Tangle holders

Tangle Keepers

I make these up in groups to give away at my Zentangle workshops.  Top and bottom are just reinforced "tags" from an office supply store.  I use my gelli plate to decorate them in acrylic paint, adding embellishments with stencils, oil based markers, stamps and stencils.  I do both sides.  Then I cover them with a final coat of gloss medium and varnish.  They are quite durable and have a nice shine to them.  

I add about 20 small white pages (cut on a paper cutter) and hole punch them to match the tag, holding them all together with a ring (see finished one in blue).  These are popular with my classes and I use them as door prizes...giving one or two away at each class depending on the # of students.  This is where they can keep their tangle patterns.  

We had a cool day here in central FL...only got to 60 and partly cloudy with gusty winds.   We have company arriving any time.  So I thought a short project was in order.  Weather man promises that we'll be back to 80 by Sunday.  

Happy New Year!

Do not disappoint the squirrel of judgement

Someone posted this on Facebook and I am sorry I don't have a reference for where it came from.

But it hit both my funny bone AND my "uh oh" bone.

You wouldn't want to disappoint the "squirrel of judgment"!!!  Hahaha.

Having TWO new computer devices arrive for Christmas has "sucked" a LOT of time over the last two weeks...getting things "migrated" from one computer to the other, getting used to a new format for my Apple (Sierra) and then also a new format on my new iPad.  How nuts with THAT decision.  Hahaha.  Whew...how is that for a confession!  

Back to art...I have a huge array of ideas on my studio table...no problem about what ideas to create...more a problem of where to start.  I usually start with clean up and organization.  This NEEDS to get done.  I want to throw open the studio windows this morning (it's 85 again here in central FL...no complaints there).  

When perplexed, I always start with re-organization.  I finished up the paper clay projects (for now) and I'd like to move back to wc painting and sketching for part of January. Some new ideas on the back burner there.  And I'd like to work a bit on the ZenAgain workshop I am planning for later in January here in the park (for folks who had basic course already). 

I haven't done any gelli printing this fall at all.  

That studio table is mess.  Sigh.  A catch all.  

I am trying to work up a group here in the park for a "drawing a day" challenge until Feb 6 (about 4 weeks).  I think I need the support for that challenge too.  I am always inspired by Danny Gregory.  That link by the way takes you to a little video about drawing every day.  There is a new course on Sketchbook Skool if you want to get serious about it.  

Okay...am off to that organization excitement.  Hahaha.  Photos of neat and tidy studio to follow.  I hope.

The Luminaries

Luminaries for Christmas Eve

So I was watching a recent video about gel-printing luminaries.  One of the most recent ones.  Very nice by the way.  The luminaries in the video were, I expect, meant to be in your home rather than outside but I think they could also be outside.  These above are outside ones.  

When she finished with the demo I realized that mostly what people would see is the dark outline (silhouette) of the snowflake against the candle light inside.  So I went and got some dark paper...this happens to be blue Christmas wrapping paper which is fairly thin.  And I cut myself 8 fun snowflakes and glued them down with gel medium. 

The candles sitting in front of them show the size of the candle in the kits.  Our park sells kits of 8 bags, candles, and sand to raise some funds for other projects.  $6/kit.  We bought two kits or 16 this year but I only decorate half.  So on Christmas Eve our park of about 1,200 homes has their 9 miles of streets totally lined with candles.  It is magical.

Most of us have discovered over the years that it's not enough sand to really support that large a candle and so folks improvise all sorts of "holders" inside the bags.  A friend made us some wooden candle sticks that work slick.  Small bathroom paper cups slit on the bottom and used upside down also work pretty well.

Sometimes if it is not windy or rainy the candles are still burning in the morning!  Amazing!  Gorgeous weather in central FL right now with 85 today and right through Christmas.  

It will be a lovely Christmas Eve...we plan to attend the candlelight service at our church at 6 pm.  Then have some friends back later for "grasshoppers".  

Monday is my hubby's birthday and we'll have a nice little party for him on Monday night.  Tuesday is my daughter Julie's birthday.  She is far away in Madison, WI.  Boo hoo. Only 27 on her birthday there!  

Sketchcrawl in the Villages

Moleskin journal 5 x 10

Ink with wc

We got lucky with the weather yesterday up at The Villages, Florida.  We met at Spanish Springs town square in the afternoon with the skies sunny but lots of interesting clouds.  

I put some of those in the second painting but it didn't come through the scan very well.  The temp was about 85 and the humidity high with the feeling of rain or storms hanging in the air.

 But they held off all afternoon and didn't hit us until about 5 at which time we were safely in the Gator Dockside restaurant being interviewed by a reporter from the Villages Sun newspaper.

I think there were 6-8 of us there but not everyone came in for show and tell/drinks.  It was fun to meet some new artist friends who like to paint out of doors.  

Cloudy again on Tuesday and we may get a little more rain...temps dropped into mid 70s today but then back up to mid 80s for Christmas next weekend.  Nothing to complain about.  And we REALLY need the rain.  

9 x 11 Mixed Media Sketchbook 90#

Discovered when I updated to my new MacBook Air last week the   scanner did not migrate over to the new computer.  I read on line that people updating in Apple sometimes have this problem.  Sigh.

My old iMac is still working and the scanner works on that computer so I scan in and then email myself the scan.  That will get old soon, right?

I have a feeling this is going to be complicated.

So will save for Apple Care to walk me through it later.

Otherwise the data migration seems to have gone pretty smoothly and I did the back up for the first time a few days ago and that went pretty okay.  New computers and updates are stressful, are they not?

I even have Siri on this new computer.  Weird to talk to your computer and have her answer back.  I asked for Madison, WI weather this morning and she said, "weather is not looking good in Madison."  Ha.  But she was right.  BLAH weather there in the minus digits.  Gosh. 

So these were a few little random sketches from the concert this afternoon.  I used ink and watercolor pencil.  Supposed to go on a sketch crawl up in Spanish Springs tomorrow afternoon.  Temps look good but 40% chance of thundershowers.  Boy, we DO need rain in central Florida!  Not taking too much to carry...small notebook, pens, a small wc set, wc pencils, pencil/eraser, and my folding chair. Idea is to try some "urban sketching".  Kinds of new for me. 

Finishing up the paper clay sunflower...

During this step, the paper clay has been coated with white gesso (let dry) and
two coats of gloss varnish (dry between each). Then I applied a thin glaze of acrylic paint (burnt umber) and let that dry.
Directions are not to let this glaze stay on for longer than 24 hours.

So then using rubber gloves I removed the burnt umber acrylic with rubbing alcohol.
This process sort of antiques the clay...leaving dark residue in all the crevices.  

In this step I applied acrylic (thinned with acrylic glaze).
This photo also shows that I did apply a thin coat of gesso on the canvas as well in the earlier step.

This is the point where I have to give some serious thought to how the piece will be finished.  I am tentatively thinking of painting some dark green leaves (small) around the behind the petals.  Possibly I might paint on some soft background flowers...not sure yet.  The whole thing will have a gloss varnish when it is done.  

This may be a "wait time" while I ponder this.

Zentangle® on Glass Vase

Zentangle Vase: Oil based marker-8" high

second view

So the co-chair of the Art Show at Hawthorne Park has requested that 15 of the members each take a vase and decorate it any way they choose.  They might just fill it with something interesting.

They will decorate our "tea tables" at the very nice show we have on March 12, 2017 (1-4) in Leesburg, FL (open to the public).

Naturally I thought of Zentangle!  I have filled mine with cotton balls only to show off the designs a little better for the camera.  But I do think I'll need to find something white and interesting for the actual show.  It need not be edible but it could be.  Suggestions?

I thought of mini-marshmallows.  Or white mints.  

I also thought of using some skewers I might have some little flags (in black and white) with "welcome" on them or something.

If anyone has a good suggestion about how to finish this off in a clever fashion put them in the comments.  I think the vases will be saved to use another year but I am not sure.  

Paper Clay 2nd project

10 x 10 on gallery wrapped canvas

My second paper clay project is for a scholarship giveaway up in WI this summer.  Nothing like getting it done early!  But I can show it the Hawthorne Park show IF I deem it worthy.

Okay so in this one, with a photo reference, I decided on a wild bright yellow/orange/green background.  The I drew the flower on heavy tracy paper and cut out the pieces to assemble.  Whew.  

This took hours.  But I am pleased with the result.  But it's hard to imagine the finished piece yet.

So now it dried overnight and still isn't completely dry.  So now it is in the sun on my desk by the window (good hot FL sun) and it should be dry today.  

I think the steps I'll follow will be slightly different for this piece.

I will cover the WHOLE piece with a wash of white gesso.  While wet, I'll wipe off most of the gesso from the background leaving some wispy glazes.  Or that is the plan anyway.  Let dry.

Then I'll add two coats of clear gloss acrylic over just the clay.  Letting dry between each coat.  Then…this I am not sure yet…then I think I cover the clay with a thin glaze of burnt umber and black acrylic and let dry.  (Scary, huh?)

Then comes the antiquing step with rubbing alcohol.  I'll rub off most of the dark paint leaving just dark in the textures.  Let dry.  I may hard some dark around the outside of the clay edges as well.  THEN, I can finally add color to the flowers and leaves.  

If everything is as I wish (hmmm) then I have two coats of gloss acrylic medium/varnish.  Wish me luck.

Finishing the paper clay project

I've completed the paper clay/acrylic project.  See previous post for information on how I put it together.  The final two coats of gloss/varnish have been put on.  

If you wanted to frame this you would have use kind of a shadow box format.  Or it could most likely be displayed on a little easel of some sort.  

Now what I "should" do is complete a second one right away so I remember the steps but try a little different technique.  This one is an "appliqué" type where I glued the clay on canvas board at the end.

Many of the projects in the book just have you put the wet clay onto the board or the canvas and let it dry there.

Happy holidays.

A first attempt at Paper Clay

5 x 7 canvas on board...unfinished

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So this is a real multi media piece and my first try at Paper Clay using Rogene Mana's wonderful book Art of Paper Clay: Techniques for adding dimension to your Art.

There are multiple varieties suggested so this is just a beginning.
There are quite a few steps to getting the clay to the finishing point.  In this piece I chose a piece of hand-painted paper (gelli print paper) as a back ground which is adhered to a canvas board with mat medium.  (Acrylic paint). 

The gulls were rolled out of the clay which comes pre-packaged and is easy to work with.  (and not expensive.)  The feathers, etc, were pressed into the clay with various items around the studio or house...like paper clips, tongue depressors, and etc.  Then left to dry. And because this was not pre-attached to the background and will be glued on later, I had to turn the piece over for quite awhile to get it to dry thoroughly.  I think they can be baked in a 200 oven too.  

Rogene likes a kind of "distressed" look to her clay so I went along with that...putting a coat of white gesso on (dry) and two coats of gloss medium on next (dry between coats).  Then painting over the birds with a watered down black acrylic (let dry) and then removing it again with alcohol.  Let dry.  Then adding color. 

And the "stems" that I decided to add at the end will have some of those steps still to go through.  That is the way the clay looks before all the steps begin.  I think I will use some of yellow green and blue already in the background for the stems.

At the end I will glue them on the background board with Elmer's white glue.  (In some projects they are attached to the board earlier in the project.)  Then several coats of medium/varnish is brushed on at the very end to seal everything.  Title: "At the Shore".

This is my give-away piece for the Fine Arts Show in January.
Only 5 x 7.  But a good practice piece. 

 

Zentangle Along

Icanthis, Drawings, Noom, Waybop, Reel, Moowa, Prasima, Remo, Tumbleweed, Panzee.

Lots of new tangles to play around with.  

Thanksgiving over and now the holiday fun really rolls into gear.  Here at our FL park the first two weeks of December are really full of things to do…caroling, plays, orchestra events, cookie exchanges, and tree lighting just to name a few.  Whew.  

Pacing is everything.  AND keeping well.  

So everyone keep safe and have a good holiday season.

Back to sketching!

pencil and pen and wc in 90# Strathmore Mixed Media Sketchbook

I can't believe how little I've been in the studio the past few weeks…that is in the studio to make art or record art making.  ARRRGH.  (as Charlie Brown would say.)

I've been "teaching" art…taught a wc botanical class one morning and taught a Zentangle beginner's class one morning.

And I now am set up to teach another Zentangle in January (see side bar).   Okay Susan…this is your chance!

In between all this hubby and I hit the ground running here in Fl. In addition to teaching two classes, hubby had some minor outpatient surgery, I survived a nasty fall (all recovered now) and then we had this wild and wooly list of things that needed to get done like 1)buy a new golf card 2)buy hubby his new Laziboy recliner for Christmas and 3) host a luncheon with old friends 4) meet another old friend for a day at the Plant and Garden Show 5) publish a newsletter for the art group and yadda yadda yadda.  

So where is daily ART in this picture?  See what I mean?

Okay I need to get back on track.  AND somewhere in the next few weeks I need to get to the Apple store to discuss a new computer which you KNOW will consume a bunch of time too!

The String Ensemble concert yesterday was a wonderful quiet interlude and Marlene and I were fortunate to get guest passes to see it!  Very nice!  Thank you Carolyn! 

I did get up to DKs to get a painting framed for the spring LAA show.  And this Sat is the first Leesburg Art Association meeting I'll be able to make!  That should get me back in the groove.

I have several "major art projects" I'd like to get to, but first I'll finish the Christmas letter which is very late this year!  I have an interesting twist on how to do that this year.  BUT I need to get to it.  We've had a little stretch of chilly weather hit central FL while our neighbors to the north in WI and MN got SNOW!  

But we'll be back to 80 by Tuesday.  Meanwhile TO THE STUDIO!  

Diva Challenge is Eaxy

Calendar A Day

So my 2015 Tangle A Day did not get finished last winter.

Now I am filling it in using THIS year's date and days! 

The Diva's challenge this week is Eaxy Tangle.  I really really do not like this tangle!!!  Once it is completed it is sort of cool looking but there is certainly nothing contemplative about making this one!  STRUGGLE.  Funny how some tangles just DO not resonate with me.  

Merryweather is painted with Twinkling H20 watercolors so in real life they sparkle like crazy.  A scan just doesn't show that of course.  

I DID like this new tangle pattern "Sea Wave".  Perfect to me to help me "balance" my sadness and fear and lost feeling in reaction to the election results.  We ride now on rough and uncharted seas.
I thought Hillary's concession speech was amazing.  I cried through the whole thing.  What a class act.  Grace under pressure.

Zentangle Calendar 8.5

8.5 x 11

Imagine being a year ahead…in anything?  Hahaha.

We are gradually (VERY gradually) settling in Fl but as soon as we think we have one problem solved another pops up like one of those whack-a-mole games.  

So we get through Greg's battery replacement surgery and then we get home from the hospital and everything in our fridge has completely defrosted.  ARRGH.  AND it's Saturday night.  No one is coming to fix anything on Sunday.

Bless our neighbors who have come to our rescue bringing ice and coolers and offering their fridges and freezers.  

So more on that saga later.  We all have those.  They are fixable.

Voting tomorrow.  Thank heavens.

Farewell to October

Toward the Solstice by Mark Perlberg We burned our leaves on the bluest October day,the sun still warm on our backs, frost just a ghost in the shrubbery. We raked the leaves into shifting piles on the lawn, scooped them into deep round baskets and spilled them in the street against the curb. The vein of fire, unseen at first in diamond light, whispered through oak leaves brown as butcher paper, and maple still flushed with color like maps torn from The Book of Knowledge. We were letting go of October, relinquishing color, readying ourselves for streets lacquered with ice, the town closed like a walnut, locked inside the cold.

Since I was born in November, my memories of THAT month are keen as well.

I used to fell gypped that I had that birth month so stark and so windy and tinged with the smell of coming snow.

SO quiet with the song birds gone.  Smells of nature gone cold.

Days tinged just slightly with the smell and promise of the holidays to come AND often filled with exams and tests at school.  A turning inward slightly due to the weather pattern and the shortness of days.  Warm scarves again and soft sweaters.  In southern WI the corn fields left to be harvest rattle in the wind, deer hunting started, we would awake sometimes to dustings of snow in the old corn rows or frost to be scraped from a car window.  As I grew older I began to see a certain stark beauty of the gold against the grayness.  Old weed pods and spent cat tails in the marsh making shadow patterns against bare trunk.  But it took a long time to notice the beauty.  I think it is the same with old age.  It takes awhile to appreciate it…you rail against it, as you rail against November, until you see that it's part of the whole picture and just as the colors of gray are needed in a painting allowing you see the other colors fully, November comes to offer up  kind of foil against which you can lean the beauty of the other seasons.  Beautiful in it's own subtle ways.  And then toward the month's end, a gathering of the clans to celebrate the harvest and food and football.  

November is a lovely month in central FL…foggy mornings give way to 85 degree afternoons.  Perfect for whatever you want to do.  The "Golden Rain Trees" blossom in Oct and Nov and are filled with rusty orange blossoms reminding one of changing leaves in WI but actually are flowers!  Beautiful to see.  Our hibiscus in bright pink in the afternoon sunshine.

So farewell then to October, past and present, and onward to more subtle but lovely November.

The Last Inktober Challenge Day

Best Friends

Thinking of our hands as friends.  Kind of an outside the box idea I guess but really...they've been around awhile and I am kind of fond of them.  Depend on them.  Enjoy them and hope they hang out with me doing the best job they can for as long as they can.
I have a husband with Essential Tremor and I know what it is like when your hands are not really there for you, not dependable, and frustrating.  Those of us with steady hands should be totally grateful.  

So here's to holding hands, picking flowers and reaching for the stars.  

I've enjoyed the ink tober challenge but it's not been easy while on the road!!!  I missed 4 days which I don't think is bad considering. 
Happy Halloween everyone.   

The Diva's Challenge for this week…Nzepple and Flux

Nzepple and Flux

I have never much taken to "Nzepple".  But one of the example step outs for this was a "random" grid line instead of a diagonal grid line.  I found that more interesting to me and a very different outcome!  Like many, I prefer Rick's version of "Flux".  

I often do my Diva Challenges on my blank calendars.  I am not sure why but I enjoy the fun of interlocking the tangles.  It's a great place to try out new tangles to see how they might fit into that sort of "string"effect.  When the background is white, I sometimes "lighten" the cross lines on the calendar a little with a white pen to soften the effect and allow the pattern to show better.  

It's great to be getting back into my routines a little here in Florida again.  I am a bit behind now on my Ink-Tober challenge but to hope to get caught up again with that soon.   And I have about 6 other artsy things going.  Thanks to Susan, I've signed up and purchased a Craftsy Online Class on Urban Sketching so that needs to have some practice time too.  Hubby is all set to attend his first model train show in Inverness on Saturday with a friend.

All is well.

Ink-Tober prompt: SQUEEZE Day 26

Inktober

This is done on Day 26 but if you've been following me lately, my numbering system is out of sync.  Today unpacking my office/studio…this word just jumped out at me.

Some Days

Some Days  by Philip Terman  Some days you have to turn off the news and listen to the bird or truck or the neighbor screaming out her life. You have to close all the books and open all the windows so that whatever swirls inside can leave and whatever flutters against the glass can enter. Some days you have to unplug the phone and step out to the porch and rock all afternoon and allow the sun to tell you what to do. The whole day has to lie ahead of you like railroad tracks that drift off into gravel. Some days you have to walk down the wooden staircase through the evening fog to the river, where the peach roses are closing, sit on the grassy bank and wait for the two geese. "Some Days" by Philip Terman from Our Portion. © Autumn House Press, 2015. Reprinted with permission.   Ain't it the truth? We just got back to Leesburg…the sun is gorgeous. It's so good to be home.

On the road sketches

 

Had a marvelous boat ride in SC on Thursday...86 degrees!  We stopped T-Bones for lunch and ate out on the deck.

The seconds sketch was of our restaurant entrance in Helena, GA after dinner Sat night.

We are in the last leg of the journey now...expect to be in Leesburg late this afternoon.

Ink-Tober CREEPY

 

This stuffed raven looks a bit like he might start to tip over.

The model comes with a wire stand which I did not include.

Ink-Tober challenge for Day 21: Flight and Diva Challenge: LEAVES

 

I am combining the Diva's challenge of "leaf fun" AND my ink-Tober challenge for day 21.  

The titles are not in order as I post for inktober because I like to mix them up.

The sweet gum trees are whirling everywhere her in South Carolina.

Ink-Tober #20 TIRED

 

I know the number on the entry doesn't actually match the 20th day.

What I am doing is drawing each day BUT I am skipping around now to fit the circumstances as I travel.

Tired seemed so appropriate.  This table was at Pipe Stem Resort in West Virginia at the lovely little restaurant looking over beautiful colored mountains draped in fall colors.but thank heaven now a relaxing 2 days at my sister's in SC.

Ink-Tober Challenge # 18 ESCAPE

 

I hate to mention this but having a nice glass of wine (one) is a way to "escape" and relax.

Ink-tober 16 and 17

 

 

Catching up to Day 17 now and we are on the downward curve for the challenge.

It is trickier now to find time in the midst of travel!!!

Travel Fun

 

Here we are in Frankfort, ILL last night enjoying Octoberfaest!!!

Visiting with friends today and then heading toward Cincinnati on Monday.

Ink-Tiber Challenge 15

 

Relax was actually an easy prompt for us.  Here is my step son Mark watching the Packer Game.

Ink-Tober #14: TREE

 

Tree is surly THE easiest prompt for someone who summers in the north woods of WI.

Autumn just surrounds you with that "glow".

This is the view from my computer desk toward the boat house.

Ink-tober #13: SCARED

 

I really had a hard time with word.  I started with Katy's silk flower arrangement.

Thinking as I drew that there was NOTHING scary about this.

Then I thought of drawing Donald Trump.  He's REALLY scary.

But I caved into a Halloween theme and just relaxed.

Zentangle calendar

 

I see that I forgot to add this to my posts before I headed off.

It won't be quite as clear as a scan would be as this old Generation two iPad camera is not the best.

But you can get the idea.

Ink-tober # 11 TRANSPORT

 

I have goofed up my numbering for the challenge and this post should have come first.

Anyway here is the earlier prompt.  Guess it really is not important which came first.

Ink-tober #10 WORRIED

 

This is a sketch of my husband's nuerotranmitter for his ET (Essential Tremor).  

After his DBS surgery 5 years ago he has been able to control his tremor in his dominate hand with this .

Now it is time to replace the surgically implanted batteries.  It is a bit of a worry that the batteries will last to the Nov 4 surgery

date.  Keep your fingers crossed that we will be able to travel home to FL with no issues.

Day 10 of Ink-Tober Challenge: JUMP

 

Things are winding down now at the lake house.  Two days and counting and we had frost this morning…30 degrees.  BRRRR.  

We are past peak now with color and the leaves are coming down fast…there is a smell of winter and wood smoke in the air.  

Greg is busy putting his old truck "to bed" and I am busy doing the last laundry before he winterizes the appliances.  The cupboards are just about bare and we'll pack the car tomorrow.

We are gearing up for the Packers Game tonight at 6 (CST) with pizza and a blazing fire in the fireplace.  Very cozy.   

Tuesday we'll head toward DeForest to visit family there for a few days in the Madison, WI area.  Then down to South Beloit, IL for a night and to Warrenville, IL for more family.  Then heading east toward Cincinnati and WV and then to SC to visit family there.  Should walk in the FL door Oct 23.   God willing and the creek don't rise.  

Word has it that the hurricane slipped past our home neighborhood in central FL with minimal impact.  We are so grateful.  

Inktober Day 9: BROKEN

I think this speaks for itself actually.
The egg went into the meatloaf later.  

Day 7 of Ink-Tober: the prompt is LOST

The word prompt "lost" immediately sent my thoughts to my GPS which is my life saver.  I have been "map challenged" all my life!  And when I started to do the map on this page I misplace Disney! They would not be pleased.  So I corrected it, it is directly south of us about an hour.  

So it is that our little home in Leesburg (and Disney nearby) is hunkering down in preparation for getting hit with Hurricane Matthew tonight and tomorrow.  They expect 60 mph winds and 5" of rain even 150 miles inland!  It's a huge storm!  Very worrisome.  Friends say they have not been evacuated yet but gas stations are running out of gas and the lines are long at the grocery and they are out of generators and flashlights.  I have everyone in my prayers that there will be no loss of life and limited loss of property.  And of course we worry about our little house sitting there.  But we are glad we are NOT there!  

Ink-Tober prompt: SAD and a triple whammy

Triple Whammy today with 3 postings all in one!

My Ink-tober prompt is first, then another is the tangled calendar series, and last a group of tiny Bijou tiles with new tangles that I am enjoying….

The word "sad" required some thought.  We all have some sadness in our lives.  I decided to interpret it more as melancholy rather than sad…a time of thoughtfulness and remembering as the change of seasons can bring on.  Also as we make our annual transition from one climate and one home to another we take stock of what is important to us and reflect on the things we love.  I did this ink sketch sitting out on the far side of Tippecanoe Road and looking at the entry (and exit) to the cabin that you cannot see in the woods beyond.  Sort of a time to think of "comings" and "goings".  We are at peak color this weekend up here which I think is a little late for us but we have frost predicted in the next few days.  Leaves will come down even faster then.  Here's to the good summer and the hope for returning in good health and happiness.  

The anonymous calendar project (it is actually July 2017) but could be any month of 31 days starting on a Saturday, of course.  I loved using some new tangles on this one…"Slab" is a great tangle on the left on days 9 and 10.  Love that tangle but the name is weird.  And "actinar" on days 27 and 28 is a fun one too.  

And these are tiny Bijou tiles where I am having fun with some brand new tangles…just to try them out.  Top left is "Taaj" and top right is "Embrace Joy".  Middle row left to right is: "Specto", "Mystery," and "Mosaic".  Bottom row: is "Jiami" and the last one I have lost the name of.  Anyone know what it is called?

I will pack up my north woods studio over the next two days as it is THAT time of year again.  My studio is where we put all the games and puzzles, and many pieces of porch furniture for the winter to keep them safe and snug.  Once the studio door is shut, hubby piles a lot of stuff against it and there is NO getting back for anything!  So I have to pack up carefully.  So my art work become quite limited now for the rest of October.  Sigh.

But travel is fun too and we have some new and interesting spots set up this year to visit.  I keep sketch books out as I travel.  AND we don't want to get to FL too soon as they are dealing with Hurricane Matthew right now.  Yikes.  140 mph winds?  OMGosh.  

Ink-Tober Day 4: Hungry

I got such a kick out of my mistake in the spelling of "hungry" which I posted at first as "Hungary"-- the country. I guess I thought was going to have to draw a map or some building in Budapest?

Luckily I discovered it before I planned the sketch!  

Hubby was willing to do about a 10 minute pose for me at breakfast this morning (after he actually ate of course). 

Hungry being one of his favorite words!   

This is harder for me…figure poses.  And I discovered that trying to inform the viewer that something is white when you are drawing in black is not so easy.  Greg's beard is almost all white now but it sure looks black in the sketch!  (He thinks it makes him look young! So he's not complaining.)  

I am also not sure about the length of his arm…if I got that correct.  He thinks it reads okay but I think it looks a little short. 

Anyway, it shows that much practice is needed!  

Speaking of "hungry" we are planning out the last meals now so as to get the fridge and the cupboards as bare as possible before we leave for FL.  We know it will be 28 below 0 in the cabin in a few months so we have to say to ourselves…what cannot stay here?  Obviously anything in a can or a jar has to go.  And not to FL as we have our car packed to the brim when we leave!   

One week from tomorrow.  So 8 days and counting now.  

We are getting a few days of nice sunshine and about 60 degrees so we are headed outside for closing chores in the yard.  Much colder weather expected by the weekend.  We may get frost.  We are late on that actually and usually have had frost by now.  Sometimes even a dusting of snow!  

Day 3 of Ink-Tober

The word prompt for today is "Collect" and I chose to use my hubby's favorite collection of model trains.  This one is a toy train  that has a music box attached in the little box behind it that plays I've been working on the Railroad!  

Ink-Tober Day 2: Noisy

The prompt for Day 2 made me think of two items here at the cabin that make noise and are kind of special.  The school bell that I was given on the occasion of my 30th year at Reek School (engraved with my name and the year) and the old kitchen timer that Greg's mom had for many years.  Both are kind of sentimental objects that were fun to draw.  

Journal with slightly yellow pages
6 x 10

Ink-Tober Day One

Are you ready to take on the Inktober challenge? Here are the rules:

1) Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil under-drawing if you want).

2) Post it online (Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Pinterest, or just pin it on your wall.)

3) Hashtag it with #Inktober (Extra credit: Tag @ArtistsNetwork for your chance to win a package of drawing supplies!)

4) Repeat

Note: You can do it daily, or go the half-marathon route and post every other day, or just do the 5K and post once a week. Whatever you decide, just be consistent with it. Inktober is about growing and improving and forming positive habits, so the more you’re consistent the better off you’ll be.

That’s it! Now go make something beautiful. ~Jake

So I warned you…Ink-Tober was coming!  Unfortunately I don't have an Instagram account myself.  You I am just posting here.  The downside is that I cannot see what others are creating!  I may have to consider getting more techy!  :-)  

I wrote about Jake Parker who started this up about 7 years ago in a previous post.  I think I mentioned he is a cartoonist.  Imagine how interesting HIS posts will be!  Mine are going to be simple.  I'll follow the prompts if I can figure something out to go with the word.  You can read more about him AND Ink-Tober here.

The word for the first day is "Fast" which has multiple meanings.  Everything from "not eating" to "moving quickly" to edgier meanings about time…which can go fast or slow, of course.  But I interpreted it to mean "how fast time can go".  This is a sort of tribute to my friend Joanne who passed away just Thursday evening.  How living looks like as goes into warp speed once you become aware of how finite it really is.  

Here's my hubby's favorite garage sale find…an old clock…  I drew it just in ink (no pencil) and so it is a little "wonky" as ink drawings sometimes are.  

Diva's Challenge: use straight lines only

I decided to put the Diva's Challenge into my Zentangle calendar as I often do.  I thought I'd try "Hazen" that I think is an official tangle.  Never tried it before.  The square numbered 11 is sort of what it looked like to me.  But I was clueless how to repeat it.  So I just meandered off (in straight lines) and made up more.  Then finished off with "Atorm" which has LOTS of straight lines.  

I thought I'd post what I have done of this calendar so far...

I usually start a calendar sort of randomly like this…popping around to different sections each time I work on it.  Then going back to fill in sections or extend sections.  

Below is the challenge for Back to Square One Facebook group and also for the Shading Group and the tangle was "Garlic".  I am limited to black, white and gray in the Square One group.   

Planning for Ink-Tober6

6 x 10 soft cover journal

I picked this empty journal up at a garage sale this summer for 50 cents.

Really pretty cover and fairly nice drawing paper inside.

Inside the book it said "modeled on 17th and 18th century paperbound pamphlet called 'chapbooks' in England and colonial America."  This is a hand-marbled cover using Turkish watercolor marbling.  Designed by Eileen Canning and it's lists Dancing Inks in Olympia Washington, 1983.  

The "official" Ink-Tober" website, as I showed previously has prompts for each day.  But they are very "hard" prompts.  Example, the first one is just the word "FAST".  I looked up the word in the dictionary for other possible variations and found that of course, fast is used to describe a watch or a clock that isn't keeping time correctly.  SO, my first sketch will be of a clock and/or my watch.  That is about as far as I've thought about this.

I may just "ignore" the prompts.  The important thing is to draw regularly and not that it fits the prompt.  Also I'll be "on the road" a large portion of the month (11-23) and so I may or may not be able to post my work during that time.  I have looked into a downloads an app to my iPad called "Blogtouch Pro".  The old app that used to work is not working anymore.  Sigh.  So I may be able to post to my blog at least.  We'll see how that goes.

We are seeing little patches of sunshine on and off today in the north woods of WI.  Still VERY windy and about 53 out there at 10 am CST.  The weather man is predicting at least 10 degrees warmer by tomorrow.  We'll see how that goes!  Sure am tired of this bleak dark cold weather.  (I am a FL girl now.)