Thankful I Rediscovered Art

I have always loved art. Even as a child, I loved drawing, coloring in coloring books, music, books, and all the wonderful things that are considered art. I have never had any artistic talent, unfortunately, and I always wondered why I loved it so much. Over the years, I have tried all forms of art. I have to say that my favorite is music. I love the classics, my favorite being Beethoven's Sonata #14, or Moonlight Sonata, as it is commonly known. I sang in glee club at school, choir at church and always wanted to be a musician. As life would have it, that was not my path. Our lives are so complex and the paths that we take are, at times, odd. Sometimes I wonder how I arrived at the place that I am today. But, I think that things happen for a reason and God always has a plan. I taught myself to crochet at about 16 and then later on, learned cross stitch, embroidery, rug hooking, macrame (remember macrame plant hangers?) and a bit of knitting. I learned all these from a dear and wonderful friend that I shall always love and cherish. Her name is Dixie and she is the most talented person I have ever met. She can do anything. For a number of years, I was so busy raising children, working and living my life, that I did not have the time or patience for art and completely gave up all my hobbies other than gardening. A few years ago, I learned to knit for real and started dabbling in watercolors. I realized very quickly that I am not a painter nor am I an artist of any kind. I am much better the with the needle arts....quilting, embroidery, cross stitching, but one thing has always remained the same....and that is my love of letters and numbers. Fonts, puzzles, calligraphy, lettering, writing. All those things are so dear to me, so I decided to go in a little different direction. I started doing Artist Trading Cards and joined some ladies at my work in a card club. We meet every 2 weeks and make a variety of greeting cards. I really enjoy this and seem to be fairly good at it. In my search for ideas and creativity for my ATC's and greeting cards, I literally stumbled onto something called Zentangle. At first, as I researched it, I never thought I would ever be able to do such beautiful artwork, but I discovered that I can!!! My life has changed forever. I now carry a sketchbook with me all the time. I am constantly looking for new ways to do my art, which now consists of Zentangle, ATC's and greeting cards. I am so happy and thrilled that I have found an art medium that I love and can actually do! My mother has been ill off and on since last summer and recently had a stroke that was very severe. She is still in rehab and we are thinking that she may never be able to live alone again, or even with me. The past few weeks have been so stressful for Randy and me and I have spent so many hours sitting in the hospital with her and trying to help her understand what has happened to her. My art has been my life saver. When she is sleeping, I sit in the quiet and tangle, or work on ATC's and I truly think that this has helped me to get through each day. The future is so uncertain and each day, I wonder what is going to happen. I thank God every day for allowing me to have this art....sometimes things do happen for a reason.

My Latest Tangle

I am having so much fun with Zentangle! I wish I had discovered it a long time ago! So many tangles, so little time. Here is my latest tangle:

I have been working on learning tangles, and I have a couple of projects almost complete. Til next time....

Zentangle Basics

My Zentangle book arrived on Saturday and I am amazed at the patterns and tips that are in the book! This is such an interesting craft. The possibilities of what you can create are endless.

I have been trying to learn some of the tangles and they are fun and easy. Hope to have some pics to post soon!

Seriously?

I ordered a book on Zentangle last night. I just could not resist. It seems that Zentangle is not just idle doodling, as I first thought. I am sure that if you wanted to do idle doodling, that would be ok, but real Zentangle has PATTERNS! Yes, my friends, I said PATTERNS! This makes it even more intriguing to me. It just seems to be so soothing and easy to do. Especially for someone like me who can't draw. I always wanted to draw and as a kid I sketched a little, but I just don't have that talent. (Still trying to figure out if I have a talent, and if so, what it is.) So, I ordered a book from Amazon called "Zentangle Basics". It is the starting point for all of us wannabe tanglers and I hope to progress on the Zentagle 2, 3 and so on. I have been doing some sketches and I am just fascinated by the symmetries of this art. I will try and post some pages from my sketchbook tomorrow. My old camera is in my son's camera bag. We bought a new one, but it is so fancy, I don't even know how to use it. So, as soon as I get a camera, I will post the pics. Til next time!

Artist Trading Cards and Catching Up

I have not been posting due to family obligations. I have had many things going on with my Mom, my dog is ill and I have had a few other things. But, I am back now, I hope! I have been doing Artist Trading Cards and I am so hooked on them. I just recently started doing Zentangle, which is a meditative form of art. I have been doing ATC's with Zentangle, but it is not designed just for ATC's. If you have not heard of it, I strongly recommend that you google it. If you love doodling or drawing, you will be hooked! I know that I am! Here is an example of my Zentangle:

And here are a couple of my ATC's:

I am really having a blast with these, and I am studying Zentangle. I have also been doing a bit of embroidery and making cards. The card club meets every two weeks and we have been making some beautiful cards. I have a couple of really cute felt projects that I am going to start soon. I recently made a pincushion from a tuna can. I like it and it is so cute, but I think I would like it better if it was smaller. I have more pics to post, but I left my camera in my son's camera bag this past weekend, so I have to wait until I get it back. On to more adventures!

Mal March 2012

THIS POST WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ON MARCH 31, 2012. Today is the last day of Malabrigo March and I did not accomplish as much as I had hoped. I finished Camp Out Fingerless Mitts and Mira's Cowl, but did not complete Zuzu's Petals or even cast on the other 2 projects. I had fun though and I really loved seeing everyone else's finished items. I am tinkering in other things right now too, have a sick dog and am on baby watch for our 6th grandchild, who is due today, so I have been pretty busy. We have a Card Club at work and we have been meeting every 2 weeks to make cards. We have made some really nice cards and I am enjoying that very much. There are some talented ladies at my office and I am learning a lot from them. We also had a short Stampin Up party at lunch last week. Pat Bruce, the demonstrator was super nice and helped make a couple of really pretty cards. She has a workshop once a month on Saturday, and I am going to attend her next one. I have been making cards for a long time, but none of mine have ever turned out as well as these were, so I am excited. I am starting to do Artist Trading Cards and I am really enjoying them...