(New to Zentangle, start here.)
You can still buy pumpkins and gourds in Philly.
It’s November 10th, three days after the USA shocked over half of it’s voters (and all of the pundits) by electing you know who. I’m still too numb to mention his name. I was intending to write a therapeutic blog post about our election after having been consumed by it for over a year, but I remain too distraught about the result. So, if you’re interested curious, check back in a few days and I may have collected myself sufficiently to write something at least semi-coherent about it.
Throughout this year, I watched waaaay too much cable news, keeping myself reatively sane by tangling while I watched. I have to call my creations Zentangle Inspired Art because they don’t follow the Zentangle rules. (There are rules. There are no mistakes.) My creations are too big for the Zentangle construct, and I used colored pencils or other colored media.
I have been absent from sharing my Diva Challenge responses and enjoying yours for three weeks. However, I was dutifully working on the challenges.
I’ll share them in reverse chronological order:
Diva Challenge #292: “Use My Tangle”
There is only one letter difference between “Eaxy” and “Easy”, but I tried not to think about that when I was unable to satisfactorily reproduce it.
Laura asked us to use the tangle “Eaxy” by Nadine Roller. I don’t know if I was experiencing election induced brain freeze, but try as I might, I could not master this tangle. I felt like I needed another few steps in the step-out to be able to reproduce it. I will look at what has been shared by others for the challenge to see if I can induce a 💡 moment.
Diva Challenge #291: Halloween
Halloween brings back mind images of my father carving our pumpkin every year and our then little boys in their various costumes:
- Dragon (because you can make a costume using Dr. Denton’s onesy pajamas and then just adding the things no respectable dragon would be without, like a tail and a special spiked hat);
- Ghost (easy peasy); and
- Doctor (because you can borrow your father’s doctor bag and old stethoscope); and,
- Ninja (because your great-grandmother gave you a ninja costume complete with plastic nunchucks. She didn’t raise two boys, so she didn’t realize what a bad idea it might be to arm a 4 year old.)
So, here’s my pumpkin:
Tangled pumpkin
Diva Challenge #290 – Duotangle Using N’zeppel and Flux
This was a fun, relaxing one because we had to use two of my “go to” favorite tangles. I decided to make it more challenging by using color—gelly roll pens, in this case.
If you have been enjoying the Zentangle Inspired Art, but wondering all this time how someone could get more votes, but still lose an election, I explained the United States electoral college system in a 2012 blog post.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
So wonderful tiles – I love them with their nice colors 🙂
LOVE the zen-pumpkin! Beautiful diversity of tangles and great shading!
Thank you Dyanne. I’m finding I want to use color more often. Maybe it’s the dark times.
So glad to see you, Suzanne. I was afraid you might do something rash, like overdose on donuts or pumpkin pie or something. All you can do is “Pick yourself up, brush yourself off and…” Just out of curiosity, I know who won, but who actually got the most votes? So, on to something a little, in fact a lot, more cheery – Zentangle. I got behind with Challenges too and am catching up a little at a time. Love both the ones shown here, though how you got the pumpkin so symmetrical beats me. As for Eaxy, keep trying, I’ve learned to love it, truly.
I do like your pumpkin and n’zeppel-flux tiles. And yes I do like your easy playings too. They look great to me. I too had some problems to get it the way I wanted, and played on scrap papers to, I found a way to draw it without loosing track of all the X’s. Take a look at my post, to see my way of drawing this pattern, perhaps this will help you!
Diana, thank you, your step-out helps a lot. I would have told you so on your own site, but your message function doesn’t allow for anonymous posters. Again, thank you for the step-out.
Beautiful tiles, and my favorite is the pumpkin. It is just extraordinary!!
I am having serious problems with Eaxy, but I took Diana’s advice, went to her site, and her step-out has helped me quite a bit.
Love your pumpkin, such great tangle choices. The duo tangle is lovely too!
Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of Eaxy! I love the tangles and colour of your pumpkin. But I LOVE the design flourish of your Flux and N’zeppel! Colours are fantastic!
I was thinking today I should get out my coloring crayons and book in an attempt to soothe my soul, it’s good you have your tangles to weave.
Wonderful colors you have become with these gelly roll pens!
Both tiles are beautiful and about Eaxy, just keep on exercising, me too had a struggle in the beginning, but now it has become a lot better!
Success and I’m glad to “see” you back
I really love that pumpkin! As to the other, I suggest you take a deep breath because everything is going to be fine…I promise. There was a lot of things exposed during this election cycle.. all of which we needed to stop hiding our heads in the sand about. The political process has been change forever, and I, for one, am elated for just that!
I got off Facebook over a month ago because I got sick over the ugliness so many people were posting – people I totally lost respect for. I didn’t want to get caught up in the hoopla on either side so I checked out. I signed in the other day and immediately got off again. I find it totally amazing that those of us who didn’t want the current president didn’t go to the extremes both parties and people went to this election. I’m so sick and tired of hearing everyone’s opinion (on either side) because guess what? People’s opinion is worthless except to the people who are expressing their opinion – mine included right here!!! (Not that your post won’t be intelligent, pointed and well written, and read by me because I like how you put things!)
That said – I love love love your Zentangles. Again I think you should sell tiles of them or art or something for those of us who don’t ‘tangle!
Your first paragraph expresses my state of heart and mind exactly. And your pumpkin and duotangle are lovely. In solidarity, Leslie
“it’s” in the first line should be “its” — sincerely, your pal the grammar nerd
Hmm. I mean it to be a contraction of “it is”???
This Eaxy is so very difficult and there is absolutely no zen in it for me (and you and …) just a lot of concentration and frustration.
Suzanne, I like to ‘give’ a text from Oriah Dreamweaver to you from her latest newsletter:
The Morning After
Posted: 09 Nov 2016 06:46 AM PST
Let’s pause. I know, I know this culture’s way of dealing with disappointment is often to start regrouping, reorganizing, getting out there and taking action. That’s okay but. . maybe we could just take a moment, a day, to sit down, to take a slow walk or a long run, to feel our feet upon the earth, to be with whatever is arising within.
When we try to outrun uncomfortable feelings- grief, loss, fear, anger- they disappear into our unconscious and from there, wreck havoc, shape choices and sometimes cause outbursts that leave us mystified.
So, today, I am going to pause and see what arises, and- to the best of my ability (and yes, some moments are better than others) just be with what comes. Fresh grief can stir heartache for old losses that have not been mourned. Fresh anger can take us to old hurts that need tending. Being with whatever arises reminds us that nothing is static, everything is in constant motion, and nothing- no matter how uncomfortable- can really be outrun.
We can pause. We won’t get stuck here. We are not alone here. Oriah
What a beautiful pumpkin and your Duotangle is just gorgeous! Great colours! Your sketches of Eaxy look really great. I hope you give Eaxy a try again!
Suzanne, I know exactly how you feel. I got so tired of all the bs I stopped listening to everything awhile ago. But, it is what it is. I like the post that Annemarie put up. A very good prescription for right now.
On to Zentangle. I love the tiles you did. That pumpkin is gorgeous. The “Nzeppell and Flux tile is beautiful. Wonderful colors on both of those tiles. And Eaxy? HARD!! Not very zen at all. I did a very small space on my tile. Any bigger and I would get lost. So no biggie to not do it. I won’t do any more of it, 😉