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Monday, November 17, 2014

Zentangle® Lefty, Hurry, and an Inchie

Well, this WAS a real challenge. The Diva has a guest host this week, Elisa Murphy, who challenged us to use our non-dominant hand to do our tile today. It stressed me quite a bit, because, as some of you may know, I have developed trigger finger in my thumb from all my tangling. So, I have such a fear of this becoming a reality that I was completely unable to find my "Zen" in this tangle. And, I think it shows. This will be a fun one though to see what others have done. Check them out here.
I used Purk, Ixorus, and finally, I thought, just go for it, and I bravely? used Static. And, it's funny, but I think I did Static best as a lefty :) 

For Square One, the tangle of the week was Hurry, to which I added Poke Root, Cubine, and BB.





And, for Every Inchie Monday, the prompt word was weapon. I think the most harmful weapon that we all carry is our words. Be careful what you say and to whom you aim those hurtful things. I know I have done that in the past. You can never "unsay" those things and they will haunt you forever. (Wow, that's kind of a downer way to end a post. Just go back up to the first picture and laugh at how terrible I am with my left hand and then leave me a happy comment!)

46 comments:

  1. I love coming to see your artwork.

    Brilliant inchie and your 'weapon' idea is so true.

    Love Chrissie x

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    1. Thanks so much, Chrissie. I always appreciate your kind words :)

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  2. Yours is beautiful andwel done! I didnt like this challenge, because it stressed me to. My left hand is not secure brrrr.

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    1. Right, Carmela. I can't imagine this being relaxing to anyone HAHA!

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  3. Three lovely tiles :) And I agree with you - this challenge stressed me too :D My lines has been uneven and distorted and my Zen nowhere :D

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    1. Fortunately, our "Zen" is just one tangle away (with the right hand, of course) !

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  4. All with the non-dominant? :) Good stuff!!

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    1. Just the first tangle, Zoe. One was quite enough LOL!

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  5. words are indeed powerful weapons. you did really well with your left hand - I may just have to skip this one!

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    1. Yes, I'm not even sure that we always know when we've shot someone with what we have said. That's the sad part. And, I agree that this was a difficult challenge and hard to post.

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  6. I like your left hand tangling. The Purk is like an ancient stone monument, built eons ago. It really is lovely. You picked a tricky one with Ixorus - I struggle with that one right handed :) And words.Oh, so true. The number of times we shoot down someone else, or shoot ourselves in the foot, or shoot our mouths off. Well, I do anyway.

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    1. Megan, I'm finding that each time I open this page to respond to a comment and I see that lefty tangle, it starts to look less and less awful. I think it was just so hard to do and I guess it's just taking some getting used to. And, I really agree about the words thing. Thank you for stopping by!

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  7. I like your inchie. Words are a very powerful weapon that we often use without thinking. Your Square One tile is very nice. I think you did a good job on you DIva Challenge. Very brave to use Purk ( I have enough problems with my dominant hand on that one), and Ixorus looks great.

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    1. My Purk never looks as beautiful as when other people do it so I figured I probably couldn't do it worse. Silly me HAHA! I am working on keeping my thoughts to myself more.

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  8. Ha, your square One tile looks like a city under attack by killer tomatoes! I love it! Your Yuck tile is actually pretty good. I stayed away from anything with parallel lines, but you jumped right in and did a great job.

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    1. Killer tomatoes, huh? HAHA, that's a good one! I used to be better with my left hand when I didn't draw as much, I wonder why? I actually did have more trouble trying to make circles, uh, I mean "orbs." :)

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  9. Great job on the opposite hand drawing, what great artwork. and i truly appreciate and love your inchie. great work

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    1. Thank you, Freebird. Usually I stay quite silly for the Inchie. I don't know what came over me, but I am someone who really can't stand to see anyone hurt by words.

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  10. I love your Posts, Jean, and find your Comment replies to be delightful. Posting a Tile for this challenge is a real act of bravery. It helps that we are all in the same boat. You did really well, and your left handed Purk is better than my Right. Great Square challenge and your Inchie is so poignant. (sp). Well done.

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    1. Thank you, David. I always wonder if anyone reads all these replies. I think that the comment section is really why I do my blogs. I love to interact with people, and now that I am retired, I don't have that opportunity as often. I so enjoy all of you out there and do think of you all as friends.

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  11. Great left handed piece Jean, and how funny that is that the tangle you fear the most after all came out as the best one. I had the same experience. I love to see that every one is struggling with those wonky and shivering lines. I think all the pieces I have seen are wonderful. Everyone did climb that mountain to draw and post the piece, so every one earns a thumb up!

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    1. Yup, Diana, when you're drowning, it's nice to see that everyone in the pool is going under with you LOL! I was also amazed at how good everyone's "shivering" lines looked. Maybe that look could be incorporated into Zentangle as an enhancer. Because of your observation, we could call it shivering and you would add it along with perfs, auras, and the other enhancers!

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  12. You did quite well with this difficult challenge, Jean! And I love your explanation with the inchie, You are so very right!!!!!

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  13. Dear Jean, you should be pleased with your Diva challenge piece; I;ve seen some 'regular' drawings that dont' match your ability and confidence. And then, I haven't tackled mine yet. Your words are your legacy; they cannot be returned to sender. So true. Have a brilliant day! c

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  14. Fantastic job on your tile with your left hand! It really looks pretty good!!! Hearing about your trigger finger makes me cringe a little because since I have done so much deep tissue massage in my career, I'm always afraid that I'm gonna end up with arthritis. And my hands are Everything to me!!!
    I love your take on the Inchie word too! And boy isn't that ever so true!! Words are the most hurtful weapon!! None of that here though!!! :0)
    Your posts are always so full of LOVE!!!
    Have a great week my friend!!! :0) Share humanity

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    1. Most of the aches and pains that I am experiencing, now than I'm older, (and, remember, everyone's older than they were yesterday, or even a minute ago) I can trace to an activity in my past. I did a lot of exercising with weights and that sure was silly. We are way to rough with our bodies and we do pay for that eventually. Everything in moderation is really good advice from somebody smart (not me) out there!

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  15. Dear Jean, Thanks for doing the challenge! I honestly think your tile is wonderful! Celebrating imperfection is a huge challenge. Thanks for not giving up!!

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    1. You are so kind, Elisa. I'm not much of a quitter though even when something is difficult. I just like to whine a lot HAHA!

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  16. Dear Jean,
    I'm not sure if I've sent this twice or not. I'm new to all of this so please forgive me! I love your tile. You are one determined woman to power through! That's what I see when I look at it and it makes me just smile. :) Thank you for giving it a go.

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    1. Yup, twice, but twice the kindness is always nice to read. Hugs :)

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  17. Jean, as I struggled with my Yuck challenge, I also had many "what if" thoughts. It was really, really difficult. Yours came out better than mine did, but it was indeed a thought provoking challenge.

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    1. We must remember that the process of doing Zentangle is the goal, not the finished product. I often forget that myself. I imagine that many of us started to realize how grateful we should be, for a lot of things, because of this challenge.

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  18. This certainly was difficult for all of us. I like your weapon representation. One thing that happens with this social media phenomena is that when you are writing "words" it is difficult to convey "tone". I see it happen all the time ...someone can take offense when none is intended. So although words can certainly be weapons I try really hard to put the kindest possible interpretation on their intention.

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    1. Boy, you're not kidding. I almost had a falling out with someone last week because of that kind of misunderstanding. And, even though it was resolved, there will always be that lingering question in my mind.

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  19. Jean, I would agree with your inchie on the words! Your non dom hand tile looks great to me. I also had a very hard time with this one.... It is what it is sometimes, I feel my hands giving out on me... so achy. I keep doing my stretches, but they are getting less and less effective. :(

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    1. I never really though that one of the side effects of aging would be to lose some of my hand dexterity. The wrinkles, memory loss, spare tire, well those I did expect. It is a bit sad, Kate, but we will just push through this as best we can. You work certainly doesn't show that stress. Push on sister :)

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  20. Jean, you did a wonderful job with your non-dominant hand. It was a very difficult challenge and frankly, I think we are ALL very brave to post our work. I was actually more relaxed with my left hand because I have some arthritis in my right hand and it tires very easily. Although my left hand has crooked fingers, it didn't cramp like my right one was as I was doing it. Go figure! I liked your other two offerings as well, especially your inchie. We had a problem tonight at the dinner table where hubby said some things to our adult autistic son that were uncalled for and now he wishes he hadn't said them. But these things happen. Keep up the great work Jean!

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    1. Ah, Lezli, I am so sorry that your hubby has to carry those words in his heart, and you too for him; but, we are fortunate that our children, family, and friends usually forgive us because they love us even with our faults. I have found that a sincere apology is the only way to go.
      This getting older really does cramp our style, doesn't it?

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  21. That's funny! I thought about using Purk and Ixorus, but decided not to, because I thougt they would be too difficult for my non-dominant hand. So, I'm lokking at your tile with a lot of respect!

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    1. I love how this community is so kind to each other, cheering all of us on our journey, giving confidence to all, Ilse! I thought my Purk was just awful so I appreciate your comment :)

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  22. Hi Jean, this looks very good!! I am surprised it looks so steady (you should see mine :) ) Nice!! ~ Diane

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    1. I did see your, Diane, and I am so impressed with your perseverance. You did a wonderful tile!

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