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.

Zentangle workshop for Calligraphers

I'm on the steep learning curve, out-of-my-league here.   On October 8th, I'll be teaching a full day zentangle workshop to the Utah Calligraphic Artists guild.  This is a group of incredible, amazing, dedicated artists in every way, and yet, they invited me to be their fall workshop presenter for one day...(breathe, exhale, focus.....whew.)   The thing that makes me the happiest is that Jonathon is coming along, all the way from Tennessee, doing the techy stuff, power point presentation, and being the hands-on demonstrator.  I'm practicing daily, just to have some samples ready.  I've defined my responsibility as giving the essentials needed, showing lots of possibilities, and encouraging original, creative thinking.   Since the second day of the workshop is about laying down gold leaf, ala Illuminated Letters, taught by the local calligrapher and bookbinding extraordinaire, Louona Tanner (see Reggie Ezell's photos of the year for her work), we'll design some letters, and then move along to borders.   I think zentangles will be a dynamite jumping off point for calligraphers to design borders to go along with their lovely letters.   Here are a few sample ideas I've been doodling with, just for fun:

Invitation:   If you have any zentangle samples, photos of your projects, ideas, etc.  please send them along.   I will give you 15 minutes of fame at the workshop, and you will be presented in the Power Point.   The workshop is still open, and you can sign up for either day, or both. 
See the UCA website for details.

Easy Gourmet added to the repertoire

Once in a while I stumble upon an idea.  We really like the Naan Tandoori Indian-style bread, and the garden is going crazy on us,  and I'm bored with the nightly zucchini, green beans, tomato and basil meals, with occasional beets or potatoes.    Here's the easy as pie pizza we've grown to love, since it's a variation on the garden.  The size of this is about 7 inches diameter, just enough for one full meal.   Add a salad, or carrot sticks and cucumber slices.

We prefer the whole wheat Naan bread, but the one that was available was garlic....still good.

And the easiest sauce on the planet:

Our favorite is the basil pesto.   Didn't like the cilantro sauce, but the sun-dried tomato is a good choice.
Here is our recipe:
Very lightly saute the vegetables, just until soft.  (I had zucchini and onion today)
Lightly brush the edges of the crust with olive oil.  (optional)
Lightly and sparingly brush the bread with one of the sauces.  (or two)
Top the bread with whatever you have in the refrigerator....we keep some fresh mozza, artichoke hearts, fresh kalamata olives, sometimes mushrooms, and some freshly grated parmesan. 
Place slices of fresh tomato on top...our Juliets work best...not quite as juicy.
Liberally spread fresh basil all over.
You can see it's heavy on the vegetables, and light on the sauces and cheese.  (I would have put a bit more fresh mozzarella, if I'd had it.)  (oops, I forgot the basil...oh well, still good.)
Bake @ 400-420 for 8-10 minutes (no more, just enough to heat through, since the crust is already cooked.)
Devour.
Feel satisfied.
Feel smug, because it's so healthy.
  YUM.

It's Offishull---I are a ar-teest.

Well, I've denied for years that I'm an artist....because I've never had an art class, because I can't draw, I have no eye-hand coordination, and because I don't spend my time making art.  (those are my working definitions of an artist, I guess.)   Today I graduated from art class, with an official certificate. 

 And today, I got the gold star on my forehead for the best bullet, complete with tabletop reflections.   Wahoo.   I have arrived.

Now I have true confessions.   I didn't do homework except to make eight color wheels with various shades of the primaries.  And I cleaned my brush on a scrap paper, which looks like this:

Everyone decided this was the best work I did ever....Isn't that a compliment, when you're just messing around?
And finally, with the bizarre weather here that goes from 97 degrees to 49 degrees in 24 hours, this is a gorgeous double rainbow that appeared over our house. 

We didn't find the pot of gold....but now I know how to paint it.   I have arrived indeed.

A silly giveaway....I should keep it a secret

News Flash:   The author of the book I blogged about called Drawing Lab, Carla Sonheim, is offering a Silly Class for one month Sept. 15-October15.     You can find her link to the right on my blog list.    It sounds like a lot of fun, and we should all do it together.   Another blogger has paid for the class and is donating it as a giveaway on her (blog, click here). so if you want some seriously silly fun, enter the giveaway.  I hope I win!!.  I hope YOU win.   We're all winners.  Yea.