Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone!  I hope that this season finds you with family and sharing time with those you love.  Remember, friends are the family you get to choose :)

Warmest wishes for the season!
Steph :)

Diva Challenge #52

For this week's challenge, we have to make a tile that we are to give away - to share a part of ourselves through Zentangle with a fellow person.  'Tis the season, after all!  I created a tile in a similar style to one I created a few weeks ago (square, circle, triangle challenge) because I loved how it turned out..... I like this one, but it's not my favourite - I think I'll try it again when I'm on my flight, perhaps with a few different tangles. Maybe I'll turn it into a series!
I'm not sure who I'll give it to yet - I'm thinking my sister, because we're not exchanging gifts this year (our trip was our gift to each other for the whole fam)... she had mentioned that she wanted coasters made out of one of my tangles.  Maybe I'll pop into Michael's this weekend and see if I can find something that works!

(Dec 16 update) Added another one just today - I like this one! Perhaps this one will go in a Christmas card :)

Challenge #51 - Fife

In this week's challenge, we have to use the new tangle, "Fife".  I'm not usually into the flowery tangles, but I can see myself playing with this one...  I liked it.  It actually has a similar design to a dress that I'll be wearing in Hawaii at Christmas (yep, can't wait!!).

Busy week at work - hope that the kids are patient while I slowly lose my mind with a million things to do!! :) Happy Tangling!

Challenge #50 - Biggify....

Ok, this might have been my fastest tangle yet.  Loved this Diva challenge!  Using tangles and magnifying them to larger than life size.... way too much fun :)  Thanks, Laura!

Challenge #49 - Red Thread Promise

This week's Diva Challenge is based on helping children.  Click here to see the site about the Red Thread Promise - a promise to help children suffering from starvation, disabilities, and lack of proper medical care.  The challenge this week was to create a black and white tile, using a red string as the basis for the tangle. Here is what we ended up with!

If I have a chance to, perhaps I'll do another one later this week and add it in here - as it is, it's past my bedtime :)

- S

Challenge #48

It's been quite a while since I've participated in one of Laura Harms' Diva challenges.  I was off work sick today and I found tangling was a good way to take my mind off the sniffles.  This week's challenge was to use a circle, a square, and a triangle as the string - I tried it a couple of ways.... the one with all shapes inside one other was my favourite of the two tiles (it gave me a chance to use Paradox, which I love).  Another part of the challenge was to use tangle patterns that were new - I used some that I've used before, but haven't used much.  I figured a little practice beforehand was acceptable :)
Here they are:

11-12-13

Just realized that my b-day this year is composed of three consecutive numbers. This is a big deal to me! 11-12-13 - how cool is that?? Lol - I'm such a nerd :)

Diva Challenge #42 - Hope

This week's Diva challenge was focused on hope.  Breast cancer affects everyone in some way or form - my Grandmother was a breast cancer survivor.  She passed away earlier this year.  This tangle is for her :)

Diva Challenge #41 - Duotangle V. II

I haven't had time to tangle much lately - back-to-school has been insane. I made time for it tonight and am so glad that I did!  I love the result.  Thanks again to Laura, who presents challenges every week that encourage me to think outside the box! 

This week's challenge suggested that we use only 2 tangles, proving once again that less is more.  I always find working with a limit or narrow framework difficult.  The confines of the actual zentangle tile is a struggle for me, and I prefer to complete my work in a sketchbook instead.  As a result, my work is rarely "zentangle" size, but I like tangling with a larger page.

For this week, the tangles were Jonqal and Opus. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the two - one is structured and grid-like, the other airy and free.  Loved it!

Just an add-on.... I decided to use Jonqal in a mandala - I can't decide if I like it or not....

Diva Challenge #39 - Love and Butterflies

I find butterflies to be a calming presence.  I, by nature, do not enjoy insects, but there's something so unintimidating about butterflies, I find it impossible not to enjoy them.  They just seem so peaceful.  A lot of my Zentangle Inspired Art is butterfly-motivated and I've included a couple of them here to respond to this week's challenge - I think they speak to the concept of love and peace.

I experimented a little with colour when I drew a dragonfly for a friend, and just for fun I thought I would include it here, too :)

Paradox

I was so happy when Laura Harms of http://iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com/ posted this week's challenge! "Paradox" is one of my favourite tangles, and I'd actually been experimenting with it a couple of days before the challenge was posted.  Here's my Zentangle tile, all "paradoxed" up.

The Importance of Good Grammar

Adrianne, I thank you for this one.

This is a perfect example of why grammar is so important, and why it is SO important to make sure people understand how to use commas:

Let's eat, Grandma.
Let's eat Grandma.

Enough said :)

Typos

I was recently reading a book in which there were several spelling mistakes.  How does this happen?  Editors are paid good money to catch various errors that, for one reason or another, the author had missed.  Admittedly, I make errors, too, but when you're paid to catch them, there's no reason for them to be in published works.  This book was good - not excellent, but good.  The thing that knocked it down a notch was the fact that there were SO MANY errors; there were at least 8.  I'm reading another book by the same author right now, and am barely a quarter of the way through it.  Already, I've caught a few errors (spelling, punctuation, grammatical).  If I can catch them, why can the editors not?  I find it very distracting, and takes away from my enjoyment of the story.  If I didn't like the characters and stories in this series so much, I would likely stop reading the books... but alas, they're vampires, werewolves, and other creatures that go bump in the night, so I am unable to shelve them :)

Mandala-love

I've read about mandalas, but I didn't really have the guts to try them. The circular designs intimidated me, because I figured I couldn't draw them - I, of course, didn't think of using them as templates because I thought it was kind of like cheating.  I was in the States a couple of weeks ago, and was in a Borders Bookstore that was going out of business.  I got a book (The Mandala Colouring Book) that was full of over 150 blank, ready-to-fill-in mandalas for $4.  With the acquisition of my new printer/copier/scanner, I was able to copy a couple of these blackline masters & use them to play with.  I still have the original blanks, so that I can photocopy them for my students.

Within the last few hours, I've completed 2 of these mandala-tangles. And I kind of love them and want to do more.  They turned out beautifully!  The nice thing is, with the design already established, there's still flexibility in the design. Lines can be added with ease, and patterns can overlap the existing lines if necessary.  I've found that they take a great deal of time to complete, but they're definitely worth it.

I'm planning to have copies of the templates available in my classroom.  I want my students to have the opportunity of picking them up at any time to experiment and play and draw. They encourage patterning, rotational symmetry, repetition, movement, and various other elements and principles of art.

Tangle-tastic

Over the last month, I've been lucky enough to learn about Zentangle.  I've enjoyed this pastime immensely, and as the summer draws to an end, I'm looking for ways to use it in my classroom. 

This year, my grade 8 class is full of boys (19 boys, 9 girls - I'm sorely outnumbered!!) - not that that's a bad thing! - and I am always looking for good ways to settle my students and mentally prepare them for their lessons.  I'm thinking that tangling might be a good way to do this.  With some relaxing music, I'm hoping to allow them to open their minds and ready themselves for the day.  I can't wait to test it out!

My first post

Hello there!  If you're joining me, welcome :)  I've never done a blog before, so I'm excited to have the chance to share my thoughts and to have discussions on a wide variety of topics.  Thanks for visiting!