Painting and Zentangles

Starving Artist Studio is one of my favorite places. The owners and staff are down-to-earth and so friendly. The place is surrounded by art - paintings, jewelry, lighted bottles, and of course painted bisque. I've been doing zentangles on the mugs I decorate for family members' birthdays. 


My cousin Esha loves Mickey Mouse, but I didn't want to just paint a traditional red, yellow and black Mickey, so I made this one:

I love how it turned out!

Mixed Media

I took a mixed media class at the Art & Soul conference at the Hampton Convention Center this spring. I've done a little mixed media, but not with paint. I had a ball getting my hands dirty and being pushed to try new things. Working quickly was hard for me. I'm used to taking my time to select just the right pieces, not just grabbing what feels right or what will work right away and using it. The class also forced me to do more layering than I'm used to.

This is an altered book. I thought we were going to use pieces of the book, so I chose a book by Bishop Desmond Tutu, Believe: The Words and Inspiration of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, because I liked the feel of the paper and the messages in the book. However, you can't tell what it was now. :) It was a small book, so I had to rip out a page and tape it to another so that I had a large enough canvas to work on.

It was difficult to make something that looked decent (we had to work quickly so decent was the best I could do in such a short time frame) and then be asked to tear it up with scissors or paint over a magazine picture you chose because it had some meaning. However, I liked what I ended up with. I haven't finished this second one, yet. I know, I know...I started it in the spring and haven't finished...but I will! I'm still in awe that I was able to do this in just a few minutes (not counting the time it took to wrap the pages in masking tape).

Zentangles are so relaxing

As much as I love my beads, I have abandoned them for the last few months for zentangle. *said in a whisper because I don't want my beads to hear.* For one thing, you can't really mess up a zentangle. You don't know what it's going to look like when you start, so you don't have the pressure of trying to get it right. For two things, you start with a 3 x 3 inch square, a manageable size, so you can finish one in a reasonable amount of time. I do them at lunch sometimes or at night to unwind. It's easy to get your mind off things that bother you when you're drawing something simple, but cool. I'm surprised some of these photos came out okay because at least two of them were taken with a cell phone.

This is my first official zentangle that I did in class, using an image transfer.

 These are tangles from my notebook that I work in at least 3 or 4 times a week, if not every day.

I love round images, so I do a lot of circles.

 If you've seen my past blogs, you know I like mandalas. Now I have zentangle mandalas as well.

Technically a zentangle is black and white. However, I love my sepia pigma pen, and I just bought some other colors as well. In class, I was told that designs in colors besides black would be considered zentangle inspired designs. However, I don't think it's that serious.

Catching Up

I haven't posted in months and to anybody who reads/used to read my blog, I apologize. I've been creating art, but I just haven't been sharing. As a matter of fact, I'm headed to a local art gallery in a few minutes to deliver a self-portrait that is going up as part of an exhibit.

I like the black and white version better, but the gallery asked for the color version. This is my first time working on canvass and I like the finished pieces.


I took a Zentangle class at the Art & Soul show in March or April (I can't remember which), and I've been tangling ever since! I've worked on one almost every day. I'll post some later. Nothing is safe from my oil pens, Sharpies or pigment pens these days - t-shirts, backpacks, notebooks, the cases where I keep my art supplies. 


I haven't beaded in a while, but I plan to get back on track with the BJP. I refuse to start and not finish two years in a row. 


I took a mixed media class at the Art & Soul show as well, so I've been working on several mixed media pieces. And I am still painting at least once a month at the Starving Artist Studio. I'm combining what I've learned in several projects - using mixed media on a mug that I painted, painting zentangles on pottery. Since I work so much, I ecstatic that I am actually making time to do some art.


Take care!

Locked in Frustration!

So I was expecting March to be so much less hectic and stressful than February since the grant I administer closed on Feb. 28th. Silly me! I only had to oversee the final programs, write final reports and close out all the finances. In addition, I'm seeking other funding sources to keep the coalition moving while recruiting new partners. 


Although many of the partners are helpful, nobody knows the ins and outs of the partnership the way I do. That's partly my fault for letting people slide without being able to speak about the group the way they should. That left me with another overwhelming, chaotic, rushed month. I'm excited and hopeful about the future of the community because of the way things are going, but I cannot continue to be the only one responsible for keeping it together. 

I need a personal life that's not squeezed into the few minutes I have between sleep and a 60-hour work week. However, did manage to go out a few times, and I completed the March BJP during the month of March! I was worried that I would get off track early in the year like I did last year. All the chaos of my month must have sparked some creativity as well. Trying to express what I feel couldn't be done with beads alone, so I ended up with embellishments and writing on my piece, too. I liked the process and the end result.


This is definitely more complicated and not as "safe" as the first two. Let me know what you think!