zenbossing - project pack 16 day 3

 

The Zentangle 12 Days of Christmas projects are back. It looks like it's going to be a fun group of projects!

This is Day 3. I've done it following the directions on the video but then added colored pencils and some gold gel pen. I was excited to try out the technique they called Zenbossing. To do it utilized a stylus tool that I already had in my tool box. 

The gold pen doesn't show up very well in photos but I found if I went close up and tilted the tile, you could see the glint from the gold. I use the Hybrid Dual Metallic pen. It's made by Pentel and pictured below.

I have several stylus tools in my art supplies. They are made with a variety of handles. As you can see, I added a pencil grip to mine. Usually they are added to children's pencils to teach them the proper way to hold a pencil. I find it makes it more comfortable when I'm using pressure on the stylus as the technique needs.

long time no see!

 

Long time no see! You may have wondered why I haven't posted for so long. Well, I actually have a good excuse. Mid January I was out at night walking my foster puppy and fell on some black ice in my driveway. As I laid there I looked at my wrist I saw my wrist bending in a way it doesn't normally go. Somehow adrenaline kicked in and I was able to hold my arm close to my chest and get back up. I called in some favors from neighbors who kindly got me to the ER and took care of my puppy. In the picture you can see me in treatment as they pulled my broken bone back into position. My daughter took me into her home and fed me and got me my meds.

A week later I had surgery where the Dr put in a plate and screws. After a few weeks in a cast I began physical therapy. It's been a loong road. My fingers were sooo stiff and just wouldn't do what they are supposed to do. I'm gradually seeing progress and hope I get even more back.

How has this affected my tangling? Well, it has definitely affected it. At first I couldn't even hold a pen. I had a zoom class in late Feb that I had already signed up and paid for. So I attended remotely and gave it a go with my left hand. I got something done but frankly I wasn't very happy with it. And halfway through I was so wiped out that I quit. But, at least I tried.

So I kinda put my tangling supplies to the side. I did try using some of my liquid dyes to color some tiles, but no drawing. Finally in April I realized that I could hold a pen again (sort of) so I started again. I started by doing some of the prompts from the Facebook Square One group. The first few were pretty sad. Nowhere near the tangling I can usually do.

But I gradually discovered that I could do better and better by SLOWING DOWN. Now I draw slowly and deliberately, and it's pretty good. I used to be a speedy tangler and that's not happening now. But I think I'm actually getting more in the Zen zone by my new drawing techniques.

Here are a few of the tiles I've done now that I am drawing slowly and deliberately.

Done with the TangleOn group. I definitely saw room for improvement here. Lines uneven, stems too thick, color splotchy, etc.

Done using a template I had done a while before my injury so just needed to color.

SevenFlower in the Square One group. The shapes for the poke leaf just wouldn't flow the way I wanted them.

Bijou tile 

Rayga

So my advice, Keep up with your physical therapy and tangle even if you aren't thrilled with your first attempts. And SLOW DOWN!

 

flutch a tangle from Heidi Kay

Heidi Kay has come up with a new tangle called Flutch and it's especially fun for the holidays. These are a few of the tiles with variations that I've created. 

Fan Fragments

 

Fan Fragments - this design came from a class originally taught by Deb Bowyer. It was then taught virtually by Leslie Goldberg - a member of the Midwest Tanglers United. Our group - affectionately known as MTU is a group of zentangle fans based in the Illinois area. We have a Facebook presence if you are interested in learning more.

empty heart string

The empty heart string is one I've used a number of times in the past. It's one I often use when I want to tuck a tile into a condolence card for a friend. I use it when I want to acknowledge that while a loved one may be gone, they leave all the memories with their family and friends.

The first tile here is one I did for Bunny Wright. She is a CZT that we recently lost. She contributed many tangle patterns to our community so all the tangle patterns shown here are done from her step outs.

The string itself is fairly straightforward. Draw a border with your pencil. Draw a simple heart with your pencil. Then add radiating lines going out from the heart also with pencil. As you draw the tangles with your pen you can follow your lines - or go outside of them - remember they are only guidelines and you don't have to stay within them.

After the tangles are complete you are ready for the shading. Add shading to the heart shape so the heart becomes dimensional. If you are on a colored tile you can use a coordinating colored pencil for the shading and you can add a white chalk pencil to add highlights.

This is one I did a while back on a renaissance tile. As you can see this heart was much bigger. It's your choice which way to go. I also didn't use a border here.

Here, and below, the empty heart string was done on a colored zendala. You can see the radiating lines that come from the heart. Also note the shading with a deep pink colored pencil and highlights with a white chalk pencil.

 

Ecoline markers - light fast?

Ecoline brush markers are a a fairly recent purchase for me. The colors are bright and the markers are juicy. Definitely fun to play with. If you liked my previous post with the stained glass orbs, these are the markers I used for some of them. (I also used my Tombow markers.) In the picture you will see a circular color chart. I did that when I first got them and added water to see what they would look like when thinned with water.

But are they lightfast? If you frame a piece and/or hang it up on your wall, what will happen? So I decided to find out. I took a strip of my good drawing paper and made a color chart with all the colored markers in my set. If you look at each color you will see that I drew a thin line with the marker quickly. Then to the right I drew a thick line, letting the juiciness of the pen fully saturate the strip. I wrote the name and number of the color under the color.

Then I took a black piece of cardstock paper and covered one half of the paper. Approximately 1/3 of the thick line was covered up. Then I put the paper in a southern facing window where it would get direct sunlight. I put it there on June 18th and took it out one month later.

Results? As you can see below, some colors faded badly. The ultramarine violet and blue violet were the worst. That didn't surprise me because pinks and purples are known for fading. What did surprise me was there was also significant fading in the burnt sienna and green colors too. There was lessor fading in several other colors also.

Remember, this was only one month! So I'll put it back in the window and see what keeps happening.

Will I keep using these markers? Yes, because the colors make me happy. If you photograph your work and post it online you will be fine.  But I will not use these for anything that I sell or give to someone that may want to put them on display. 

stained glass orbs

I took a Zoom class with Inge Frasch in Germany yesterday. Stained glass orbs was such fun! Thanks Inge! Since then I've done 4 more based on the same technique. This was a fun way to use all my colored markers (Tombows) and explore the reticula and fragments from the book from Zentangle. Always good to try something new!