Weekly Challenge #67: "Amanda Day"

This tangle is the one that I did to fit in with the weekly challenge. The challenge was to do one for Earth Day. I decided to use a circle, round like the Earth and then used tangles that reminded me of plants and flowers. I used the swirling pattern at the back which is a pattern that has reccurred in my drawings and sketching for years, it tends to grow like bindweed during boring meetings! I shaded using grey green and steel blue graphitint pencils like the land and the oceans (returning to the earth theme).

These are two other tangles I have done in the past week (not challenge related but a few auras crept in from last weeks challenge) but I thought I'd post them anyway. I really liked the heart one and think I will use it to make a card to send to my lovely husband who is away at sea at the moment.

Weekly Challenge #66: Laura's Auras

Here is my Zentangle for the weekly challenge (http://iamthedivaczt.blogspot.co.uk/), using tangles with auras. I had good fun doing it (whilst juggling children so the fact it turned out in piece is a miricle!) I used my favourite rotring pens and the ocean blue graphitint pencil for shading. If I have time later in the week I might have another go at this challenge as I enjoyed the auras.

After I had uploaded my tangle (the bottom one) I had a look at the other posts that had been uploaded to the challenge and came across one posted by Erin Olston using a tangle called Pystyl (http://thebrightowl.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/little-time-for-me.html). I really liked it so decided to have a play with it and post it alongside my other one.

Photography

For as long as I can remember I have loved taking photos. My dream is to be in a position to give up my job and take up photography full time. Whether that will ever happen we will have to see but in the meantime I will use this blog to put my favourite shots as it is certainly not happening anytime soon!!

Here are some photos I've taken in the last week of Charlie, my two year and a half year old.

Weekly Challenge #65: "UMT v.III"

I am a bit late posting last weeks weekly challenge (http://iamthedivaczt.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/weekly-challenge-65.html) but I have been away from my laptop and haven't figured out how to upload photos from my iPad. The challenge was to use a tangle known as Huggy Bear. I did two Zentangles using it. The first is my first one I have done on black paper using a white pen. The nib was wider than I like to use but seems to have come out alright. The Huggy Bear wasn't as well defined as I would have liked so I had a go using my favourite Rotring pen and have put that one up here as well.

Easter Baking and my little Easter Bunny

I have been to my Mum's house for Easter and can't seem to upload photos to my blog from my ipad so had to wait until I got back to upload the photos of my Easter baking and my little Easter bunny. This is Benjamin Bunny! My little Ben sat quite happily for ages wearing the bunny ears and then crawled around wearing them for a while!

Here are my Easter biscuits and Simnel cake. The little chicks on the Simnel cake were made by my 2 year old (with a little help from me!).

Weekly Challenge #64: String Theory v. VIII "Fortuneteller"

Whilst searching the internet I came across a Zentange Weekly Challenge. This week the challenge set was for everyone to use the same string which split the tile into eighths and resembled the fortune tellers that I remember making as a child.

I used my Rotring pens and a "Juniper" Graphitint pencil for the shading giving a slight purple tint to the shading.

Rotring Pens and Graphitint Pencils

All the websites and books I have looked at on Zentangle seem to use the Sakura micron pens. I started out using these but found replacements difficult to come by locally so decided to look at other pens. I always loved my Rotring ink drawing pen but I found the nib too broad for the intricate nature of the patterns I was trying to create with Zentangle. After a bit of research I got myself a college started set of Rotring Isograph pens and they are fantastic. I have been using the .25 one for drawing most of my tangles and the .50 for the filling in. They give a lovely strong black and flow well over the paper. They were well worth the investment as far as I am concerned.

When I did A level art, coloured pencils was my favourite media so have always had a selection of different colours. I did try combining coloured pencil with my tangles but wasn't as happy with them as the monotone as I felt it detracted slightly from the nature of the pattern (see the coloured one that I have added to this post). I came across the Derwent Graphitint range of pencils and am enjoying playing with them. They are like working with a coloured pencil but the colour is just a slight hint, basically a tinted graphite. I have used the "ivy" one here on a monotangle (using just one tangle), the colour is quite subtle and I am pleased with the result.

Zentangle

I first came across Zentangle at a craft show I went to in October. There was a woman demonstrating and selling books and packs about it. I was immediately drawn to it as I am a doodler (you only need to look at my work note books to see that!) and Zentangle gave a name to what I did myself. I had never really considered it artwork as such, just repeated patterns intermingling.

There are plenty of explanations for what Zentangle actually is on the web such as on this link here.

I have dabbled on and off since October and find it really relaxing, it is something I can do in the evening once I have got my boys into bed and finished the housework. Here are some of my Zentangles.

Me!

This is my first go at a blog so I thought I'd introduce myself. I'm Jules and I am a married mum to two beautiful sons, the eldest is just over two and a half and the youngest is nine months. My husband is in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and is currently away at sea for four months.

I decided to start this blog as somewhere to put photos of my hobbies. With my two boys I get very little me time, but when I do I love all things creative including sewing, knitting and drawing. I also love photography.