Sunday Zentangle Club Fun

Eight ladies, 16 tiles, tangles and fun.  One of the great things about getting into the Zentangle world are the folks you meet.  Great group of people!!!

Bangle Tangles

     Today I introduced seven new students to Zentangle.art form at Beverly's Fabric in San Diego..  An Eleven year old - Katie, a senior graduating with honors (congrats Chris), two proud parents (Belinda and Judy) and three new Zentangle enthusiast (Kieko, Xuan and Debbie).
 Let yout Zentangle journey begin. Thanks for joining me today.
                                      I think Katie's face says it all.  Good job

Beyond Basic Class

Yesterday I had an intimate Beyond Basic Class at my home for two "couldn't wait for the next class" students.

We learned about the string you draw on a Zentangler tile and the importance --

but it is just a gentle guideline that should be quick and unplanned to create flow to your tile.
A string prevents you from having to make too many decisions on your tile.

Thanks Joan and Rachel for a nice mid morning tangle time.

We even dabbled on a Bijou tile (they are so cute).

Best $15 you will ever spend.

Here is the site I tell my students about.  Tangle Patterns.com

This is one stop does it all for $15.  You get tons of tangles (pattens), string, pen, and much more information at one stop.  You can download the latest copy to 3 of your own items (pc, ipad, phone).

http://tanglepatterns.com/

Don't forget the offical Zentangle® site is at Zentangle.com.

Sharing another CZT's information on Color on Tiles

Some thoughts by Jane Catherine, CZT in North Carolina
(Janet condensed version for ya)

Lightfastness (fadage)— Notes on Coloring

I want to be clear that lightfastness is NOT an issue in the original Zentangle process taught by Rick, Maria (co-founders of Zentangle®Art Method).  The Sukura micron pen their suggest to use on a tile does not fade.   As a CZT, we teach everyone the basic Zentangle art method.   It’s only when you can’t resist coloring (like me!) that lightfastness can come into play.

If you send a Zentangle — or an original Zentangle Inspired Art (ZIA) piece to someone, they are likely to put it on display somewhere.  An original Zentangle tile will be lightfast, but as soon as you add colors, you’re into the realm of color pigments, inks, and dyes, some of which fade over time, especially when exposed to sunlight. 

If you’ve added color and then you give away or sell your work, you need to decide whether you care about lightfastness or not. If you use watercolors — for example — that are lightfast.

You can try it out for yourself, especially if you love a particular color medium — just tape a few samples to a sunny window and watch what happens over the days, weeks, and months. 

Here is information for the  most popular color implements in the Zentangle and ZIA worlds: watercolor, colored pencils, and markers.

Watercolors

Most artist quality watercolors are lightfast, that is, the pigments will not fade or change color when exposed to light. In artist quality watercolors, the lightfastness rating is given right on the tube.

Now you can choose for yourself according to the ratings on the tubes. If you can’t find the lightfastness rating easily on the product or on the manufacturer’s website.

Watercolor exceptions

You also need to be careful with watercolor pencils, which may or may not be lightfast. Some brands have the lightfastness rating printed right on the pencils, like the Albrecht Dürer line. Others are less careful. Some people don’t even trust the labels on the pencils and do their own testing.

Colored Pencils

Colored pencils are extremely risky  to lightfastness. The highest quality DO have lightfastness ratings on them (they can be pricey), and some manufacturers at the high end are putting an emphasis on lightfastness because there are more and more artists who make and sell gorgeous original art works using colored pencils.

Lisa from Lachri Fine Art has several videos about this on her Youtube channel. She’s got the story on all things colored pencil!

Some colored pencils have the lightfastness ratings right on the pencil itself, like the Polychromos line. Other manufacturers have stated that nobody in their target markets cares about lightfastness, so they are not going to raise the price for a feature no one wants.

Markers

Most markers, even artist quality markers, are not meant to be lightfast because they came out of the world of illustration and animation where it’s the prints that need to last.

There are pigment-based lightfast markers, such as the Pitt Artist Brush Pens, which have the lightfastness ratings right on the pens. But much as I love the Pitt colors, I couldn’t get the blended watercolorish effects I wanted. I splurged on Copic Sketch Markers which blend beautifully and let me do all kinds of watercolorish things, but they are not meant to be lightfast.

Using Copics means that my originals can’t go up on somebody’s wall for 100 years or last forever in the World Zentangle Museum.  The general rule is that you can’t count on lightfastness in the world of markers. They weren’t designed for “fine art” originals, but for designers and illustrators.

The manufacturer of the markers you like will make it clear on their website if they have designed them to be lightfast. And be aware that other marker terms like “permanent” may or may not mean lightfast. If you love to color your originals and send them to people, you might want to try the Pitt Artist Pens and see if they work for you.

The Bottom Line

• If you don’t need your originals to be lightfast, you don’t have to worry about this anyway.
• If you sell prints or reproductions, you might want to make sure they use lightfast pigment inks on archival paper.
• If you need your originals to be lightfast and you use watercolor, you may want to invest in artist quality paints that have high lightfastness ratings.
• If you need your originals to be lightfast and you use colored pencils, you’ll have to be very selective.
• If you love markers (like I do), you might want to emphasize archival prints or copies, unless it’s okay with you and the recipient that the colors might not last if displayed on a wall in the house.

Hope this helps,

Jane Catherine in North Carolina

Saturday Tangling

     I spent the morning introducing the Zentangle art method to some students at Beverly's Fabric in San Diego, California.  The tangles on the first tile were: Crescent Moon, Hollibaugh, Florz, and Flux.  A Creative group they were.   Thanks for joining me:  Denise, Chloe, Lynne, Susan and May !!!   Check out their second tile.

Just two tangles on this tile:  Betweed and printemps.  Simple but very interesting.

Carmel Mountain Ranch Library Zentangle® Class

What a beautiful library at Carmel Mountain Ranch  in San Diego, California.
I was invited to teach an Introduction Zentangle class.
Eleven enthusiatic students joined me and we went on a Zentangle journey learning structured patterns (tangles) and applying them to a "string" to come up with an amazing "tile" of art.
 During that process, we relaxed, de-stressed, and enjoyed the moment of applying ink to paper.
"Annything is possible, one stroke at a time ®".  

I think their faces say it all !!!

Sunday Tangling

Three Zentangle classes in a row this weekend and I never tire of sharing this art form. 

I taught a group of folks at the Friends Christian Church in Santee California.
What a fun group of men and women.
Here are a couple pic from their tangles today

                    

                              

Hummingbirds Everywhere

We had hummies flying all over the place today.
I had a special class at my home to tangle some Hummingbirds.
The Hummingbird Delight class was amazing - rain and all.
We learned many tangles to apply to the hummy and dabbled in a little color.
Great day to tangle inside with the rain. 

AND now it has to stop... heading to the baseball game this afternoon.
GOOOOOO SAN DIEGO PADRES.

Another amazing Zentangle day.
Have you got your Zentangle on yet? If not, your are missing out of something very special.
Check out my classes... Come join in on all the fun

Black (tile) Friday

Great Zentangle class tonight with black tile tangles. 

Patterns used:  Dragonair, Bales, Betweed, Pintemps, Crescent Moon, N'zepple.   

Thank goodness the rain let up and all could get to class.
Boy did California need the rain !!!
Good job ladies

Black tile Zentangle class 5/15 Friday

Check classes above for information.

Color

Sometimes (even Zentangle) you need a little color !!!

Flying and Zentangle

Organic Garden tile on the plane from Tennessee to San Diego.  So relaxing