More tangling at the Quadrangle

I had the pleasure of going back to the Quadrangle (a Continuing Care Retirement Community) today to see what they had been up to and boy am I impressed!  First images are of the newbies who just learned today and then the others are of the students who took my class a few weeks ago.  I so enjoy seeing what people create.  Happy, Happy, Day!

 

Times when I don't want to be mindful

I had to have some oral surgery today.  I'll be the first to admit that I am a wimp when it comes to dental work.  I consider myself a pretty rational person, but I've been having stress dreams since the appointment was made over a month ago.  I even changed it twice.  I tried not to think about it, and reminded myself to stay in the moment and not let the anxiety get the better of me. For the most part it worked.

Then I found myself reluctantly in the dentist chair this morning waiting for the Novocaine to fully numb my mouth and wishing it could numb my fears.  I didn't want to acknowledge that I was afraid of what was going to happen, what the recovery would be like.  Then I remind myself that being mindful also means acknowledging your feelings. I text my husband to say "I'm scared" and thanks to auto-correct it sent him a message saying "I'm scarfed".  Oh damn, now I have to write it and admit it again.  I feel my eyes well up with tears and my body start to shake.

So I fully felt the fear, and hoped no one would noticed me shaking and something surprising happened.  After a few moments, the fear passed and I was okay.  I knew I would be okay.  Being mindful helped me move through the emotion to hear my rational self.       

I'm not saying that I was able to relax during the procedure, so I still have work to do.  However, the procedure went smoothly.  I will heal.  I have learned a valuable lesson.

Create your own Mandala

I taught a Beyond the Basics Zentangle class tonight where we explored different ways to create DIY mandalas.  Here is the recap since we covered a lot!

1).  Lids, lids, lids.  Go into the kitchen and pull out different sized lids and use them to create nested circles. Lightly trace around the edges and then tangle.

You can see how I used four lids for the design above.

 
2).  Ruler and compass - make concentric circles then use a ruler to draw lines that bisect the circles.  Use the intersection points to create a string.

Examples of strings - not tangled yet!  The first one has three concentric circles and two lines.  The second image has four concentric circles and four ruler lines.

3).  Buy mandala stencils from Genevieve Crabe - her stencils give you the intersection points from which to create a pattern.  Go to this link to see a video showing how to use them.

4).  Use pre-strung zendala tiles from Zentangle.com in either black or white!

Diva Challenge 118 - Featuring Kuke!

 Here is a tile I completed using kuke, fengle, and colored pencils!

Wow!! Kuke Selected as Pattern of the Week by the Diva!

I can't tell you how honored I am that my original tangle "Kuke" was selected to be the weekly challenge by Laura Harms aka I am the Diva CZT.  You can find the challenge information here.  I am looking forward to seeing all the cool creations people come up with!!

Make your own blending stump!

Check out this link that shows how to make a blending stump!  

http://monologues.co.uk/Portraits/Tortillon.htm

Creation of a Zendala and using Irojiten colored pencils

I have been stretching myself and learning new techniques thanks to the on-line class Time to Tangle with Color by Marie Browning.  You can find out more by going to mycreativeclassroom.com.

Here is the progression - I started with toned tan paper and a mandala stencil by Genevieve Crabe found here.

 I added poke leaf, purk, and the start of fractal tree

 finished pen drawing

 I added white highlights using a white charcoal pencil then went over it with red and green colored pencils

Almost finished piece!