Aspen, the Star

Last spring, I blogged about teaching zentangles to my grandson, Will's, third grade class.  While I feel extremely grateful to have three fabulous grandchildren living nearby, I feel only "half" here, because another three (and a third) grandchildren live far away, in Tennessee--the eastern part.   So, I periodically have to bribe them to come to visit.   The zentangle workshop was such an excuse, and even though we couldn't afford to bring them all here, we're lucky that Jonathon could bring Aspen, the oldest, turning ten next week. 

We hiked them up the mountain before they caught the airplane back home, since they would be sitting all day.  Great view of the valley from Desolation Trail overlook.
I'm showing you her zentangles, because she's really something.   And one of the best things about her, besides her inner and outer beauty, is that she freely admits she's an artist.  I hope she always knows that.  Here is her very first zentangle, created in May when she was here with her mom, brother and sister.  She made this for her Dad, stuck at work in TN. and she hid little messages in it, like "I love you", among others.

  The evening before our workshop, she created a show and tell for us.  This letter is about 8 inches tall, made of wood.

And her first project at the workshop was a charmer.   You can see she wrote a little quote in cursive on the upper right.   I added a mini puzzle piece of gold leaf.   She was generous enough to give it to me.  I love it.

And even though I've only shown you ONE grandchild's art, ALL of the others are artists, too, as are their most wonderful parents.   Art isn't just an activity, it's a way of life, a way of being and expressing in the world.  And it is a unique expression of a unique individual, personal to each, and precious to a grandma's heart.

Just a few of the family artists.   John, Jonathon, Aspen, and Allison.

A Group of Tangles

At last!   Someone was kind enough to send me a CD of our workshop.  While much of it was li'l ole me, demonstrating patterns, a snap was taken as evidence we accomplished something.   And the dear participants made a beautiful thank you card for me, complete with zentangles on them. 
They did a mighty fine job.
Below are some of the projects we undertook.  They could make a little booklet, tangling either the inside of the letter, or tangling around the letter, leaving it blank.....for gold, maybe?

  
The second day of the workshop was adding gold leaf.  The stunning shine doesn't photograph well, but you can get an idea of how the gold adds a touch of class.  See the little zentangle on the left?   Just a nice line of gold really pops.  Jane H. is the artist on this.

This last one is by Nancy O, one of the fine calligraphers and artists in the group.

A tangled zen preview

My camera has died.   There is no hope for a resurrection, so I cannot post any photos of the UCA Zentangle workshop until I beg for copies from some of the attendees.  In the meantime, Jonathon, co-facilitator extraordinaire, has given me permission to show his work.   In his blog, he writes:
CAVEAT: If you are not familiar with Zentangles, this is not a good example of one!  For the following reasons:

1. It uses color.
2. It does not use ANY known zentangle patterns (called "tangles").
3. It has an orientation (that is, there is a "right-side up" to it.

But for those of you familiar with Zen, this is what my Buddha Nature wanted to draw today.  What can you say to that?

 You can see what a very artistic and talented son I have, and I am extremely proud and grateful.
And as soon as I get a new camera, I'll show what my equally talented 10 year old (almost) granddaughter, Aspen,  created in the workshop.   Stay tuned.

I got a new set of graphitint pencils (Derwent), which I used to color this one.

Whether one is doodling in zen, tangling, or merely following one's Buddha nature, I hope you'll pick up a pen and have a moment to yourself.   Breathe, accept, let go......ahhhh.