The Adventure Begins…

Welcome to my new website and blog!    I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally have the site up and running – it has been a long journey.  It is finally, officially launched and I am ready for the adventure.

To begin the adventure, in addition to the new website and blog, for the first time I am submitting my answer to Laura Harm’s Diva Weekly Challenge.  Although I have been doing the challenges most weeks,I have been keeping them to myself.  The new target is to accept the challenge as often as I can and to post my tiles to show how I answered the challenge.  I hope that you will choose to come on the adventure with me.

Tiles for Challenge #182: “Stripes”

This week’s challenge is simply to “try out some stripes in your challenge piece.”  Who doesn’t love stripes?  There were so many patterns that fit into this challenge that selecting only a few was the biggest challenge.

My first tile is the traditional black and white.  When I was new to Zentangle and for months after becoming a CZT, I only worked in black and white.

Tangles used: Flux, B’Tweed, Avreal and Shattuck

This past spring I  went with my friend Donna (another CZT), to see an exhibit of collaborative artwork at Smith College.  Mimi Lempart (CZT), who was retiring from the college and moving, displayed some of her beautifully tangled art pieces, which were colored using colored pencils.   I was so inspired by her work that I found myself hooked on using colored pencils to color my tiles – sometimes subtle and other times bold.  Always great fun!

Tangles used: Ditto, Trivet, Arnia, and Knase

I encourage you to take the Diva Challenge – even if you are the only person to see your tiles.  I found that the challenges gently pushed me out of my comfort zone and by the time I finished my tile (or usually tiles) my discomfort was left behind.  It is a great way to work with patterns that may be new to you; you have been resisting; or you have forgotten about.

The other thing that I find absolutely fascinating is looking at the tiles submitted and seeing how each person’s answer to the challenge is so different.  Looking at other people’s work has taught me different ways of working with a pattern or tile.

I hope that you will be inspired by my tiles and those of the other challenge participants.  You can view the tiles submitted by going to I am the diva – Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT)     And remember to enjoy the process as you create your works of art.

Until next time,
Gratitude,
Maureen