cyndali

Zentangle® Art Show

2012-01-10T14:22:00.000-08:00

In October 2011 I had the great pleasure of attending Certified Zentangle Training in Providence, Rhode Island. The Providence Inn was a delightful hotel and was mostly occupied by us tangle types. Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, the founders of the Zentangle drawing style, are very inspiring and such a pleasure to spend time with. I have been happily drawing and experimenting with Zentangle for over a year and am so grateful to now have more knowledge about this art form and finally feel successful with the ones I found difficult to draw. Yay ....I can now whip out a W2 and Huggins pattern quick and easy.

There are other CZT's in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Angie Vangalis is one of them and has been spreading the Zentangle message for a while now. For the second year she has put together a Zentangle Art Show at the Irving Arts Council in Irving, Texas. I entered some of my art in the show. There are some very creative pieces in the Zentangle art exhibit. The opening is January 15th, 2p til 4p. The show is on now and runs through January 27th.

A piece I entered in the show, "What a Hoot". Microns and Inktense pencils on Bristol board, coated with gloss medium, 9"x9". I framed it in a black square 12"x12" frame with a black mat.

Two of the pieces I saw at the show were created by someone who is not a CZT, but had taken classes from one of my fellow CZT students. Sandhya Manne became a CZT in October at CZT7, the same time I was there. She has begun giving classes and should take great pride in the fact her teaching has already blossomed in this artist who has presented an intricate silver point on black piece and a marvelous acrylic canvas piece with Zentangle patterns. Becoming a CZT is a worthwhile endeavor and promotes our own artistic venture, it only makes it more worthwhile when as a teacher of Zentangle you see your students go on to create their own individual works, Congratulations Sandhya ....you done good!

Jeepers Peepers and Zentangle®

2011-11-27T16:17:00.001-08:00

Every Christmas I make a few things for a local art and craft bazaar. It's hosted by Martha Howell, a Mixed Media artist who clears out her studio space and invites artists and crafters from the Dallas/Fort Worth area to offer their wares for sale.

Drawn on paper before adhering to lens.

One of the items I made this year is a favorite recycle craft of mine. I turn old eyeglass lens into pins and pendants by decoupaging images onto the backside of the lens using gloss medium, matte medium or Modge Podge. This year, since I am hooked on Zentangle, I decided to draw images using tangles. I love 'em, and they are super easy to make.

Image adhered to lens.

Instructions for Jeepers Peepers

Trace the shape of the lens onto paper
Tangle your design inside that shape.
Cut the shape out.
Cover the inside of the lens and the image with gloss or matte medium, then press into place.
Rub really well for no bubbles and cover the outside of the image with the medium, let dry.

Image attached to lens.

I then painted the back black, and coated it again with the medium.
I liked the look of the pin better when I went around the outside lens rim with a black Sharpie...it masks the clear rim of the lens.
When it was completely dry I used E6000 adhesive to attach a pin back. (You can also purchase pin backs with a pendant attachment so it can be worn as either a pin or necklace.)
For added durability I glued a small piece of black felt over the pin attachment.

Back of pin.

That's it, I call them Jeeper Peepers, after that fun old song....sung by Louis Armstrong. These eyeglass pins have sold well for me, people love the story and the re-purposing of old eyeglasses.

This is Martha's 38th year...she is aiming for the 40 year mark. If you live in the area you really should attend, so many amazing handmade items for gift giving. Here is a link to the Ladybugs 38th Annual Christmas Collection.

A Fascinator...made quick and easy.

2011-11-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

I don't wear hats. Some people lookmarvelous in them...but not me. My mom, my sister and I have discoveredwe can't wear hats because we have small heads. Who knew...but it'strue, hats just don't fit.

A couple of years ago I was at a craftshow and saw a booth of amazing little hats. They were small, fit onthe head with a headband and chock full of the most outrageous andgorgeous “stuff” I had ever seen on a hat. Recently my mom askedme if I had a hat she could borrow for a program she was attending the next day ather local Women's Club. “Nope, mom I don't wear hats, but I willbe right over to make you a Fascinator.” I had learnedthis term when I approached the hat lady at the craft booth. Thesemarvelous little pieces of art “for the head” are calledFascinators.

Completed Fascinator

Don't you just love YouTube?, I quicklydid a search for “how to make a fascinator” then ran outto my studio to gather up some things I could glue to a headband,stopped at Michaels for a few flower picks and some tulle and hitthe road to mom's.

Felt cut in circle, applied around rim with hot glue.

I don't generally care a lot for using hotglue but this was an emergency...so I hot glued allthe items to the headband. I am sure the hat lady in the craft shownicely sewed her items on and carefully constructed them, but for aquick headpiece you just can't beat hot glue.

Felt covered lid, additional circle cut from felt to cover completely.

Basics of it are ….take a headband,any headband..hot glue ribbon around it. I used a lid from amargarine tub for a round base (got this idea from YouTube), which I covered with felt and then glued all these fun items to. It isbasically just gluing a bunch of stuff to the base and then gluingthe base to the headband. Check out YouTube for additional ideas.

Mom and Fascinator.

Mom called me after her meeting,everyone loved it! Yay!!..thank goodness, wasn't sure if mom wasreally into this “fascinator hat” as much as she pretended ! This is fun.... try it for the holidays.Think about it ….you could glue anything to it, my next one may bea little miniature mixed media art piece.

Inktense Pencils Rock!!

2011-08-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

Okay...it's been a year since I posted anything on my blog. Guess it is about time I get back in the swing of things. There are many fabulous artists and crafters sharing online. I have learned so much from them. Almost any technique or product you can think of now has a YouTube video or a blog with related instructions. I love this!! So I decided it was time to share more of mine.

This year has been a busy one for me, I was really excited when I was asked last year to write a book about Bottle Art, it was published June of 2010 by Design Originals. I have been saving old bottles (mostly wine bottles) and jars for years. The wine bottles line my flower beds and become bottle trees. They also make some great assemblage art, glasses and jewelry...just use the small broken pieces. In my studio very little goes to waste. Some of my best times creating art comes when I have to brainstorm new ways to use recycled materials.

I love to draw eyes in my creatures.

Recently I have been doing a lot of journaling, it has now become one of my favorite art forms. Each page can be devoted to a new technique, thought or theme and it gives me the chance to try out my many art supplies. Are you anything like me? Gotta use those coupons from the craft store so you end up with art stuff you simply forget about. Or worse...don't even know what the heck it is.

I have heard several artists rave about the Inktense pencils from Derwent...so with one of my coupons I purchased a set. I had assumed they were like most watercolor pencils but kept hearing how intense the colors were. They are aptly named, the Inktense pencils are so...so wonderful. I have used them in a lot of my art now and journal pages...these are perfect for mixed media artists. They can be added to your other art work, small touches with them can make a big difference.

My favorite way to use them right now is simply to draw with a Sakura Micron pen on an old book page and color it in with my Inktense pencils. I normally gesso everything before working on it but this is an experiment in minimal materials...usually done at night before bed. Just me, the book, the markers and Inktense pencils. I also use the refillable water color brushes, the H2O watercolor brush that comes in a little plastic tube with a brush on the end. Heaven...love the color in my creatures...I plan to fill the whole book with these fun and colorful drawings.

The Light from my Window

2010-08-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

At just the right time of the morning there is a beautiful shadow cast on my bedroom window. A Virginia Creeper grows every summer all over the house. It grows so quickly that the shadows it cast on the window seem to change almost daily.

I finally woke from sleep at an optimum time this morning and captured a good shot of the sun and shadow. Awesome, I need to make a stencil from this pattern.

Lady bugs!!!

2009-05-01T17:25:00.000-07:00

I just had to share this. My granddaughter found this in the garden the other day. She doesn't have to have glasses on to spy little tiny things in the garden. I do. So, when she showed me this it took me a minute to figure it out. How long will it take you to figure it out??

Anyway, I have lots of lady bugs in my garden ...and more on the way!!!

One-eyed root!!

2009-03-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

I can't help it, I pick up pieces of old wood. I have stacks of old wood bits. The other day I was raking leaves and digging in the garden and this little beauty popped out. It had such a wonderful shape to it I decided to paint it. Of course it had to be bright colors, like a Mexican folk art piece.

Dirt Dobbers

2009-03-19T20:07:00.000-07:00

I recently posted this fabulous find of a nest on my Rowdy Grandma blog, I have not yet created anything with it.

Pipe organ mud dauber wasp nest....these were huge!!

I was reminded of a project I did a couple of years ago for Lisa at Ten Two Studios. This was a project whose theme was gardens.

There are tons of dirt dobbers at my house, they nest absolutely everywhere!!! Some of them are so cool....and they build their little dirt nests in the most bizarre places.

These little guys built a nest in my husband's golf bag!!....boy was he tee'd off.

Being the keeper that I am, (some would say pack rat), I have saved some of these little beauties....so my garden art is a board book with treasured little dirt dobbers nests in them.

Lump- in- neck gourd

2009-03-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

Okay ..again with the gourds...cause it's gourd planting time here in Texas. I have a book about gourds and it is amazing how many there are. I did not grow this particular gourd....I bought a bunch of these at my local garden center a couple of years ago. They were about to throw them out...my god!!!...I got tons of them for $5.00. I love it when I find a bargain! So I looked it up in the gourd book and it's a lump-in-neck gourd, not to be confused with the Indonesian bottle gourd......huh??

Day of the Dead gourd

First thing I will be doing is building a trellis. Gourd vines grow so incredibly fast....I mean it boggles my mind!!....and they climb everywhere..so this year I will give them plenty of space....they need to be off the ground.....while gourds are light when dry they can be quite heavy on the vine and have ended up on the ground before I knew it, and there ain't nothin' pretty about a smushed gourd!!

Out of my gourd!!!

2009-02-22T15:21:00.000-08:00

God..I love the shape of gourds....
....every year I try growing my own gourds and have been only minimally successful....who would have known there was so much to consider when gourd growing.....I mean...did any of you guys realize there were women gourds and men gourds????...and they don't always get together even though they are on the same damn vine!!! ...so the first thing I had to know was what's the difference...and then I had to make sure they exchanged pollen!!!....well...that sounds like too much work....... Whatever...I will try growing them again this year...in the meantime I have painted quite a few of them and line my fence with them......here's the latest....

Hocus pocus

Hearts are spooky!!!

2009-01-29T16:30:00.001-08:00

It is almost Valentines Day...and guess what I am not a heart person. Skeletons are more my thing!!! So...here are a few anti-Valentines I came up with for a contest at dabbled.org

I have been using old records for years to make jewelry. Don't worry the records I use are the ones I carried from house to house....garage to garage ...ever since I was a teenager..and that's been a really long time... so they ended up unplayable ...but I just couldn't throw them away.

These two anti-Valentines are both made from heating and forming these old records to create the heart shape. And yes...in the "Crazy for you" piece those are real bones. Since I am known for collecting just about everything friends and family who just happen across dried-up bones of small animals think of me!!! This piece stands in a frame made from chicken wire which I spray painted black, and then wired the bones to.

The "True love" piece also has what looks like a bone. However, it is a perm rod painted to look like a bone. I was thrilled when I took some old perm rods to a class given by Michael DeMeng and that son-of-a-gun just picked the perm rod up and immediately turned it into one of my favorite things...a bone.....he's genius when it comes to paint effects. I made this piece into a necklace by adding beads and red craft wire and an adjustable black silk cord.