Diva Challenge #137

I am so excited for fall! I made myself a seasonal bucket list, a good friend added to it, and now I can't wait to start checking things off. I got my first one done yesterday, which was to kick up some leaves. If you haven't made seasonal bucket lists before, you should definitely try it! It's fun to come up with things to do, and it's kind of like a grown up scavenger hunt.

And here's my tangle for the diva challenge this week! The challenge was "Duotangle: Knights over Tipple". :)

If you want to check out the Diva's other challenges, or see what others have done this week with the Well pattern, check her out here: I am the Diva

Happy fall! Go kick up some leaves!

Diva Challenge #135

Oh look! I finally completed a diva challenge! AND posted it! Haha. Usually they just sit happily in my sketchbook. :) This one required the use of the new pattern "Well" from Rick and Maria. If you want to check out the Diva's other challenges, or see what others have done this week with the Well pattern, check her out here: I am the Diva

I used Well, along with Dragonair, filled with Helen Williams' Leaflet.

A funny thing happened when i was making this one too. I didn't set out with the intention of making any sort of emotional statement but when it was all done and I looked at it again I realized it was practically an allegory for how I've been feeling. The patterns "above" are all free, flowing and growing. Then there's a sort of window through which you can glimpse a bandaged underside. It's funny how I had forgotten how healing and revealing a Zentangle can be sometimes.  :)

Happy tangling everyone!

Sleigh Bells Ringing

Oh would you look at that! The holidays are back again! I once again created the necessary signage for our town's Festival of Trees and for the first year since helping out with this part of the project I have created the whole thing myself. The images are all painted in Photoshop by yours truly and the typography is mine as well. I'm no master typographer, but I think it's pretty good.

The bells turned out so well that I can't wait to do next years already. I am so ready for an artistic challenge. It's been a while since I've had a set goal for my artwork. It is surprisingly hard to look at a blank page and "create" without any guidelines or requests.

Another side effect of helping with this event is that I get to decorate my own tree with the theme of "Sleigh Bells" and I also get to assist in the decoration of the town hall itself. Now, we've been known to tackle some pretty hefty challenges to keep ourselves busy... a real gingerbread village modeled after our town and a Ski Slope made up of dozens of little clay figures and trees to list the most recent projects. What will we do this year you ask? Well you'll have to buy a ticket for the Preview Event to find out because I won't be posting pictures til after the fact. I'll say this much though, it will definitely jingle!

Charlie Chaplin Speech

A video to share today. "The greatest speech ever made" by Charlie Chaplin

I have heard this one before, but it really is an amazing speech. It's a little bit depressing but greatly motivational.

Also, more camera fun, the butterflies have found our garden!

Irene

I have a new pattern to introduce you guys to. It's the first pattern I've named and it is a little more complicated than patterns really ought to be. It was inspired by a woven rug at a camp house I was at last fall.

Me and some of my relatives were having a "hagfest" (What we call reunions with just us ladies.) out in the Adirondacks of NY. Our weekend was lovely, but come Sunday and Monday we found ourselves entirely rained in by the Tropical Storm "Irene". As some of you may know, Irene wiped out many of the Vermont roads so driving home was a chore! But as we sat around enjoying the rain I started trying to dissect this amazing carpet on the porch.

The pattern along the edge of this rug was my inspiration, I thought that it had to have a "solution" somehow.. it's so geometrical! This is what I ended up with, I call it "Irene".

I know it looks a little daunting at first, but I think it just takes a little practice and you can start to really have fun with it. It works best in larger spaces and when you use pencil to shade it in a bit. :)