Tangle challenges

Thanks for all the comments and positive feedback on my blog and my drawing. Your comments make my day. It's nice that people enjoy photos of my silly cat Arthur. He is a wonder. 

We have two cats. The other is Luna. She is very much my daughter Moo's cat in personality and person preference: aloof to most people but friendly to a select few. Luna selects me occasionally. 

Diva #326 - How do I fit in?

This week's challenge was to use 'Nzeppel AND think about a time in our lives where we didn't fit in.

I drew two tiles for this challenge. The first is about a time when I didn't fit in, no matter how I tried. It was a difficult time in my life. I found it difficult to draw the tile too. The first part, the part representing myself, was OK to draw. Measured, careful, keeping myself in the box, within the lines. But then the parts representing where I was working was much harder. My take offs and landings were not clean and my lines wobbled. Shading was something I did quickly to get the tile done.

The second tile is about where I am now.  The tile speaks for itself.

A message to anyone who doesn't fit into their workplace or home place - do the work to get yourself out of there. It is sooooooo worth it to be free.

Made by Joey - #175 - Naida

This was a finish my tangle challenge featuring Naida. I added Diva Dance, Golven and Sandswirl.

More photos from Tasmania

Needed to finish this post on a happy note so I've put some photos I took at Trowunna Wildlife Park. The kangaroos were very tame. Guests were given bags of food for them so we could get close. I see kangaroos most days of the week but never get tired of seeing them or being close. 

Have a great week and thanks for dropping by.

Miss L

Tangle challenges

This week I'm back at work after the school holidays, back at the gym after a break, back at home with only one bathroom. The main bathroom may be finished in the next week or two. It's looking good. Would really, really like it to be finished though.

I have been drawing but the tile is a very detailed Opus tile that I don't want to rush. It will be ready next week.

Diva #325 - Peanuckle

Guest blogger Jessica encouraged us to love the Peanuckle. Sorry, Jess, but Peanuckle and I are not made for each other at all. 

I tried twice and in a notebook but it just doesn't feel comfortable or look good when I draw it.

Here are my tiles anyway.

Kitty pic

This is Arthur getting involved as I do some lesson prep today. Wish he would choose more convenient times for a cuddle and attention. It's very hard to type with a cat on the keyboard.

Have a great week and thanks for dropping by.

Miss L

Tangle adventures

I've titled this week's post as Tangle Adventures as my tangling took me over 1,000km to Tasmania and a day and a half tangling with the magnificent Michele Beauchamp. This was my 3rd visit to her and she was as wonderful and inspiring as always.

I was actually in Tasmania for an English and Literacy Teachers conference. I attended that for 2 and and a half days in Hobart, then skipped the last day, drove north to Launceston for some drawing with Michele. After my time with Michele I headed west for a couple of days being a tourist.

I completed all my tangle challenges sitting by the fire in a cottage in Deloraine, which is small farming and creative town in Northern Tasmania.

Diva #324 - hearts

I did a couple of tiles. Here they are. The second one draws heavily on what I practiced with Michele.

Made by Joey #173 - twisted rope string

Some influence from MB being felt here too.

Drawing with Michele Beauchamp CZT

Michele and I started with a couple of warm up tiles and some chat. The chat is a vital part of the experience, for me anyway. By the middle of the second day though the chat stops as we both concentrate on our tiles. This too is a vital part - the sharing of the Zen of Zentangle. 

Here are the warm up tiles. I particularly wanted to learn how Michele creates those wonderful, shining, 3D bands. No metallic pens in sight! And I also needed a refresher on gems. The secret there is a lot more layers of colour than I'd realised.

After the warm up tiles we moved on to our renaissance Opus tiles. I think I need to order some tan Opus - they really take colour, as well as white and shade. 

Trowunna Wildlife Park

I visited this park once before and thought I'd drop in for half an hour or so, just to see some Devils. Ended up spending over 2 hours there and only left as I had other things to do before it got too dark.

The fur on the devils is about as soft and dense as that of a puppy. Feel very lucky to get up close to these animals.

The wombat in the photo is Wattle. At (only) 16kg and 18 months old, she is not full grown yet. 

Have a great week. Find a CZT and spend a day or two with them. And thanks for dropping by my blog.

Miss L

Tangle challenges

School holidays! Yay! It has been very, very cold here though so I've been house-bound. The cancer fatigue has been playing hell for the last week or so too, so staying inside not doing much has been needed.

My beautiful children  - 20 and 18 - have been having a short holiday together in Melbourne. I love that my kids are so close. I didn't ever have that with my brother (only a couple of years older than me) so it is a relief to see that my two love each other so much. 

It's also a relief that BoyBoy has finally got his provisional driver's licence. It's been a long time coming. He's had a car for a while (his 18th birthday present from us) but he just needed to pass that %$##@ test so he can drive it on his own. All good now.

Diva #323 - home

My first thought when I saw this week's challenge was the word 'Freedom'. That's what my home means to me. My home in Australia, with our freedoms of speech, of movement, of religion, which I've been teaching my Year 8 students recently. Then my home being my house and my family with my freedom to relax, to love and be loved, and to be safe. So, freedom was the focus of my tile today.

Made by Joey

This week's Made by Joey challenge is based on a star shaped string. I followed Ilse's suggestion and filled it with Auraknot, then filled the border with reticula from the Zentangle Primer. It's a relief to be finished with the Alphabet challenge - enjoyed doing it but 26 weeks was a long time.

Shelly Beauchamp CZT

I'm going to be spending two days drawing with Shelly soon. Can't wait.

This time last year when the Diva presented the 'home' challenge I was on day two of my time with Shelly. This week's challenge was a nice reminder of what was and what is to come.

I'm travelling to Hobart on Thursday morning in time to attend the National English Teacher's conference. I've got 2 and a half days there, then driving north to Launceston and Shelly for a couple of days. I'll then travel to a little country town called Deloraine for a couple of days before coming home. Looking forward to every part of the trip.

The last couple of days I've been making a little present for Shelly here's a sneak peak.

Other drawing

I've not been drawing much lately. Cancer fatigue and other busy-ness has gotten in the way. However, yesterday I found this tea pot that I bought ages ago to draw on. I started off being really careful but tea pots are really, really hard to draw on. So, I went crazy.

Here is my Zentangle Graffiti Tea Pot.

Thanks for dropping by and have a great week.

Miss L

Tangle challenges

A few topics to cover today so let's get into it. The only drawing I've been doing is the Diva Challenge and finishing off 4 weeks of Made by Joey.

Diva #322 - Aquafleur

This is a tangle I like when other people use it but can rarely get it right myself. Here are my two attempts.

Made by Joey

I have not been keeping up with these. I was so close to completing the set! I've put a big effort in over the last couple of evenings to finish this series. 

Bathroom renovations

The ensuite is done. Yay! We're extremely happy with it. The day after it was finished I went to one of my favourite stores and bought nice things to furnish the room with. The main bathroom renovation started this week too. Not fun being at home with the sounds of tiles being scraped off the walls with some noisy machine. And the tile dust is everywhere. Again. It will be worth it.

In Sydney with Moo

Last week I went to Sydney with my daughter Moo. The purpose of the trip was to see a Drag show. The show had Drag Queens who have featured in Ru Paul's Drag Race. Moo and I, and everyone else, were screaming our heads off when each Queen was announced. Sooooooo excited to see these ladies live. 

Spent the afternoon before the show at a cat cafe called Catmosphere. Half an hour of playing with sleepy kittens followed by time amongst the end of year sales in Pitt St, which is one a major shopping district in the Sydney central business district. I was content to crowd watch while Moo shopped.

Here's a photo of my second favourite Queen, Alyssa Edwards. My fav is Ru Paul of course. Such a great night. Thanks Moo for introducing me to this world.

Have a great week and thanks for dropping by.

Miss L

Tangle challenges and other drawing

Diva #320- Dansk

This was a fun tangle to draw. While looking at Margaret Brenmer's step out I looked at her other tangles. Didn't realise that one of go to tangles - Pixioze - one of Margaret's. I decided to use only Margaret's tangles in my tile. One tile then turned into two. Later this week it will turn into more as I set Margaret's tangles as inspiration for my Zentangle Apprentice class.

It was nice revisiting Skye. Remember when this tangle was everywhere in the land of Zentangle?

Diva #319 - beads of courage

Thanks for the lovely comments about my beads of courage tile and the story behind it. Here is a photo of my inspirational, supportive, amazing family. Photo was taken yesterday while on a spur-of-the-moment family picnic. 

Left to right are The Husband, BoyBoy (who turned 18 last week) and Moo (who is close to finishing her Arts Degree at uni). Faces are not shown as I have a thing about privacy - there are limits to what I post and share online. 

Opus tile

A couple of weeks ago I started an Opus tile based on drawings of the winter solstice that I've seen online. Finally finished the tile recently. The colouring was tedious. I'd much rather draw than colour in.

Spoken

New on the Zentangle App is a tangle called Spoken. Had lots of fun playing with it while watching TV.

Kitty Pic

Had a lot of trouble completing the Diva challenge this morning as Arthur was more insistent than usual on getting head rubs. BoyBoy was home to take the photo. What you don't see in the shot is the dirt Arthur left behind on my tiles and table. He'd been outside earlier digging in the veggie patch so his feet were filthy.

Have a great week and thanks for dropping by.

Miss L

Tangle challenges

Again I haven't been doing much drawing this week. Things are OK but just not in the drawing mood I guess. 

Winter is here and I'm enjoying getting out in the garden collecting fallen leaves to add to our compost bins. Winter in Canberra often means still, clear and very cold days. Love it. Looking forward to skiing again this year.

Diva #319 - Beads of Courage

I took inspiration from the Diva's question about who gives us courage. 

There's a line in Romeo and Juliet which my Year 7 English class was reading today. In Act 2 Scene 2 Romeo says to Juliet, "Look thou but sweet, therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me". Romeo is telling Juliet that if you look at me sweetly, then I can fight off any enemy. 

With the love of my husband and children, I can fight off anything. They give me courage.

My tile today is formed by 3 interlocking rings. The tangles are all my go-to tangles, which I thought fitted the theme: go-to tangles for my go-to people.

Made by Joey

I've been trying to catch up with these challenges. I did U a few days ago and V tonight. Maybe on the weekend I can get up to this week's challenge which is W.

Bathroom renovations

Over the last week all the tiles have gone in along with the basin and shaver cabinet. The green tiles are what we see from our bedroom. Very, very pleased with how it all looks.

Kangaroo photos

The Husband took these photos last weekend. We were walking the dog on the hill, only 10 minutes walk from our house. This mob of kangaroos were out in force, sitting in the sun. This mob numbered about 100 females and young and some males. I see kangaroos most days of the week but still get a thrill when I see them. From here the city centre is about a 20 minute drive. Parliament House is about 40 minutes away. Love being so close to nature.

Have a great week and thanks for dropping by.

Miss L

Tangle challenges and other stuff

This week in my house we are making slow progress with the bathroom renovation. Lots of action last week but nothing so far this week. The floor tiles are down and then  ...... we wait.

I've hit the super busy part of term, with marking and reports. Some of my students have produced brilliant work while too many have not submitted their current assignment. It's soooo frustrating when students don't hand in work. They are capable if they just put a bit of effort in.

BoyBoy is part way through a 3 day workshop at the Australian National University's School of Art. This workshop is for prospective students to come and try out all the facilities. BoyBoy is loving it. This is where he hopes to study next year with the aim of becoming a sculptor. 

Diva #318 - Diptych

I haven't seen the Kitchen Table Tangle for this one so I'm relying on what the Diva and other Tanglers have done to help me understand the challenge.

I made 3 tiles, with the final one being the only one I like. If anyone can identify the Tangle I used in the hinge for my 3rd tile, I'd much appreciate it. Mariet used it on a ZIA that she showed on her blog this week.

Here are my tiles.

Other drawing

Not much time or energy for drawing at the moment. I will catch up with the Made by Joey challenges soon. I've come too far to stop now.

Here is an Opus tile that I've been working on. It's based on a image of the Winter Solstice that I've seen variations of online. Hopefully I'll finish it over the next week or so. So far it includes Poke Leaf, Gnarly and Hollibaugh.

This week's Kitty Pic

This is Arthur sleeping under the covers of the bed in the study/ art studio. It's his favourite place on winter evenings, even when I'm not in here drawing or working. 

Have a great week and thanks for dropping by.

Miss L