Pinterest---Love ya!

Wow! I think I have found the perfect tool for surfing the web and saving trees (because I will never buy another magazine).  It's name is Pinterest (pinterest.com).  You create boards for different topics of interest.  Just about everyone I know has a food board...funny how we all gravitate towards food.  Anyhow, you create your boards and download the PinMarklet which is a button on your browser bar.  So now as you are surfing the web and find an beautiful photograph or a great recipe you can "pin" it to your board.  What's even more fun?  Looking at other people's boards and pin stuff from those. You can follow people or just certain boards you like. 

It's so much fun to see all the amazing things out there.  The fabulously creative and inspiring people. And when I'm down and feeling blue I go to the humor category and it never fails before long I'm busting out laughing at the ridulous and hilarious things people have posted.  I've noticed many from the Zentangle community are on Pinterest so it's another great way to stay connected to fellow tanglers. 

What's really amazing it that it allows you to connect with people you would never have met in person or may have even met and had no idea you had so much in common.  I have come across people with the exact same sense of humor, it sounds so minor but that feeling of "Hey someone out there really gets me...and they don't even know me!" is pretty amazing.  Especially, when sadly we probably all have people who have been in our lives a very long time that never really get us. 

I will warn you that Pinterest is very addictive and you can possibly lose hours of time to pinning.  So you may want to set limits for yourself! But I can also tell you that you will be inspired by the art you see and the community you will build. And if you're like me you will save a bundle on magazines because it's all out there on the web! When you get on look me up, I'll follow you!

Jumping on and jumping off

I know I need to spend more time with my blog.  But unfortunately life has tripped me up lately.  I have worked on a few things and I'm always tangling.  Here is a journal cover I did for a friend. 

I look with longing at my studio some days, wishing I could while away the hours. I'm working two jobs, looking after a teenager who can't drive yet, and doing stuff with the volunteer organization I belong to...busy life. I have spent time in my studio putting things back where they belong after a water leak and repair.  But that's about it, no paint covered hands or glue on my elbows. Someday soon, I promise myself.

Back to Zentangle

Wow, it has been a hectic couple of months in our household! Lots of time on the road since the FIRST Robotics team (2363) that my kids are on won the Palmetto regional! Next was a flurry of fundraising so we could go to the National Championship in St. Louis. What an experience!  Then there was the grad class in order to keep my teaching license. Then soccer finals and championship games.  Then before I know it, my "baby" boy Chris is moving his tassle to the other side of his cap and walking across the stage to become a high school graduate! Deep breath! 

Through it all Zentangle has been my constant companion.  The mini kit Rick and Maria gave us at the October CZT training is tattered and worn but I can't bring myself to change it to a new box...it's like an old friend. On every plane ride (four weekends in a row in a plane or in a car!), waiting in lines, even sitting in the stands between matches I had my kit with me tangling at every opportunity.  I've been catching up on reading the blogs and looking at all the lovely work from the challenges.  I'm so excited to be scheduling classes for this summer and next fall.  I can't wait to order some of the new things...those black tiles look amazing. 

I just wanted to share with you a piece of art my daughter did for an art assignment at the end of this school year. They were asked to make a mandala.  She incorporated several tangle like patterns in some of the spaces in the piece.  I really love the inverted Betweed that looks like bananas. I think she did a great job so I thought I'd share it with you.

Charleston = Inspiration

We had the chance to visit Charleston a week or so ago.  Beautiful place!  I loved the houses and the shopping.  We ate at a really great BBQ place called Sticky Fingers. The only thing better than the food was the service. HIGHLY recommend it.  We also stopped by the Moon Pie General Store. It was so much fun. For those of you non-southerners out there...RC and Moon Pie is what they call the champagne and caviar of the south.

The houses were just incredible and the ironwork was beautiful.  I kept making my husband stop so I could take pictures.  So much inspiration at every turn. There were several patterns that seemed to be repeated in many gates and fences.  Here are a few pictures.

Loved this gate!



But I think I love the shadow it casts even more!



Charleston is definitely a Zentangle kind of town.  I think that we need to do a Master class in Charleston and our homework can be to find patterns on the streets, break them down and teach them to each other!  Lovely place. If you ever have a chance, go.

Challenge #11 Monotangle

Here is my tile for this week's challenge.  The challenge was to use one tangle to make a tile.  It's a betwixt betweed.

Kids and Zentangle

Wow! Zentangle has been a huge success with the students at the elementary school where I work.  I have a group of third graders and a group of 4th graders going already. And in two weeks I'll do two weeks of classes with each of the fifth grade classrooms.  I love the enthusiasm they bring to Zentangle.  They just LOVE it.

The other day one of the third graders who has been tangling for several months now, and is proudly the best at remembering all the tangle names, stopped me in the hallway and pulled me into his class because he just had to show me something.  Out of his desk he pulls a black and white composition notebook.  He holds it up to me and says "Look Mrs. Garrity, my notebook has Keeko ALL over it!"  Instead of the random spackle look of a regular composition notebook, sure enough the design was Keeko!

In the fourth grade class I've worked with we were learning two new tangles to practice.  I love Ahh!.  It's really fun to teach in elementary school because you can connect it to the Social Studies curriculum.  When I teach it I say the cardinal directions for each line as I draw, and the kids know them from map skills so it helps them to understand where the lines go.  Once I get them started I walk around the room checking out their work.  One of the boys stopped me and said "Mrs. Garrity, Ahh is ahhsome!".

I love the fact that this art form gives everyone young or old the opportunity to be an artist!

Weekly Challenge #9

Using Artoo tangle: