BEEZ in the Belfry

CHA CHA Brain Buzz

2012-01-30T00:40:00.001-05:00

I just got back from dinner with Suzanne McNeill and Cindy Sheperd (and my mom). We laughed a lot and I talked too much and too fast... It's funny how I can be hyper and exhausted at the same time. But it is impossible to spend the day looking at cool new art tools, amazing displays, and talking with fascinating people... and not start generating ideas at a supersonic pace!

I had a lot of fun chatting with Stacey from James Button and Trim about designing custom buttons. (see the picture with the cute sunglasses). And Joanne Fink- who did the Zenspiratons book, is a licensing coach and I HAVE to go back to talk to her again tomorrow! I met a lot of designers who do the demos and create samples and projects for different companies. I got a really cool wheeled cart from Tutto luggage. In purple! And, and, and...!

Oh, I need to go to bed... But first I have to look through the pile of catalogs. I wonder if I should restart my stamp company... Or kids clothing... Or make stuffies....? My brain is way too excited to sleep!

(the girl posing is wearing a dress, but the artist has been painting her body to match the fabric! Her arms are finished, but her legs were just started. Isn't that amazing?)

Baby Bro in LaLa Land

2012-01-29T02:56:00.001-05:00

We spent most of today driving around Hollywood and Studio City with my baby brother, Dave. The bestest part was visiting his office. Big woop, right? But my brother works as the assistant art director for game development at Neopets. Which is owned by Nickelodeon and MTV. He gets to draw amazing creatures and color them and play games all day. In a very cool office. One hallway had paintings he had done of some of the characters all hanging in fancy frames. The enormous room full of cubicles where the artists work had a giant mural running all the way around the room. Dave had combined all the different Neopets characters into storylines and printed the art onto vinyl. Some of these characters were so cute I had to zoom in and snap their pics! I couldn't take any pictures of his current projects, but his computer is a tech geek's drool fest. He has an enormous Wacom tablet that is basically a giant touch screen, and then a second screen just to see the artwork. All the cubicles are filled with toys! The break room has every kind of gaming device and giant TVs and comfy chairs... The downside to this heaven- yes, there is a downside- he can spend ages working on a very cool project just to see it canned for some minor detail. It just disappears into a file drawer.

He drove us around pointing out all his favorite haunts and laughing at the tourists. My heart skipped a beat when I saw a giant Kermit the Frog on top of a pretty brick building. When I gasped, he casually said, "oh that's the Muppet's Creature Workshop". Ahhhh... Someday, I want to go in THERE!

On the way to LaLa Land

2012-01-28T22:29:00.001-05:00

Isn't it amazing how things can seem to go wrong, and yet fate or serendipity is really working over time?

Snowstorms kept schools closed the day we flew out and also caused delays for the flights coming in to the airport. Before we had even left the ground we realized we would miss our connecting flight in Detroit! Our replacement flight was a few hours later so we explored the airport. It's actually quite a lovely airport! I was surprised. There was an underground people mover that changed colors and played relaxing sounds like the one in the Chicago airport. And there was the most amazing choreographed fountain! It would go really quiet so the surface appeared flat, then shoot thin streams of water that looked like clear plastic tubes. All the water ran over the sides like an infinity pool (is that the right name?) we stood there mesmerized and then the streams of water started shooting in little bursts across the fountain! It was insanely magical!

When we finally boarded the plane to LAX, the lady who had been seated in the third seat grabbed her stuff and moved to the back where her friend was seated. I was absorbed in my book and paid no attention as a passenger seated herself next to me. Hours later, I looked up and we started chatting. "where are you headed?" "to Anaheim for a convention...." "me too!" and the coincidences continued as I learned that she was there because of a guest blog post I had done for Creative Imaginations using Twinkling H2Os and her product, Pearl Pens from Viva. So she was exhibiting at the CI booth. I think we talked non-stop until we landed! She asked me to create some samples for her other products. Fun!

And to think, if we hadn't missed our connecting flight, we wouldn't have seen the cool stuff at the Detroit airport or met this really amazing lady!

CHA CHA CHA!

2012-01-23T20:23:00.002-05:00

On Friday this week, I fly off to California for the CHA Winter Show in Anaheim. CHA is the Craft and Hobby Association and the show is an ginormous trade show of crafting insanity!! I am SOOO excited!! (And nervous). Every big craft manufacturer has a booth there and shows off the new products for the coming year. My publishers Fox Chapel/Design Originals have a huge booth and there will be a party on Monday night to honor Suzanne McNeill. She is receiving an important industry award. On Tuesday I will be doing Make & Takes and demoing in the booth. It should be a lot of fun.

I hate flying, but I am focusing on how excited I am to explore the different booths. I'll be stashing ideas away for my new biz venture... And I am also excited to see my brother, Dave. I haven't seen him since my grandmother's funeral a few years ago. He's an animator in Hollywood - ooo la la! He was a character animator for the cartoon "Hey, Arnold!" and then he got promoted and moved on to working with Neopets and kept moving up the foodchain... so now we don't actually know what he does. I am sure it is very cool though!

I am also looking forward to meeting up with some other CZTs who will be out there. And, if I am lucky, I'll have time to visit the DKE toy warehouse. And maybe Kidrobot.... it's one of my dreams to have my own "Munny" type figure in a Lilah Bean shape!! Oh, how COOL would that be?!
So, I just wanted to give you all a head's up that I have plenty of Totally Tangleds available right now, finally, but I will be putting the Etsy store in Vacation Mode as of Wed. night or Thursday morning until I get back from California. So if you need something, order it before then. :-)

Hurry, Hurry... Relax!

2012-01-23T18:58:00.000-05:00

Yeah! A whole BUNCH of people have signed up for UN-Tangle!!! It's filling up (don't miss out!) Linda actually contacted The Beachmere to reserve another block of rooms. Don't freak out though - we didn't decide to accept a ton more people - it's because a lot of people actually want single rooms. I admit that I always choose a single too, when there is a choice. It is nice to be able to recharge on your own. Sounds like there are a few day-trippers too. If you are thinking about coming to UN-Tangled, but have questions, please email me or Linda Pearl (she's doing all the left-brain stuff).

Tangled Talent from Taiwan - Christy Lin

2012-01-19T19:04:00.000-05:00

Recently I received the following email from Christy... this is the kind of message that really helps shake you out of a mini-pity-party! And as an added bonus (grin) she has created some truly beautiful pieces of tangled art! Be sure to look at all her other Calligraphy Doodle Art in her Etsy shop, Enjoy...

My name is Christy, I came from Taiwan four years ago as an art student and currently living in St. Louis, MO.

I want to thank you for your great talent and generous to share them with the art lover, I am very much appreciated it and there have more that I like to share with you, that how much your work inspired me and even changed my life. This is exciting, and I think you would love to know about it : )

One day, I went to an art store and saw your book "Totally Tangled" was right on the book case, it catches my eyes and I couldn't put down the book for 20 mins, I got so exciting about this book because I always into details drawing, tangled patterns but didn't know there have a name "zentangle". I ended up brought this book home, and enjoy each pictures over and over again, one week later, I created a piece of artwork for then boyfriend (now my husband).

the pictures is the name of my husband : Shawn 尚恩

I translated his name Shawn into Chinese character 尚恩, and then designed his name with all the things that he loved (cat, ocean wave, boat...) it's my first pen and ink zentangle drawing, and it's hung on our wall ever since.

Since then people always ask about it and told me how much they love it, so I started to customize people's name as a gift, because I did a lot of work for people as a gift, so it's also developed my skills and getting better each time, one day there have a local juries art show, I applied for it, and it became my first art show, my journey started from there because all the link from the art show is started to unfold in front of me, I start to custom art for local gallery, have my calligraphy handmade paper items in the gift shop, and also have my Etsy shop, everything began at the moment I picked up your book.

I wanted to write this mail a while ago, but I think prefer to write after I have more artwork, I want to say thank you so much for your inspiration!

I hope you would like it : )

Your name in Mandarin character would be 珊蒂

Thank you
Christy

I asked Christy if she could send me some more images to share with you on this blog and the explanations of the characters...

Valentines is on the way, so I choose two of my work ideal for couple and as a wedding gift.

The first love artwork is meaning "LOVE" in Chinese character 愛

I drew a peacock carrying a flower in the bottom, the flower growing out with many heart shaped flowers to represent love is growing strong.

The second artwork is a wedding customized artwork, I translated the bride and groom's name to Chinese character. Kelly (Above) 凱莉, Amit (bottom) 俄明 I have a butterfly fly on the left corner to represent the bride and the bird open the arm on the right corner to represent groom welcome Kelly into his life, theirnames surrounding by beautiful flowers to meaning in full bloom happy marriage.

Thank you very much again Sandy, it's being a pleasure to share my word and art with you.

Sincerely

Christy

Calligraphy Art and Design

www.calligraphytzl.etsy.com

(Note: I apologize about any strange formatting you may see! I know I shouldn't "cut & paste" into Blogger, but I like to capture the exact words and the Mandarin characters, etc. that are used in the emails.)

UN-Tangle Retreat... the Tangled post

2012-01-15T22:45:00.002-05:00

Usually the image comes before the text, but I finally came up with a graphic for the retreat - so here it is! My brain usually looks this chaotic - plus a few extra ping pong balls flying around. But when I drew this tangle, I realized... hmmm... all that chaos (ideas!!) actually looks quite appealing. So I am hoping this attracts some more unusual people to come and hang out with me for a few days in one of the most beautiful places I know.

There have been a few sign ups already (YEAH!!!) If you are thinking about coming to UN-Tangled, but have questions, please email me or Linda Pearl (she's doing all the left-brain stuff. The prices are based on single or double occupancy. If you are coming by yourself, but would like a roommate, please contact Linda about that too. I have no idea how that works, but it should work, and we will make it work! If you are annoyed that it is in Maine, and you would rather do a retreat with me in... say... Minnesota... then be patient for a few days and I'll give you some good news about that.

I've taken a whole bunch of biz classes over the past year and they all talk about formulas and email marketing and the proper way to get you to sign up for my special events and buy my books (by the way, I have more Totally Tangled books!) But I still feel really weird even thinking about making you scroll through a few pages of testimonials and benefits. Here's the important stuff:

If you like my books, you'll like the retreat.
If you like this blog, you'll like the retreat.
If you like Zentangle, you'll like the retreat.
If you have never tried Zentangle, but are craving more creativity in your life... guess what?
You'll like this retreat.
It's FOR YOU and ABOUT YOU. I just happen to be there to help you put it all together.

We'll be silly, do some tangling, stay up too late, laugh some more, eat chocolate, more tangling, more chocolate... you get the idea! Sign up here: CLICK ME!

Happy Porridge

2012-01-15T14:03:00.001-05:00

This is the face I woke up to Thursday morning!

Yes, my mother WAS at my house. How did you guess? ;-D

Un-Tangle, The Relaxing Creativity Event

2012-01-09T15:06:00.000-05:00

The Patchwork Pearl is very proud to announce our first retreat of 2012, which features acclaimed Zentangle® author Sandy Steen Bartholomew teaching what she does best in one of the places that she loves best. We're both very excited to be going to The Beachmere Inn in Qgunquit, Maine on March 2, 3 and 4, 2012 for UN-TANGLE, The Relaxing Creativity Retreat.

Spend a relaxing weekend tangling in Ogunquit with your host, Linda Pearl, and your teacher, Sandy Bartholomew, the author and illustrator of five Zentangle® books. Bring your own creations to show off and provide inspiration to others. If you have never tangled before, no worries - Sandy will get you addicted in no time. Some of the areas which will be covered will include shading, deconstructing tangles, using transfers, simple printmaking and tangling on fabric.

After a get aquainted session on Friday evening, Saturday will be spent working on projects and trying out new ideas. Everything will be kept in a little journal along with new tangles learned, and excercises completed. All materials needed will be provided, including your choice of one of Sandy's books. We've set aside some free time for you to feed your creative soul by walking Ogunquit's beautiful Marginal Way (the cliff walk along the ocean).

Sandy will be available throughout the weekend to provide you with feedback on your tangles as well as allow you to pick her brain. She will also have a small shopping area, which will showcase some of the products she's come to know and love on her journey.

The 'almost' all-inclusive cost for this weekend is $375.00 per person/double occupancy, and $565.00 per person single occupancy. That includes 5 meals (Friday night, Breakfast and Dinner on Saturday, Breakfast and Lunch on Sunday) and Sandy's getting started kit. We've set aside some free time for you for lunch on Saturday afternoon. We suggest either walking Ogunquit's beautiful Marginal Way, which has several shops and lunch stops at either end, or perhaps taking advantage of The Beachmere's luxurious spa facilities. Lunchtime Saturday will be on your own, and we'll get back together to see the fruits of your creative lunch mid-afternoon on Saturday.

We really have a lot of fun time planned for you, so please come and enjoy a weekend playing with your creative side. Register today so that you can take advantage of Sandy's first retreat in Maine.

CLICK HERE to REGISTER!

Need more info? Questions? Contact: Linda Pearl (linda @ thepatchworkpearl.com)

Resolution No. 2

2012-01-04T12:16:00.001-05:00

New Year's Resolutions already a burden? Yeh, me too. I signed up for an online personal trainer to help me figure out food and exercise. But the grocery list alone is impossible and I don't eat any of the foods on there and I don't have time for all the exercises never mind watching all the videos to see how to perform them... It's a failure and wasted money before I have even started. Sigh.

But wait, there is light in another direction... it is ironic, but I don't do much tangling unless it is for a book or class or some other project I'm working on. So another goal this year is to tangle, daily, just for fun. Just because. And I found the perfect way to do it! Carole Ohl has a new Zentangle daily calendar and it is SOOOOO lovely! Here's the ad that she has on her blog:

This calendar is gorgeous-ly design-y with enough of Carole's own artwork to provide inspiration. Each day has a box (and a number) that can be filled with tangles. [Of course, you could use it as an actual daily planner too.] The paper is smooth and a pleasure to work on, shades well, and doesn't bleed through (at least with the traditional Micron pens). Each day's box is big enough to work in comfortably, but small enough that it doesn't take more than a few minutes to feel successful. And it is very portable. I'm going to concentrate on just doing one type of tangle in each box, but you could make up your own challenges like... perhaps one tangle in the left box, one in the right, and then a combo of the two in the middle? Hmmm... I might try that tomorrow. This is exactly MY kind of exercise! Now all I need is a Zentangle-method of eating right!

This photo was taken 2 days ago. I have actually been keeping up!

That's a wrap...

2012-01-02T21:00:00.002-05:00

It feels like I was just blogging from Ogunquit that I needed a sabbatical until the new year, and... WHOOSH!! It's the New Year! What the heck happened?! Well, in all fairness, I had not intended to spend the time-off shutting down my store! That kind of came out of the blue. We can talk more about that on another day.

Here's a rundown of the holidays that were...

Christmas Pageant Rehearsal. Yes, that sweet looking little angel on the right is my Lilah... this photo captures the only time she was actually on stage. She became known as the "Angel in the Outfield". She threw a noisy fit just before the real production, that night, and spent the entire time running laps around the church. When it was all over she was the perfect child handing out tiny gauze bags that she had spent the afternoon filling with teeny glass hearts. Perhaps the spirit of Christmas IS all about giving? Her brother, on the other hand, was supposed to be the director for the play. HE had spent the past 24 hours puking, so we just left him home until the last minute. Ah, drama.

Lilah and I made a handful of fairies for my "last-minute" tree.

All my Christmas spirit was spent emptying out the store. The sale went really well and a few of the people who had taken donations for their groups showed up to help box-up the remaining inventory for World Vision. (Thank you. THANK YOU!) It was all SO crazy that it wasn't until Christmas Eve, when I suddenly realized I was all alone. Gulp. I've always felt Xmas Eve to be a very lonely time, but this was the first I had ever truly been all alone. Just me and Snoopy. I will never, NEVER let that happen again. Sunday wasn't quite as bad because my mother came over and we opened the presents we had bought for ourselves, very slowly. Also a first.

I got the kids back on Wednesday and we proceeded to combine all the winter holidays into one. I had set up a purple tree in the living room with Pinkalicious strapped to the top as our angel. It looked really pretty! Until one morning... I was fast asleep and my son yelled, "Mom, three bad things. The cat knocked over the tree and the balls are smashed all over the floor. She threw up all over the rug... and I have a doctor's appointment in 15 minutes." Bah humbug!

I rebuilt after the cat-astrophe. Minus a few glass balls.

Our New Year's Eve-Day was also our Christmas morning.

Alex got a Melodica...

Lilah got a Time-Out. (And a my Pretty Pony).

I always get my son an unusual musical instrument for Christmas. This year, it was a Melodica. A weird little piano type thing that you blow into. Yes, it IS a real instrument. When he first tried it out, it sounded like a traffic jam. But within a half hour, he had figured it out and said something about "tongue-ing" (I don't really want to know). He could make it change from sounding like an organ, to a bagpipe, an accordian to a flute! It was magical when he played the Dance of the Flowers from the Nutcracker and it could play the flute-y bits at the same time as the organ-y bits. You know the "doodoo-doo-doo-DOO-doo" parts? I was really impressed. He played with it for hours and we finally banished him to the music room, with the doors CLOSED.

I think I have mentioned before that teenagers are like vampires - they don't show up in photos? I did catch one of Alex (above) but he always seems to close his eyes in pics lately. He must believe that if he can't see me, then I can't see him? Lilah, on the other hand, is always out of focus or wrong end up, in my photos. She is constantly vibrating and as hard to capture on film as a hummingbird.
She got EXACTLY what she asked Santa for - and then threw a fit because she preferred the toy that Santa had brought ME! I totally did NOT want to trade my complete set of mini-Lalaloopsies for her light-up, talking, winged My-Pretty-Pony, "Celestia"! I liked her braidable hair and cool wings, but I don't like toys that talk. This one said things like, "I am SO beautiful!" I wanted to smack the toy. She also said, what I could have sworn was "My breasts are SO pretty!" Hours later, I finally realized she was saying "My BARRETTES are SO pretty." Yowza. Another reminder of why I wanted to design toys...

I had a lot of fun with my kids, and I admit, I prefer having them on the holidays to NOT having them. But as my sabbatical clock ticked away to midnight and we played "just ONE more game of Sleeping Queens..." I started counting down the hours until their dad came and picked them up! (Was that just this morning!?)
Now my head is whizzing with excitement and panic for all the "stuff" happening in the next few months:

My new Tangled Fashionista book is due soon.
I'm going to CHA in Anaheim to demo in the Fox Chapel/Design Originals' booth.
I have to start work on a new project for Fox Chapel - actually, it has three parts, and then a new book too (hyperventilating here...)
A big workshop for 40 parents and kids at Concord Public Library.
Brainstorm new ideas for a new biz to take the place of Wingdoodle.
Playing around with the idea of re-starting my stamp company.
Oh! And I'm doing a Zentangle Retreat in March up in Ogunquit, Maine!
More on that in a future post.

Happy New Year!

Last Day!! Last Day!!

2011-12-23T00:29:00.000-05:00

I just posted this on the Wingdoodle site, but thought I'd share it with you all as well (and now, off to bed!):

I just walked in the door and my cat gave me a dirty look. Like she was going to waste away to nothing from my neglect. It IS midnight and neither of us has eaten anything but a few cookies and bugs all day. (I had the cookies - actually ginger scones - Thanks Christine!! - and the cat ate the bugs).

The store was open until 8pm tonight and it was busy all day! When I got to work at 1pm, there was a line from the desk all the way to the back office! Thank you everyone who came and shopped today!!! I met so many cool people and even set up a playdate for me and my daughter. Yah!

There is still plenty of good stuff left and I spent the last four hours restocking and tidying the chaos. So there is fresh chaos for tomorrow's customers.

Everything in the store is 50% off (that's off the retail prices). And all of you who subscribed to our newsletter and were getting the "Secret Coupons" - the secret was an extra 20%... so that means everything was 70% off for you. So I'll do the same thing tomorrow, the very last day of the sale. So fill a basket or two with stuff and bring it to the counter. Say "I got the secret coupon, but I didn't print it out." That's the secret password. Very important. We'll automatically, and super-secretly add the discount to your slip. And don't stand in line telling everyone around you WHAT the secret sale is!!!?
By the way, 70% off is a freaking lot of money. So if you can't decide between two things, buy them both.

And please plan on being patient. People are buying MORE stuff, but we still have to scan the barcodes and add it all up. Math is hard. But Alex and Jillian don't have school tomorrow so they'll be in the shop helping. They are High School Kids and have more stamina and brain cells. And my mother won't force the poor innocent customers to help her bag stuff. If you bring ginger scones or chocolate chip cookies, please be sure to bring a lot because we have to share with all the people waiting in line. And my mom likes her coffee with milk. You know, just in case you were wondering...
;-D
Cheers,
-Sandy

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-21T22:34:00.000-05:00

I am sorry if you feel a little neglected right now... Thursday and Friday are the last two days before my store, Wingdoodle, is closed! We are doing a 50% off sale in the store. My daughter, Lilah, and I dragged stuff out of the storage room all afternoon... oh, wait, that part was me... but she did help me empty the drawers in the store and put a gazillion finger puppets on the rack. (Ooo - that sounds like a torture device for toys!)

The store was starting to show some empty spots, but then I "discovered" forgotten caches of polymer clay and tape guns and toothbrushes with feet and buttocks (seriously!), MORE rubber stamps and... finger puppets. I can't believe no one noticed a huge Rubber Maid box FILLED with little bars of Sculpey in the back room? Two days? There's still so much to sell off.

My little helper would put one finger puppet (on the rack) and then set one aside for her Pre-school class. I was making little piles of my own. As the afternoon wore on, here's how the conversation went:

Lilah: "Can I have this, Mom?"
Me: "No."

Lilah: "Can we donate this to my class?"
Me: "... OK."

Lilah: "Can I give this giant pipe cleaner to my friend Amelia?"
Me: "Why don't you take the entire canister to school?"
Lilah: "Eeeee!! And this?"
Me: "Sure."
Lilah: "And this?"
Me: "Yep"
Lilah:"And..."
Me: "Lilah, if it fits in the bag, you can have it!"

Yes, there are perks to having a mom who owns a toy store. But we have been trying to spread the cheer outside the family too. A man came in with his son a week ago and picked out a few little things. Then his gaze fell on a Lily doll and his eyes lit up. It would be so perfect for his daughter! When he saw the price tag ($49.99) his face fell. But I watched his hands (they looked like a mechanic's hands) and he just couldn't put the doll's box back on the shelf.
I asked him "What price would you have rather seen on the box?"
He said, "Oh, I hoped it would be, like, $20 bucks."
"OK", I said. "It's $20."

I totally GET why Santa does what he does!

Donating toys and stuff to local families who have had a sucky year feels good too. But I start feeling sad that I can't really change anything, just put a cuddly band-aid on the problem for a day. :-(

Selling off all this stuff - even at a ridiculous discount - is nice too. I own the building and my Belfry studio is upstairs, AND my track record is to start a new biz every few years... so chances are pretty good I'll have a new business in there by this summer. And I'll need some money to get it started, so 2 more days to sell!!

Speaking of selling... if you want to buy anything at my Etsy site, (it's too late to get it before Christmas), you'll want to place your order in the next couple of days. I'm going to put it in Vacation Mode from Friday afternoon until next Wednesday. If you haven't been on there in a while (www.bumblebat.com), I have all the official Zentangle® supplies as well as all my books (get them signed!) Totally Tangled is being reprinted, again, by the publisher so it is hard to find. I have a few copies left and after the New Year, I'll have plenty more. AND! After the New Year, I should have my NEW BOOK!!! It's called Tangled Fashionista. I'll tell you more about it when I post it next week on Etsy.

Cheers - and here's wishing you a relaxing holiday with people who make you laugh. :-)

Post-Open Studio

2011-12-14T21:39:00.001-05:00

Yes, it takes me at least four days to post about my events. It's as if they have to marinate a little before I can write about them. That, and I need to get some pics from my friend, Laurie Strysko, the photographer. Luckily, I am either really busy, or really lazy, and I never cleaned up the Open Studio, so I snapped a few pictures to show you what you missed. ;-D

Lots of my sketchbooks and journals to paw through...

And some of my eraser carvings that I use to make my prints...

Can you tell which books were the MOST popular? Yes, YFYB, they're all gone!

Sold one of my Time Fairies too! (Spring) and a few posters...

I really wanted to sell that big-ass one in the expensive frame. It does look impressive though...

Setting everything up made me realize how many postcards and prints I have - I really should put them on Etsy someday. Don't you love my giant PURPLE chalkboard!? I paint chalkboards everywhere. Yes, even in my living room.

I'm glad Laurie took this photo or you might not believe I actually had visitors! Val and Barbara are crafters of the highest level. See the button machine in the foreground? We were all happily pressing our tangles into cute little buttons, when Barbara HAD to show me her exploding 12 Days of Xmas Book/Box. Thanks, Barbara! As if I am not insecure enough already. ;-D

I think we'll do another one this Spring. Or maybe... we'll do the Launch Party for Tangled Fashionista up here in The Belfry since Wingdoodle will be closed...

Open Studio - Sat. Dec. 10th

2011-12-10T01:15:00.001-05:00

I have spent the whole day cleaning up my studio (actually the past three days!) so I would not embarrass myself when you show up for my Open Studio tomorrow. I just got home 15 minutes ago -yes, it is now 1:15 am - and my eyes are crossing. Here's the scoop:

Open Studio at The Belfry

11 am to 3 pm

19 E. Main Street in Warner, NH

(Exit 8 off I-89)

You can see the Amazing Tangled Staircase and even add your own marks if you like! Explore my studio, poke at my Lego town, make your own tangled button, look through ALL my sketchbooks (well, most of them), eat some snacks, get your books signed, pick my brain, ask me "why are you closing Wingdoodle?!" and buy some of my original artwork. YES! You can own your own piece of Sandy Steen Bartholomew art! I even have a really expensive, ginormous, framed, super-fancy Zentangle you can buy. Or you can buy a postcard or pin if you have spent all your Christmas money already. My feelings won't be hurt. Much. Mostly, I DO NOT want to sit all alone in my nice clean studio and twiddle my thumbs! So, come and play or just poke your head in and say "Wow! I've never seen it this clean! Lilah must be with her daddy this weekend?" (hee hee - yes, that is true.) Oh- and I have new body stickers (tattoos). Lots of them. And I'll share!

Pssst!... Wanna buy some... stuff?

2011-12-05T20:22:00.001-05:00

I mentioned a few posts back that I am closing my retail store, Wingdoodle. I have been having some rather exciting ideas of what I might do with the space (Zentangle related).... and I will probably share those ideas with you at a later date. But right now, I need your help clearing out the store!! Most of you are not local, so I have been trying to think of a way to show you what I have available. Tonight I put up three posts on Wingdoodle's blog, showing all the shelves and walls at the store! I split them into three posts:
Part One: Gifts, Games, Toys
Part Two: Rubber Stamps
Part Three: Artsy Stuff and Books
If you subscribe to the Wingdoodle email/newsletter (where you can get extra secret coupons) - then you will get these posts in your email - don't freak out! They are long - but it's all photos.

Here's the explanation I posted:
I can't set up an instant online store, but I did the next-best-lazy-person thing... I took photos of all the shelves and walls around the store! I'll post the pictures in a few blog posts with some descriptions. If you see something you would like, send an email to: info@wingdoodle.com and be sure to put "Blog Sale" in the Title. List the items you would like and we'll get back to you with prices. You can apply any of the coupons you have received and everything else (w/o coupons) is 20% off. I will raise the discount as we get closer to closing, but many items are selling out, so there won't be as much choice. The only items that don't get a discount are Zentangle products and my books.
(There will be a shipping charge as well).

And I am happy to sell off chunks of inventory to other store owners too! And if you buy lots and lots of stuff, I can be bribed to wheel and deal (although we don't have many wheels). So, bring it on! Pass this on to your friends and help me get rid of this stuff!!

Here is a group shot of the Wingdoodle staff:

Yes, my mother, Kay, her agenda calendar, and her bottomless bag of tricks. That's it. We've already sold off the rest of the staff.

But she is happy to read your emails and hunt down the items you request. Just try to be a bit more specific than "the squishy pink thingy up above the little metal goo-gaws..." or you may end up with that stuffed pink kidney (?!) behind her, in the photo!

If you ARE local, we are participating in a town-wide Holiday Shopping Tour this Saturday (it is a lot of fun with activities and decorated trees at town hall...) I'm sure there will be even MORE specials that day too!

I will be doing an Open Studio in The Belfry that day as well. You can come visit, snoop around, add your own tangles to the tangled staircase, SEE the amazing staircase!, and even hang out and tangle with me and some other tanglers. I'll have snacks too and some of my artwork for sale. I'm happy to sign your books, your Kidz! books, heck, I'll even sign your kids! I'll post some more about it soon, but be sure to white-out whatever you had written in your calendar for that day!

Excuses, Excuses? Part Two

2011-12-04T21:06:00.001-05:00

There was a time when people would say, "You are so lucky to work at home and spend lots of time with your kids." Hmmm... is that an oxymoron - Work/Kids? No one says that to me anymore. I stopped speaking to those people many, many years ago. Plus, I actually leave the house every few days now, so I am not always working at home. But even with my son in HS and my daughter in daycare most of the day, I get almost nothing accomplished when they are around. I am in the habit of doing all the phone calls, meetings, fix what is broken at Wingdoodle stuff during the day. Then I try to do the laundry, dishes, groceries, fill orders at the Belfry stuff after I pick my daughter up. (I've gotten really efficient lately - I can fill TWO orders in three hours now!) I look forward to my daughter going to bed so that I can FINALLY concentrate on my online classes, writing, email, all that stuff that needs my full attention. But alas, that's when my son needs rides to and from rehearsals for band, drama and dance. Then he needs to talk (I AM grateful that he still talks to me!!) So...THEN... I start working for "real". When my brain is mush and just wants to lie on the couch and watch "Merlin" and "Glee." Yes, I go to bed around 2am. No, this schedule is not sustainable. (Remember, I run away to a hotel in Maine to write my books?)
But - on the lighter side of things, I thought I'd share with you some of the things that I do with my daughter when I am not accomplishing anything that pays my mortgage. I tried to photograph some of the things that I do with my son, but, besides being boring (talking), I have learned that HS kids are like vampires. Yes, they suck you dry, but I actually mean, they don't "appear" in photos. (He was just in The Snow Queen ballet this weekend and I'll post some shots of that later, if there are any.)

The neighbor's Halloween snowman inspired us to draw...

We decided these are "tangles"

Visited by inspiration with whiskers...

Weird picture! looks like the cat is climbing my shadow-leg and standing on our box of chalk.


Lilah was inspired by the cat! Why not lie down in the warm sun? Uh-OH! A sneeeeee-EZE - Bleh!

A "pajama day" includes a walk downtown. Don't you wish you looked this great in pj's?

The perfect red leaf. And it MATCHES her outfit! Yes, polka dotted fleece nightgowns go with anything. I'm not sure about Hello Kitty and Minnie Mouse. Aren't they natural enemies? or at least licensing competitors?

Another pajama day... and a tea party! The cups change color with cold water, the sugar bowl has brown sugar, and Lilo (the cat) has her own dish. The towel (king Tut!) is a necessity - we have had MANY wet tea parties.

Gingerbread time! Lilah wore her apron inside out so she wouldn't get the nice side dirty. What? Are those pajamas underneath?! Doesn't this child ever wear clothes?!

Her favorite part? Flouring... everything.

Just so you don't start thinking I am a wonderful, domesticated-mom-type, notice the roll of Pillsbury dough in the background...

We even had some Moomintroll characters!

Perfect! (And yummy.)

And we set up the Christmas Village. Any CZTs out there may notice that our "snow" is the fluff from the jewelry boxes used for ZT class kits. I also discovered that two of the houses are burnt out and only one of the two outlets in the dining room still works. Ah, holiday cheer.

And, when I came up to my studio this evening to write this blog post, I had to step over this... Unicorn Ranch Parade(?) which I am NOT supposed to move. (For a week?!)

My son asked if he could spend a few extra days at my house (without his sister) each week so he could "recover." Wha...? My answer? "I love you - now get out!" Am I a bad mother because I look forward to my ex picking up the kids on Sunday night? Don't answer that - it's rhetorical.

Leave 'em dancing, right? So here is one last little gem... this is my "working" studio. I was asked by my little performer to please get my clutter off the table because she had important things to do on it...

PS - this post is not to try and prove that I am a good mother! It is to explain why I have such a hard time getting any real work done! ;-D

Excuses, excuses? Part One

2011-12-04T20:38:00.001-05:00

This is what my living room looked like in July - when they had just started ripping off the entire back wall of my house...

When my Doubtful Guest mural on the other wall was destroyed, I posted a death threat notice on the Wild Things mural! That's our family growth chart (the leafy vine climbing up the trunk). Who says i don't defend my art!?

This is what my living room looked like in late October as I was moving the family back in, finally. Notice the plastic is still on the bookcases in the other room? I wish I had covered the entire house! There was dust and yuck everywhere - muddy footprints in rooms that had nothing to do with the actual work... It took weeks to clean, paint and find new homes for stuff. This is one of the reasons I asked my publisher for a sabbatical! I had no idea then that I would also end up laying off everyone at my store and start the process of selling everything off... it's been a busy fall!

Then the relatives came! This was actually quite enjoyable although my OCD, introverted, anti-social self is still reeling! Perhaps it was the three teenage boys...? Although, this one in yellow, Pierce, was actually pretty cool... and useful... as far as teenagers go! He is preparing pineapple and pomegranates here, and he had just finished making tomato and mozzarella appetizers! Yum! My brother-in-law also took over my kitchen and made the ham dinner AND the day-after waffles. Although one of the teens damaged my new exercise machine (like I NEED another excuse NOT to use it?) - in general, they renewed my faith in the male species. Or at least, they suggested some reasons to keep a few around.

How many teenage boys that you know, know how to prepare a pineapple AND a pomegranate? (Pierce taught ME how!)

Brother-in-law, Brian, also useful.

Even my son felt shamed into helping... a little.

And then, she was 5. Lilah's Birthday added to the excitement and meltdown.

Cruise... docked

2011-11-24T22:26:00.001-05:00

Hey Happy Thanksgiving! I could ask you what you are doing online reading my blog when you should be basking in the love with your family and friends but.... hey, I'm here too, right?

If you will be continuing the tradition of avoiding family members, the day after, by going shopping, I encourage you to practice your avoidance at my store, Wingdoodle. We will probably be closing the store. We will definitely be closing it, as of Christmas, for the rest of the winter. We may re-open in the spring, but if we do, some things will have to be different. Either way, we have to clear out all the stock - which means awesome deals to be had for Holiday Shoppers! Check out the Wingdoodle blog for more info.

For those of you who are more into the Cyber Monday thing... (as I am), buy what you want at my Etsy shop - Bumblebat, and make sure to enter CyMon11 in the Promo Code box when you check out, to get 15% off your purchase. You have to actually enter it in the right spot to receive the discount, emailing me the code, won't work. ;-D

A couple of other things... the Tangle Cruise did not get enough advance sign-ups, although there WAS quite a bit of interest! So that is being put on a back burner for an option in the future. I got an awful lot of emails from people saying what fun that would be, but it is too expensive right now, or too far away, or a bunch of other things. Many claimed that if it were closer and cheaper they would LOVE to do a retreat with me. We'll see about that!

I am working on a retreat in Ogunquit, Maine for early spring and maybe another there for early fall. I'll let you know more details as I know them, but the spring one will be March 2 through 4.

{This bit here has been removed for now. More info later} ;-)

And since we are approaching that time of year where we either make resolutions we can't keep, or decide to upend our lives and start with a clean slate, I like to start obsessing early about my options. closing the store SHOULD be enough to satisfy either option, but I need more upheaval. I'll start on a few new projects with Fox Chapel Publishing after the New Year and I will not be teaching many classes for a while. I am working on an online class though and would love to get more feedback from you all. The main question is: What would you pay me to learn? (That's bad syntax, I think, but I hope you get my meaning?)

OK - off to the really important stuff. Everyone is finally asleep and there is a piece of apple pie calling my name...

Tangled Cruise Deadline

2011-11-13T17:37:00.001-05:00

Just a reminder that the early registration discount is good until November 15th! If you are planning to come on the Tangled Cruise on the Danube and would like to save $500 off the price, then be sure to email Diana Hudson at this VERY moment. Click HERE to see the original post with all the pictures, maps and witty descriptions.

Trish Hilbrand - ZIA Flowers and Ribbons

2011-11-08T13:45:00.000-05:00

I thought you might enjoy seeing this beautiful piece by Trish Hilbrand. She gave me permission to show it here, along with the description from her blog. She has some other beautiful combinations of Zentangles® and nature... trees, butterflies, the sun...

This was inspired from the book I bought entitled "Totally Tangled" by Sandy Steen Bartholomew. I was trying out some of the tangle patterns in her book and this is what I came up with. I decided to add some colour to give it some pizzaz.
Tangling is so much fun. Why don't you give it a try!
-Trish

Nice, right? The first person to post the names of the three tangles used (in the Comments below) will win a little prize! (Trish and Jodi, sorry, you can't play!) ;-D

Fox Chapel Publishing Raising Money to Help Hurricane Victims

2011-11-03T15:43:00.001-04:00

My publisher, Fox Chapel, asked if I could help out by posting this press release. If you all could re-post it and tweet the link, etc. that would be great. Thanks everyone.

(Lancaster, PA) - In September 2011, Tropical Storm Lee caused local streams, creeks and river water to rise in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to record highs, and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in flood-related damage to resident homes. Shannon Flowers, a long-time Fox Chapel Publishing employee and Editor of Woodcarving Illustrated and Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts magazines, had to flee her home as flood waters rose up through the basement and crawled 3 feet high on the main level. Her family lost everything on those 2 floors, and are now in the long process of renovating and recovering a sense of normalcy in their lives.

Fox Chapel Publishing and Design Originals, a new imprint of Fox Chapel, would like to help this dedicated team member by holding a special Grab-Bag Benefit. One hundred percent of the proceeds raised will go directly to Shannon Flowers and to the local fire department in Mount Joy, PA that helped so many people during the flooding.

Grab bags will be sold for $10 each, plus shipping, and will include at least $40 worth of books. Grab bags can be purchased in several categories: Woodworking, Quilting/Sewing, Home Décor Crafts, Kids & Teens, Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking, Digi-Scrappin, and Beadwork & Jewelry. The Grab Bags will be available until November 14, 2011 or while supplies last.

Grab bags can be purchased online at: http://www.foxchapelpublishing.com/category_s/141.htm?utm_source=2011-1101_email&utm_medium=link&utm_content=flood_benefit&utm_campaign=cat_s-141

About Fox Chapel Publishing and Design Originals:
Fox Chapel Publishing is a leading publisher of woodworking, craft, do-it-yourself and hobbyist books and magazines, located in East Petersburg, Pennsylvania. Fox Chapel acquired Design Originals, a leader in craft books, in 2011, and continues to publish new fiber craft, jewelry-making and paper craft titles under the Design Originals imprint.

The Tangled Cruise, Baby!

2011-11-01T23:37:00.003-04:00

I have had a few complaints that I haven't posted in a while... I did warn you that I was pretending to take a sabbatical. "How'd that work for you?" you are wondering? Well, I did get a lot done! What? I wasn't supposed to be working? Drat. I'll have to start over... So, besides the books (I'll tell you about them another time), here's what I have been doing for some of the time:

No kidding!! I'm going to teach on a cruise on the Danube! Want to come too?

This trip is being organized by Diana Hudson, who I met at the CZT #7 training in Providence. I am going to pull out some chunks from all her emails to me, since she describes the trip so yummily:

Hi Sandy,

I spoke with you at the last CZT conference about putting together a ... TANGLE group cruise, ... time is running out on the special $500 discount, which ends November 15, after that it would only be a 5% discount. Also the cabin upgrades at this time are 50% off. The cruise time is actually April 18-25th with an option of a 3 day pre-cruise stay in Prague.

This is a wonderful opportunity for a group of like minded people getting together for a week of travel, fun and education.

The Danube River Cruise with AMAWaterways is very special and because it is a river you don't have the rocking of the ship and therefore would be ideal for Tangling on board. ... a day of touring the countryside, finding all kinds of inspiration with the OLD WORLD architecture. I know it would be a wonderful adventure for all.

This is the website for AMA Waterways. I actually have done this cruise and it is wonderful.

www.AMAWATERWAYS.Com

...

The beds can be configured with one bed or two. OHH, writing this is bringing back the feeling of getting in to the wonderful plush bedding. It was delightful. I actually booked a single for myself when I went and it was really nice, but would have been just as comfortable with sharing if I had someone that I really liked. :) I was in a Category C Cabin and it was perfect so I would personally recommend that category or A &B. Those cabins have the sliding patio like door that you can leave open and get that wonderful fresh air.

I know everyone would like to have a class taught by none other than Sandy Bartholomew. :)

Diana Hudson

CZT & Travel Specialist

So, if that is true that you all would "like to have a class taught by none other than Sandy Bartholomew." Now is your chance!! The Tangling portion of the cruise will be a separate fee, but completely optional. So you can bring a spouse, a lover, even your teenager, and they will not be forced to tangle. They might be "lured", but definitely not "forced". ;-D

What, exactly, we will be doing for the program will be determined once I know how many people are signing up and their tangling level and passions. In other words, I will customize it for you! There is a limited amount of space where a class can be held (I think holds 20 people?) - so be sure to mention, when you sign up, if you want to be part of the Tangle program. Yell, "First dibs" or some such thing. There is still plenty of time to decide how we want to play. First, we need to know who is coming! Remember, Nov. 15th is the deadline for the discounts. (You can still sign up after that, if there is space).

If you have met me in person, or even if you read my blog, you know that I love to chat about Zentangle, art, weird little kids,... well... just about everything except politics and taxes. I'll tell you the behind the scenes stuff for my books, what projects I have in the works, and all the stuff that is too juicy to post here on my blog! (A certain group of people at CZT #7 can attest to that!)

But, wait, there's more!

I'll also be bringing my mother, Kay, who is the other half of Wingdoodle, my store in NH. Not only can she talk about ANYTHING, including politics and taxes, she can do it in a few different languages. She speaks German and has lived in a few of the towns we will be visiting. She is very useful to sit near at a restaurant so you don't accidentally order broiled pig's feet with brussel sprout toe jam. It happens, believe me. (You can never go wrong with mac and cheese). And she probably already knows your parents, your dog, or your second cousin. And, even if she doesn't, she'll pretend she's does, and you'll all be fast friends within minutes. :-)

Still not convinced?

OK, I'm thinking about bringing my son, Alex. This 14 year old star of Zentangle for Kidz! is actually a real boy! (Eat your heart out Pinocchio!) Not only is he a Zentangle addict, but he also knows everything about geography and is very handy to have around when your ignorance is showing. Whispered discreetly in my ear: "It's not Czechoslovakia any more, mom." But, seriously, he knows a lot, never talks down to me, and always draws me a sketch when there is too much text for me to digest in one sitting. He also knows a lot about music - plays the saxophone and a gazillion other things, composes, dances, acts... oh, and knows how to fly a plane. OK, OK, smaller planes, but I still find it comforting to have him sit near me on the airplane.... just in case. So if you have a cool teenager, bring them along too.

If you are at all interested, or curious, send Diana an email asking for all the details. She has some pretty pictures of the boat too. (Ohmigosh it is beautiful!) If I have excited you to the point that you are screaming "Yes! YES! Where do I sign!?" then email Diana and be sure to tell her that you want to join the cruise and that you want more info about the Tangle program too when it is available. Don't forget to yell "First dibs!" in your email. :-)

And be sure to re-post and pass this on to your friends - let's tangle across the ocean!

The Dragon Charmer - Jennifer Carson

2011-10-20T23:52:00.003-04:00


My tangled portrait of Jen Carson

I'd like to introduce you to one of my heros. Any of you who have written me letters saying things like "You are SO creative. I don't know how you do it all!" - you will be relieved or horrified to know that Jennifer Carson, The Dragon Charmer, does even MORE!!

Besides chauffering her four sons around to all their activities (that alone would undo me!), she also is working on her degree, writing books, starting a publishing house, sewing and needle-felting amazing fantasy creatures, editing columns in two magazines, writing plays, illustrating, singing, dancing, acting, bringin' home the bacon and fryin' it up in a pan... I'm sure I have forgotten something in that list. As I mentioned, Jen is my hero. Often, when I am faced with a sticky situation, I ask myself "WWJD?" (What would Jen Do?) Unfortunately, the answer is usually more work than I am willing to do. ;-D If you want to read a more accurate description of Jennifer's pathway to fame, be sure to read her Artist Statement.

I'll show you a few of the highlights (in my opinion) of her career(s). A few years ago, we worked on a Star Wars mural for a Make-a-Wish kid with a nasty brain tumor. We were both so excited to do a Star Wars theme, but had been fantasizing about Ewoks and other cute characters. Stormtroopers, battleships blasting each other... ah well.

Next time, we'll remember to ask ahead of time. My son, Alex, posed with the murals. You can tell these were done a while ago - my son is still cute and little. And quite the ham.

"Help! My armpit's on fire!

Jennifer's creatures have changed a lot over the years from really cool felted dragons to every kind of fantasy creature imaginable. And unimaginable. She designs her own creatures and patterns and even dyes her own wool. You can see more of her menagerie at her Etsy store.

One of my favorites, Yuki Frostfoot.

As for writing, Jennifer's book, To Find a Wonder is a magical adventure with a cast of characters just begging to be stuffed. The illustrations are really gorgeous too, but look what Jen did with the minstrel, Goon, and the dragon, Percival...

Not enough? Ok, so then she turned it into a play that was performed at the New London Barn Playhouse... Gee, I wonder who made the costumes?

So now we are getting to the juicey part. Jen decided to start her own publishing company, Pugalicious Press, to release more of her own magical tales, and those of others too, into the ordinary world. She needs to raise $6,000 to print her new book, Hapenny Magick so she has set up a Kickstarter project.

Take a look at the video she made. You can see sketches from the book, a lullaby she wrote, and, of course, Jennifer's gorgeous face!

As you can see, below, she has gotten quite a few pledges! If you click on the image, you will go to the Kickstarter page and you can see all the (highly collectible) items that you can get for your generous pledges. If you decide to pledge an amount that gets you a book, remember that this is a "pre-order" as the books are not printed yet. Personally, I want the $1000 bundle with a couple of those Yuki Yetis thrown in! (But not "thrown" hard. Yuki looks like a real softie.)

Oh, of interest to a lot of you who are teachers... Jen offers teacher guides and activities and even a Knight's Journey Event Kit. And for the rest of you who have patiently read this post all the way through...
A REWARD! Tangles for you! From Jen! Seriously!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jennifercarson/hapenny-magick-a-story-with-humor-and-heart

Jennifer actually designed these tangles for a book I wrote last year (the one that kind of slipped into a black hole...). The image I painted of her, at the beginning of this post, was for that book too. Notice the "Dew Drops" on her shirt? Clever, eh? I also drew the Zentangle ("Zendragon"?) combining all three. But I stole the idea from a little sketch that Jen had done.
Anyway, she said I could share them with you all. Even if you don't pledge any money for her book. Really, no guilt at all. I told you, she's my hero. You can even re-post the tangles on your own page and Facebook and Tweet'em and where-ever else you can think of, but PLEASE include the link to Jennifer's Kickstarter Project page, OK?
Now clap your hands and say, "I believe in fairies!"

The Boots!

2011-10-20T21:07:00.001-04:00

Eeek! I almost forgot to post the video I took of Sharon Payne's insanely cool, and sorta deadly, Zentangle high-heeled sneakers (aka Boots). (They were mentioned in this post from the CZT training workshop.)

Mastering Procrastination

2011-10-17T00:04:00.001-04:00

Slept til 10:30.
Only ate the cereal with sugar on the biscuits.
Didn't shower.
Didn't do my homework.
Walked along the ocean... Against the flow of tourists.
Entertained uncharitable thoughts towards the packs of women gossiping instead of looking at the ocean.
Flashed a charming smile at the older gentleman in their wake.
Tried on an obscenely huge pile of artsy clothes.
Bought everything that fit (20% off!).
Had German chocolate cake and iced chai... For lunch.
Bought dark chocolate dipped apricots at the candy shoppe. And some toys I might give the kids for Xmas.
Or not.
Wandered thru art galleries and shops.
Thought I heard the ocean say that I needed a haircut.
Let the salon lady chop off my hair and give me bangs. I kept my eyes closed, but it sounded like a razor blade...?
Stood on the cliff with the wind whipping my new bangs into my eyes.
Had a sudden realization that in all the years I had been coming to Ogunquit for renewal, never once had my (ex)husband ever joined me in my bizarre (?) ritual.
Felt grateful.
Lay in the sun and read 5 chapters of The Lace Reader.
Ate the chocolates.
Spread out all my homework ( the book).
Decided I really, really don't want to redo it.
Tossed everything onto the floor.
Realized the ocean not only wanted me to get a haircut, but also thinks I need a sabbatical. How can I possibly write more books unless I take some time to create things worth writing about?
Decided to blog it. .
Tomorrow... Back home and the To Do lists.
But, first, I may stop to visit Rose at the puzzle store... For a few hours. :-)

Procrastination...

2011-10-16T14:18:00.001-04:00

I can't count how many times I have stood on this cliff wondering WHAT I should do with my life. Do you know that feeling? I come here to ask the ocean. Last year, the ocean told me it was time to get divorced. This spring, when I asked, I was eating a dark chocolate dipped apricot. The ocean told me to dye my hair that shade (the chocolate, not the apricot!). So, what's next, oh great watery guru?

Right now, I am sitting in an alleyway next to an awesome bakery. The sun is slinking away and my fingers are getting chilly. I will NOT finish that slice of German chocolate cake and I SHOULD head back to the hotel and get to work on that book since I have to go home tomorrow...

On a less existential tangent, you all will be thrilled to know that I just spent a small fortune on some very (in my opinion) artsy clothes! One jacket even has some Zentangle-ish embroidery on the back! I am trying... Peeling myself off the wall and attempting to stand out... A bit. :-)

Meanwhile, Back on the Cliff...

2011-10-15T16:12:00.001-04:00

After all that stimulating Zentangle-ish relaxation, I ran away to Maine to hide for a few days. I underestimated the Friday traffic, so 5 hours later, I arrived at my hideaway, exhausted and seriously stressed. I also forgot that any weekend in October is considered a photo opp weekend for tourists and leaf peepers, despite the lack of colorful leaves to peep at. In other words, I am surrounded by more people, and more nationalities, here than I was in Providence! Ah well. When I am thoroughly finished procrastinating, I need to get to work on the book that is due in two weeks. Sounds familiar, eh? But first I will eat some dark chocolate pretzels, stare at the ocean, and upload a few pics for you all...

Tangled Pegs

2011-10-14T00:39:00.001-04:00

This is not a craft project. I was going to call this post "Square Pegs" but I realized, we are actually tangled." It is tomorrow already and I am so exhausted i can barely type. It was another amazing day which included meeting new friends- including Sandhya from India and Cindy from Design Originals. Here are a few more pics to show you what you are missing. ;-)

(I'll label stuff when I get home- can't seem to control the pics from my iPhone, sorry)

Sneak Away

2011-10-12T13:16:00.001-04:00

CZT training is going great. I just snuck away after lunch. I'm getting over a cold and all the talking is making my throat raspy. Eck.

Anyway, I still can't get over just how many people are here! In the photo of the mosaic of tiles, you can see the squares marked out for 100 tiles and it is only half filled. I'll try to take a picture of the board with everyones' tangles in place later. There is also a shot of the tables filled with everyones' artworks - altered books, high-heeled sneakers, fairies... Amazing. And some pics of my heroes, Carol Ohl and Kit Murdoch.

I apologize for the quality of the images. I'm shooting everything on my iPhone so I can blog it as soon as I get a chance.

Tangled Rug

2011-10-11T21:24:00.001-04:00

The rug in the hotel hallway. Kind of like Cadent... but the "dots" are in the center, right? Oh, now I'll be up late untangling the rug! ;-)

A few hours later....
Yes, it is rather like Huggins, the curvy W2. But there is always a harder way to do things, and don't you forget it! So I used little crosses and dots to make a grid, then connected them with little curvy lines. I'm gonna call it "InProv" since I'm flying by the seat of my pants here. (what the heck does that mean anyway?) here is a philosophical question for you: is it still a tangleation if it uses a different process to create a similar pattern? What is that process called where you create a complex machine to do a simple job? My brain hurts- going to bed!

CZTs in Prov

2011-10-11T16:18:00.001-04:00

It took me over four hours to drive to Providence last night! I had forgotten to factor in the holiday weekend traffic. So by the time I finally got here to the Hotel Providence, I was fried. I seem to have picked up a cold too, driving thru Massachusetts... I decide to hide out in my luxurious hotel room, order steak frites, and watch "Bridesmaids". Oh, and I had creme brûlée for dessert too! So there. Totally decadent.

Except for feeling sick, this morning, I felt much better about being here than I did last night. So I finally ventured out into the sunshine. Providence has changed... A lot... Since I lived here... Twenty years ago. Besides the little changes, like new buildings on the skyline, and the highway being replaced by a waterway (they removed the highway and exposed the covered up river- who knew there were gondolas and everything under there!?), and the dangerous downtown now looks like the left bank of Paris... Besides all THAT, the RISD museum has been rebuilt. What used to be a dingy lot and a skinny alleyway staircase between creepy buildings in the hillside, is now a super modern, absolutely gorgeous art museum with some amazing pieces. I, of course, headed to the Egyptian rooms. Those other pretty paintings are nice to soak in as I pass by (OH, is that chandelier a Chihuly? Cool!) But my true love is the really-really old junk. And it kind of IS junk, if you think about it. Some old dead guy's broken spoon handle, his mom's cracked costume jewelry, and a dead bird wrapped in fabric. Yep, junk. Boy do I love it though. I wonder what archaeologists will make of my mom's house, thousands of years from now. She has a basket made from an armadillo's shell. Weird stuff we collect. (And let's not forget the big jar labeled "sliced brains"!)

There is a great new store there too called RISD Works. They'd never heard of Zentangle. And I want to see my books there, since I am an alum and all that.
So I talked with the store manager. Then, having used up all my confidence, I ventured up to Thayer Street to visit the bookstores, eat sushi (while sitting on the green at Brown University), and drank something called "bubble tea" which had tapioca pearls in it.

I have to admit that I am kind of relieved to see so much new stuff here. I have too many old memories tied to this town (met my ex here when were both at Brown). I was 17 years old when I moved to Providence. I changed too much after I got married (while living here). And it was such a strange feeling to sit on the grass watching the kids walk by, expecting to see myself and my friends. Like watching a movie and knowing the ending. You think about what you would tell yourself, warnings and such, encouragement? I guess I wouldn't really change it, because so many good things would never have happened. But I would tell myself to speak up. To stick up for myself.

And now, I'm off to dinner to meet the next batch of CZTs! I am SO excited and nervous!

Location:Mathewson St,Providence,United States

Drawing on People

2011-10-08T19:04:00.001-04:00

Here is an example of how I spent my Saturday...

I tangled people. I thought I would offer an upscale, classy alternative to all the kitschy soccer balls and hearts being offered by my competitors. I got to chat with some very nice people too! My daughter kept visiting my booth for more Lilah Beans. I drew them standing on the tops of her socks and peeking out from under her skirt (ooo lala!), balancing on her kneecaps... I asked if I could draw some peeking out of her nose... (she said no!)

And I ate sweet waffles, apple dumplings, apple crisp, triple Mac and cheese... They should change the name of this fair to the Warner FOOD Festival! There wasn't much foliage to be seen anyway. But the food is fab. If you are hungry, stop by tomorrow.

Tangled Stairs, Part 3

2011-10-06T23:48:00.001-04:00

Still going! That's a lot of wall to cover...
For this session of wall tangling, I was joined again by Krystin Watts, Bette Abdu, Jodi Ehler, and Alex Bartholomew.

Alex decided to add an Egyptian tangle to the heating pipes.

Jodi started adding shading to her mushrooms.

A close-up of Jodi's Shrooms with shading and Bette's Crescent Moon and Rain - also shaded.

I started adding shading to Valerie Kelley's section.

Working on my Btl Joos and Bumblebat (my logo).

Think we can finish up in one more session? Hmmm.... I'll let you know what date it will be - might be in November. But if you are in the Warner area this weekend for the Warner Fall Foliage Festival, be sure to stop by and take a look. I "plan" to be doing some Zentangle® inspired face painting - we'll see how that works out. If it ends up being one of those "seemed like a good idea at the time" projects, then I may cut my losses and do some more work on the wall. Either way, the Festival is a lot of fun. It completely takes over the town - vendors, dancing, demos, rides, and all the food is local this year. The Foothills restaurant will have a booth with apple dumplings. My mouth is watering just typing that!

Around the Web

2011-09-30T12:48:00.000-04:00

I'm showing up in a few places around the web (cool!):

• Suzanne McNeill wrote about her visit to the Sketchbook Project and she actually found my sketchbook in the library (there are thousands of books!) She took a photo to prove it! This is a great shot of Suzanne too. :-)

Suzanne showing my page with my tangle "Flores DeCasa"

• Suzanne also posted a video on YouTube of the CZT Retreat this summer in N. Andover, MA. This is Part 1 and has some great tangles and tips. I'll be in part 2 which will be posted next Thursday. So be sure to check back - I show how to draw the tangle "Oshun" - and I remember being insanely nervous - so no making fun of me, OK? (It's live! Go here to see part Two).

• Alyce Edrich featured an interview with me on her blog, The Dabbling Mum! It's a great interview (if I do say so myself.)

• I was a featured artist on the Luminarte blog in Sept.
The first post was an introduction.
The second was a Black-on-Black ZIA project.
The second, a White-on-White canvas project.
And the third (should be posted next week), a junk mail, Zentangle® journal (inspired by Carla Sonheim - one of my heros).

If you guys see me anywhere else in your internet (or real-life) ramblings please let me know! It is such a freaky feeling, but kinda cool too. OR, if you have any great ideas about where I SHOULD be - let me know that too. :-)

AlphaTangle Opinions?

2011-09-27T19:17:00.001-04:00

I could use your opinions...
Do you own a copy of AlphaTangle? The original black covered one that I self-published, or the red covered one from Design Originals? Do you have a preference? Are there any changes you'd like to see to an updated or revised version? Larger? Smaller? Unshaded? New letters? Labeled tangles or no? Anything... Tell me your tangled (alphabet!) fantasies.

The Red Pen!

2011-09-27T19:10:00.001-04:00

Lilah found the red marker...

The Lilah Bean Invasion

2011-09-21T21:42:00.001-04:00

I taught a great bunch of ladies tonight in The Belfry. When class ended at 8, my daughter came up to my studio with dinner for me. Yes, a Happy Meal. There was a red Power Ranger in it - in case you were curious. While I ate, she.... adapted the tangle sketches I had done in class...

Squam Recap

2011-09-20T18:56:00.001-04:00

I've barely been home for a day or so and already Squam seems like a dream. Sigh. I took some great classes so I wanted to tell you about the teachers and show my (mostly) finished pieces...

On Thursday (my birthday!), I had "Pages and Paint" with Sarah Ahearn. She did a really fun and clever game to get us to try all different mediums and techniques. (The game is in her book). My piece started with the command to "paint with a color you really dislike" - that kind of set the theme and, once I gave in to the messiness of it, I had a lot of fun.

These house collages were my favorites. I got rather caught up in ripping bits of Japanese Washi tape to create the roofs and windows and details.

On Friday, I had "Play & Process" with Susy Pilgrim Waters, an amazing illustrator, with a lovely accent. In this class, we dove right in to the piles of papers and started collaging a cigar box. I thought mine looked OK, but it didn't feel like...me.

I used some of my own leftover painty-collage tissue papers, on the inside, and I liked that a lot.

Then I played with black and white bits and some Zentangle-y patterns...

After lunch, I had "Hand Lettering" with Penelope Dullaghan - who you may know from Illustration Friday fame. We also dove right in. But this time, we had to create an alphabet where each letter used a different technique or material to form the letter.

Once I got started, I LOVED this challenge. I could have worked on this for the whole three hours. But we had to stop to do some hand lettering. Imagine!? ;-D I struggled with trying to turn my quote into an image. until I stopped thinking "Seuss" and went with some of my own little characters. Then, it was fun again.

That evening, I was inspired to start this weird illustration while curled up by the fireplace...

Saturday, my last class was with Jen Lee - "Care & Keeping". (This is the one I blogged about while I was doing my homework by the lake.) She had a wonderful visual of how we, as women, tend to just give, give, give... but we have to learn how to receive as well, so that we can refill our well and keep giving. The image she shared was of passing a glass of water around. You receive it from someone else, take a sip and pass it on. Then receive another glass, sip, and pass it on. I think what I took away from this class was that I need to not only ASK for help, but I have to actually ACCEPT it! Yep, working on that one.

That afternoon, we had a lecture with the other Jen Lee. Jennifer Lee wrote the book, "The Right Brain Business Plan," which actually makes planning fun and visual. She had us do a guided imagery tour of our ideal business and work environment. I was surprised to see that my images in my brain are still so similar to ones I glimpsed years ago at another retreat. Sooner or later, I will need to create an artists' retreat center. It just keeps coming back to haunt me. It's funny how you can beat these things down into the back of your closet and they pop up the first chance they get. Resilient critters. Dreams.

The Art Fair on Saturday night was absolutely amazing! I sold a bunch of books and a few of my prints too. it was such a thrill to have people do a double take and then come back to my table and say, "Ohmigosh! I have your book! I can't believe you are HERE!" Superstar moment. :-)

Oh - I also want to tell you about my roommate, Heather Renz. Her business is called Bumblebird. Yea, I know, what are the chances? (My business is called Bumblebat). Besides being the best roommate I have ever had, she is a really talented painter and fabric artist. Her work has been in Stuffed (one of my faves) and Artful Blogging magazine and she sells on Etsy.

Here's an example of one of her dolls....

Isn't that the cutest!? (She has some very cute little girl dolls too.) Click here and take a look at her stuffies.
Now, back to reality.

Squam day #...?

2011-09-17T12:47:00.001-04:00

I am sitting on a dock, with a chocolate chip cookie, thinking about what I need from my life. It is actually homework for today's class with Jen Lee. Well, the cookie isn't homework.

It is an incredible experience to be around so many other square pegs. I had thought I would blog about my classes and the amazing teachers, but I was too tired and just didn't feel like it. But today I am taking a class about the care of artists. Kind of like a self- maintenance guide. I am learning how to recognize the edge of the precipice, and not allow myself to keep walking over that edge. Willingly.

So, what is the universe telling me? Other than I need to blog at this bizarre moment in time? It is saying that the lake is very high and the water is only inches below my butt.... No, it's saying I need to make some new stories to tell myself. The old ones are bringing me down. I need to be a little bit more of who I was before I let myself become who I have been portraying. And it's a fine time to try on some new clothes. Literally and figuratively. Kind of like that old saying about using the good china. What the heck am I waiting for? AND, tonight is the Squam Art Fair and Wholly Tara will be there! I SO need some artsy clothes! :-)

Time to go back to class- I must embrace my weirdness. Most people were probably enjoying the beauty of nature and writing in their journals. I needed to blog. Go figure.

Squam Day One

2011-09-14T21:49:00.001-04:00

I have started a tradition of running away for my birthday, which is tomorrow. So right now I am sitting on my bed in my cabin... Completely exhausted. This is the second year that I have spent my birthday at the Squam Art Workshops and I think I am addicted. At the welcome lecture, I noticed these very cool lights. It looks like a tube of sheer fabric with fairy lights inside. I'd like to put these all over my house.

Trading Cards and Art Fair

2011-09-12T20:39:00.002-04:00

Here's some very exciting news! My Tangle Trading cards are in the Top Ten on Zazzle for business cards! That's so cool! What's in it for you?
They are 50% OFF through Sept. 14, 2011!
Just remember to enter the promo code: DEALBIZCARDS when you check out.

Also, I will be away at the Squam Art Workshops taking some amazing classes. On Saturday night, I'll be selling my books and other Zentangle stuff, as well as some prints of my work, at the Squam Art Fair. This is one of the nicest little Art Fairs around. I hope to see some of you there. Be sure and bring a flashlight as the camp is quite... rustic! (Dark!)

But it will be bright and cheerful inside the fair.

Magical, actually.

Luminarte Blog

2011-09-12T20:11:00.000-04:00

I am a guest artist on the Luminarte blog! My intro is up now, Wednesday there will be one of my projects, another project next week, and another the week after. Be sure to check the Luminarte blog to see each project. Of course, I integrated some Zentangle® into each one! :-) And feel free to link to them, retweet them and tell all your friends to take a look too.

Here's a little bit of my Intro post...

09/12/2011

Sandy Steen Bartholomew

Hello, my name is Sandy and I am addicted to Zentangle®. It's been a few years now that I have had the uncontrollable urge to draw black and white patterns on everything from little pieces of paper, to my bathroom floor, to large resin cows... My greatest thrill is sharing my addiction with other people - especially those who don't think they have a creative bone in their bodies. I've got it so bad that I have written four... five? Oh dear, I've lost count... I like to write books! My first book, AlphaTangle, was self-published. Totally Tangled, Yoga for Your Brain, and AlphaTangle Revised, were all published with Design Originals. Design Originals is now an imprint of Fox Chapel Publishing, so my newer books are with them.

Zentangle® for Kidz - A Comic Guide with Alex and Lilah - which just came out a few weeks ago - is my favorite so far. I adore comic books and kids' books and my kids (Alex and Lilah are my kids). And, just in case you are not already exhausted reading this, I finished another book yesterday called the Tangled Fashionista. This one is really fun and kind of like a mash-up between a Zentangle coloring book for big kids and a fantasy fashion magazine. Yes, weird, I know. I really like writing books. And designing them. And illustrating them.
Also, I own a cool creativity general store called, . I teach classes, have a rubber stamp company and studio (Beez Ink), had another stamp company (Bartholomew's Ink, now part of Stamp Francisco), I sell lots of stuff on Etsy , write a blog and another for . I went to Brown, SVA, and RISD where I got a BFA in ILL. (tee hee). I've been illustrating since I was at least 15 years old and still dream of being an archaeologist (like Indiana Jones, but without the bad guys and snakes!)

To read the rest of this post, CLICK HERE.

Tangled Stairs, Part Two

2011-09-10T21:47:00.000-04:00

For part two of our stairwell tangling adventure, I was joined by my son Alex, my daughter, Lilah, Jodi Ehler (CZT), and Valerie Kelley (tangle addict). We added to the previous designs and spread to the other walls...

Alex embellished the boring wall sconce. I love that he uses tangles from my books that I forget to play with! Like "Tung" and "Ogel"

"Chakra".

He started adding his own "Eddies" inside Chakra.

Lilah attacked the entire door, with... Lilah Beans!

Valerie tangled what looked like an underwater scene...

... love the bubbles!

Tangle, Jodi, tangle!

Jodi added onto Bette Abdu's section and expanded on Krystin Watt's "Shrooms"

The Shrooms grew larger and more complex!

I tried to work around Lilah, but she kept adding to MY wall! I tried to fight back with "Btl Joos" vines, but they were no match for her infectious dots.

I added to my section from the first session, but my son claimed the central box by adding a big "Rick's Paradox" I don't know how he drew it without turning the wall!?

Session Three will be held on Oct. 2, from 12-3pm if anyone would care to join us. We'll do some shading too! And if you would like to see our day's work from the level of, and the viewpoint of, a 4 year old... my daughter posted her photos on the Zentangle for Kidz site.

Graveyard Bash

2011-09-10T19:19:00.000-04:00

On my Grandmother's Birthday, we marched off to the cemetery for a little visit and some cake. Of all the holidays and traditions that families can follow or create, this has become one of our favorites. So, welcome to our Second Annual Grandma Magda's Birthday Celebration. If you would like to see some pics from the first annual celebration, click here.

Lilah brought a sunflower and some seeds as a present.

We brought the darkest, chocolatey cake possible.

My mom.

My mom, sits on HER mom.


Lilah, sits on HER mom... me!

So serious. Contemplating cake?

Holy Bat Shack, Robin! The teenager cracked a smile!

Time for some exercise! How about... soccer?

Just in case, you are thinking this is a strange thing to do in a graveyard... yes, a lady was exercising her horse here too.

No, I am not lecturing him. But, yes, my daughter is making the universal gesture meaning, "MomMEE! I gotta GO!" I bet all you other moms had the same idea, right? For you non-moms, a clue: the white bag, center stage.

And of course we left a huge chunk of cake for grandma! Doesn't it look like the bear is going to eat it? Very appropriate. My grandmother always wanted to be a bear, so we think of her as being a bear who lives in the forest next to the graveyard. She watches us play and talk about her and laugh. When it gets dark, she comes out and gets the cake. We still miss you vanaema.

My Fall 2011 Teaching Schedule

2011-09-08T00:16:00.000-04:00

Put these dates in your calendar!

Saturday, Sept. 10, 12:00-3:00pm
Tangle the Walls... free
This is part two. We still have lots of wall space to fill with tangles. I have the supplies, just bring your ideas. No fear! See this post if you want to know more...

Wednesday, Sept. 21, 5:30-8:00pm
Zentangle® 101... $55
An introduction to the art of Zentangle. Fun and painless. No art experience necessary. All materials provided.

Saturday, Oct. 1, 1:00pm-3:00pm
Zentangle® 102 - Tangle Sampler... $55
You're addicted, right? But now you need to learn how to draw more tangles! This class will teach you tons o' tangles. If there are particular patterns you'd like to learn or you are having trouble with, let me know those as well. Small sketchbook provided, bring your Micron pens.

Sunday, Oct. 2, 12:00-3:00pm
Tangle the Walls... free
This is part three. This is where we fill in spaces and add the shading! This is where the magic happens!

Saturday, Oct. 8, WFFFestival
Body Tangling... $$
The Warner Fall Foliage Festival starts Friday night and runs through Sunday evening. Last year, I spent it painting soccer balls and monkeys on little kids faces, for free, for my daughter's pre-school. This year, I am going to paint and draw Zentangles and henna designs on peoples' hands and faces, and charge them for the honor. ;-) I'll be right next to Wingdoodle, so come and visit and let me draw a big Zendala right in the middle of your forehead, I dare you!

Tuesday-Thursday, Oct. 11-13
CZT Training in Providence
I think this is training #7. I'm very excited to meet a bunch of you - from all over the world!

Saturday & Sunday, Oct. 22 & 23
Zentangle® Art Retreat... TBA
This is going to be so cool! Absolutely incredible and tons of fun. I have no idea what we'll be doing, where, or how much it will cost, but Christine Britos (CZT and Expressive Arts Coach) is organizing it and she did a smash up job with the CZT Retreat this past July. This one will be for anybody, not just the pros. If you want to know more, email her directly at: christine@expressivecoach.com

Wednesday, Nov. 2, 5:30-8pm
Zentangle® 101... $55
An introduction to the art of Zentangle. Fun and painless. No art experience necessary. All materials provided.

Saturday & Sunday, Nov. 12 & 13
Zentangle® Art Retreat... TBA
As I mentioned above, I'm teaching here, but I don't know what. :-) If you want to know more, email Christine Britos directly at: christine@expressivecoach.com

Sunday, Dec. 4, 12:00-4:00pm
Wingdoodle Extravaganza... TBA
Wingdoodle is my real-life, brick and mortar store in Warner, NH. It's been a few years since we have done an Extravaganza, but they were always really popular. You can show up any time between 12 and 4, this is not an official, class-type workshop. There are a bunch of tables, each with a different project and all the materials needed to make it. You move from table to table creating holiday cards, ornaments, bookmarks, etc. It's a blast. No talent or experience needed, but only kids over the age of 12 are allowed. A bunch of us Wingdoodle-y folks will be helping out and happy to hold your glue-y bits or help you ink your stamps. I'll find a way to get some Zentangle in there and probably some eraser carving too. Don't be afraid to come and play, even if you don't think you are "crafty." After all, you didn't think you could "draw" either, right? Trust me!

Saturday, Dec. 10, 11:00-3:00pm Warner Holiday Shopping Tour
Belfry Open Studio
The Warner Holiday Shopping Tour is a fun excuse to go shopping and explore our adorable little town. For each shop you visit, you get a stamp on your passport. Completed passports get entered into a drawing for an amazing gift basket. You don't have to buy anything to get the stamps, but it gives you an excuse to poke around in some places you have never been. Wingdoodle will be part of the tour and I will also have an Open Studio in The Belfry, above the store. Snacks, books, Zentangle stuff. I'll sign all your books that you are giving as holiday gifts! You can snoop around my very cool studio, poke at my Lego town and art thingies, and see the finished (I HOPE it is finished by then!!) Zentangle Stairway. Do you need more reasons to visit?

Notes:
All classes, unless otherwise noted, are held in my studio, The Belfry, located at 19 East Main Street in Warner, NH (Exit 8 off I-89). The studio is on the second floor and there is no elevator.

Class fee is due at registration to reserve your spot. Any classes with fewer than three people registered will be canceled. 100% Refunds are given for student cancellations made up to 72 hours before class. After that, only 50% will be refunded. Checks (made out to Beez Ink Studio) can be dropped off at Wingdoodle, or mailed to Beez Ink Studio, PO Box 359, Warner, NH 03278
Payment can also be made through PayPal using my email address: beezink@tds.net

Can't attend one of these scheduled classes? Set up your own. I will be happy to schedule a class at your own convenience if you have four or more interested friends or family. My email is beezink@tds.net.

New Posters on Zazzle and SALE!

2011-09-01T22:41:00.002-04:00

Oh yeah! Zazzle is having another great sale on posters! This is your chance to buy any of mine at 50% off. Teachers - you have been asking for an AlphaTangle poster? Now you don't have to cut up your little books, I did all the work for you and you can order any size you like all the way up to, well, HUGE! So the kids all the way in the back of the room can see it! The "How to Draw a Zentangle" would also be cool in a classroom or in a waiting room, don't you think? And I added a purely artsy poster of a recent Zentangle® inspired illustration I made for the gallery show I am in. (I think that sentence violates all kinds of grammar rules, but I am tired and just wanted to tell you to get your posters!)

Be sure to enter the code (DECKYOURWALL) into the box on your shopping cart. [There is also a special offer for free shipping]. Poster sale ends Sept. 7th, 2011. So buy a poster for every teacher you know. Your entire school. All your kids, grandkids. Your family doctor. The chemo ward... the world needs more tanglers!

Promo Code:
DECKYOURWALL

And if you use this link:
http://www.zazzle.com/bumblebat*
then I actually earn a buck on your purchase and my faith in art and human nature is restored. Yes, I know "go to bed already!" Goodnight! :-)

Tangle Homework

2011-08-29T18:54:00.000-04:00

In July, I got this email:

Fox Chapel has a new stock of your "Yoga..." book, and mine have arrived. Just wanted to share what I did re page 31 of the book. Still having trouble getting out of the box and page 32 is sending me into YIKES territory. Thankfully I'm not (yet) teaching that.
Anyway, thanks for letting me share. Ooops! I got so carried away I forgot to light the sabbath candles. Sorry I didn't have more chance to chat with you at CZT#6, maybe another time.
-Anita Roby-Lavery

(Anita is a CZT and teaches Zentangle® in Western Pennsylvania. You can contact her at anita.robylavery@netzero.net)

You may be wondering what exactly was on page 31? WHAT!? You don't have a copy of Yoga for Your Brain? Oh, fine, I'll tell you... wait, I have to go look... (just kidding). Page 31 shows how to draw Bales and a super-twisty version called Quip, but it also offers an "Exercise." "Fill an entire page with variations on Bales." Anita came up with some wonderful variations! Bales is one of my favorite tangles simply because it is SO versatile.

Page 32, which terrifies Anita, is a bigger challenge. This one combines different tangles to create crazy new variations. It's a TANGLE MASH-UP!!

Has anyone tried that? I'd love to see what monster tangles you have created. Or, for the more timid ;-D I'd love to see your Bales varieties. Post your art on your blog and put a link in the comments below. If you don't have a blog or flickr site, you can email me a jpeg (beezink at tds.net) and I'll post it for you.

The Original

2011-08-25T14:21:00.000-04:00

A not-so-glamorous shot of the Original Lilah Bean. You might think that it would be difficult to read a book with an entire leg in the way... but, no, Lilah is completely absorbed in her Zentangle for Kidz! book. She did have a lot of comments to make, though. Such as... "Lilah wouldn't be saying "Wheee!" because she is actually too scared. Her brother pushed her!" and "The little Lilah Bean in the plant in my drawing is actually part penguin. He's a Penguin Bean." And her favorite batch of Beans are the Chess pieces. And the little mermaid Bean swimming in "Oshun." And...
(I think she likes the book!)

Tangled Stairs, Part One

2011-08-22T22:36:00.000-04:00

Well, I asked if anyone wanted to help tangle the stairs up to my studio... and I admit I was afraid no one would show. Silly me!

It took us a while to get started, chatting, lunch and all that. But everyone was a little nervous to actually DRAW on the wall. So I followed the usual Zentangle® steps and drew a string, in pencil, down the entire wall! Strings are a real "ice-breaker." I suggested everyone start with some kind of Crescent Moon variety along the railing trim and then grow out from there. After that, everyone just took off. It was incredible how fast the time went! And we had quite a few curious visitors who peeked in from the store (Wingdoodle) to see what we were up to.

Jenn Swett claimed the top of the steps.

Debbie Skinner-Perez was next down from Jenn.

Then Bette Abdu (CZT!) and Krystin Watts (soon to be CZT!)

Jenn's "tile"

Debbie's "tile"

Bette's "tile"

Krystin's "tile"

My "tile" - I had the bottom of the stairs. I still have a lot to draw!

It looks pretty good, doesn't it? I just realized that we had one person for each of the sections of the wall! There's still so much to add - we have to finish these sections, then there's the other side of the stairs... and I was thinking the tangles should go around the door and into the store... and then we need shading...

Want to come and tangle, too? I'll be at it again on Tuesday, August 30th and Saturday, September 10th, from 1pm on - join me! The Belfry is above Wingdoodle at 19 E. Main Street in Warner, NH

[OH! and in a completely unrelated tangent - Wingdoodle is having a huge (40% off!) sale this coming weekend (Aug. 27 & 28) to clear out a bunch of stuff, like leather purses and craft kits, DIY vinyl figures - that kind of stuff. Wingdoodle doesn't have many sales (like, two!) so, just thought you might like to know that!]

A Dangerous Mission. Want to Play?

2011-08-17T20:14:00.000-04:00

Up...

... down

Want to help tangle the stairwell walls at my studio?

Sunday, August 21 from noon til we drop.

I'll supply paint pens, you bring your own lunch/snacks.

The Belfry, 19 E. Main Street, Warner, NH

The walls above the railings are already divided into sections so we can pretend those are the "tiles." Although, some of the tangles may... creep.. over into other tiles. BTL JOOS has a tendency to do that. Or they might go under the trim to get to a new tile... it should be fun! And there are a LOT of sections we can work on.

Any age tangler is welcome as long as:

1) they already know how to tangle

2) they are tall enough to reach the tangle-able walls

3) they are stable enough to stand on the inclined surface and draw.

4) no whiners (or brats)

I really hope I am not all alone on Sunday. Just tangling away in the Belfry. Actually, that sounds kind of nice...

but it is supposed to rain, so come spend your gloomy day with me. ;-D

Lilah Bean Winners

2011-08-17T19:38:00.000-04:00

I've posted the winners for the Lilah Bean contest on the Kidz blog. I'm not going to tell you who won, you have to go look, but here is a group shot of my new band of Minions:

"L"

2011-08-16T17:16:00.000-04:00

Feeling like a loser, a freak? Go see "Glee 3D" and you'll see that as a good thing. My son would be embarrassed to know that I just reluctantly left the movie theater -- I didn't want this movie to end! There were parents dancing with their kids in the concert audience and weird little interviews with strange high school kids... How can these Glee kids ("gleeks") not only make life seem so great, and freaks the only people worth having as friends, but also seem to understand us all so well - no matter our age? I was the brainy-art-chick-medical-anomaly in high school. What? That's not a standard stereo-type? A few more freak points for me! But I was really good at blending in, not drawing attention to myself. In fact, I was so good at disappearing, it's taken me 20 years to realize I need to go looking for myself.

So, if your life is feeling like a high school drama - embrace it - and go see "Glee".
Just don't embarrass your kid by singing out loud.
Oh, what the heck - go ahead and sing. They'll survive.
We all turned out OK, right? :-)

The Lilah Bean Contest - The Second Wave

2011-08-14T16:38:00.002-04:00

I received six more entries for the Lilah Bean Contest on Saturday. I just finished photographing and adding them all to the Zentangle for Kidz! site. Since I couldn't mess with the Poll that is already posted on the left side of the blog, I added a second one just beneath it - "Part Two". You have until Tuesday afternoon to vote - and, yes, you can vote more than once. Send the link to your friends and tell them to vote as well. Voting is very important, especially when the stakes are so high - I mean, we're talking about an authentic Zentangle kit here! And other cool stuff too. Very, very important. Go vote!

The Lilah Bean Contest - Your Vote Counts!

2011-08-12T20:22:00.000-04:00

My carved, art stamp Lilah Bean

The Lilah Bean Contest is On! I have all the entries that I have received posted individually on the Kidz blog: http://www.ztforkids.com/ and there is a Poll on the left hand side of the blog where you can choose your favorites. If you would like to nominate an entry for a special award, like "Best Hair" or something, put that in the Comments under that entry's post. If you are the artist and would like to add details about how you created your Lilah Bean, or a link to your own site, you can also add that to the Comments section.

I was really impressed with all the entries, from cardboard to glass, I love 'em all!! Go take a look... you have until Tuesday to vote.

(I will check at the post office tomorrow, Saturday, in case there are any late arrivals, and try to add them into the show on Sunday).

Book Signing Pt. 2 - The Mill Brook Event

2011-08-11T22:06:00.000-04:00

Yesterday (Wednesday) was the book signing event at Mill Brook Gallery in Concord. This was absolutely amazing! There were at least 50 people there. I was so incredibly nervous and that combined with the humidity from the rainstorm followed with a hot, sunny afternoon... well, you can see that my hair looks like a brillo pad. ;-)

There were a lot of kids at this event - and quite a few teachers too. They brought tiles and sketchbooks to show me what they had been learning from my books (how cool is that!!?) There were at least three other CZTs there and my Canadian groupie/CZT/student - Laura Breisacher. She keeps showing up in very unexpected places!

A small section of my mini-class. What are they looking at...?

...they're looking at the class mosaic!

I did a mini-class out on the deck, then everybody had a chance to make their own buttons and get their books signed and talk to me. The kids here were a lot braver than the ones at the Wingdoodle signing. Go figure. The adults were braver too, although there were quite a few who were afraid to try tangling. These pictures are from Bette Abdu (CZT 1):

Tangling buttons (and the tablecloth)


Carol Belliveau (artist/tangler) and me. Yes, I'm signing books on my lap! All the really important things got their own tables... food, books for sale, pin-making...

My mom, ahem... my "PR Agent" (hee hee), Kay Steen

Devoted fans... really, you can come closer, I won't bite... hard.

Hit by a Truck

2011-08-11T13:10:00.001-04:00

"When you realize that your sole purpose in life is to entertain the gods, there is nothing to do, but put on a good show."

I seem to write quite a few blog posts in my head these days. Usually it's because I don't have access to my blog and then, later, I have forgotten what I wanted to tell you. I am learning that one should write about an event as soon as possible after it occurs, or it will start to merge with the next event, and the next.. and then a new story happens and life gets a little confusing. I have tried very hard NOT to write anything about personal things that seem to disturb a small handful of my readers, but some of these things kind of build up and I need to get them out so I can get back to what I am supposed to be thinking about. I am also learning that if I try hard to NOT think about "pink elephants," as I have been taught, that the Universe has a way of tossing pink elephants directly in front of me. "What are you talking about?!" (feel free to skip to the next post, by the way, my feelings won't be hurt if you don't tell me that you skipped ahead.). ;-)

So here is my pink elephant.

Yesterday was my book signing at Mill Brook Gallery - I'll put that in the next post... I was overwhelmed, amazed, flattered, totally stoked, and absolutely terrified - all at the same time. I was sweating uncontrollably, but generally doing OK, until a person commented that she was really proud of me for holding up so well and having accomplished so much this year... "despite what I had gone through." I smiled and said "I'm fine." (I have a pillow in my studio with a dead cow, feet in the air, and the words "Really, I'm fine...") I pictured that cow, but it turned into the pink elephant. No matter how many excited, Zentangle addicted kids and parents I talked to after that - people who were so excited just to talk to ME. ME!? I couldn't stop thinking about failure. How many books, signings, classes, shows... how many successes does it take to make up for one major failure? (And who exactly am I trying to placate?)

To celebrate my "success", I went to see the movie, Crazy, Stupid, Love. I just knew it was a comedy. I didn't realize it was another little joke from the Universe about pink elephants. It was actually a really great movie - I just wish it hadn't hit so close to home: A couple who have been together for 20-something years gets divorced (just like me). They have a 13 year-old son (just like me) and a little daughter who wears tutus and fairy wings (just like me, well, just like my daughter). The wife asks for the divorce (same) but, in this case, she has the boyfriend. I should have left - but the twisting stories and love triangles were quite funny and endearing. And I was really curious to find out how it all turned out. I won't tell you. Except that I have to admit I was really discouraged by the message of soul-mates and fighting for the one you truly love. Yes, that's romantic and I think I do believe all that... but it just highlights the fact that I must have messed up so badly that my supposed soul-mate didn't love me or care to fight for me. Ya know?

So I spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out where I started making the mistakes, or even if they were my mistakes. My mom told me I was being silly and this stuff just happens. Yeh, I know that, but I'm not really obsessing about "love gone wrong" - it's hard to be dumped, replaced, deflated... and then have to keep "interacting" with that person... for the sake of the kids. That's where I feel like I failed. My daughter is about the same age I was, when my parents split. 99% of kids would rather have two parents, living together, and absolutely miserable - than those same two parents, separate but happy. And no matter what you tell the kids, they will still believe that it was their fault. How can they not? Truthfully, it partially was.

The only people who really got a good deal here were my kids. Even though they only spend half a week with each of us, they now get a heck of a lot more time with their dad. And he takes them on trips and to museums, miniature golf, barbeques, and all the places that divorced dads typically take their kids. The irony is, now that they have their dad's attention, they have to share it with his someone else and her little children. Another joke from the Universe. Whatta sense of humor. And they actually get less time with mom, because she has to work more.

I've mentioned before that I am very introverted - and I have noticed that whenever I have a social event or teach a class, the next morning I have a "social hangover". I feel like I've been drinking all night. I feel like I have been hit by a truck. So I crawled into bed last night, thinking TOO MUCH, and blaming it on the full moon, expecting to feel terrible in the morning, and wishing I could get that movie out of my head... I'd only been asleep for a few hours when...

I was awake at 5am to the sound of brakes screeching, something smashing, and was that a... SCREAM!? @#$%!!? My teeny cottage has a forest behind, Rte. 114 directly in front, and a lake on the other side of the road. I was sure a car had crashed into my house! I flew to the window and saw mist coming off the postcard-looking lake, but a large van, the telephone company-type, was pulled onto the side of the road. The van-guy was cursing, punching numbers on his cell and picking up debris from the road - all at the same time. He told the police that he had hit a deer, he was fine, didn't need an ambulance, but the deer was still alive and had run into the lake. My neighbor, Harry did the right thing and came out to see if the guy was OK, then called someone to come shoot the deer. Oh God.

I closed my windows, turned on the air conditioner to mask any more noises and hid in my bed. And now I couldn't stop thinking about that poor deer. She just wanted to drink from the lake. Who is out driving at 5am? She saw her goal and ran for it. Blind-sided. Hit by a truck. The Universe laughs again. Everyone feels sorry for the poor guy in the van. The deer is "put out of her misery". And Van-guy serves venison steaks to his girlfriend this weekend.

If my life were a movie (maybe it is?), my character would have run outside to provide support and understanding to the hot Van-guy. Ripped my pajama pants into strips to bind up his gushing wounds - from the horns (antlers?) of the crazed buck who had attacked his truck. We would have fallen madly in love, discovered we were true soul mates... and he would have grilled up the venison burgers for ME. Naturally - he loves to cook, right?

Well, Universe, it's a good thing that I have a sense of humor too. I refuse to become that sour, cynical, bitch. But maybe you don't need to try so hard, OK? On with the show.

(that reminds me of a quote from Mother Theresa, I think: "God never gives you more than he thinks you can handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much.")

Contest Update

2011-08-09T13:15:00.001-04:00

I've gotten quite a few frantic emails about the Lilah Bean contest deadline.

August 10th is the deadline to MAIL the Beans
(unless you are in Australia, in which case, I hope you have already sent them!!)

That means they need to be postmarked BY the 10th.

I will start posting the entries on the Kidz blog, on Thursday and there will be a "poll" where everyone can vote. As the late entries arrive, I will add them to the poll. I think Sunday will be the last day to vote.

BTW - the entries I have seen so far are amazing!!! I am going to have a really hard time picking the Best of Show! (Not that I am complaining - this is great fun!)

Book Signing at Wingdoodle

2011-08-08T18:22:00.000-04:00

Saturday's party at Wingdoodle was a blast! SherRee had a nice, short post on the Wingdoodle blog and I snitched her photo collage! All the pics I took were from behind the table, so I wanted you to see that there were, in fact, other people in attendance! I should ask her for the original shots, so you can see them a bit bigger. Anyway, I signed books and did a free mini-workshop, folks made their own Zentangle pins and, of course, there was delicious food made by Kayla (SherRee's daughter, and my kid's babysitter). She rocks. If you missed it (What!?) you can still come to a similar event at Mill Brook Gallery in Concord. That one will be on Wed (the 10th) from 1-3pm.

Here's a mosaic of some of the tiles done by the mini-class students. Nice!

My son Alex, sat next to me and signed books too. He wrote the book intro, the Mendhi section, some art, and the music for the book trailer on YouTube. He got so into drawing tangles, I had to nudge him to get his signature. He's at music camp this week, so he won't be signing books at Mill Brook Gallery. :-( Ah well.

I have to admit - I am bursting with pride at his musical achievements - but I have been secretly devastated that he put his "art" on the back burning for the past few years. He used to draw the most incredible maps and diagrams for worlds and machines that he dreamt up. And, anyone who followed me PZT (that's Pre-Zentangle), knows that Alex used to have his own rubber stamp line. He drew constantly. He told me, a few years ago, that it's just not possible for him to pursue everything at the same time. So he chose to concentrate on his music and dance. Wise boy. I'm still trying to pursue everything! Anyway, it made my heart feel good to see the boy draw. Draw, boy, draw! He even came up with a cool new tangle called "Eddies". When he gets back from music camp he can post the steps for Eddies on the Kidz site. BTW - doesn't he look JUST like his cartoon character in Zentangle for Kidz! ? My daughter showed up an hour after the event ended, so she didn't get to sign anything. But, then, a four year old with a Sharpie marker is a dangerous thing!

Krystin (one of my Wingdoodle minions) was in charge of the button-making project - which was very successful judging by the fact that everyone who came to get their books signed, was wearing a pin! But, I wanted you to see the table cover from the project table...

Cute, eh? Lilah Beans everywhere! (And don't forget to enter the contest - the deadline is this Wednesday!) Oh, and Krystin is going for CZT training this fall! Wingdoodle will truly be a one-stop Zentangle paradise. I am incredibly lucky to have such a great staff here at the shop!! I need to bring a couple of them along on Wed. to the Mill Brook Gallery event!

I've Got Books!

2011-07-28T20:02:00.001-04:00

Is Mega Munny shy? No? Perhaps she is engrossed in reading her very OWN COPY of my NEW BOOK?!!!!!

No... I think she is hiding from that angelic looking child star. You are thinking: "But that little girl looks so sweet..." WRONG! That is Lilah Amaret - the diabolically clever creator of the Lilah Bean minions! She wears a pink sundress and a Cheshire smile to distract us from the fact that she is holding (paper) fire on the cover of the book. No wonder Meg is afraid of her!

It is amazing what you can glean from a single photo... (besides the devious nature of my child)... the fire comes from a Klutz kit of paper doll horses (just behind Meg)... and on the table just behind - what's that?! Crayons?! And a stack of brand new AlphaTangle posters? Oh-oh, not a good situation. Yes, those are the two tables in my classroom and they are covered with STUFF. So, now you know, my child is just like her cartoon character, I have way too many projects going on at once, no time or space to teach classes (although I do have one this weekend*), and I don't get anything accomplished when that little cherub is in the studio with me.

All I wanted was a sweet publicity photo of her with the book. Honestly, is that too much to ask?

PS - I HAVE BOOKS!!! Yah! Get them here: www.bumblebat.com and if you are a CZT, you can purchase them to resell to your students.

* I have an eraser carving class on Saturday at Wingdoodle from 12-3. Call the shop at 603-456-3515 if you'd like more info and to sign up.

Contest! Bring it!

2011-07-20T13:31:00.000-04:00

I know! I know! I know what we'll do as a contest to celebrate the new book! (And thanks for all your ideas!)

Take a look at this army of Bots on the Sharpie Marker blog.

I want an army of MINIONS!
That's right, send in the Lilah Beans!

So, if you want to play (and win stuff), here are the rules:

• Make a LILAH BEAN.
It can be made out of anything that will stand up - cardboard, fabric, domino, fome-cor, polymer clay, shrink plastic... anything that won't rot or smell.

• The finished piece must be 6 inches or smaller.

• Sign the back!

• The Lilah Beans will not be returned (They become my property. I mean, really, how can I take over the world if my minions are constantly taking vacations to visit family!?)

• If you send a SASE (that's a self-addressed STAMPED envelope) with your LB, I will send you a little treat just for entering.

• Be sure to include your NAME, mailing address, and any online link (blog, website) you might want me to shamelessly promote on my blog.

• GRAND PRIZE (MY absolute favorite entry) will win an official Zentangle kit and ZT for Kidz! book

• PEOPLE's CHOICE (that's you guys' choice) will win an assortment of Zentangle supplies ... and ZT for Kidz! book

• VARIOUS OTHER PRIZES (I'll decide the categories after I see what you all send!) will include ZT stuff...and ZT for Kidz! books

• Winners will also be featured on the ZTforKids.com site.

• DEADLINE: August 10th, 2011

• So start training those little jelly beans. Whip them into shape and march them off to:

Beez Ink Studio
PO Box 359
Warner, NH 03278

• PS Originality counts!! (That, and great hair...)

Zentangle® for Kidz! The Movie

2011-07-19T16:34:00.000-04:00

Well..."The Trailer" is more like it. My brother, Dave Steen, animated my sketches. My son, Alex - yes, the kid in the book - wrote, played and recorded the music. And my daughter, Lilah, (the other kid in the book) created the original Lilah Beans. We refer to them as the Minions. The Lilah Beans, not my children. I think Alex's music goes perfectly with the jumping little bouncy movements of the Lilah Beans. I admit that Alex and I would both like to learn more about animation - particularly stop-motion paper animation - so that we could animate more of this book. In color. And larger. If you view this film on YouTube, it is larger and slightly better quality.

Save the Dates

2011-07-18T11:29:00.001-04:00

Contest?

2011-07-15T20:18:00.000-04:00

To celebrate the new book (it's almost here!), Linda Farmer (over at TanglePatterns) and I want to have a contest. Yah! Free stuff! BUT... what's the contest? Something involving talent, or completely random? Just for kids? Everybody? Books as prizes, of course... What would be the coolest contest and the best prizes? Tell me! I can handle it. :-)

The Value of Books

2011-07-13T20:46:00.000-04:00

On Wednesdays, at Mill Brook Gallery, there will be talks by the Children's book illustrators who are in the current show (I'll be on August 10th - and I will keep reminding you all!) Today was Ilene Richard. After showing all us kids how to design a character, she passed out paper and markers and we gave it a go. Then we got to stand up and talk about our new creation. Yes! I got to show mine too! Here's a picture that Pam Tarbell took with Ilene holding my picture while I explain how the cat works in a diner... (I was so hungry!) It was fun!

And speaking of books. Anyone who has been looking for Totally Tangled
on Amazon recently may have been shocked to see what they are selling for:

The one that says $458.26, was only $100-something yesterday. I mean, what a deal!? Wingdoodle, my store, listed the regular priced one - but who are these people selling it for $400 or $50 or, even $38.50? Are they kidding? I've heard some of these dealers use algorithmic software (or something like that) that automatically sets their price based on what the other dealers are selling the books at. And another rumor... says that these dealers don't even HAVE the books and they charge so much so that they can BUY the book from another dealer, if they get a sale, and then mark the price up to resell. WAAAAAY too complicated, I think.

I'm just saying... if you feel the overwhelming need to spend over $100 for one of my books - send the money directly to ME! I'll even sign your book. And for $400, I'll send the new Kidz Book AND a small KID! ;-D

PS - Hang in there - all the books should be available again next week (at regular prices).

Illustration Show Opening

2011-07-12T20:07:00.000-04:00

I know you are wondering how the Illustrators' Show went on Thursday, right? It was amazing! There were so many gorgeous pieces. If you have not been, there is still time - it runs through August and this is a great excuse to see Mill Brook Gallery too. Judy Moffat has some great shots of the art and the artists on her blog. Here are some shots of the opening taken by my mother and my friend, Laurie Strysko. For some reason they took lots of pics of ME and not many of artwork. What's that about? ;-D

My mom with Harvey Keye from NH to Do Magazine

Signing books. That's one of my pieces on the wall!

Yacking.

Chatting.

Signing...

Oooh - look! A kid!

The lower level gallery.

It's nice to have some loyal followers.

Mary and Dan Watts come to all my book signings. Yah!

Pam Tarbell (gallery owner) with two of the artists - Ilene Richards and Denise Ortakales

Will Harney and my mom, and Will's book.

Another reason to visit the gallery! A life-size woolly mammoth, made from STICKS!!

How to Draw a Zentangle® Poster

2011-07-11T11:44:00.000-04:00

To help promote the new book, and make some teachers happy... I have a new poster on Zazzle. It is the page "How to Draw a Zentangle" which includes the steps for the "Lilah Bean" tangle as well. Teachers have been asking for instructional posters for their classrooms to inspire the kids. Also, Zazzle is offering a special, today only, for 60% off all posters! Be sure to enter the code: ZBDAYPOSTERS in the promo code box at checkout.

Tangle - ETCHER

2011-07-07T01:34:00.000-04:00

Hi Sandy,
I have purchased your book, YOGA for Your BRAIN. It has provided many helpful hints and challenges for my tangles. Thank You for this. I do have a problem with your illustration of the tangle, ETCHER. Is there a more simplified way how to do it. I have tried a few times and seem to get lost. Any further hints?
Sincerely,
Joe D. in Philly

Perhaps there is.

But I believe that anything worth doing is worth OVERdoing. Although, to prove my point to my sister (that there IS a difference between being a perfectionist - I am not- and a bit obsessive-compulsive - I admit it)... I have drawn out all the steps for Etcher... in detail. However, I left in lots of little blops and squidgies. And, of course, I didn't film it!

Here we go!

ETCHER

Draw columns in pencil if you need them.


Draw triangles pointing left and right.

Just like the ones on the remote control.

Next column, reverse direction.

Nose to nose and back to back. Erase pencil.

Add a "V" below each back-to-back pair.

Go slowly. Back-to-back? Add a "V"...

Next, the "noses" connect straight down.

Noses drip down... (see note below*)

Draw a "Y" in each "Y" section.

Looking cool!

With pencil, shade right or left sections.

Add a bit of shading at overlaps.

Smudge shading.

Try coloring the triangles black!

I love the way it looks like an MC Escher drawing (hence the name!) * The ninth image is "Y-Knot" by Molly Hollibaugh. At that point, if you add shading, the tangle looks like woven ribbons. Isn't it amazing how adding a few more lines turns it from a soft material to a hard, squarish one? Another interesting bit of trivia is that Molly and I came up with our versions at the same time, independently. She based hers on a soy sauce dish at a Japanese restaurant. Mine came from a kimono pattern. What are the chances?

One last tip - if you are having a lot of trouble... getting lost in the lines... try coloring the triangles black in the very beginning. Then you can focus on the girders instead. But, wouldn't it be mind blowing to add tangles BEHIND the girders!? Hmmm....

Zentangle® for Kidz! Website

2011-07-06T22:31:00.000-04:00

I have spent the past week setting up a new website for the soon-to-be-released Zentangle for Kidz! book. It's looking good and I will keep adding stuff to it. I plan to add some projects and info about the characters in the book (me and my kids! Yes, we are all characters.) If you do Zentangle with kids and have some ingenious ideas you'd like to share on the site, PLEASE contact me. I am an idea junkie and I am SURE that I am not alone. Kids, too. I want to hear from you folks too!

If you click HERE, you can get on my mailing list so any new posts on the site will come right to your emailbox. And I do have a Facebook page for the book too. I'm not on Facebook everyday, but it is a great way to ask questions and upload your own (your kids') artwork!

I just posted about our experience on the 4th of July - tangling a tablecloth with Lilah Beans! My daughter reveals the origins of the Beans...

2011-07-02T18:08:00.000-04:00

I have a bunch of Zentangle® pieces in this show which opens on Thursday (July 7th). There are two larger, framed pieces all the way down to matted giclee prints. I did three new, smaller pieces in the past two weeks, just for this show.

If you are in the area, please come see the show! Mill Brook gallery is a very unusual place, just outside of the city (Concord, NH). It is a Sculpture Garden as well. The Opening Reception is this coming Thursday, from 5-8. And my special day - booksigning and Zentangle demo-stuff, will be on August 10th at 1pm.

The other artists are also muy fantastico - I am actually honored and rather intimidated to be in the same show with them! If you have kids - bring them to all the free events! (Or leave them home and come by yourself, so you can really enjoy it all!) And if you have friends ;-D please share this post with them - this is my first MAJOR show (and I REALLY, REALLY want to sell something!!) :-)

New Zentangle® Products!

2011-06-23T23:06:00.000-04:00

The folks at Zentangle have been super busy coming up with cool new products! I just got a little box today and rushed to put them up at my Etsy store.

Zentangle Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) in White or Black
Zentangle Tiles in Black
White pencils and gel pens for tangling on black paper

I've also added:

a Sakura Microperm Permanent Pen Set (these are great for tangling on slick or non-porous surfaces)
an Official Zentangle Kit... with some EXTRAS
a Total Addict's Zentangle Gift Bag (you want it all, right!?)

I don't have examples yet using the new products, but there are samples and tips in my Yoga for Your Brain book (pages 45-47), that use white on black paper.

I also have lots of copies of all my books, including the "vintage" AlphaTangle and YogaFYB (which Amazon lists as "out-of-stock" and someone is selling for $30 - wow!)

AlphaTangle (vintage, black cover)
AlphaTangle (revised, red cover)
Totally Tangled (the classic)
Yoga for Your Brain (the workout)
Inspired by Zentangle (the fabric book, I have one project in there)
Zentangle for Kidz! (teasing! It's coming soon...)

Some people have had trouble getting some of these books from their local shops. There is a good reason, really! Design Originals (the publisher) was just purchased by Fox Chapel Publishing and all operations were being switched over at the SAME time that the books were being re-printed. Yikes. Mini-nightmare. It should be resolved soon though.

AND, in other news, my real-life, brick and mortar store, WINGDOODLE, celebrates its 10th Birthday this Saturday!!! How amazing is that!?! There is a Munny decorating contest (I'll write more about that this weekend) and food and merriment - so if you are around Sat. afternoon (in NH!), please stop by and help us celebrate this momentous occasion.

So to use this as an excuse for free stuff... and to reward you for reading all the way through this post... here are some Birthday Presents for you (good through this Sunday night at midnight - or whenever I check my email on Monday). :-D
There are no special codes, but you must mention your freebies in your note when purchasing on Etsy, OK?

Buy Inspired by Zentangle, get a free Fabric Gel Pen
Buy any two of my books, get a free vintage AlphaTangle
Buy any Zentangle products, get a free tangled 2.25" button/pin

ZT in VT

2011-06-23T20:48:00.000-04:00

Email, 3 days ago:
Hi Sandy,

Just wanted to let you know that you might like to take a road trip to see us at Flood Brook School (K-8) in Londonderry, VT. We have come to see you, it's your turn to visit us! I've introduced Zentangle to our art teacher, Casey Bailey, and she has taught the kids. Casey is using the paper puzzle pieces that she got from the Vermont Council of Arts a few years ago. It is sooooo cooooool! You have to come and see what's happening here. Casey is also loving teaching it this time of year since the kids are quite excited about the year ending and this tends to calm them down and is not messy!!

... It is so nice to see zentangle all around me. I'm a teaching assistant in Kindergarten and have taught the teacher in our classroom zentangle. We've been having a blast with the kids (and each other). Oh, the places we will go.......

let me know if you want to visit!

Jane MacKugler

CZT 6

And what do you think I said?! Of course - I went to Vermont!
The Flood Brook School is a wonderful, artsy, little school - I mean. there is art everywhere! The art teacher was doing Zentangle with a group of older kids when I arrived. They were tangling on giant puzzle pieces.

A few of the big kids' puzzle pieces on a hallway bulletin board.

One of the reasons that Jane contacted me, and why I drove the two hours out to VT, is because i am working on a website to go along with my new book ("Zentangle for Kidz!"). I had intended to have a place where I could put extra projects and such for kids who enjoyed the book. Then, I started getting amazing art from tangling kids. Hmmm... that should be on the site. Then I realized, parents and teachers would be using the book and had lots of tips to offer too. More stuff for the site... So I will post the pictures I took of these kids' tangles on that site too. And I will let you know when I have it pulled together enough to go "live".
You have to see these close-up! The kindergarten one has spiders and little poem parts too!

Puzzle pieces done by the kindergarten class.

As I was leaving, I got to experience one of the school's traditons. On the last day of school, the teachers cover the tables with shaving cream, crank up the music, and let the kids "draw". I captured a little video of the kids dancing and drawing Zentangles in the foam! It was so wonderful. I know - I'm torturing you - but I can't post the kids on the internet. I'm so sorry! I'll watch it one more time, just for you.... yes, it is still wonderful. But I can post a close-up of one of the foamy creations:

So, just imagine "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz playing really loud, kids laughing, bouncing from one table to another, hands looking like white gloves, smooshing the foam smooth, then joyously drawing huge swirls and zigzags... I know many CZTs like to have quiet, meditative Zentangle experiences for their students... but I admit, for me, Zentangle is about creative, playing, sharing, and JOY! I really wanted to join in the fun!

On the way home, we stopped in town to get lunch at this really cool cafe. All these buildings belonged to the same business (cafe, restaurant, quilt shop, art gallery...). I don't even know if there is a name for this style, (Steampunk Western?) but I love it. And there were so many interesting patterns in the details, the shingles... I stood in the middle of the parking lot, in the pouring rain to take these shots for you. ;-D

Something Light and Fluffy

2011-06-17T22:05:00.000-04:00

I am so excited that my peonies are blooming! Big whoop, I know, but it means that my garden is still alive. I am not a failure at this growing plants thing! And peonies are just so amazing. They die back over the winter and then suddenly, this tall plant is there, with ants crawling all over the buds... pretty small buds... that just EXPLODE! in pink, fluffy petals. I am NOT the pink, fluffy type of person, either, but I can't help but smile when I see these flowers. How in the world do all those petals fit into that teeny bud!? It's like a popcorn kernel...

In honor of my peonies (nice work, ladies!), I'm going to post "Mumsy" from Yoga for Your Brain. This tangle starts with a simple squiggle center and then grows and grows and grows... until you run out of space. Someone needs to create a tangle called "Plant Stake". ;-D

And because I am temporarily obsessed with pink, fluffy flowers, I just had to show you these rhododendrons that are blooming in front of my cottage! This is evidence that pruning is overrated! Perhaps it is also evidence that I have a dual personality? I admire a trim, neat plant that hibernates, obsesses, creates in obscurity, then explodes forth with a masterpiece. And I also admire the hardy, lazy, New England "weed" that grows anywhere, next to any plant, and effortlessly sprinkles day-glo pink petals all over the lawn. Go figure. Either way, it is nice to have role models.

This calls for cupcakes!

2011-06-03T21:11:00.000-04:00

I finished the edits for Zentangle for Kidz! this week, changed the cover colors and sent off the CD. Seems like there should be bells ringing and a party, eh? Perhaps when the book is printed. And cupcakes, I need cupcakes! Here's a little piece of one page to show you how I decided to do the color:

I think I have said this before... but this was a really fun book to do! I can picture some of you jumping up and down saying, "But you had to run away to a hotel TWICE for this book?!" Hmmm, true. Perhaps that adds to the enjoyment? :-)

This one will be only 20 pages, with the standard Design Originals binding. The colors and printing will be lovely. And of course, the price will be under ten bucks. You can buy copies for all your kids, your grandkids, your friends' kids... (and yourself!) It will be out in July, in time for CHA in Chicago. I would so love to go to CHA! It's the same week as the CZT Retreat in N. Andover. Would I be insane to try and make it to both events? Don't answer that!

To celebrate finishing this book and getting a few more items onto my Etsy site, I had posted a "special" on Facebook, but realized I should extend it to all of you folks too, right? The DEAL is: Buy a copy of Inspired by Zentangle - Fabric Arts book from my Etsy store, and get a FREE Pentel Fabric Gel Roller Pen. (Be sure to make a note on your order that you saw this on my blog). This is the fabric pen that I used to decorate my apron that is featured in the book. Of course I also have the pens for sale on the site.

And I had meant to post this last week, but I got caught up in finishing the book... This note and these photos are from Donna Lacey - a freshly minted CZT. I sat next to her, and her pet rat, at the training workshop a few weeks ago (she had an awesome Zentangle journal!) Well, the rat wasn't... real... but he was charming. A few days after the workshop, Donna and Herkimer (the rat!) visited my store in New Hampshire:

Herkimer loved your shop. Spent probably an hour there looking at books and deciding what I just HAD to have!!

Herkimer flirting with SherRee.

Perhaps we should hire him for PR?

Baby, You can write on my CAR!

2011-05-25T22:08:00.000-04:00

Last fall, I taught a class at Artisan's Workshop in New London - for the employees. When it ended, one employee approached and said "You have to see my car!"

These photos don't do "Chuck" justice! It was amazing to walk around and see the variety of tangles and illustrations. Yes! There is a moose on the roof! I love the frog on the front, and you might recognize my fish (from Totally Tangled) on the side?

This car was lovingly tangled by Jenna Carter - and I hear that she is still adding Zentangles!

You want Chuck, don't you? I know, he's so cool! You can have him too...
Jenna wants to sell the tangled car so she can travel around Europe. Her plan is to leave at the end of July. So if you are interested in owning a totally tangled transport of your own, it can be yours for $4,500. Which is actually a really great deal, come to think... the Tattoo Gnu sold at auction for $6000.

Here is an email I just received from Jenna:

Thank you again for helping me out, it means the world to me to be able to take this trip and know that Chuck is in good hands :0) We're planning on going everywhere while in Europe for about 5 months, we may not come back! Mainly just backpacking around and towards the end picking up a job in one of our favorite countries. Very exciting! It's me and my boyfriend who are going together, we want to learn about life and culture and experience things while we're still young :)

She has a point. There is a lot to see and the world seems to be changing very quickly. Anyway, if you are interested in contacting Jenna, let me know and I'll connect you.

CZT Weekend

2011-05-18T00:38:00.000-04:00

I took a break from coloring my latest book and headed down to Whitinsville, MA for round 6 of "Who Wants to Be a CZT?" I've been putting off posting about the experience because I find it so hard to put into words! When I attended a few years ago- in the very beginning of this tangled web - there were 50 of us and the whole experience was shiney and new. And kind of terrifying. No one really knew what they were doing... including Rick and Maria. A lot has changed. This training workshop is now a well-tuned machine!

The past two times that I have been here, it was winter and dark, so I never really noticed the outside of Rick and Maria's house. The pillars have tangles on them, but check out the great cherub above the door. How cool is that? This house is filled with amazing art and funny touches. I think that not being able to see Maria's studio will be the biggest drawback to having the future training workshops at The Hotel Providence. (Although staying at a five-star hotel might make up for it...)

This session had something like 67 students! Even the window seats were filled. I met ladies from South Africa, Tasmania, and some of those square states in the middle of our country. All good news for folks outside New England who want to learn to tangle. I was rather floored by how many of the attendees had taken classes with me, including one from Virginia and one from Quebec, or had found Zentangle® through my books. A few even admitted that they had found the books accidentally while surfing Amazon. It made me blush every time someone said, "You're Sandy?! You wrote those books?!" and I got to sign lots of autographs. Someone suggested I should get a commission from R&M for sending so many people to become CZTs. Interesting idea.... ;-D Being famous for a few days certainly does wonders for one's confidence and is helping me get over my shyness/introversion. Although I still feel like I could sleep for a week! I talked to so many people I barely got a chance to eat and on Sunday, I actually missed both breakfast and lunch.

I was really impressed with all the new products and innovations that the Zentangle folks have designed. A few new items are round tiles for Zendalas, trading cards (with the Fabriano Tiepolo paper!) and all the tiles in different colors. A set of nine coasters that form a ZT puzzle... stickers and tattoos, t-shirts, and most ingenius for the CZTS, a square demo pad of newsprint that is glued along two edges. This makes it possible to turn the pad while working on an easel. I got to try it out... and purchased two for my studio. Nice!

This collage of tiles is displayed on boards covered in canvas (with a tangled border). Straight pins under and over each tile hold them in place without piercing the paper. More genius. Maria "whipped it up" at the Gel conference. The art brought by the attendees was incredible too - gourds, ATCs, and embroidery... wowza. Quite an amazing group of people. I look forward to seeing what they bring forth. As I was leaving (or trying to leave!), people kept thanking me for sharing my experiences and expertise with them. For signing books and giving advice... I was laughing when I said, "Thank YOU for listening! Once I get home, it will be very hard to find anyone the slightest bit impressed by me!" :-)

So, now, it's back to the books. Or "book". Which was technically due last week.... This book is turning out to be my favorite so far. I decided to do it with the ZTs all just B&W with a smidge of red in the instructions and the usual shading. The kids and their accessories are cartoon color with shading. The "minions" (Lilah Beans) are treated as tangles, despite their helpfulness. OH! And speaking of books - this is very exciting... at least it is to me... Design Original's parent company is exhibiting at Book Expo next week in NYC. And guess what book they chose from ALL the DO books to act as representative at the show?! YES, you are right!! "Yoga for Your Brain!" Mine, mine, mine! Whoo-eee! Wouldn't it be cool if some magazines wrote reviews and stuff? I would SO love to be there... Yes, I know, calm down and go to bed and then get up and scan and color and finish this book...

Easter Zentangle!

2011-05-02T20:50:00.000-04:00

An Easter Zentangle with a bit of a Halloween twist!
I know it is a bit late, but I cracked open one of the leftover eggs that my kids had dyed last weekend. Is this a perfect Zentangle web, or what?! We couldn't have done this if we had intended to. (I think this was my four year old's handiwork).

AlphaTangles!

2011-05-02T19:15:00.000-04:00

In case you were not aware, Amazon now has the new Design Originals version of AlphaTangle available. It is the same price as the older "vintage" version that I self-published. It is also available on my Etsy store. And for any CZTS or store owners who are interested, I have both versions available for wholesale pricing (10 or more books) - also on Etsy. I had sent 100 books to Amazon, but they lost them somewhere in their warehouse about a month ago (this is the second time!) so the vintage Alphas are showing up on Amazon as "sold out." (grumble, grumble...!!!?) Yes - some of you have warned me about the evils of Amazon, but there are also lots of great things about them too... free shipping?

I would really LOVE to get my books into more independent bookstores. It is part of my evil plan - to dominate the shelves. Hee hee hee. But I need your help. I kind of... well, I SUCK, at personal PR. I noticed that one of the popular paper crafts magazines has a program where readers can request that their local stores carry the magazine. If the store mentions that reader's name when they order, the reader gets a free subscription or some such. I am very open to this sort of help from you all. I know many small stores don't like to have to buy a ton of books, so I will be listing the books in quantities of 5 (instead of ten). Please let me know your ideas about how I can get these books "out there". Thanks!

And She's Back! (Plus a book spoiler!)

2011-05-02T18:25:00.000-04:00

I'm back from another pretend "vacation." I set my email and my Etsy shop to "Vacation Mode" and ran away to Maine... to work. How warped is that? It's twisted (tangled?) I know, but I actually really enjoy this sort of vacation. I get a lot accomplished AND I get to walk by the sea. Ah, life is good... then I come home and get WHOMPED to the side of the head with all the things that I had left behind and the email. Ohmigoodness.

I recently read an interview where Tim Ferriss, the author of the "4-hour Workweek", said that he had hired a VA - a Virtual Assistant - to read all his emails for him (over 1,000 a day!) and to deal with them. The idea is very tempting...

His blog is fun to peruse. Some of his ideas (all of them?) are over the top, extreme. That's his style and how he got really rich. But he does have a lot of good points, things that make you think. Or re-think. I am doing a lot of that lately.

Another author/person who will make you think is Hugh MacLeod. I had just finished reading his book "Evil Plans: Having Fun on the Road to World Domination" when his name, and artwork came up in conversation at an art gallery reception. The host had recently purchased one of Hugh's larger pieces. Larger being around 9x12". He usually draws his cartoons on the backs of business cards!

I have always felt sympathy for the evil villains in movies (Despicable Me! I mean, who DOESN'T want minions to help them take over the world. And they are so cute and cuddly... oh! More on that in a minute**) But Hugh's basic premise is that, if you are achieving your goals and doing things "right," people will be jealous and hate you, right? If you aren't succeeding, what's to be jealous of? So if you are pissing people off, you're on the right track. So forget the "goals" and go straight for the "evil plans"!

OK, back to the "minions"! I've changed my "Followers" to "Minions" but please don't be insulted. I say it with the greatest respect and love for all of you! It's part of my baby-step attempts to (take over the world!) get to that place where I don't care so much "what everybody else thinks." Yes, slow going. My goal...er...evil plan is to be a bit more like my avatar or the "personality" that seems to have been created through my books. I get the most amazing (and some very disturbing) emails from people who have been moved by my books. They seem to think of me as a very strong, topple-proof, super-creative, never have a bad day, tangle queen, super-achiever... stop me before I get sick! Needless to say, that's not really very accurate! But I think most of you folks know that already (just from reading my posts!)

Finally - the GOOD stuff...

New Book SPOILER

The new book has lots of "minions" in it. I just spent the last week in Maine "inking" the pages for the new book that I am working on. It's hard to know how much is OK to spill (ideas, not ink)... but I have never been good at keeping my devious plans to myself. You may be wondering "How could she possibly write ANOTHER Zentangle book?!" (Gosh, I hope you aren't really thinking that...?) But my publisher asked me to do a ZT book for kids. Since I am/was a kids' book illustrator, I freely misinterpreted her request and I'm doing a comic book to introduce kids to Zentangle!! I've had such a blast doing this one (it's my favorite!). My kids, Alex and Lilah, are the hosts/main characters. Lilah's tangle creations, the "Lilah Beans" from Totally Tangled are her minions (she calls them "onions") and they help explain things, hold things, and generally just stand around looking fabulous. I just ran and took a few quick shots of some pages to show you. These are just inked, no shading and no coloring yet. I don't know yet if they should be B&W, or some color, or all color... hmm... I'll put a little "poll" over on the edge of the blog and you all can give me your opinions, OK? At the very least, they need a subtle background color to help the panels stand out. I think I'd like to color the whole durn thing, except for the actual tangle steps. But, then, I really like to color things in. Coloring book, yes, that's a great idea! It's already on the to-do list. ;-D

Uplifting?

2011-04-22T12:55:00.000-04:00

I am ashamed to say that I keep forgetting about Easter this week. I love Easter - the part about rebirth, renewal, second chances all that stuff... and Peeps. I admit I love those little squishy marshmallow critters too. Take a look at the blog "Radmegan - In Words and Pictures"- she has THE cutest needle-felted peeps. A great way to avoid the calories but still soak in the cuteness. She has them for sale on her Etsy site too.

It seems so much happens in a single week, heck, a single day - that I often only blog "in my head". Seriously, I walk around writing posts and thinking of links and then can't seem to get to the computer what with one thing and another. I started this post yesterday and planned to write about Rosa, the little girl in town who was hit by a truck while riding her bike. She wasn't wearing a helmet, and she actually hit the truck. But everytime I started to write, something came up. By last night, I couldn't bear thinking about it anymore and I also realized that the last time I wrote my feelings about a death, I actually lost a (still-living) friend. Yep, I was "unfriended" on Facebook for expressing my own thoughts on suicide. So, I will suppress my thoughts this time. In honor of Rosa, AND the poor guy driving the truck, here is an amazingly "uplifting" video I found on SwissMiss (a fantastic design blog).

And today, of all days, I keep reminding myself that people are basically good. It is really easy to get caught up in the flood of grief and sadness - not just for these really awful accidents, but the everyday snafus, annoyances, and plain old yuck. We forget to celebrate our own achievements because we don't want to seem selfish. We forget to hug our kids because we are pissed that they made a mess or ignored our commands. We don't notice the hardworking daffodil buds pushing through the moldy piles of leaves we have to rake up, if only we had some time to do yard work...

Whether or not you are religious or spiritual or cynical... this is as good a weekend as any to pay attention to the possibilities around you. Shake off your old skin, open a window, revive an old project, dig up your optimism, eat a cupcake and ENJOY it. Second chances. What can you make out of your lemons? Come on people - we are supposed to be CREATIVE! Put down the sh@t sandwich and make yourself a new snack. (If you need your butt kicked into gear, check out Marie's site.)

Trust me, I'm just as cranky and gloomy as the rest of the world, when need be, and I don't walk around whistling and looking for silver linings... but I am TRYING to pay attention. So, I leave you with an example.

Yesterday, the sun was shining, but the whole town was oozing sadness because of Rosa's memorial service to be held that night. There was even a news van stationed in front of town hall. And the wind was blowing so hard stuff was flying around Main Street. As I trudged back home, the wind flying down the mountain was so strong, I actually had to turn my back to it in order to breathe! As I turned, my eye was caught by some extreme tree damage to a neighbor's property. Big branches down. My cranky brain said "Bummer of a clean up job. I wonder why they haven't gotten started yet." But as I started to turn back into the wind, my artist's eye discovered WHY they hadn't cleaned up yet. (No, not baby birds! That's way too cute!) This neighbor had seen the possibilities in the destruction and "carved" them out! And if the annoying, cold wind hadn't forced me to turn around, I wouldn't have ever known that this neighbor was creative and had a sense of humor!