Boomeresque:Definition
1. Adj.: Describing a person born between 1 Jan. 1946 and 31 Dec. 1964
2. Adj.: Description of a person, place or thing possessing Baby Boomer je ne sais quoi
3. See also, Boomer, Esq.: A Baby Boomer who is also a licensed attorney (See, e.g., About).

A New Boomeresque Tangle in the Time of Covid 19- Viru

by Suzanne Fluhr on May 8, 2020 · 4 comments

zentangle viru tangle

I’m writing this while under a “Stay at Home” Order issued by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This Order requires people to stay in their houses, leaving only for essential activities like food shopping. The Order was issued in an attempt to mitigate the spread of the pandemic caused by Covid 19, a novel Corona Virus that is sweeping around the world.

Meet Viru, a Tangle in the Time of Covid 19

The Covid 19 virus has been the main story on the cable news stations I watch too much. They usually display graphics of the virus. As devastating as the virus has been, I often think the graphic representations of the virus are pretty. So, I decided to see if I could come up with a tangled version.

This is what I came up with:

Covid 19 representation

My “artistic” representation of the Covid 19 virus. I named this tangle Viru.

This composition with the added color would be considered Zentangle™ Inspired Art (ZIA).

My husband, Mr./Dr. Excitement, is on the faculty of the School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania where he is a member of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division. He usually grunts when I interrupt whatever he’s doing which could range from reading or writing a scientific paper to watching a science fiction series on Netflix. However, he seemed genuinely interested in my Covid 19 tangleation. He shared it with the Chief of the Division who included it as the final slide in his weekly staff Covid 19 update presentation. Hopefully, they have a better idea of what this virus really looks like because they are the on the front-line in caring for Covid 19 patients.

I contacted Linda Farmer who publishes TanglePatterns.com to see if she would be interested in adding my Covid 19 inspired tangle to her website. She has published other of my tangles, but she said she is too disturbed by the sadness and disruption caused by Covid 19, to share it on Tangle Patterns.

I can understand Linda’s preference not to include it, but in some ways, deconstructing the virus into a Zentangle™ tangle feels oddly empowering — but not so empowering as to keep me from continuing to follow the Covid 19 mitigation guidelines.

Here are the step-outs for Viru:

Viru Zentangle Tangle

My deconstruction is a little wonky which I’ll blame on the raft of medications I’m taking for my vertebral compression fractures. If they make no sense, please let me know.

I’ve already shared the colored Zentangle Inspired Art version of Viru above. Here it is on a 3.5 inch square tile adhering more strictly to the Zentangle method:

zentangle viru tangle

So, give Viru a try and let me know what you think. You can share comments and the URL to where we can find your Viru online below.

Other Boomeresque Tangles

Here are links to the other tangles I’ve published on Boomeresque:  PhirstSegundoTerceroAurabeadAlohaSpearatorSpringishSpanglesDinoflor, and Shorely.

Try some of the Hump Day Zentangle Challenges on Facebook. I’d be happy to add you to the group.

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

Donna May 8, 2020 at 8:02 pm

You’re so artistic

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Jenny May 9, 2020 at 12:38 pm

Hi Suzanne,
I just discovered your blog and am enjoying it very much.
Just read your previous post. So sorry about your back problems.
You have a great attitude. As the British say, “Keep calm and carry on.” As well as possible that is.
Take care. I look forward to your next post.
JF

Reply

Suzanne Fluhr May 9, 2020 at 2:09 pm

Thank you. I have to admit that my attitude fluctuates between “you’ve got this” and utter despair.

Reply

Jess June 19, 2020 at 8:36 am

This is incredible therapy. Make beauty of what come be fear, disturbance, or even despair for some. I’ve just spent the week creatively exploring Coronavirus with my tots, finding play and creativity the best way to communicate the hard stuff with children. But now that, that is done, I think I may be using your step-by-step to doodle my own, to take a time to be mindful of my own emotions on the virus.

Wonderful inspiration, thank you.

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