Saturday, January 29, 2011

Ixorus Challenge 6

BBL with the rest of the story -

Ixorus

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Thursday, January 20, 2011

Zentangle Name Challenge

Tangle Your Name was a challenge recently posted on TanglePatterns .  The challenge was to take the letters of your name and use official tangles - those that started with the letters of your name - and create your Zentangle.  Turned out to be a rather interesting challenge - it provided the opportunity to use some tangle patterns I haven't used before.   It was also a challenging to create a seven chambered string - I ended up abandoning the string and created it on the fly.

Tangles used - Sampson, Umble, Zander, Ahh, Nekton, Nipa and Emingle

 Name Challenge

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Monday, January 17, 2011

Orbs

The Week 5 challenge from  CZT Laura Harms is - Orb.   Click on the Diva Weekly Challenge button to read more about the Orbs Challenge.

For the challenges of the last couple of weeks it felt like I spent more time thinking about the challenge than actually creating the tile, then being too worried about the outcome and racing to get them posted before the deadline.  Decided to approach things differently this week.  Free my mind, just go with the flow - it is a challenge after all - a time to stretch myself,  experiment, try new ideas and push myself beyond my comfort zone.   Finished fairly quickly, kept an open mind and need to post it before I start critiquing it!

Orbs

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Saturday, January 15, 2011

Starry Eyed Surprise!

The Week 4 challenge from  CZT Laura Harms is Starry Eyed Surprise - a song she has posted on her site.  The challenge - listen to the song and tangle whatever it inspires in you.  Laura's questions for the challenge - "Stars.  What does that mean?  A string?  a feeling? A tangle/pattern? Some other thing i haven't even thought of?"

The challenge is open to every Zentangle devotee - details are on Laura's blog here  I Am The Diva.  If you missed the first 3 weeks and want to be inspired be sure to click on the Weekly Challenge tab at the top to view slideshow of each week's challenge entries.

In a galaxy far far away you might find this star - then again maybe not.  When I first read through the challenge on Monday - first thought was oh, this would be easy - stars - I can do that.   Turned out to be a bit more challenging than I anticipated.  In this case how I arrived at the finished tangle isn't all that interesting lots of navel gazing - when I probably should have just gone outside and gazed at the stars instead.  I've worked on this one way too long starting and stopping, thinking I was done but not feeling satisfied so kept adding bits and pieces here and there. Not sure it feels like a zentangle.  It didn't flow, feels a bit disjointed, yet in it's own quirky way it pleases me.

Starry Eyed Surprise

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Friday, January 7, 2011

Eyes Wide Shut - Week 3 Challenge

The Week 3 challenge from  CZT Laura Harms is Eyes Wide Shut - draw your string with your eyes closed.  The challenge is open to every Zentangle devotee - details are on Laura's blog here  I Am The Diva.

Little late getting to the challenge this week - almost passed on doing it but now I'm so glad I completed it.  Most of the time I don't use a string.  I think that started because I felt stuck at what to draw or I was too quick to judge any string I drew as not acceptable - forgetting that it's just a starting point.  It became easier to just start with a pattern and proceed from there to the next pattern.

Much to my surprise I actually liked the very first string I drew.  I didn't have to put any thought into it - the string just appeared on the tile as if by magic.  Very freeing.  Just for fun and to see if I'd have the same reaction I created several more strings with my eyes closed.  I liked all of them.   I now have a nice set of pre-strung tiles to tangle.   I also think I've been short changing myself in not using strings - it really does add another dimension to creating tangles.   I just might have to do all my strings with my eyes closed!  Thanks Laura a very good challenge for me.

The String

 Week 3 Tangle