Tangle Swap Showcase Kimberly Barcello CZT 8

Tangle Swap Showcase Kimberly Barcello CZT 8

Kimberly is from Middletown, CT. If you are around there & are interested in taking classes you can contact her at
nowandzentangled@gmail.com

Kimberly & I attended the certification class in RI at the same time. The class was large so I did not have the opportunity to meet her there. I have come to know her through our private CZT group. I do hope to see her in person along with many others, sometime next year.

I really like Kimberly's style, as you will see here in her creation.

You can click on the image to see it enlarged.

Thank you for coming back to my blog! I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July!

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

Happy 4th of July!

                     Wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July!

I had been very ill so I have not posted in a long time. I have recovered now, so it seemed fitting to start posting again. I am going to continue the series from the Tangle Swap as I have many more CZT's that I wish to showcase.

I will be posting a new tangle pattern I had created just before my illness. So keep your eyes open for this! I named it Benderama.

          Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

Tangle Swap Showcase (Lynn Noga CZT 8)

Lynn Noga is in Nashville, TN & became a CZT in the same group that I attended. She is a fellow CZT 8. Lynn wants you to know you can look her up if you come to Nashville. Please check out her contact information under her work.

                      You can click on the image to enlarge it.

 Good idea to enlarge her creation so you can appreciate the fine detail in her work. I especially love the upper right hand corner.

You can visit Lynn by going to www.linesbylynn.net & you can send her an email at linesbylynn@gmail.com.

              Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

Tangle Swap Showcase (Alice Hendon CZT 9)

Sorry for not posting for awhile. I am getting back on track, so let's get back to the showcase. I have many more fellow CZT's to show off their creations!

Today's post is of the tangle swap that Alice Hendon created.        Alice is from Florida. Here is her creation.

You can click on the image to enlarge it.

Alice Hendon CZT 9, has a blog & here is the link to it.

www.thecreatorsleaf.blogspot.com

Please give her blog a visit. I am sure you will enjoy her blog. I find her blog fun & playful & right now, colorful as well! You can also find her on Facebook, The Creator's Leaf.

I also have a Facebook page for Uncovering Pathways now. I plan to gear this towards a bit more educational for teachers & such. I have some new patterns I created & will post them there. I do not want to take away from the showcase here, so I have decided to post them on the Facebook page first. For those who do not follow on Facebook, not to worry. After the showcase has finished with all the CZT's creations, I will be getting back to posting my patterns & new creative works. Recently I have been playing with color & have a new piece posted on the Facebook page.

I appreciate your coming back to visit me here. Anytime you would like to leave a comment, please do. I would love to hear from you!

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

Tangle Swap showcase (Donna Hornsby)

             Donna Hornsby CZT 3, created this for the swap.  
       Be sure to drop in on her site at www.pegasuspapers.com
     

   You can click on the image to to see it enlarged.

By now you can see that people have their own styles, even when doing the same patterns. The intention is not to have people make the patterns exactly like anyone else's, but to develop your own style. Some people find that pushing away from their bodies while making the strokes, works best for them. Some people find that pulling the stroke towards themselves, works the best. Some of us will find that we use both, pushing away & pulling toward ourselves, works best. Take notice when you are creating, what do you find more comfortable.

I hope that you are enjoying the showcase of my fellow CZT's! We have many more to go in this Missing U swap series.

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

Tangle Swap Showcase  (Joyce Block).

Today is Easter & I hope that this is a warm & wonderful day. I am sending wishes for a Happy Easter to all!

Today I am going to post the creation of Joyce Block CZT 7. She lives in WI. She has given me permission to post her tiles. These are the four tiles for the swap she sent to me.

                  To see this enlarged, just click on the image.

Again I have it orientated with the U on it's side, with the curved area on the right. Please feel free to leave any comments. Enjoy!

               Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

Tangle Swap Showcase  (Pam Lisak)

This is a series that I will be posting every few days. My last postings were of the CZT ensemble swap. I showcased my tiles before, & then again after shading. Now you will get to see the creations of my fellow CZT's that participated in this swap with me.

Each of these ensembles were sent to me from each person that created them. I have asked permission from each CZT to post their tiles as they were sent to me. They have each agreed to allow me to show off their tiles. They are shown put together according to the string that we all used. 

The string for this ensemble swap was a M (upright) & then upside down. Then we have the U on it's side with the curve on the right hand side. I will keep this orientation throughout the showcase. You can imagine it looks like  (   lXl   ) pushed together. The sideways U is shoved through the lXl.

So let's get started. I am randomly posting these. No specific order.

        This first set here was created by Pam Lisak CZT 7

       You can contact her by email at pamee@charter.net

                             From Whitinsville, MA

She proudly shares the same town as our Zentangle® founders, Rick Roberts & Maria Thomas!

Click on the image to enlarge it for better viewing.

I hope you will take a moment to comment on Pam's creation. Thank you for stopping by!

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

The CZT swap ensemble is shaded now.

                         Here are the tiles after being shaded.
                                    Completed on 3/11/13

You can click on the image to get a closer look at it. Shading the tiles added depth & more interest. You can shade in many different ways. With the true zentangle® method, we use pencils for shading. That is what I did on these zentangles. I made light pencil markings where I wanted & used a tortillon to smooth out the graphite. You can go back & add more graphite if you want it darker. I always do it lightly at first, going back to add more to darken it up. Remember, since we do not use erasers, darken it up a little at a time until you get just what you want.

The first ensemble swap came in from Illinois. I am hoping to post them all here after I get permission from each CZT. So far 8 of us have completed the tiles & posted to our CZT FB page.

One of many benefits from becoming a CZT is we have sites that only CZT's have access to. Since we are many, from all over the world, we are able to stay in contact & learn from each other. We are a very creative group & great resource for each other.

The Missing U tile swap came about from an event. Some of us would like to have attended this event but are unable. The event is a higher learning event back east. Over 50 CZT's will be attending. They are having a swap at the event. Hence, those who cannot attend have decided to create our own swap "Missing U".

Our many CZT groups have swaps often for any CZT's who wish to participate. We just had a Valentine swap. There is a Earth day swap going on now. Seems that all most every month a swap is going on.

This is my first time participating in a swap. So I tend to jump in the deep end first. I am hosting this swap. I organized the event. I asked for feedback about the string to use, & then created it. I keep in contact with those in this swap. As the ensembles are completed they are mailed to me. After I have received them all, I will break them apart & piece 4 different CZT tiles together. Those are then mailed back to each participant. This will be another way to learn a bit more about other CZT's. This is also fun & we have some surprises in store!

So go back to the last post prior to this & take a good look at the tiles before shading. You can compare the before & after. Which ones do you like better? Why? This is a good exercise to get insight into what you like & may not like, especially why. You may also be inspired to try something differently. That would be great!

For my next post I will show you a new pattern I created Monday while teaching a class. In fact I came up with two. I had the class help name the patterns. I need to do a little research to make sure these patterns are not published already by someone else. Until then, tangle away & have fun creating! Remember, if you have any questions, or would like to leave a comment please do so. I would love to hear from you! Thank you.

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

Tangle Swap among CZT's

I have been busy with a new project. I have a group of about 15 CZT's that are doing a 4 tile ensemble swap. We are using 4 original tiles, pushed together to create a big square. The string we are using is made up of a capital M, right side up & upside down. Then we have a capital U laying sideways from one side to the other. I have just finished tangling the four tiles & fit them back together. I have them here for you to see.  

As you look along the right side You can notice the curve. This is the bottom of the U. You can click on the photo to see a close up.

These tiles have not been shaded at all. Official zentangle® tiles are not white. All of the tangles were done using the Sakura Micron pens & brush pen in black ink. I use the brush pen for coloring in the bigger areas of black ink. Not only does that go faster but the paper texture stays perfect.

I wanted you to see what this looks like before shading. Shading your drawings can give them more dimension & make things pop up, curve, bend & dip. I will post this again after the shading is completed. This will give you the opportunity to explore the differences. Pay attention to the far upper right hand corner. This tangle should stand out more after it is shaded.

I did add a thin frame around the four tiles. This could be framed now. Posting them with frames helps me to clean up the empty space from the scanned pictures. You can also do the same. I use PicMonkey.com. Most of the things on this site are free. You do not have to sign up either. If you want to do more elaborate things, they charge for those. You can play & try different settings until you find just the look you want.

I will be posting again with the tiles shaded & tell you more about this swap. Enjoy!


Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

Happy Valentine's!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's day. Even if you did not have a significant other to celebrate with, I hope you did something good for yourself.

I found heart shaped card stock at Michael's craft store. They had a pink cord attached at the top of each one. This way they can be hung up. They also have slits in the card so you can fold the sections outward. When you bend those areas & hang it the breeze will make the cards spin around. One side is a bit waxy or slick so the micron I used was the brush pens.

Two weeks before Valentine's day I gave my class a Valentine project. The class was able to create on both sides of the cards. Here are the views of both sides of the card. You can click on the images to see them larger.

                                   Finished on 2/10/13

Where the patterns change is where the slits are in the cards. I showed how the pink string looks that come on the cards. I hope you enjoy seeing my example from my class!

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

What's in your tool box?

This is a new series I will be posting on.
  
Topic for today is self-esteem.

How do you rate your level of self-esteem? Would you say it is great, good, fine, low or nonexistent? Maybe you don't even think about it. Anyone working on recovery needs to access their level of self-esteem. Most people with drug or alcohol addictions have poor self-esteem, as do people with mental health challenges.

People with good self-esteem have more confidence & are happier.   Good self-esteem is an empowering tool. It provides strength. When we feel good about ourselves, we can work through challenges in our lives much easier. Why?  We have confidence that we can overcome or work through things, we deserve good things in our lives, we are worth it. 

When people work on recovery, with each step we develop better self-esteem, which in turn strengthens are resolve to over come our challenges. One feeds the other, back & forth. Many people with drug & or alcohol addiction are "using" to escape. They do not feel good about themselves. As they begin to work on recovery it is important for them to celebrate each step along that path. Here comes self-esteem, building their strength.

Whether you have any of these challenges or not, self-esteem is important. I have a short exercise for you. I created this form a few years ago. You can get creative & create your own if you'd like.

I use this when working with people on building self-esteem. Some people have sat & looked at this saying they had no strengths. If you find yourself saying this, then start by using what your friends say they like about you. If you have poor self-esteem start each new line with "I am". Some examples > I am friendly. I am a good listener. I am a great cook.

You do not have to fill up all 10 lines right away, but I hope you do. Plus you can keep going, adding as many things as you feel are important to describe your strengths. Post this on the wall where you can see it everyday, especially if you need to improve your self-esteem. Be creative, type it up & frame it. As your self-esteem grows, keep this list growing.

When I was growing up, we were taught not to talk about ourselves in these ways. We were told "that is being conceited or having a big head". Basically, good girls don't talk like that. Then as I got older, someone told me "I need to toot my own horn because I am the only one that knows the tune". Wow, what a different message! Now I toot toot! I learned to let go of that old negative message. It hindered my self-esteem & did not serve me. Tooting my own horn does not mean that I am conceited or my head is to big.

                      Now to share a few mandalas I created. 
                 You can click on the picture to enlarge them.
                                I did this one on 12/6/12.

                          I did this one below on 12/8/12.

                        I did this one below on 12/6/12.
                    I used Micron pens in black & sepia.

Thank you for letting me share with you. Toot your own horn & tell me what you did on the self-esteem exercise. I would love to hear what you think about it. Feel free to comment about anything on my blog.

            Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

I am excited to share a fellow CZT's blog.

You may remember that I had created some mandalas for Heal the Love project (you can refer back to that posting 12/31/12). Denyse is the CZT that started the project for all the CZT's to enter. We were not able to send the project to Sandy Hook school. Denyse is in the process of posting all the work on her blog beezen.blogspot.com. Look for the Love Heals event-under construction tab, to view the pieces she received for this event.

Take time to check out her site as she has many really beautiful creations, including the instructions to some patterns she has created & more. There is inspiration to be found there!

I am working on adding other sites (web, blogs) onto my site here for you to be able to find real information, real CZT info, etc. I really want to be sure that you get educated about what real zentangle® is. I hope soon, to learn how to make my site easier to link to these other sites for you. I am a late bloomer in the land of technology.  

I continue to hear more about doodling being substituted, compared inaccurately, even interwoven for zentangle. They are NOT the same. Do not be mislead by all those new titles popping up.  There are so many physical & mental health benefits from zentangle. I have experienced many for myself after taking classes with a CZT. Research is finding these benefits to be true. Researchers continue to investigate & understand just what is happening while being involved with this practice.

 I want to empower you to the fact that even after checking out all the videos, books, web sites, etc. that you will find on zentangle, you will greatly benefit from taking some classes with a real CZT. I started out with a book, then worked up to on-line info. I then sought out a CZT & took classes. It was like magic! The experience was unlike the other options. It was so wonderful, it inspired me to become a CZT. Now I am able to pass on the magic!

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

Recovering The Artist, A Show About Art Not Illness.

The Martha Pace Swift Gallery showing for the Recovering Artist has ended & I now have my pieces back. The show was a wonderful event & I hope you were able to stop in & check it out. Everyone who participated had such wonderful pieces.

My class, that I do weekly with a special group of students, displayed our group projects. The titled piece I created for the class display, I have donated to the class. 

I had a frame with 4 original tiles that I had on display next to the class project.  Here are the tiles from the framed piece I displayed.  

                        This one below was done on 10/6/11.
                   It includes the pattern I created called Zoid.

                           This one was created on 9/15/11.
                         This also includes my pattern Zoid.

   
                           This one was created on 2/15/12.

 
                           This one was created on 2/15/12.

I just noticed that I tend to be creative on the 15th of the month.

The large piece I had done with the class will now be framed & hung on my wall. I will work on getting the pictures off my camera & post them soon. Again I thank Wes & Judith for their hard work in making this show happen. The Recovering the Artist was presented in partnership with The Expressive Arts Institute, Creative Arts Consortium & Nami. Thank you all, including those that came by to view the show!

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

There are misleading blogs about what zentangle® is.

Yesterday I heard about a blog that seemed to misrepresent zentangle. I checked it out & sure enough it does not have correct information. The person does not identify their self on their own site. Turns out his name is Craig. He is using other peoples work & posting it. I do not know if he has permission from them.

He talks about zendoodling & zentangling as if these were interchangeable. They are not. He is not a CZT. He does not understand what true zentangle is. He runs a lot of ads all over his site. This seems to be the purpose of his site. He earns money having these ads posted everywhere. I have posted a comment on his site. I do expect that he has deleted it.

As true CZT's, we do not use zentangle in our site names. I am not posting the name of his site, as I am not recommending anyone to visit. There are many real CZT's that have wonderful sites that are not misleading. I encourage you to check them out. I do want you to be educated so that you re not mislead. You can always check out the zentangle.com site to find people who are qualified CZT's.

To do a zentangle is unlike any experience you would have doing a doodle. They are really very different. There are many health benefits to zentangle, both mental & physical.

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

The web site for Uncovering Pathways does not represent me.

One of my host sites offered to build me a web site for free. I was told that I would be able to review it, make changes & launch it. I was interviewed by phone & the designers went to work. When they had completed the site they notified me to check it out.

After I looked at the site I canceled it. I did not launch it. The words they used were not the words I use. In fact I am offended. The site is misleading. It does not represent the way I speak or my business. 

I have been billed for this account right from the beginning & I am still being charged. They did not honor the free web design as promised.

I recently came across the web site on-line. I called the company & was on hold for over 20 minutes before being transferred around from one person to the next. After almost one hour all I could accomplish was to get a service tech. to cancel my account, or so I was told.

I have received a message that my account has been cancelled. Another message came asking for my feedback. I filled out the short survey.

I checked to see if the web site was gone. No it was not. It is still up as of a few minutes ago. Just the other day this company was advertising on TV that they will build free web sites, & if you like it, then they will charge a nominal fee every month. This site is web.com the same site that I am having challenges with. I do not recommend that anyone take up this offer. If you do not like how they do business, as has been my experience, then do not take them up on their offer. Some people may like what they can accomplish, but if you want to cancel you may find it very challenging.

I intend to keep working on growing this blog. Some day in the future I will create my own web sites. So please, if you have seen the web site, I apologize for this misleading & non -representational site. I will continue to work at having it pulled off the Internet. This blog represents me & what I am accomplishing.

I hope you will continue to follow my blog as it grows & develops. Thank you.

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

Introducing my first zentangle pattern named ZOID.

On 1/4/13, I gave a hands on demo about zentangle® at The Expressive Arts Institute San Diego. I heard that we had 46 people that showed up. I started at 5 pm. The tables filled quickly & we had people sitting all around the room. No one realized that such a large group would show up.

People arrived all throughout the demo. This event was not a true class, but a demonstration that everyone could participate in. Zentangle is such a wonderful tool for everyone to use, it was important to introduce it. There are about six CZT's in Southern Ca. that teach classes, including myself. If you find that you would like to experience it in a real zen way, then please contact a CZT for a few classes. You can also look up any CZT's through the zentangle.com web site. We can be found teaching zentangle all around the world. I hope that you will start to practice what I shared with you.

Around 7 pm many people put their pieces on the table so we could all share what we created. Many had left before I was able to get photos of their art. I hope to post pictures later. One woman said that having people continue to come into the event all throughout the demo was nerve racking. She also commented that this did not seem to effect me. Fact is, that did not bother me. For a real class, this is not preferred to have people arriving all through a class. Set up & materials would also be different.

Shortly after 7 pm someone asked if I would teach some more patterns. She said she paid for a sitter & knew we would go to 7:30 pm. I invited everyone still there to take a seat & gave everyone the official tiles & pens to try out. All seven of them zentangled a tile, learning new patterns. I also taught them my own pattern that I have not shared before. I took pictures of these & will post later. They talked about how much nicer their art turned out using the official materials. Rick & Maria picked these materials because they are well suited for doing zentangle. They did the research to find the best suited materials. It really does make a difference!

I would like to thank The Expressive Arts Institute; Judith Greer Essex PhD., REAT & Wes Chester MA, CAGS for inviting me to do this demo & hosting the event! They did a great job! I would like to thank everyone who attended for participating in this event. I hope that you came away with a new tool for better wellness & had fun! I had so much fun, I left with an abundance of positive energy! 

I offer three zentangle classes. First class is the basic class. Second class is the intermediate class where you get more into shading. Third class is the advanced class. We also look at other mediums & using color to create Zia pieces. Other classes are offered doing special projects. All classes you will learn new patterns that are not published, You will also learn more about zentangle & understand the zen in zentangle. Classes are three hours per class. Class length can be modified to suit you or your groups. I will teach where ever you chose. More information on classes given when you contact me at (619) 409-4997.

I now introduce the pattern I created & named Zoid. I created this pattern before I became a CZT. I had really gotten into the practice of doing zentangle. Zoid is very useful as a filler pattern but also can stand alone. It follows the true concept of a zentangle pattern. It involves making slightly curved lines. If you think about the shape of an almond shaped eye, then you have it. 

                    Here is the step out on how to create Zoid.

There are so many variations you can do to Zoid. This one just below stands out more on it's own. I did this one on 9/27/11 before I became a CZT.

This one below I did on 9/29/11

                                     This one below I did in Sept. 2011. 

I use Zoid often when I zentangle. I love it & create variations to suit me. It is one of the easiest patterns to use. I have also used the basic outside form & filled it with dots instead of curved lines. Enjoy!

              Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways.