Musings...

Hey there 2012. I realise you've been here for a while, now – but I've been on holidays. (Well, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.) And hey there, froggy blends (ahem)... bloggy friends. Welcome back (to you, and to me). You probably wondered if I'd disappeared last year? Good news! However it's come about, I seem to be back at the keyboard. Blogging my art.

In one way, I knew I would be. You see... it's an imperative: the art; the writing about the art; and, hence, these blog posts you've come to know and love. (Hush now, and take a seat.) Hang on just a jiffy. I'll put some music on for you —

Gregory Alan Isakov - 3 am (Lyrics)

Okay. Let's begin.

This is about a feeling. I don't know if you're familiar with this one, but if you are, you'll know what I'm talking about. Sometimes I realise there's something that I Simply Must Do. The judge's decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into. DO NOT PASS GO. Do not collect two hundred dollars (shame about the money). "Resistance is futile."

If any of you have had a great creative idea attack without warning at three in the morning (and if you're anything like me), you probably know that you need to at least jot it down – since getting back to sleep, without doing that, is a lost cause. Fighting against these imperatives consumes more energy than allowing the creative flow to happen when it will. And, anyway, if you fight your own creative Muse, she'll just be an obstreperous pain in the butt until you surrender to her demands. Humble acquiescence is a much wiser path. So, these days, I choose not to swim against the tide when I experience those, "I need to draw/write – now!" moments.

The Kiss of the Muse — Paul Cezanne (c. 1860)

Do you recognise this feeling?
Thought you might.

Okay, then. The next bit...

Apparently, it's over 10,000 miles from here to Providence, Rhode Island, USA. More, when you don't fly crow–wise (which I didn't). So why did I undertake this journey of Ulyssean proportions? The answer is simple...

I had to.

I knew that I was going to study Zentangle® teacher training with Rick and Maria in the USA. So I surrendered to the will of my personal Muse. Here I am. Surrendering. (I look pretty happy about it, too!)

Kit, with Rick and Maria — Providence, Rhode Island

It was one of those, "Okay! I'll do it! (Now, may I have some sleep?)" moments. Should I have waited until a more 'sensible' time... delayed until the 'time was right'... waited to be 'practical' and 'rational' about it? Sure... sometimes that's the answer... but not always. And not this time.

So, at the end of September, I packed up (the night before), and spent 25+ hours flying from Australia to the East Coast of America. And now (well since last October) I'm a CZT. A Certified Zentangle® Teacher. (If you tangle, and you know it, clap your hands. And then stop clapping, and get yourself off to CZT training. I guarantee you'll have fun!)

Sometimes you just need to grab life
with both hands,

take the dream, 

and make it real.

Risk it! Create it! Live it!

So there you have it. Life, or our creative muse, or fate occasionally taps us on the shoulder and simply tells us what's happening next. And this part of my life, this journey of faith, if you will – it was just like that – I knew... utterly, completely, surely, and certainly, that this was where I was going.

Do I know what life has in store for me tomorrow... the day after... next year? Nope! Don't need to. I've learned not to question or over-analyse the future too much. My friend, Michelle, said that attending this seminar was like life giving us "serendipity on a stick." Well, who am I to question that?

So, I'm living it out. Swimming with the current. I'm claiming my artistic, working art studio dream. I'm grabbing it by the throat, and making it mine. I'm starting by tangling every day. (I'm posting my progress on Facebook to motivate me to add at least something more each day.) And right now? Well, I'm sitting at the beginning of Day Three. About to pick up my pen....

At the end of Day One (click image to embiggen) 

---

"Many of us spend our whole lives running from feeling, with the mistaken belief

that you cannot bear the pain. But you have already borne the pain. 

What you have not done is feel all you are beyond the pain." — Saint Bartholomew

Mooka much?

On the Zentangle blog this week, a brand new tangle (pattern) was revealed!

It is called Mooka, and it's creation was inspired by the wonderful Art Nouveau artist, Alphonse Maria Mucha.  Maria and Rick have also released a wonderful video, demonstrating Mooka (their first video, for the tangle Betweed, is also a must see).

This week, I am the Diva challenged us to, "Create a traditional Zentangle tile or ZIA (Zentangle Inspired Art) using the new official tangle: Mooka."

Having found myself so thoroughly addicted to drawing Mooka (on everything that sits still) that I'm loathe to spend more than a few minutes with the computer, I've decided to forgo my usual wordy blog entry and just post photographs of some of my Mooka ZIA (try saying that fast a few times – it's fun!)...
and then I'm going to Mooka* some more...

My new "chop" (KJ) unveiled — tangled up in Mooka
(Click on images to embiggen)

Moleskine Mooka'd

Thanks for the hat, Moira! 
I Mooka'd it.

Mooka Trio

More Mooka (actually... this was my first attempt)

Mooka'd Hat again (more views)

*I'm convinced that, although Mooka (the tangle) is clearly a noun... the word also makes a pretty nifty verb: "to Mooka"

— So... do you Mooka much? I do!!

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NonDom - The Movie

Laura set us a great challenge (using our non-dominant hand!).  So this whole tile, from start to finish was done with my left hand.

"NonDom" (click on images to enlarge)

Familiar tools.

Unfamiliar tool.

Due to nerve damage, my left thumb is in a splint...
Yep, great timing, Laura

This is what the string looked like at the beginning.

(Click on image to enlarge.)

And, rather than writing one of my usual long blog posts, I decided to show you what happened this week.  So, this is me, tangling left handed:

To me, this just goes to show that, as Rick and Maria say,  

"Anything is possible... one stroke at a time."™

For some truly inspirational ambidextrous art, most calligraphers have to go no further than our bookshelves, to find one of Arthur Baker's books:

And one of his beautiful bi-directional alphabets!

Footnote: I'm Celebrating three months of blogging!

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Coming up this weekend: Artwork from some of our Tuesday Tanglers!

Less than rhapsodic in blue

It's true, I was less than rhapped with my effort this week for Laura's weekly challenge (which is why I'm only posting it now, although I finished it days ago). But, in the interest of learning a more Zen attitude to my artwork, I've decided to post it anyway.

This piece is in the back of my journal. The fact that I started it there shows how confident I was not feeling about this artistic challenge!  Perhaps, next time I'm not feeling confident, I should start at the front of my art journal anyway [soft smile].

"Blue By You" (click to enlarge).

I am listening to music as I write today (as I usually do).  This week Norah Jones is singing "The Grass is Blue" and I am thinking, as she sings, of the backwards world we're living in these days.

Last night I watched the earth become sea in Japan.  It seems not that long ago I was sitting waiting and watching the waters rise — touching base with friends and family in Queensland, Australia.  And of course, in Christchurch, New Zealand (just across the pond from Tasmania), the earth beneath their feet betrayed them.  Norah sings in agreement from my speakers:

"Rivers flow backwards,
Valleys are high.
Mountains are level,
Truth is a lie."

"How much can a heart
and a troubled mind take?
Where is that fine line
before it all breaks?"

No wonder some of us are feeling blue... even those of us who have only seen these events unfold from the comfort and safety of our living rooms.  My heart caught in my throat last night as I saw the tidal waves washing across the land and realised there were people in there too. I had to stop watching the coverage — instead sending out email messages to those I knew in the area and waiting to hear back from them.

So what do we do with these feelings of sadness — at times overwhelming?  We do what we can, from a practical standpoint, and then –I believe– we make the time to stop, reflect on the impermanence of life in general, and then ask ourselves:

"What am I doing with this life of mine?"

"Am I making the world a better place, for my part in it?"

And these are questions, of course, that we should continue to ask ourselves... ever changing, growing, and becoming the Best we can be.  While recognising (and this is vitally important) that – on some days – our Best may seem more or less than we usually 'expect' from ourselves, and that's okay too.

So, if all I am able to do on this day is bring joy to one person by showing them their previously untapped artistic creativity, I will do it with Passion... with Love... and with Heart & Soul.

And, contrary to the lyrics of the song, I will always know in my heart that – even when it is beauty restricted to a 3.5" square canvas – Truth will always be Truth. So I will follow my heart, be True to my Self and live that Truth without compromise... for as long as I have to live it.

What does tragedy remind us?  What does all this death and destruction have to tell us?  Paradoxically, it tells us about Life.  It reminds us that we are safe and that Life is precious and full of meaning. Reminded of Living True, I photographed these trees at the meditation Centre I was at this time last week.

(Click to enlarge.)

I found myself looking up often during the course.  The trees grew so strong and tall in that beautiful place (another place of truth: of Dhamma).  I didn't speak for the duration of the course (that was easy).  I also didn't draw (that was very hard!).  But when I returned, I remembered watching the sunrise touch the tree tops early one morning at the Centre, and almost feeling the push of those trees to reach back to the sun.

"Tall and True" (click to enlarge).

Stand Tall and Live True!

Live with Courage and Zeal and Compassion!

_________________
 
In other news, the Australian Calligraphy Society's book, WordsWork, is now available from John Neal Books.  (The artists are published alphabetically, but I like to think my ZIA calligraphy is on page one three times over – page 111. [smiles])

Hug(gin)s for Artoo

This week's challenge from I am the Diva was to draw a Zentangle or ZIA using her brand new tangle called Artoo!  What fun this was.

Here's the finished tile, and then I'll tell you its story:

Click on image to enlarge.

I started playing with Artoo, just on its own – with just a teensy touch of green for the Artoo berries (you will see that I used Mimi Lempart's beginning of Cat-Kin for the 'branches'):

Then I thought that, perhaps, it might be fun to put Huggins into the background — since that would be like a hug for Artoo (an idea which I saw used last week in the 'hearts' challenge).  And so I started laying down a grid for Huggins... "in Sepia," I thought to myself, "so it won't overwhelm the Artoo tangle."

Unfortunately, when I finished drawing behind with Huggins, I felt it had done exactly that (overwhelmed my original Artoo tangle).  So I went back in and added more to my ZT [grin].

Now, this is the fun part!

With most of the art forms I have tried my hand at over the years – whenever I thought, "that's not right, I'll add a little more" – I often ended up ruining the whole thing.

However, with Zentangle, I've found that 'adding just a little more' sometimes not only changes the design for the better, but has the potential to create something entirely 'other' – a new design (not just a 'retouched' old design)!

So, while sitting across from Gillian at Tuesday Tanglers this afternoon at the coffee shop, we discussed the various options

1. we wondered first, perhaps, if a little more shading behind Artoo might strengthen its impact.  And then, 
2. having quite liked that effect, we further wondered if making the edges of that shading darker and stronger might bring Artoo 'forward' of Huggins.  Yes, it did!  
3. I decided that I wanted to add a dark centre to each Artoo 'leaf' — not bad... and then, 
4. of course, the 'branches' weren't quite strong enough for the leaves, so I thickened them just a touch!  
5. Finally, I decided that it probably would be okay to add the tiniest amount of shading to Huggins (I hadn't done that yet).  

And that is how I got from Artoo to Hug(gin)s and back again!
From here...

...to here (with a tile rotate – isn't there always one of those?!).

Click on image to enlarge.

By the time I was done, the sun was beginning to set... such a pretty light over the city this warm Summer's eve.  What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.  Thank you, Laura for your lovely new tangle!

And hugs from Australia for Artoo.
xoxo

The Call...

This week the community of tanglers that was brought together – knitted together – by Laura's challenges, found out that Laura and her baby son, Artoo, are facing major life challenges themselves. The Call went out for us to create a Zentangle (or ZIA*) heart incorporating two previous challenge themes.  Laura wrote, "and maybe you could send your healing intent to our little baby as you do your entry." 

Well... that is exactly what has been happening this week. I have been visiting each heart-felt message, artistically expressed as they have been posted each day – and I have been moved to tears at times, by the great wellspring of Love and Community Spirit that is being sent out to Artoo, Laura and her family (Artoo's older brother and his Dad).

And so, with healing intent, I too answer The Call with this simple Zentangle. 

(Click image to enlarge.)

I used these two challenge themes: Breathe (since that's what Artoo is struggling to do for himself right now) and Simplicity.  The simplicity of a single tangle, Zander.** My heart felt so full of 'healing intent' – way too big to fit onto a single Zentangle tile, so that is why my heart design disappears off the edges.

I wished, as I drew this, that I owned a flask of Lucy Pevensie's cordial:

"In this bottle, there is a cordial made of the juice of the fire-flowers that grow in the mountains of the sun. If you or any of your friends are hurt, a few drops will restore them." [Father Christmas, from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis]

...for with a single drop of such a cordial, I could restore Artoo to perfect health.  However, although we don't have access to magic cordials in the 'real' world, the healing intent that has been brewed up by this tangled community for Artoo this week – in answer to Laura's Call – is surely magical.

And, as I thought about all these magic, tangled hearts – so full of healing intent – that have emerged in response to Laura's Call for our heart-felt support, I remembered the beautiful song that Regina Spektor sang (for the Narnia movie, Prince Caspian) called "The Call."  I played the song, as I tangled my heart... hence the title of this post.

Listen, Artoo – these hearts are our battle cry! 

We're fighting, in spirit, by your side. Holding you in our hearts.

With a heart and mind full of loving-kindness, I answer The Call, and send Artoo and his family metta:

I send them, with this tangled heart of mine, "...love that is firm but not grasping, unshakeable but not inflexible, gentle and settled, hard but unhurting, helpful but not interfering, giving more than receiving, dignified but not proud, soft but not sentimental."

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*ZIA = Zentangle inspired art (see explanation here).

**There is no online instruction for Zander, that I know of... but there's a great example of it on Kass Hall's website here. Kass is a talented, Australian CZT, based in Melbourne. (Kass also describes her experience at the CZT training in October last year... which is very exciting for me – as I shall be following in her footsteps

Just Breathe...

This week's challenge from I am the Diva: "Breathe." 

A little back story... 

In April 2010, I fell in love with Zentangle. It was, indeed 'love at first sight' for me... exploring the world of tangles: because of the infinite possibilities; because it was truly about what is Reality in any given Moment; and because it narrowed my focus down to a 3.5" square of reality. 

Meditation – being still, grounded, centred, and (imagine me using Nigella Lawson's voice to say this last bit), "deep, deep contentment." Zentangle improved my focus, concentration, mindfulness, and – an added bonus – all my other artistic endeavours benefited from time spent tangling.

At times I have found I'm almost watching my pen to see what will emerge from my creative subconscious. Not directing the design but, one pen stroke at a time, waiting to see what happens... and then developing that idea (a great way to avoid rules!). This is something I learned many years back, when I first started studying Chinese Brush painting. That art form never really clicked for me until I just 'allowed' the brush to make the marks it was designed to make and stopped trying so hard to produce a specific effect.

I haven't felt, these last ten months, any hint of hard slog practice with Zentangle – only Play! And the more I play, the more I want to. I breathe, relax, let go and I allow the Zentangle or ZIA to happen – not stifling it with any rules that it 'ought' to follow, or preconceived ideas of what it 'should' look like when complete. I believe that, once an idea (artistic, or in any walk of Life) becomes a dogma it ceases to grow. So I push at the boundaries constantly. 

Back to the topic of breathing... these last few months I have also made new discoveries about the way I draw. For example, my pen will draw more flowing, 'dancing' lines on an exhaled breath (it's true!) than on an inhaled breath. So, by becoming aware of my breathing as I create each stroke, the way I draw has been transformed. Here is the Zentangle (traditional format) that I created for the "Breathe" Challenge. 

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Being reminded (once again) to observe my breath, I found that I was creating a very playful design (some elements of which weren't really 'proper' tangles!). Once I'd finished, I finally coloured the Laced blue, as it ran through, across, and around the tile. This brought all the various elements together, to create a linked harmony to the finished piece – and I (yet again) changed the orientation of my tile.


A little more on my philosophical wanderings through Zentangle land?

I've also studied what I watch when I am drawing. For example, if I'm drawing a line parallel to another, I look at the line I'm following (not the line my pen is making). What else do I watch? When I was speaking with a wonderful Chinese calligrapher (a Master of his art), William Lai, he asked me, "What is the most important thing about a beautiful vase?" The answer seemed obvious to me, so I answered, "The empty space within." He smiled his unique and twinkly, wise smile and I knew I'd said the right thing (I was rewarded with a Chinese candy!). So, when making pen strokes, I'm nearly always watching the white space I am drawing 'around'. This, of course affects not only the way that I draw, but also the way I think about the way I draw. (How very existential that is!)

As I contemplated this week's challenge, my mind kept coming back to the chorus of this song by Anna Nalick, "Just Breathe." Of course, while actually tangling, the song in my head was replaced with beautiful, tranquil, silence (tangling being one of the few activities capable of stilling my mind!).

Just Breathe

Because I have received a great deal of feedback about my inclusion in this blog of all the tangles I use, I have included a digitally edited version of this week's Zentangle, naming each of the tangles (if I have any of them incorrectly labelled, CZTs, please let me know!). They are: Laced, Verdigogh, Printemps, Jonqal, Ennies, Pokeleaf, Pokeroot, Fescu, Betweed, W2, Huggins, Cadent (those last three used the same grid, and flowed from one to the next).

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Now that I've bent your ear... I'll go back to my drawing board. For, as much as I love keeping up with what others are creating and sharing inspiration and encouragement (the reason I'm on the Internet so often), I am not able to resist the siren call of my first love for very long — tangling with paper and pen.

Eyes Wide Shut

Yikes, I'm running late with my post for this week's challenge from I am the Diva!

This challenge was to draw our string with our eyes closed (*a string is the term for the pencil line that cuts up the tile into sections). There is already a fantastic slide show up on Laura's blog of the results - go take a look!

As for my attempt at this challenge:

1. At our weekly Tuesday Tanglers' get together (coffee, desserts and tangling - what could be better?!), Melissa made sure I kept my eyes shut (while, unsuccessfully at times) trying to keep the pencil on my tile.
   
   



My string!

2. I forgot to take a photograph until after I'd added my first tangle, but you can clearly see my string in this photo. It was quite angular (which didn't surprise me), but also quite interesting (which did).
   
   
3. As well as drawing my string with my eyes shut, I decided, in the spirit of the challenge, to use only tangles that I had never used before (without practising them first!). Tangles with my 'experience' eyes shut [grin].  There are two exceptions to this - and I'll explain the reasons as I go.
   
   
4. So I started off with Margaret Bremner's Lilypads. (Hmm... I clearly need a little more practice with that one.) I thought this corner looked overly dark and heavy (too much pond, not enough lilypads), so I added a few white 'pond bubble' dots to the surface to break up the black (see next photo).
   

   

   Still with an empty centre!

   
   Tool note: I used a Sharpie Poster Paint, Extra Fine Point white marker for this - another tool I had never used before (because I didn't have my Dr. Ph. Marten's Bleed Proof White with me).  The Sharpie Poster Paint is a water-based opaque paint, water- and fade- resistant, and acid-free. It is beautifully opaque, but I would suggest that people don't add it over the top of their Pigma Micron until it is well dry, as it has a tendency to 'bleed' (or 'feather') otherwise.
   
   
5. Then, from the top left corner and working around the tile clockwise in toward the centre, you'll see Carole Ohl's Coaster, Zentangle's Cirquital, Nancy Pinke's Facet, Criss and Cross from Suzanne McNeill's recent blog posting, and (one of the two tangles I've used previously) Melissa Hughes' Hatchpatch (be sure to check out her other tangle inventions while you're there - her pencasts are just brilliant!). 
   
   I used Hatchpatch (though I have used it before) in celebration of its publication on Linda's tanglepatterns.com this week!
   
   
6. Then, after Lilypads, you can see Carole Ohl's Lots-a-dots, which I very much enjoyed doing. A tangle that particularly comes to life after shading.
    
7. After I had finished Facet, I added some of Mary Elizabeth Martin's Laced (the other tangle I have used previously), because I wanted to draw everything together a little better... to give the whole design a more cohesive feel to it. I can't explain it any better than that - a lot of my design decisions are instinctual, not theoretical!

The empty centre still had me stumped, so I left it until the next day. Again, I wanted to give the tile a more 'united' feel - so I decided to fill the centre (all those small sections) with Zentangle's Drupe. This gives (I hope) the eye a central 'anchor' to rest on.  Finally, I couldn't quite resist the urge to put myself in the tile... you can see me peeping out from behind all the tangles... just my eye (wide open this time!).

And here is the finished tile! 

Thank you, Laura, once again for a fun challenge. 
I can't wait for the next instalment!

Two-pencil-string technique

For those of you who have been following, I am The Diva's Weekly Zentangle Challenges, it is Week #2* and this week's challenge is to 'create a Zentangle® tile or inspired piece using the two-pencil-string technique'.

This technique was written about recently by Canadian tangler extraordinaire, Margaret Bremner. I was excited to try out this technique for the first time. Particularly after seeing the beautiful effects Margaret had achieved.

* If you haven't seen the extraordinary and inspiring contributions to the Zentangle Challenge from Week #1 – Simplicity, you will find the relevant page here.

In my sewing box, I discovered some seam tracer pencils – just perfect for creating two-pencil-strings. These pencils are readily available and come in two sizes (1/4 inch and 5/8 inch). I am using the 1/4 inch (6 mm) size. This is the first string I created. As usual, I didn't plan ahead at all. I just put pencils to paper and the string flowed easily from body to tile.

The extra stability and balance of double pencil tips does seem to lend itself to lovely smooth and elegant curves. Also, the width of the double pencils felt similar to using a broad edge calligraphy nib – so my 'calligrapher mind' discovered that the flow of the lines was both familiar and comfortable.

My first impression of this string was that it seemed quite musical (which has inspired me dig out my five line automatic 'music calligraphy pen' – and have a tangle with that.) With this notion of music in mind, I started with Casey Poirer's Muzic tangle. Immediately, a branch of Mimi Lempart's Cat-Kin sprang out of the end of the piano keys. I love how 'organically' tangles tend to grow across a tile!

Here is the finished tile (click on the image for a larger view):

In the centre, Sandra Strait's Stubs appeared, which seemed appropriate for the two-pencil theme. Also, even though I only occasionally use colour with traditional Zentangles, those red lines seemed quite determined to emerge from three pencil 'pairs'. That may seem an odd way to phrase it but, in much the same way that authors have commented that their characters 'tell' them what they're going to do next, my tangles often seem to tell me where they will be placed (and not the other way around).

You may also notice that the checker-board ribbon coming from the other end of Muzic has five lines. Although this was unplanned, it seems to me to echo the idea of a five line music stave. You will also see that the final orientation of the tile changed since drawing the initial string (as it frequently does, of course).

I had so much fun creating this first tile, that I couldn't stop there, and so I began straight away on a second. In this photograph, I've already started with the official Zentangle® tangle, Zander, right across the middle of the tile, but you can still see most of the original pencil string. This time I left a border around the outside of my string design. I loved the little double loops that formed, and was quite curious to see what would happen with them!

In similar fashion to this week's Zentangle created by my friend and tangle buddy, 'Lone Creature', I decided to keep my tangles inside the pencil lines for this tile.
Once I started, the tangles emerged quickly. After Zander, Crescent Moon appeared across the bottom of the tile. Hibred grew up the right hand side. And Sue Jacob's Coil curved itself around the top left corner. The double loops were still a challenge, and were eventually filled with various spiral, grid, and petal like patterns. Here is a photograph of the second tile just before shading.

I have included the pre-shaded photograph here because, like so many Zentangles, the shading made a rather dramatic difference... and also because I added a little extra to the finished tile, which you can see in the final photograph.

A final note: In Zen-typical-tangle serendipity, after taking some time to stop, breathe, and appreciate the finished tile, I realised that my rather spiky addition in the middle of Coil reminded me of one of Jennifer Maestre's beautiful 'pencil urchins' (which I first saw on Molossus' blog, Life Imitates Doodles). Clearly I've had pencils on the brain today!

Click on the image for a larger view.

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Many thanks, Laura, once again for another fun challenge this week. The Zentangles I've seen so far on this theme are all beautiful, lively, and fun!

Simplicity

Welcome to my second blog post!

I'm participating in a Zentangle Weekly Challenge. If you'd like to check it out, visit the page here. The theme this week is "Simplicity" — so I decided to simplify my string, and do no shading. The tile gradually created itself (as they tend to) and I ended up making a feature of... well... nothing. Simplicity itself. I photographed the tile on the Zentangle kit box — because the beauty and elegance of it also represents 'simplicity' to me.

If you don't know about Zentangle®, do check it out. And watch this space - because my new tangle website will be up and running soon!

Until next week, have a Merry Everything.
Kit