Zentangle Challenge - String Theory

It has been dreary and rainy in Minnesota for what seems like "foreeever!" now. Well, if we can't get out we can at least tangle. This week's Diva challenge was for all of us to use the same string for our tangle. I am really looking forward to seeing the results. There have been challenges where we all used the same patterns before but this will ensure we are all coming from the same starting place. Where we go and how we get there after that will be exciting to see!

Even if we all used the same string and patterns in the same places on the tile I'm still willing to bet they would all be unique and different. Each person's individual style would come through I'm sure. Even using the same elements I believe everyone would put there own spin on it. As I am sure we shall see in next week's slideshow. Thanks for a great challenge Laura!

Zentangle Royal Challenge

It has been a few weeks since I have had time to tangle for the Diva's challenge. Along with the royal wedding in Britain it has been prom week in Benson. My son is a junior this year and the job of the junior parents is to plan and put on an Afterbash for the junior and senior class and their dates. It has become quite a production. The Afterbash takes place in the city armory which is a dauting space to decorate, to say the least. Huge, bare and with very high ceilings it is decked out according to theme (Las Vegas this year) in order to house, for one night, 200 plus teens and their parents.
Then there is the matter of feeding and entertaining the prom goers until 4 in the morning. To this end other dedicated committee members come up with lavish food and drink menus as well as a myriad of games to play. Of course ,where there are games, there must be prizes ,and that committee spends an enormous amount of the money raised by the parents to supply some fabulous gifts and prizes for the teens. Everything from lap tops to cash is up for grabs. All in all, it is quite a group effort on the part of the parents who plan, create, decorate, cook, and work all night long to ensure their children are safe and have fun on prom night. And lets not forget that after a long night, these selfless people are back again for cleanup while their offspring sleep! Ah, the things we do for love.
Lisa Burns has provided a wonderful slideshow of the Afterbash at snapfish.com. The login is bensonprom11 @hotmail.com and the password is vegas2011. You can upload your own Afterbash shots or have pictures printed of you and your friends. Enjoy - and thanks, Lisa!
So after our own big event in Benson was behind me, I turned to the Diva on Monday to catch up on the slide shows of recent challenges and to see what the new challenge was all about. Laura provided a slideshow of royal inspiration for tangle patterns. Isn't Westminster Abbey awesome! Wow, talk about pomp and circumstance. There are arches, and chair backs, and braiding, and badges. Columns, and cornices, organs and sashes. Lace sleeves and fascinators, eye candy galore. A person just couldn't wish for much more. So I lay on the sofa, kicked back and relaxed, and tangled my way to Great Britain and back!

Happy Easter

Easter Sunday has turned out warm and beautiful here in Minnesota after a week of  rainy, damp and chilly weather. Perhaps it is nature's way of illustrating to us just what Passion week is all about. A Saviour dies and the world weeps. Three days later He rises in triumph, overcoming death and sin in the process and paving the way for us to be reconciled to God Almighty. Thank you, Jesus!
Spring... the eternal reminder of rebirth and ressurection. O happy day, when Jesus washed all our sins away, O happy day!

15 Minutes

Fifteen minutes. Not a lot of time. What can you get done in 15 minutes. Surprisingly, a lot!
This week's Diva challenge was to do a tangle in 15 minutes. On the official website, zentangle.com,  Rick and Maria are always talking about how a tangle may be done in no more than 15 minutes. I have always found that it takes me oh so much longer than that! So I wasn't sure how this week was going to go for me.
Years ago a friend of mine subscribed to a website which helped organize your life and helped you tackle the big problems of cleaning your house. The jist of the philosophy was that you spend just 15 minutes a day on a project. That's all and soon your house and your life would be clean and organized. She swore it worked! My problem was that when I started something I always got caught up in the minutia, and a small project stretched into hours. Spend 15 minutes cleaning a closet or cabinet out - impossible!
Zentangles are like that for me. I spend time thinking about patterns, turning the tile round and round until it "speaks" to me. Relaxing - yes! Enjoyable - yes! Quick? No way.
But a  challenge is a challenge and 15 minutes it is! So I worked quickly and stopped when time was up. Period.
And really,  it is amazing what you can accomplish in a short amount of time. Now if I can only apply this philosophy to the rest of my life. Hmmm ... clean house, 15 minutes - check. Exercise,  15 minutes - check, check. Ahh, life is good!

Color My World

I am the recent recipient of a fantastic set of 132 Prismacolor pencils. Count  them - 132. Wow! More color than anyone person could possibly need. (Can that be?) Prismacolors are my favorite colored pencils. They are so soft and blendable, and they layer exceptionally well into complex color variations. Yummy is the best word to describe them. I have had a set of 72 since my college days and needless to say (without reavealing too much) they are considerably shorter now and many of the colors are gone. I was so inspired just by opening this marvelous box of inspiration that I decided to colorize my  Mooka tangles from last week. Enjoy!

Zentangle Challenge - Mooka

Our challenge from the Diva this week was to use the new tangle from Rick and Maria of Zentangle fame. They have posted a video of the new tangle as well as written instructions on their blog and you can visit it here at this link http://zentangle.blogspot.com/2011/04/mooka.html  The tangle was inspired by the art nouveau style of artist Alphonse Mucha and it is absolutely wonderful. It's easy and very fluid, open to a lot of variation and it has been exciting to see the different ways it has been used in this challenge. I played around with it for quite a while last night and have posted my two favorite tiles of the evening. I am sure this tangle will be showing up in many future tangles. It is quite a lot of fun.

Zentangle Challenge - Love Your Curves

Ahh, curves! A challenge I can live with...