It's a funny old world.

Have you ever done a Zentangle? I must warn you - it can become an addictive pursuit... and you never know where it will lead you!

I love what happens when the shading is added.

I volunteered to present a mini workshop at the February meeting of our book arts group - CBBAG-OV (Canadian Book Binders & Book Artists - Ottawa Valley). I had first come across Zentangles a few years agon when I discovered Milliande. I watched with fascination as she drew simple patterns that, when put together, created an amazingly complex result.

In preparation for the meeting, I did more research online. I found the originators of Zentangles and TanglePatterns. I paid a modest fee for a PDF of patterns, out of which I chose six, figured out how they were drawn and created my own step-by-step handout.

I watched a couple of videos by Rick & Maria. I created a Zentangle of my own. I became more and more fascinated with this "meditational doodling". The process is wonderful and the result always blows me away.

I always feel the need to draw sketchy lines. I love the organic look.

Since that meeting, I find that I want to make a Zentangle every day! I don't always have the time, but I have the craving. A couple of friends from CBBAG-OV say that they have been Zentangling ever since the meeting. What is it about this intriguing art form that gets under your skin? Is it the "doing" or the result? I have decided that it matters not... I'm going to enjoy the ride.

Do you Zentangle? Please send me links to your work!

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Grabbing the Gauntlet

Another opportunity to participate in a juried show came in yesterday. I love these deadlines. They are just what I need to create new work. To quote Douglas Adams, "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." A comforting thought :)

I went over the list of requirements for this exhibition, "Everyday Patterns", and saw that large pieces were encouraged. Great! Keeping in mind that I drive a MINI Cooper, I started to figure out how large a piece I could make with the canvases I have on hand. Hmmm... two were too big and the others were too small. Well, there is always a solution if you think creatively. I have a plethora of 14" x 18" canvases and if a few were screwed together... yes, that's it!

power tools are wonderful

coming along nicely

bird's eye view

solid as a rock

It turned out that two across and three deep would make a suitable size (28" x 54") to work with AND to fit in the MINI. O.K... placed on an angle on top of the headrests - but that works. Out came the cordless and the corded drill, the clamps and the screws. A short time later, I had two rock solid supports. I'm going to fill in the spaces on the front and the sides with a random application of Heavy Gel Medium, paper, canvas, whatever comes to mind. Since I work with texture and collage, what could be more appropriate?


Of course, the resulting pieces of art may or may not be juried into the show, but I have grabbed the gauntlet. Thank goodness for deadlines. I might even work on those really large canvases while I'm at it...

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