for reinforcing "drawing under!"  Thank you, Sonya, for the great tangle and all your help!  Sonya co-authored (with Cris Letourneau, CZT)  Pattern Play: a Zentangle Creativity Boost (Volume 1), one of my favorite tangle books that I recommend to my students.

Cosmo tangle by Sonya Yencer on round tile.  The second bottom left is my demo tile that I just started a couple embellishments on (aura and dashed lines). The students took them home to continue to tangle on.  

Last but not least!

We did OWLS!  This ZIA (Zentangle Inspired Art) was based closely on a class I took several years ago with Suzanne McNeill, CZT, at Art and Soul in Hampton, VA.  We did owls on a 5 x 7 card in her class.  

My sweet owl done in Suzanne O'Neill's class at Art & Soul

 

How cute are these owls (and owlettes) on round tiles that we did in the "Zentangle Intensive"  class last Saturday?