More creative fun

I made this fun bird and can't wait to try more:).  My soldering skills need some refreshing, but it will be worth it for the smiles they bring!

Zentangle Beads??

I'm in Rochester, NY taking a class at the International Society of Glass Beadmakers annual conference.  Here is a quick pic of the beads I made yesterday.  Holly Cooper is teaching us how to make intricate designs and I am hoping to translate her technique into some Zentangle beads!

Patterns for vacation

I ran into a student this weekend who was telling me about how she was trying to tangle while on vacation.  But, she had trouble figuring out some patterns.  Let's face it, some pattern step-outs are just missing a crucial bit of information!  I told her I would send her some patterns I think are helpful to do when you don't want to be challenged by difficult patterns (yes I have those days too!!). Here are a couple I would suggest that I think are beautiful and helpful to do when you want to focus on the meditative part of zentangle.  They are not on tangle patterns so I've put the step-outs below.

Static (and try close cousin - Nipa)

Nekton

Other favorites are florz, rain, indy-rella, and mooka. Enjoy!

Video "How To" of Diva Dance

I always tell you about the videos by Rick and Maria, but just found this one I think you'll like too by CZT Laura Harms!  Check out Diva Dance!

Mindful Postcard Swap

I organized a MINDFUL swap for Certified Zentangle Teachers and had 50 teachers participate!  We could only use tangles that started with the letters M-I-N-D-F-U-L.  For some reason, I was feeling the love for mooka and tried a few different versions.  I used mooka as a string for some and I created a fractal mooka when I put mooka inside of a larger mooka!  The very last postcard was an extra one so I tried some other patterns than those that start with mindful.  Enjoy!

Silence on the verge of extinction

I really enjoyed the On Being show today about the need for Silence.  You can listen to the podcast The Last Quiet Places here.  One of the things I enjoy the most about teaching Zentangle is the quiet that falls over a class once people start tangling.  It's a beautiful and safe sound.  As Acoustic Ecologist Gordon Hempton says real quite is "presence" not just the absence of noise.  One suggestion is to listen to nature in order to improve one's ability to listen to people.  He goes on to state that "Quiet is Quieting", meaning that spending some time being silent calms the mind and soul.  For adults, being silent can be frightening because we are trained to fill voids.  The podcast includes some lovely nature sounds.  Enjoy:)