Thursday, July 26, 2012

The Diva's Challenge #80– Mi2

When I first encountered Mi2 I was a bit awed.  It is one of those Tangles that, in the right hands, can be done so that you could never figure out where one penstroke ends and another begins.  When I brought up the instructions on TanglePatterns.com however, I was very overwhelmed.  I tried several times to get the Tangle to come out right, but it just didn't want to work.  I was about to throw in the towel when I read Rick's blog post about simplifying Mi2.  That helped so much.  My drawings weren't ready for the cover of a magazine, but they were much improved.  And I'm glad they were, too, since this week's challenge was Mi2.  I was still having some problems with lining up the dots, so I decided to stick them in a circle and what do you do, it worked.


-Jennifer Gayle

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Zentangle Inspired Art Journal #28- Fruit

I have recently discovered the Yahoo group Zentangle Inspired Art.  The community and resources are wonderful.  After I broke my fourth pen nib in six months many people offered suggestions for alternatives to Micron pens.  It was greatly appreciated.  I am also looking forward to participating in one of the many swaps that the group hosts!

Another thing that the group provides is a weekly prompt for some Zentangle Inspired Art (ZIA).  This week's prompt was fruit.  At first I was rather stumped.  I could't figure out what fruit I wanted to use–I didn't want to draw a round orange.  So I Googled fruit for some inspiration and there it was, staring right back at me.


I broke up the apple based on the positions at an Apple Store–Specialist, Creative, Genius, Back of House, and Manager (they get to be the little leaf).

I really enjoyed doing this one.  It was nice and relaxing, as a Zentangle should be.

-Jennifer Gayle

Friday, July 13, 2012

The Diva's Challenge #78- Auraknot

"Are so!"  Seriously–Last week Rick and Maria debuted a wonderful new tangle named Auraknot.  It is a tangle that is beautiful in its simplicity, yet so versatile because of its simplicity.  As you can see from the website it has numerous variations.  Take a moment to visit the Diva's home page to see her variations, as well as everyone else's.

I am particularly happy with my response to the challenge this week.  I had spent several days practicing Auraknot before the challenge, so I felt a little ahead of the game this week.  The only problem I was having was that I couldn't draw a straight star to save my life.  They were all coming out 'wonkie'.  That's when I decided to embrace my inner 'wonkie' and just go for it.  I decided to use a variation of Mayflower by Ellen Wolters that I like to doodle in my sketch book.  It turns out that I can draw curvy lines a lot easier than straight ones.  Who would have known.


-Jennifer Gayle