Collage fun

11 x 14 on canvas board
"Sunrise at the Cabin"

This is just a playful beginning of torn and cut hand-painted papers.  Most of the papers are done with my Gelli plate. Sometimes stamping with original stamps are added to the paper.  

Now I am gradually beginning to go back with acrylic paint to define areas I might like to change.  For me the sizes of the shapes are too much the same. I like the idea of a horizon line even though it is mostly abstract shapes.  The colors are pleasing to me.  It's funny the kinds of things that run through your mind in this sort of composition.  

Zentangle Calendar posts up through May 31

The end of another month?  OMGosh.
May somehow disappeared.  I'd like to slow things down but it doesn't seem to work that way, does it.

All of us who follow Robert Genn's amazing art blog got the news today that he passed away Tuesday at home with his family in Canada after a fight against pancreatic cancer.

His inspiration to all of us is unmeasurable.  Although his daughter, Sara, will continue the art blog by sending out past letters from her father, it will not, of course, be the same without him.  Life is never the same without people who make a difference.  We have lost Maya Angelou this week as well.  I have lost another dear amazing friend in artist and humanitarian, Norma Jean Schell, who passed away May 11.  As we grow older, the list of those we miss grows longer.  

So here's to the beautiful people who inspire us and leave their legacy to us.  They live on in our memories and in how we live our lives.  Our job is to pass it on.  I think of that as I attend graduations of two of grandchildren this spring.  Pass it on.  Thank you Robert, Maya, and Norma for enriching my life and those of many others.  

Time to Plant the Flowers

Some days you just have to be with the flowers!  We have 80 degrees here at the up north woods WI cabin today…absolutely no wind.  So quiet.  It's just beginning to green up and so it's time to plant the hanging baskets to hang around the cabin.  

This is my view out the cabin windows down to the lake…you can see my husband just going down the path toward the boat house.  The fire pit is off to the right and between that and the lake is where my labyrinth is located.  

We expect some rain come Sat and Sunday so today is the day to be outside.  WITH mosquito spray on!

Zentangle Calendar up to May 27

Playing Catch Up now after traveling

I have found a plethora of interesting tangles on Pinterest.  Who knew?  And some of the old favorites too.  I had fun with "blowing up" Zinger and doing a variation it.  This is a total copy cat of Helen Williams' variation who thought this up first.  (Although I used my own tangles for the design, of course).  

She also has a video on how to draw Whirl and I am still struggling with it…so this is a variation too but mostly because I am just learning it. Tore Up is fun as it an illusion and I love those.  Inaura is a new tangle I might have picked up on tangle patterns.com I am not sure. 

Just got my art stuff unpacked and into my "up north studio" yesterday and stuff is still stacked around and I am trying to find things.  

Getting ready for an afternoon workshop on print making next Wed and trying to find stuff to take.  Sue Wendlandt is teaching it for the Manitowish Waters, WI Art League.  Wishing now I had brought my linoleum cutter that I just bought in FL but decided that I couldn't take EVERYTHING and now, of course, that is what I wish I had!   It's always that way.  Sue says she has extras.

I am unpacking clothes and baking this morning. I keep jumping from one thing needed to finish to another which is NOT a good plan.  Hahaha.

Weather is sunny today but coolish…about 68 now at 11 am.  Better than rain and 60 yesterday!!!  And the forecast looks pretty good.  Mosquitoes up here are awful!!!  

Diva Challenge is Rain

Please click on image to enlarge.




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Sketching in Kentucky

This the a land Between the Lakes living history museum (1850) in KY.


I spent a wonderful two hours doing a preliminary sketch of this neat old house yesterday morning...Wednesday. Click on photo to enlarge) I'll post that later when I have a little time to do back and work on it some more! Continuing wonderful weather..in the 80s every day so far.

After that we spent two hours in Paducah at the National Quilt Museum.
Wow! Amazing. At the end they had a wooden quilt. I kid you not. You HAVE to see this. Go to gofraser.com to see them and be SURE to watch the video!





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Zentangle May 21

These images on iPad come through small but I think you can click on them and they will enlarge.


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Sketching in Georgia

What a lovely day to be outside sketching!!!!
This is Jimmy Carter's boyhood farm in Plains, GA.
(Note my cane hanging on the fence.)

Those are pecan trees in the orchard behind me.




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I loved the windmill!!!
Most of Jimmy's life, the farm house had no electricity or running water.
Like looking back in a time capsule.
We passed Jimmy and Roslyn's actual current home (behind locked gates) on the way from the school house in town where we saw a wonderful film. We also stopped at the Plains train depot.

Zentangle Calendar May 18

Well..it's time to head north toward WI and I'll be posting from my iPad now for awhile.
The computer got packed up this morning.

I am sure hoping we get some decent weather on the trip as I would like to stop and do some sketches along the way.




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Chart for Summer Show

Chart of Demonstrators for the Manitowish Waters, WI Art League Show in July

Before I put away my art folders and pack things up I thought, hey…I'll just get this little chart done…the white paper is 8.5 x 11" so the black is trim of Stonehenge Black print paper around it.  Going with the principal that an undecorated piece of paper is blasphemy…well…there you go.

And also thanks Beth, for correcting my post yesterday which indicated I was having office work done at "Home Depot" instead of "Office Depot".  

THAT would be confusing.  

Anyway part of my job as head of Demo committee for the show this summer is to prepare a chart that will be displayed on the entry table to the show letting visitors know what is happening during the week.

(Something I actually forgot to do last year.) Hmmm.

The demos are actually July 17,18 and 19th.  

So lots of time for everyone to look where Manitowish Waters is and get up there in time!!!  

Organizing Zentangle Patterns

 8 x 11" spiral bond organizer

This organizational book where I keep my tangles, now there are well over 1000 tangle designs (no step outs) just small samples…12 to a page.  (Strathmore stationary is the paper…heavy enough to be durable and smooth enough to tangle well.)  

But the additions to this book (bound at Office Depot for me) are chronological (not by alphabet). So when I wanted to find one it became time consuming. 

So I typed up all the names and alphabetized them and now keep that list on my computer where I can continually add more in the proper place.  BUT where to put the typed lists so they are handy and easy to get to?  

The booklet has a clear plastic cover and I cleverly had left one page blank at the beginning of the book.

Voila!  I think this is going to work out.  I will hand write in added names as they come, and then at some later date I'll update the computer list online and reprint the page!  

Incidentally you can go back to Office Depot and have pages added to this your heart's content.  It's about $3.00 to put a new larger spiral binding in.  

Diva Challenge: Punzel and Well

I am keeping ahead of the calendar these days as we'll soon be "on the road" and although I am fairly sure I can keep up…that is not for user.  We'll have some LONG driving days.  However, I am an early riser and I usually have my coffee and check the news on my iPad and then I could (if I am organized) do my calendar Zentangle for the day.  We'll see how THAT goes.  

Sounds like one of those "resolutions" that is made to be broken!  Hahaha.  So, the other option is to "get ahead" and then miss when you must!  It's a great stress reliever during packing for sure!!!

I am really glad Laura pushed me try Punzel which has been around a long time but I've never really tried it.  I use "Well" and tangelations of Well all the time. 

Pots N Pans is fun but I have to laugh at how many "similar" tangles there are to that one.  There is one called "Stishes" (take off on "dishes") that is VERY similar but you sort of build it from the bottom instead of the top.  And Helen Williams has one called "Stax" that is more looking like "pots" than bowls but same idea.  Her's are a tad wonky.  As blog-watcher Barbara says "how many of these tangles ARE there?"  God only knows.  With new ones raining down from the sky each day…many are unpublished and one just happens on them and with Linda Farmer publishing them practically once a week!  I am personally aware of over 500 and I am sure there is triple that.  Variations on variations too make it impossible to even estimate.  Some variations (like Punzel above) deserve their own name.  

note: I am liking putting the major tangle name under the calendar entries better…easier to use as a reference that way.    

May Calendar Continues

Zentangle has surely been a life saver as I go through the stress of trying to decide what to do about the injured knee.  Every third person I talk to who is over 70 seems to have had this surgery!  Successful too.  That is hopeful.  

But I am going to postpone it for now just because I am too busy to have it and it not life threatening or anything…just annoying.  

So I am now contemplating the not-so-fun idea of closing up my studio in the next couple of days and making decisions on what stays and what goes based mainly on the limited size of space in our car!!!  

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day.
And here's to a good week ahead for everyone.

My New Tangled Cane

This took about two hours and two cups of coffee.  :-)

Those who follow my blog know I wrecked my knee about two weeks ago…big ole meniscus tear.  ARRGH.

I really do not have time for the surgery to fix this up right now as we are packing to go north for the summer.  So I had a cortisone shot and borrowed a generic cane from our park sign-out closet.  Dr. took a look at the MRI and agreed that as long as I was comfortable enough to travel it's better not to rush this and have plenty of time for rehab afterwards.  

Am thinking I may get the surgery done in August up in Wisconsin depending on how uncomfortable I get. 

Plus I have CZT training in June and I have my plane tickets!  Get out of my way or I'll hit you with my cane!  Hahaha.    I have ordered a wheel chair at the airports to make things go faster (I hope).  Sometime you get to board first that way!  Just like lining up at Disney!  Plus my daughter is going with me and she'll keep me in line.  

Wish me luck in the packing this week. 

Finishing up the Zentangle Cow

I finally got around to finishing up this little cow (9 x 9) on watercolor paper. I suddenly see I haven't signed it yet!  

I have two other cow images and I'd like to work on those also so that I have several I can put into the gallery in August OR if I like them enough into one of the shows in Wisconsin this summer.  

When I posted this one before the diagonal "fence" was not

finished.  So I plan to "float" this on black background.  Will show that another time.  

It is almost time to start packing up my studio and I have some other things that need doing before I do that.  I may leave the Zentangle things to last because that is so easy to pack up. And it leaves me some things to do after everything else is put to bed.  

I always have such a time deciding what I need to take north with me for the summer and it's always more than my hubby wants to put in the car!!!  Same ole same ole.  

I see the orthopedic surgeon this afternoon regarding that torn meniscus in my knee so we'll see how that all plays out.  Stay tuned.  

Diva's Challenge: Name that Tangle

I am posting a little ahead on my calendar because of the Diva's Challenge for this week.  

This week we are all doing her own personal tangle which is May 8th on my calendar.  Note that it does not yet have a name.  Laura is asking people to suggest a name for her tangle this week.  If you have any clever idea for me to pass along, let me know.  I'll be filling the name in probably after Sunday when the weekly challenge closes.  

Enjoying Tangelations

Well, since I already posted May 4…I will just give you the next two.

Remember "May is Mono-tangle Month" for me which means just one tangle per square.  And I am also skipping tangling the numbers this month.  Keep it simple.  

I am not sure where I ran across Zanholli but I think it is one of the "strangest" tanglelations.  I've ever come across. But that makes it all the more fascinating to me.  How people dream these up is just amazing.  The reference to "holli" in the name of course is from Hollibaugh and it also resembles "Zander" a little to me with the "binding" of the sticks.  And between the tall parts is "Hibred" which is an official tangle too. Anyway, I am crazy for it.  

Kardz is a fun tangle that is a take off on Crescent Moon and is a good example of how "auras" can just about make any shape a tangle!   

Star Wars Day: May the 4th Be With You

Today is Star Wars Day. According to the online resource Wookieepedia, it is typically celebrated by sci-fi fans the world over with parties, movie marathons, Star Wars-themed toys, the occasional light-saber duel, and movie-quote exchanges on Twitter. You could also celebrate by reading one of the many Star Wars-related novels, playing a video game, or gazing at your collection of action figures in their original packaging. "It's nice that this particular date seems to observe and celebrate the power of the Force, and we're thrilled thatStar Wars fans continue to find new ways to connect with a galaxy far, far away," said a Lucas Films spokesperson.

Despite the fervor of some of its fans, Star Wars Day is not a religious holiday yet, although the Church of Jediism is lobbying hard. The City of Los Angeles prefers to celebrate Star Wars Day on May 25, the anniversary of the film's release, but as for the rest of us ... May the Fourth be with you.

Tangle by Peg Seay

Birthday cards

Okay…
so while you are laid up with a bad knee you get caught up with your birthday, graduation, and confirmation cards for all your grandkids.

Ben will turn 16 this month (in Madison, WI0.
I used my hand painted washi tape on the envelope and my little folding pocket to enclose the check.

No long message…16 year old boys like it short and sweet!  

May Zentangle Calendar

May will be "monotangle calendar month" for me.
AND I have decided to "label" the tangles each day.
AND I have decided NOT to tangle the numbers in May which shortens things up considerably.

Barney is a new tangle but the other two are old favorites.  That "Fiore" by the way.   Kind of looks like an "l" instead of an "i".  Oops.  

Not much more news on the health front right now for me. I am still on crutches after a meniscus tear on my right knee.  Had my MRI yesterday and will see orthopedic surgeon on Wed. Then I will have sort of diagnosis and prognosis to report.  

I am getting caught up on my grandkids birthday cards and their first communion and confirmation and graduation cards!  Lots of those this spring and I like to hand make them all.  

Big time rain here in central Fl yesterday and today.  Flooding in Pensacola in the Panhandle and then also in Tampa on the Gulf.  Made the national news!  So far our retention ponds are providing relief here in my area near Orlando.  But they are up 6" higher than a few days ago!!!  90 predicted by mid week so we are going to be steamy!!!