Tangle on... and on... and on...

Wowza! Sandra Strait has published a list of all the Tangle names she could find from the web, the books and the official Zentangle site and kits... take a look at her blog! It's a great way to see if a name has already been used when you are designing your own Tangles. And Sandra, I'm assuming you do not have any small children still at home, right. Otherwise, you have WAY too much free time on your hands! (yep, I'm jealous - but I love lists!)

Tangles for Shelley, Part 2

You people are so AMAZING! I wish you could have seen Shelley's face when she saw all the cards and tiles that you all have sent her. (Actually, you CAN! SherRee posted them on the Wingdoodle FaceBook page). Shelley was energetic enough to make her way up to the Sunapee Craftsmen Fair today - so you know that all your positive, healing thoughts have found their mark. While she was enjoying her freedom from hospitals... I snatched her pile of tiles and ran home to my studio to take quick photos. I've posted them on my studio FaceBook page, so go and drool. You can tell that people were thinking happy thoughts as they drew! There were tiles from everywhere... Ohio, Philadelphia, Washington, Tasmania, Italy, Scotland....

And as for the League of NH Craftsmens Fair, there was plenty of inspiration (speaking of drooling). One of my goals in life is to have enough money that I could buy some of the pieces that I lust over. Especially Kathleen Dustin's and Luann Udell's work... and many others.

I always love watching these chainsaw bears being born (I do own a small one). Looks like a painful birth.

But the finished bear looks quite content. Or is she pregnant? Perhaps she ate the artist?

Art & Soul Virginia

Sign-ups are now open for Art & Soul Virginia 2011! I was accepted to teach two classes, one on Sunday - 1270 - Zentangle® 101 and the second on Monday - 1271 - On Beyond Zentangle® .  My classes this past spring were all sold out! So sign up soon. If you have never been to Art & Soul, this is one of the most wonderful retreats. The Embassy Suites is luxurious and the convention center has spacious rooms. But the best part is being surrounded by all the creative, whacky people. It's nice to feel like you "fit-in" - at least for a few days!

Cheryl Darrow from TenSeconds Studio is teaching a class called - 1149 - Metal Repousse in Altered Art. It sounds intimidating but it is like Zentangle on metal! I have to go explore the listings and try to decide what I want to take. The only bummer to being a teacher, is that some of the classes I want are on the same days that I am teaching!

Tangled...uh... Tuckered... Out

Want to see what we are doing at the Master Zentangle Class in Newport, RI? Rick and Maria are putting pictures and posts on their blog: http://zentangle.blogspot.com/2010/08/first-day-morning.html

In the bird's eye view, I am in the back row, in black, next to Suzanne McNeil. We did the most amazing illuminated letters today. No one wanted to stop working, but we got a private trolley that took us to a mansion at Salve Regina College, where we hunted down patterns for new tangles! What an insanely fun day! I am so exhausted I literally fell over when I got back to my room and my eyes are closing...

Time travelling

This morning I was in an 1800's colonial village. Now I am embedded in the consumeristic future world of Newport, RI. I took a short side trip to Sturbridge to visit my dad and his wife, on my way down to the Zentangle Master Class here in RI. Visiting Old Sturbridge Village seemed like a natural, since I had a few hours to kill anyway and my membership runs out next weekend. It was really quiet for a Monday morning, with skies threatening rain. But that's the way I like it. I hate crowds and tourists. And walking the dirt roads, alone, really feels like I have gone back in time. I sat and munched on my muffin next to the little pond and saw a girl in a huge sunbonnet fishing using just a stick with string. The horse and carriage trotted past me and clopped through the covered bridge. And in the background was the musical beat of the old sawmill. Of course, I snapped pictures of interesting patterns to make into zentangles! Fence posts, plants, stones, wallpaper in the town house.

Now I am sitting on a rooftop Deck above the Admiral Fitzroy Inn. Up here, it is hard to believe that there are so many people and cars down below. It is so quiet, I can hear the seagulls calling near the harbor. The buildings are beautiful and ancient, but filled with Starbucks and tacky tourist shops. I walked as far as I could on Thames Street in either direction while waiting for my room to be ready. There's pretty good people watching though!

In another lifetime (teenager) - I biked Long Island Sound. I haven't ridden a bike since. But I remember riding over the bridge and into the city, past the mansions, the "cottages," down to the beach. Ah, my peace and quiet were just invaded by a yuppie with her cell phone and her cigar smoking husband. Retreat!