Monday, August 25, 2014

Zentangle® Stripes, Bronx Cheer, and an Inchie

I never look at others' tangles before I post mine. Why? Well, if I see how wonderful they are I might be too intimidated to post my own, or I might feel like I have to go back and redo mine. I know, silly, but it is a flaw of my nature that I just have to work with, and not peeking is how I do it. Those of you who use blogger will know that when you open it up, the first thing it shows you is recent posts from those on your blogroll list. So, I open mine up to post and there is, where I can't miss seeing it,  LeeAnn's entry for this week's Dive Challenge and it, as always, is so gorgeous that my mouth dropped. Sigh.... I will post mine anyway LOL!

I used Beeline, Ambler, Hibred, Tortuca and Chartz. What's the difference between Ambler and Emingle? In Ambler, the pattern moves clockwise whereas with Emingle the pattern repeats.

For Every Inchie Monday, the prompt was "Quartz Crystal".  I started thinking about quartz. Did you know it is said to have powers? Like a crystal ball? Gel pens on black and I used some Glossy Accent over the ball to give it depth. I looked into my crystal ball and saw more time on the Internet, my studio getting more and more stuffed with things I need, and a lot of happiness.
What do you see in your future?

 And, I have joined another group on Facebook for people who really want to do traditional Zentangle tiles. It is called Square One: Purely Zentangle®. So, I will now post my weekly entry for that group as well. This week, we were to use Bronx Cheer as a tangle, not as a mistake cover.
Bronx Cheer, Striping, Tipple, and Quib


64 comments:

  1. I love them! Especially the striped one. Great take on the challenge.

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    1. Thank you, Anoeska. I'm not sure I've used that one much before, but I like it too!

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  2. Wow Jean - love your inchie. I really thought it was a proper crystal, amazing work.

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    1. Thanks, Lisette. It's always a challenge, to me anyway, to try to come up with something different that I can actually do HAHA!

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  3. And also yours is very innovative, original and beautiful!
    I feel the same way as you! I also never look at others' tangles before I post mine. Why? wen see how beautiful they are i think mine is nothing. And I try to be original and not make the same as anyone else.

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    1. Thanks so much, Carmela. Yes, it is so hard not to be judgmental of our own work, isn't it? You do beautiful work and I'm glad you post it for the whole world to admire :)

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  4. Wonderful inchie and I love to see your zentagle art it is amazing

    Love Chrissie x

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    1. Thank you, Chrissie, I really appreciate your encouraging words :)

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  5. I hear you about not looking at others… but this week I'm going to go ahead and look in case I don't have time to do the challenge (which has been happening a lot). I really like your choice of tangles and the balance you've created on either side of the dominant beeline! Nicely done!

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    1. Thank you, Sue. It really is difficult sometimes to do all the challenges, especially if you are a multi-crafter HAHA! Hope to see your work back soon :)

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  6. Your crystal ball is an inspired idea and so pretty too.

    I know what you mean about peeking at others work. Sometimes I feel too depressed to go on, but them remember I am still a beginner, and self taught. I use other's work sometimes to remind me of patterns I might use. I don't think this is cheating, just using a good resource?

    Your stripes are great - I love beeline. And another new challenge - I will have to look into that. I like the flow of that one.

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    1. Thank you, Kia. Do check into that one on Facebook. Everyone is quite encouraging. Do be sure you follow the directions though, strictly original style Zentangle (3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch tiles and black on white), NO ZIA at all, or they will remove the piece :)

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  7. :) May your beautiful crystal ball bring you all that and more! Love your tiles, especially Bronx Cheer.

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    1. Thanks, Zoe. It's nice to have your own crystal ball because you can see what you want in it :)

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  8. I love your art Jean. Your Stripes challenge is put together so nicely and with well chosen patterns. Your crystal ball Inchie is awesome. Your take on Quib is so original and interesting. You are doing wonderful work on all of these challenges.

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    1. Thank you, David. I needed that. I was thinking of it further and realized that while some work is beautiful because it is flowing and has pretty colors, some is beautiful because it is not!

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  9. love how cool your Bronx Cheer looks, very Amoeba-ish. I love your take on the inchie. Great work this week.

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    1. Thanks, Freebird. Did you ever see an amoeba under a microscope? It's terrifying HAHA!

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  10. I do like your tile, Jean. Beeline is great here!
    I like the new challenge (pure zentangle) but I don't do facebook, so it's not for me.

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    1. Thanks, Annemarie. You are probably wise not to do Facebook. I belong to many groups there too and spend a lot of my day on the computer. I need to get out and smell those roses :)

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  11. I really love your Stripes tangle and enjoyed seeing your other endeavors as well.

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  12. WOW! The dimension in the stripes tile takes you to so many... levels, places, trips! What a great piece... and so you!

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    1. Amy, you know it's just because you do such beautiful organic work that seeing something different is, well, different :) I love your beautiful work and wish I could be that flowing! And, thank you!

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  13. Jean you are too funny!! It is fun to have all theses toys in our toy boxes and use them every week, isn't it!! It's soooooooooo addicting though. If someone mentions some new pen or pencil, I feel like I have to go buy one and check it out!!! CRAZINESS!!! Anyway, your inchie is amazing!! You got all the right colors in it and it looks so real! And your other pieces of work are beautiful too. I would love to join in on the fun of the FB challenge but I can't get my fb page to allow me to search. I think because it's not a personal account. Hmmmm I'll have to try again! (me and technology, yeeks) Have a great week!! :0) Share humanity

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    1. Oh, Annette, I am so easily pushed (is that the right word?) into buying something that I think will make my work as good as whatever I'm looking at. Sigh. Try this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/squareonepurelyzentangle/ It would be nice to see you over there too :)

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  14. Jean, great work with all these challenges. Ooops, I peeked at your inchie before I've even begun to contemplate my own work. (I think I'm either a week behind or a week ahead of myself, don't know which). Hope MONSOON 2014 has not been a burden to you. Seems like it as you're creating up a storm. HA! Storm! Water and me, well, we're not getting along so well.

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    1. Hi there, Cheryl. Yes, our monsoon has been kicking our collective butts here in the Phoenix area. My son and his wife had their bedroom flood through the walls! What's your water issue?

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  15. I use the same strategy (or phobia) of not looking at others' work before I at least have mine almost done. You certainly managed to get your stripes three dimensional.

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    1. Sometimes, Suzanne, I just need to walk away from my finished tile and when I get back to it I see something very different. I usually like it better with time. After awhile, it looks like someone else did it. That's one of the great things about the memory going HAHA!

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  16. Fabulous inchie and zens. Love the stripey one.

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    1. Thanks a lot, Wendy. Working in stripes does limit the tangles you can use, but for a challenge, that was a good thing.

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  17. So wonderful pieces this week! Each of them has its own impression and I like them all!
    Like you I also have never a look at the other tanglers´entries before I post mine. For what reason? I would like to come up with my own idea. This is impossible for me if I see all the other lovely entries ... my impartiality would be lost.

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    1. Thanks, Lonetta. Yes, I agree totally. I like to come up with my own ideas and I would find that difficult to do it I saw what others were doing. I don't really pay any attention to Laura's for that same reason :)

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  18. This little inchie has amazing dimension to it. Very nice!

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    1. Thank you, Susan. I really had to think how to get that dimension and that glossy accents made a nice little dome.

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  19. Cool idea doing a crystal ball!

    Sally

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  20. Now how about this, Jean....YOURS is always the first one I check out cos I know I shall love it and your take on the challenges for the week! Love your stripes and Bronx Cheer and as always, your Inchie makes me smile. Comparisons are just so unnecessary - we all have something so different to offer! Axxx

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    1. Yes, you are right, Annie; however, we are the product of an environment of competition. After all, that's what grades were for as a child and promotions as an adult. Some of us never quite got over not being "good enough" especial if your best friend was brilliant AND beautiful HAHA! I'm trying though :)

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  21. Beautiful work as usual. I know what you mean about l looking ahead yet here I sit doing just that. Could not sleep so I thought I would admire some art. I will have to check out the zentangles group.

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    1. It would be nice to see you there too, Cathy :)

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  22. Your inchie idea was a good one. Love your tile with Quib on it, I think that is a really neat tangle.

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    1. Quib has so much potential. I just wish there were either more hours in each day, or that I didn't have so many interests that I can't seem to focus on just one in more depth :)

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  23. Like the perspective you created with your shading and tangles in the challenge tile. Was hard to think of a way to make Bronx Cheer a focus as was always talked about as a fix. Like your Quib in this tile.

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    1. Thank you, Donald. Yes, I always teach Bronx Cheer as a "fix", although I prefer to tell the story of Suzanne McNeil who made a "mistake" on camera and then proceeded to say that there are no mistakes in Zentangle only the opportunity to create a new tangle. Then she looked right into the camera and said something like, and now you know why I have created so many tangles. I laughed so hard on that one and love to share it with students. Bronx Cheer doesn't really seem very "Zentangle" anyway as it is a true representation of a real thing. Kind of a no, no :)

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  24. Like you I try not to look at others before I do mine, I think if I did I'd never make a start because some are jaw dropping. I love Ambler in your stripy tile, I struggle with that one so must admit, I avoid it! Linda x

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    1. Isn't it funny how some tangles are hard for some and easy for others. I always think of Ambler as a kind of boring one because, to me, it is so easy. Yet, there are others that I do struggle with and they seem to be easy for others.

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  25. All three are beautiful art work. I even see a bit of crystal shape in your stripes one. ;-) I took a peek at the FB group but I see it is a public group. I prefer a closed group but lots of beautiful work to see there.

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    1. Thank you, Kay. I am wondering though what the disadvantage there is to a public group? I never realized there was a difference and I don't know which might be good or bad?

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  26. Thanks for your comment on my post Jean. In a public group everybody can see you posting but it also comes on your timeline and to all your friends, which I don't want. If I join a group I like it to be a closed one, it is more private, so only the group members can see your posts.

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    1. Interesting and good to know. Thanks for the explanation, Kay. (I think my friends may be sick to death of seeing my Zentangle HAHA!)

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  27. I don't think so, you probably get more followers ;-)

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  28. I find it hard to believe that you could possibly be intimidated by others work. I guess it's all in one's point of view. To me, you're one of the ones by whom I am intimidated. But it isn't for that reason that I don't look at other people's entries to a challenge before doing mine. It's that I'm afraid I'll be influenced by someone's work and end up copying the idea.
    That said, I think your approach to the Stripes challenge is brilliant. Beautifully done.

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    1. Wow! What a surprise. I think your work is just always so well done and seldom see mine as special. I think you're right that we don't always see things the same as someone else. Thank you so much for such a lovely compliment.

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  29. Hi Jean!

    I totally agree with Audrie... I also don't look at others entries prior to submitting mine. The reason is that I don't want to be influenced in my vision of the challenge. Now that I think on it though... It could be VERY intimidating... hmmmm... now I have ANOTHER reason not to look! 😊

    Your art is always an inspiration! Lovely entries for all three tiles! I am also in the Square One group... See you there!

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    1. I'm loving seeing my friends over at Square One as well. I did leave you a note and my iPad decided to eat it up. I guess I'll wander over and leave the message again HAHA! Thanks for the kind words!

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  30. Both drawing are really wonderful. Beside me lays a book "Zentangle".
    Best regards, Synnöve

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    1. How exciting that you are getting into Zentangle. Let me know if you have any questions!

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  31. You're most welcome, Diane, and thank you. I am a teacher, so I do try to clarify things if I can. I'm always happy to answer questions too, again if I can.
    Wow, congrats on your wedding. Did you know the bat symbolizes end of old fears and rebirth? Good sign for sure!

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  32. I am so happy you share your experience like this :) I like to share mine too on many things :)

    Thank you for your congrats!! I looked up bar and saw it was letting go of old fears and rebirth ... but hard to do when it wakes me in the night!! But I have been working to allow myself to use it to clear fears - amazing how strong they can be!! Thank you!!

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