Embracing White Space

Diva Challenge #229 tile
My tile for Diva challenge 229, with Henna Drum, XYP, and Lanie.

Sandy Hunter, CZT is the guest blogger for this week’s diva challenge. We are asked to create a tile that features white space so that the eye can rest. It is true that we often do want to fill up every part of a string with tangles. This is fun but can also result in a tile which is too busy. White (negative) space is good.

When I began I was going to have a monogram where the letter was blank, surrounded by different patterns. (Thanks for the suggestion, Sandy! I’ve been wanting to do this for a while and hadn’t gotten around to it.) After I got going I decided to place Henna Drum flowers along the curves of my monogram. I thought it would work better to fill in the letter S with color, and have negative space surrounding it. While I’m pleased with the result, I think I will try to find some color pens that are more nuanced. My blue pen seems a tad too dark for this purpose.

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“It’s A String Thing” #103

It's A String Thing Challenge 103 tile
It’s A String Thing Challenge #103 Entry

This week’s It’s A String Thing challenge is to use string 103 by Grace McIntyre from TanglePatterns, and to incorporate tangles Meer, Mi2, and Mr. E.

This challenge proved to be difficult for me. I simply could not figure out how to fit the designated tangles within the curving, spiraling string. Eventually I chose to modify the string a good bit in order to fit in the patterns. I suspect that once the results are posted on Monday I’ll realize that there were all sorts of ways to follow the string that I didn’t see. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20. Anyhow I learned two new tangles this week, and had fun with this tile.

 

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Diva Challenge #228 – Natural, Organic

Tile for Diva Challenge 228
Tile for Diva Challenge #228

Cari Sultanik, CZT is the guest blogger for this week’s Diva challenge #228.  The challenge is to create a tile with a natural, organic feel. It was tough to choose which tangles to use but I finally settled on Dandi by Sandhya Manne, CZT and C-Yeah! by Denyse Jones, CZT.  Also included are AHH and Poke Leaf. The image that I had in my mind was of plants growing in a field. Thanks so much Cari for giving us this delightful challenge!

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Mad about Mooka

Today would have been Alphonse Maria Mucha’s birthday so I am dedicating this post in his honor. Who was Alphonse Mucha you ask? Alphonse Mucha (July 24, 1860 – July 14, 1939) was a Czech Art Nouveau artist who was known for his unique style. During his career he  created many beautiful artworks, including paintings and posters. To learn more about his life and work check out The Mucha Foundation website.

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Diva Challenge #227 – Circus Life

Diva Challenge 227 Circus Life
Diva Challenge 227 Circus Life

What a nice surprise! For my second week participating in the Diva challenge the guest blogger happens to be Lee Darter, CZT. Lee was my instructor for the basic Zentangle class that I took last November.  Small world!

The theme for this week is Circus Life. The challenge is to create a tile with the tangles Tropicana and Cack. As a third element for the design add either Florz, Linq or Fescu. Thank you Lee for guest hosting this week’s Diva challenge.

For my tile I drew a large curving Tropicana pattern, and then added Cack at the bottom. For the third tangle I drew Florz across the top portion of the tile.

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“It’s a String Thing” #101

It's A String Thing #101 Entry
It’s A String Thing #101 Entry

This week’s “It’s A String Thing” challenge celebrates Adele’s husband’s birthday. The challenge was to use String 101, and to incorporate two tangles: Rixty by Maria Thomas (honoring Zentangle co-founder Rick Roberts’ 60th birthday) and LG by Adele Bruno (inspired by her husband, Lou).

My approach with this tile was to distribute the two patterns as evenly as I could across the six major sections created by the string. Another thing that I wanted to do was vary the presentation of the tangles so that each section was distinctive. And the last thing that I did was to add a touch of color.

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Diva Challenge #226 – Simplicity

Diva Challenge 226
Diva Challenge 226 tangle

This is my first time participating in the weekly Diva challenge. Katie Crommett, CZT is the guest blogger for this week’s challenge while diva Laura is on vacation. The challenge is to strive for simplicity. Two to three tangles can be used, but no more than that. White space is good. Thank you Katie for hosting this week’s Diva challenge.

For my tile I drew one large, centrally located Heartfully pattern, and added Zinger accents along the grid lines.

 

 

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A Zentennial Challenge Tangle

It's A String Thing #100 Entry
100th It’s A String Thing challenge

This week marks the 100th round of the “It’s A String Thing” challenge at Tickled To Tangle. Congratulations to Adele Bruno on her Zentennial! A special new pattern and string were introduced to mark the occasion. As always I am pleased to have the chance to participate in the challenge, and look forward to seeing the results by all of the participants.

I had loads of fun drawing my entry. “100” is tremendously versatile. A few of the patterns that I incorporated in the monotangle are Sooflowers, Trentwith, Cruffle, and Jetties.

 

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“T” is for Tearce, Tracery, and Tripoli

It's A String Thing #99 Entry
It’s A String Thing #99 Challenge Tangle

Here is my entry for It’s A String Thing #99, with Tearce, Tracery, and Tripoli. Clearly there is a T theme this week… T for Tuesday? And the string looks like a T.

Tripoli is a fun and versatile tangle to draw, and I thank Adele for her timely tips for tangling this pattern. Tearce is a neat contour style pattern, and Tracery is especially suited as a border tangle. I threw in some Tipple to fill in some space (happily it starts with T).

I look forward to seeing the results for the challenge.

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Sketch and Watercolor Effect on a Photo

Not long ago I was looking at some of my favorite artistic sites for inspiration. I came across examples of  a technique which creates an effect on a photograph that makes it look like it is partly a drawing (or illustration or sketch). This technique seems to be popular for use in digital scrapbook and art journal layouts, however it could also be used for other purposes like creating lovely fine art prints to hang on your wall. While colorful travel photos work great with this technique, portraits or other types of photos could be used as well.

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