Tenacity. The vine had crept along the back fence for years. It never bothered anyone growing behind the flowers and other shrubbery. When she noticed it, she reported it to the groundskeepers. They tried to remove it, but it came back again and again. Maybe there was something to learn there. Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Icanthis Papyrus

Northwest. Various parts of the country have a history of native, tribal art which influences the decorative choices of that particular area. Recently, my husband traveled to Portland, Oregon for a business conference. While there, he found a book, “Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast” by Hilary Stewart. I like the graphic effect produced by using black, white and red. So I decided to give it a try on a Zentangle.

You’ve seen this tile with Cadent in the center before. It was featured in a post on July 5th. And also in the post about the upcoming classes for August. But here’s another sneak peak for the Beginner’s 2: New Strokes class! You may have noticed that the description mentioned a 3D project? We’re going to be making a display stand to show off your favorite tile on your desk at work or home!

How do you Mooka? I am playing around with the various ways of drawing Mooka. Here, I’ve drawn half a little bijou-sized tile using a traditional style and then just added some dots to create a bit of texture. I also decided to add some auras in the empty spaces to fill in the design. On the other half of the tile, I’ve drawn Mooka using a simplified method.

If you are in the Phoenix metro area, you can take Zentangle classes from me! If you are anywhere in the world, you can STILL take classes from me! (See the bottom of this post!) Thursday, August 16, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Thursday, August 23, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Beginners 1: Introduction to Zentangle Class Zentangle is a simple-to-learn, relaxing, meditative way to create beautiful art by drawing structured patterns, one stroke at a time.

Sneak peak! It is that time of year when we start thinking about the upcoming holidays. I know that the beginning of August seems like it’s way to early… But it depends on who you are. If you are a CZT, we are all busy planning the fall classes for you! One of them that I have in mind is one in which my students will be making Holiday hanging ornaments.

Hydroponics. It had been months since she had taken the ship out on a mission. But it was time. Everything in the ydroponics bay was ready. And she knew the eggs would hatch right after her arrival. The Zed’s wanted them all newborn before they would accept delivery. Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Caviar Centipede Crazy N'Zeppel Deco Border Glukes Tidings Toodles

Inchies. Remember last week when I showed you my desk scattered with some old art pieces? Well, here’s what I did with some of them! I created an inchie mosaic following Eni’s instructions in her Inchies Mosaic Video Lesson. Inchies are little, 1-inch squares of art. This is my first mosaic, following the instructions in the lesson. I got my tiles cut a bit wonky, which is totally my fault.

Amanda created this tile with the help of her family! She has four children that range in age from 7 to 17 years old. She started by creating the string and then, each child would roll a dice and select a random tangle. The child would also choose where the tangle would go in the string. The kids got a big kick out of challenging Mom, and they had a ton of fun.

What do you do with all your leftover small pieces of paper with art of some kind on them? Look at this new lesson from Eni Oken’s art club! Doesn’t this look like fun? Stay tuned for more updates! Distress ink, acrylic ink, watercolor on Strathmore Bristol Vellum. Tangles: Ennies Magma Meer Nekton

Folk art. A few years ago, I was looking at various examples of American Folk Art. One of the things I liked about it was the bright colors and how the simple designs combined to create a more complicated finished product. Here, I decided to use simple auras, perfs and tangles to create a more folk-art like tile. I like the simplicity of this design. Actually, if you look at the Zentangle Gallery, I’ve used it on another tile, (in a slightly different form,) recently!

Overhead. We spend so much time looking down. I wonder how much we miss by not looking up once in a while? What is the ceiling like in the Cathedral or Museum? How about that old building on the corner? What does it look like above the trees at night? Or the clouds in the sky before or after a storm? Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Pigma Micron pen and a cool grey Copic Multiliner.

Amanda sent me this picture of a Zenbutton that she created recently. It’s a wonderful collection of fragments done in vibrant purple! I love the combination of fragments that she used here. They create a lot of design movement and variation. Zentangle drawn on an Official Zentangle tile using a pink and purple, Micron pens. Shading done with colored pencil. Tangles: Fragment F2 Fragment G22 Fragment H15 Fragment V2

If you recall, a while back I posted a couple of Bijou tiles with Muchin shaded in different ways. I thought that it would be fun to post the same thing, but this time, showing the shading and highlighting on a black tile! Zentangle drawn on a black, Official Zentangle Bijou tile using a white, Sakura Gelly Roll pen. Highlighting done with white chalk pencil. Shading done with Copic markers and black colored pencil.

Waltz. 1.. 2.. 3… 1.. 2.. 3… And a twirl around here and there. When I look at this tile, that ballroom dance, learned so long ago comes to mind. I like the counterpoint of the graceful Mooka dancing around the edges of the triangular, jeweled Tripoli. I loved creating this tile. It’s simple design allowed me to practice precise, balanced line placement. I find that very Zen.