Dream Weaver

"If you really want to catch your dream you have to chase it."   Unknown

There was so much I learned and so much inspiration at TangleU in Santa Fe that I am back with more. One of the classes that I was most looking forward to was a class with Kate Lamontagne. And she didn't disappoint. Kate does stunning work with Prismacolor pencils and she taught a class in making (on paper) a dream catcher. If you ever have a chance to take a class with her...DO IT! She's from Holliston, MA. I actually lived there 20 years ago, but I believe that was before Kate was there.

Here's the dream catcher I created during the class. Not too bad for my first one.

 
I learned several things from this process that I should/would have done differently. Probably the most important one was to create larger spaces in the top zendala-like portion. It was very hard to color and blend in those small spaces in the one above (at least it was difficult for a novice like me!) So here's the one I created after returning home - the before coloring picture (yay for remembering to take the picture!)

This dream catcher was drawn on Strathmore tan toned paper which is smoother than the paper used in class, and I found that I like working with the colored pencils on the smoother paper better.

Here's how it turned out.

This was no quick process. There are many layers of color in each space, worked until the color and blending was just as I wanted it. For the most part I'm very happy with it. I'm just not sure if I should have gone a little lighter on the colors in the feathers.

There will definitely be more experimentation with the Prismacolors in my future. I'll be trying them out in some of my other Zentangle work, not just dream catchers. If I can get them to look half as good as Kate's work I will feel very accomplished!

Singin' the Blues

"If you're feeling blue, try painting yourself a different color."    Hannah Cheatem (age 8)

Let's return to Santa Fe for a few minutes. One of the wonderful classes I took at Tangle U was with Sharla Hicks. She taught us how she draws her Zentangle inspired botanicals. In particular, what she calls her "Mooka Blues." Along with that she shared many of her techniques on shading, using enhancers, and so much more.

As I've said before, I'm never really enamored with the art I create in a class. Same with this class...the tile I created in Santa Fe was considered to be practice, and I couldn't wait to play some more with all the ideas once I got home. Here is the first botanical tile I did in the comfort of my own workspace. This was completed with black micron, blue chalk pencil, and graphite pencil. The color shows as slightly more turquoise than it is in reality. It's hard to get the color from a scan or a photo to look exactly as it should, but I did my best.

I was pretty happy with it considering I was using new techniques and ideas. But I've never been completely satisfied with the way my Mooka (those big bulb-like creatures) look. I think I finally figured it out. They look too stiff. So in my next one I worked really hard to make them more fluid and flowing. This one was drawn on a Renaissance (tan) tile using blue micron, blue chalk pencil for shading, and white chalk pencil for highlighting. Who would have thought that blue on the tan tile would look so good! And notice how different the blue chalk pencil looks on this tile compared to the white tile. 

My Mooka looks much better on this tile, like it's dancing around. I used some striping as background filler....not so sure if I like that, but it's all about playing around and finding what you like and what works for you. And I know that the chalk pencils work for me. I love how easily and smoothly they blend, so much so that I went home and ordered a set of 24 different colors. I have visions in my head about how I'm going to use those and will be back soon to share what I do with them.

Bound for Santa Fe

"The only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do."   Steve Jobs 

This past weekend I reached a huge milestone. I surpassed 100,000 views on my blog! That's a huge number. Thank you all for taking the time to stop by on a regular basis to see what I have to share here. 

As I mentioned in my last post, next week I will be on my way to Santa Fe to attend TangleU, a retreat for CZTs. It is the third year that I will be attending, and I'm eagerly looking forward to it. Those who are attending have the option to participate in a tile swap. Create a Talavera tile - in the style of the colorful clay tiles adorning building interiors and exteriors all over Santa Fe - to swap for someone else's tile. 

I decided a long time ago, when I first heard we would be doing this swap, that I would use my tangle pattern Baldosa, from my e-book, which reminds me of the tiles I saw all over Spain and Portugal when I vacationed there last year. Here is the basic pattern that I began with on my tile.

Next I added all the color that this kind of tile is famous for. I used my Tombow markers, and added some subtle shading by either applying more layers of the same color or using a slightly different shade of the color. Then my very last step was to add a touch of graphite shading in the parts that had no color.

I hope whoever ends up with my tile will like it, and I can't wait to see what tile I'll receive in exchange. Here's looking forward to another 100,000 views here!