Challenge #179 - Be like Bijou

4-in-one
Care for a slice?
Mooka, Printemps, Flux, Starburst tangleattion,
Dex variation with lot's of shading, rounding, and auras

The Diva's Challenge for week #179 asks us to be like Bijou. Bijou is a fascinating tiny little  artist that joined the Zentangle family straight from France. He works with smaller 2" tiles so now Zentangle offers these wonderful little two inch tile beauties. His work is amazing and thoughtful, he embodies the one stroke at a time meditative process of Zentangle. Rick and Maria talk about him and their new partnership on their porch in the current Zentangle newsletter. Laura also interviewed him and features on this week's challenge, check it out.

I love the smaller format and decided to veer off a bit but keep within the "letter" of this weeks challenge. I just received some 4" round beer coasters that I ordered to test with my micron pens for tangling. They aren't as nice as the Beautiful Zendala tiles I order from Zentangle, but they are fun to play with. My microns bleed a bit because they are so porous and the paper is pretty "toothy", but one stroke at a time, relaxing, and breathing made the process work.
 

Severed pieces - violent no?

Anywho... that is what spurned the direction for my Zentangle inspired pieces for last two weeks of challenges. I divided the circle in fours (free form) so measurements are not exact, but I think it worked for this challenge. I took each section and made it a separate little work area, tiles within a tile? Divided my circle and went to town.  The outside is 2" so I thought I was playing fairly, right? It's a great way to focus on one tangle at a time. What fun. I may use this size format when I show examples of various tangles in my classes once I demonstrate them. Thanks Laura and Bijou! Check out Bijou-isms, a very talented snail!

When I was a kid I had a pet slug (it's just a snail without a shell). My mother thought it was a little weird but I really enjoyed carrying him around on my blue plastic school loose leaf. I found him fascinating and loved the shiny little trail he left on my book (it was a short lived relationship). He returned to the grass in the yard after a day of bonding. I don't believe he was from any exotic country. Mine was a boy, no name, just "slimy".  Here's a picture of me and my cousin Warren with a frog, I was quite the nature gal. Slimy came a little later... 

Challenge #178 - Duotangle by the Letter!
Was a little scattered last week so I didn't get these posted. So here are my catch-ups! Again, keeping to the basic essence of the challenge. Since my Zentangle "chop" /signature is DOB, I used that as my string and went from there. Used the 4" coasters for this one also. A round for everyone!!!!

4" Circle Intials - DOB as a string
First (left) Pole, Tipple, Dex tangleation,
Second (right) Dex tangleation, and OLF tangleations, with some shading, Tipple, and Auras

Challenge #141 - Duotangle - Fengle & Quandry

Duotangle; Fengle & Quandry
A little line work, pointillism and it's done!

Challenge #137 - Knights Over Tipple

Tipple and Knightsbridge with a little
ribbon "sewn" through

This week's Diva Challenge for week #137 is to do a Duotangle (phrased coined by the Diva) using Tipple and Knightsbridge, two of my go-to tangles... so eazy peezy? A little more challenging than I expected. I chose to go big and bold, another go-to for me, and work on the line quality and shading. I think I like the result, it's got lot's of movement and the shading was a blast. I really enjoy the contrast of hard and soft using these 2 tangles.

Notice how neat my sewing is? I sew with my pen, much safer than a needle and thread!

To check out other work go to the Diva's site. It's always great to see all the wonderful variety and creativity for each week's challenge . Thanks Diva, another fun one!

Tried another version of this week's challenge with a few variations on the theme of Tipple and Knightbridge. Kept the line quality a little more consistent to see what happened. Use a zig-zag string for a different feel. A web is just the structure of KB without the checkerboard, right? After all, Halloween is just around the corner...

Version Two
Variations on a theme...

Challenge #83 - DuoTangle Assunta and Mooka

I really enjoyed this week's Diva Challenge, #83 a Duotangle using the tangles Assunta and Mooka. Mooka is one of my all time favorite tangles. When Rick and Maria first presented Mooka it was the Diva's weekly challenge. That's all I drew for 2 weeks. And I did a lot of tangling, I was obsessed! Assunta, eh, not so much. Combining the two; not so much...

Well, I took a deep breath and decided had to go forward with the dang challenge! After all I am a Zentangle Zealot and I must go forth and tangle my brains out. Lot's of tries and fails and then...

I decided to concentrate on Mooka, my lovely Mooka, and combine it with one of my favorite forms, the leaf. I kept true to the tenants of Mooka: one continuous line, always going inward when drawing the "feet/leaves" of Mooka. I tried to relax, smile, and breathe! The Mooka's echo the Assunta form.

This upcoming CZT training gives me the perfect opportunity to try and relive the wonders of the Zentangle process that I experience in May of 2011 when I became a CZT in class #6.

I love what came out of this challenge, the leaves have the feel of a bleeding heart with that lovely little bulb on the end. Assunta was also fun and flowed more easily than I expected. I kept Assunta grey (pencil) in the background as a wall paper to present my Mooka Leaves.

This is a full 8.5 X 11 ZIA because I wanted room to breathe and explore! My scan is complete with kitty hair (thanks Miranda!)

I also found out the children's book I've been illustrating for the last 2 years has been printed.  It's a wonderful collection of Fairy Stories written by Diane Light. The name of the book is "Into Fairyland, A Treasure Chest of Fairy Stories." The writing is wonderful and I'm very pleased with my illustrations. This was two years in the making and I love the results! It's a full-color paper back book!

Getting exposed to the Zentangle process really sparked my creativity and enhanced my illustration process. The book is colorful, and full of lot's of wonderful Fairies, Magic, and Love. You'll see the Zentangle process throughout the 64 pages. I'm very proud of this book. Any young girl who fancies these wonderful little creatures will love this magical book.

Check out Starry Whispers Books for more information. Just click on the "Into Fairyland" tab.  I would love to share this wonderful book with my fellow Zentangle enthusiasts and any of your little fairy enthusiasts. We also have FREE Special Things to do: coloring pages, word search puzzles and an EXCITING CONTEST. You could win a free book and an Amazon Gift Card! .
I'm also including a study for Mooka Leaves, starting with a simple outline and then embellishing with Assunta in the background. These challenges are great at making us go beyond our comfort zones. I love coming out the other side feeling like I've stretched my creative muscles. Thanks to Laura, Rick and Maria, of course, and the Zentangle process for giving me this opportunity!

Here's a study with simple outline and then embellishing,
rounding, and adding Assunta