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Monday, June 18, 2012

Zendala Dare #10


To participate or view other entries for the Zendala Dares visit The Bright Owl

What do you know, I'm getting this week's dare posted before the last minute and I'm finally caught up with completing past dares.  While I do enjoy working on the Zendalas, the process is different from a standard Zentangle.   The symmetry of the Zendala templates presents a different challenge.  Instead of just winging it with selecting patterns as I would with a standard tile, I've completed the first 10 staying true to a symmetry with the patterns.  Seems to require a bit more thinking and planning.  That's not a bad thing just different.  There are no rules so I could go free form just have not allowed myself to do that yet.  It's interesting that I would notice and maybe find this a bit "nudgy" since I very much like balance and symmetry.  Just one of the ways that Zentangle has changed things up for me?


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Zendala Dare #10



Zendala Dare #6



Zendala Dare #7



Zendala Dare #8


Sunday, June 10, 2012

Zendala Dare 9

It is the 9th week of the Zendala Dare hosted by  Erin at The Bright Owl.  I've completed several but I"m a little behind in getting them posted.  Doing a little catch up and posting a few of the others with this post.

Trying something different with this tile - leaving more open/white space.  While I understand the importance of open/white space my tendency is to fill in the whole string or tile.  I find it hard to strike the right balance and not think a tile is unfinished just because it has open spaces.  I like this tile but there is still a strong urge to pick up the pen and keep working on it.

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 Zendala Dare #9

 
Zendala Dare #3



Zendala Dare #4



Zendala Dare #5



Wednesday, June 6, 2012

San Diego CZT Meetup

Had a really incredible and fun day yesterday (Tuesday) - the Certified Zentangle Teachers (CZT's) in San Diego had their first meetup.  We started planning it a couple of months ago - took a bit of time to coordinate a date what with 6 busy schedules.  We did miss one CZT that was not able to attend due to illness - Rho, hope you are on the mend.

There is something special about a group of CZT's getting together - good conversation and camaraderie and inspiring talent to be shared.  Each with our unique magical story of how we came to find Zentangle and knowing the shared experience of how it has enriched us plus the fun and joy we receive being able to share it with others - how special is that?

Meet the CZT's of San Diego County - l-r back row  Denise, Cecie, Izumi, front row Jennifer and yours truly. Thanks for a great day looking - forward to the next time.

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Note: If you are a CZT in San Diego County and have not posted your profile on the Zentangle Teacher List we don't know how to reach you.  Please email me at tinkeredart [at] gmail [dot] com so you can join us next time.

Update: Per Ann's comment request a photo of the tiles  and a little info on the font.

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The tiles were a small welcome-to-my-studio gift for my fellow CZT's - their initial - each with only tangles that begin with it.  The tile holders are Snapshot Dots - you can read more about them in my previous  Zentangle Display Options post.

 To answer Ann's other question - the letters are not stencils you can purchase, but it's very easy to make your own with your word processor.  My preference is to use fonts where the outline provides the largest area to tangle.  Coopers Black is a nice wide font that comes standard with most word processors.  You can also find some nice free fonts online.  The font used for these tiles is Pretoria Gross - not a free one, but one I really love - available at My Fonts.

A couple tips to get you started - select the outline option when formatting your font - it will print just that, an outline of the letter - will save you lots of ink!  When selecting your font size some folks might not know that you are not limited to the sizes that appear in the drop down list.  Just place your cursor in the font size box, delete the number and type in whatever number you need to get the size you want.  You will need to do bit of experimenting to find the right size to fit on a tile - that size will also vary a bit with each letter and font.  It's a lot of trial and error sizing, printing, and cutting out to test on a tile.  Once I had the right size I printed them on heavier card stock and cut them out - easy stencil whenever I need one.  The same technique works for making words or phrases you might want as stencils.