I've Moved!!!!

I have my own Domain now!

Check me out at CharKatsCreativeInsanity.com

Stay Crazy My Friends!

It's Not Amazing...It's a Labyrinth!

Wow! I never post this early. I killed a tree trying to figure this out before I put it to tile. Because of the complexity of trying to get it right on a small scale, I decided to keep the design simple, with no shading. Just the 3 pens you see in the picture.

Edit to original post...I just realized where I had experienced a labyrinth before! There is a church in San Francisco called Grace Cathedral that has one on the floor. I was fascinated by it (and by the ribbon art installation hanging over it.) Here is a pic I took there...the colors on the labyrinth are from both the stained glass and the ribbons dancing in the light.

Also have some Pretties to share from what I learned at TangleU. I will start with my overly large rendition of Sharla Hicks' class of Mooka Blues. This is on 6 x 8 Kona Paper, with blue Micron, blue and white General's Chalk Pastels, and a Gelly Roll Glitter Pen (which sadly did not scan as pretty as it is in person.)

And this tile is from the actual class:

We did a Swap at TangleU, based on tiles painted in the Talavera style. I did a couple renditions of this one (had to make one to keep for myself!) Tombow Monotwin Marker and Tombow Brush Markers.

Ok...back to the last push on homework...T-18 days till graduation!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Happy Amanda Day!

Ok...so Diva's son thought the Earth needed a name, and he named it Amanda. I think its adorable.

And this is my 2nd year Amanda Day Challenge! I could not decide on just one thing that celebrated my love of nature and our beloved Amanda, so I did a few...Earthy Themes...

The first one, I call Under the Sea. I love water. This is Strathmore Artigain paper, in a greenish tint. Tombow brush pen and Tombow Marker (and Glitter Gelly Roll...of course.)

I liked that one so much, I decided to try it again on a white tile...

And lastly, this paper/tile was made out of recycled tea bags (reduce-reuse-recycle!) and is rather representational of the week I just spent in Santa Fe, New Mexico for TangleU!

So, be nice to Amanda!

(Countdown to graduation is T-21!)

Stay Crazy My Friends!

In the Home Stretch!

Ok...so Spring Break is over and there is only another 4 weeks of school. That's right campers...4 more weeks! I graduate on May 15th and I can resume my life!

I got on board with this week's Diva Challenge (#212: Use My Tangle - Fanz by Susan Goetter) in a rather weird way. I was testing out a new pen (Tombow MonoTwin) on pink Strathmore Artagain paper...and I initially started with the much fatter end (and was really hating how fat the lines were coming out...duh!) Also, it is an "oil based" marker, so it's a bleeder! It bled even further through the back of the paper when I did my spray fixative on it. But I cannot say I am displeased with the final result...it looks pretty cool.

Tangles are Fanz, Narwal, Flux, Knightsbridge, Tipple, and Heartburn. I should have the step outs for Heartburn (my first tangle) posted soon.

And I did get Diva Challenge #210: Spiral String finished. Colors a bit wonky for me, I used only the items from this months Art Snacks (http://www.artsnacks.co) box. It is a monotangle of Heartburn. On Fabriano Medioevalis paper (4.7 x 4.7). This paper is really kinda cool, and comes in pre-cut sizes  of flat and folded cards with matching envelopes available. I found it rather cool to tangle on, and I love the deckled edges. Dick Blick carries it, so do most actual art supply stores (not Michaels.)

And, I am off to finish laundry and packing for TangleU. Santa Fe, here I come. I am ditching school for a whole week!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

A State of Flux...

Ok...so it's Spring Break...my senior year in college (never mind that I am basically a senior citizen....) and what am I doing? Tangling...and cleaning my house. Go figure...

So Laura (The Diva) left us with just Flux as our prompt (feel better soon to Artoo...poor little guy.) I am working on some samples for a class/meet up in April, so I used one of my wine dyed tiles to turn out this gem. Flux both ways!

(Can't leak about the wine coloring until later...don't want to spoil the class!)

That's all for now...

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Post St. Paddy's Day Fallout...

Happy Belated St. Patricks Day!

This week's Diva Challenge (#209) was to "Make it Green." I am currently experimenting with various colored liquids (coffee, tea, wine) and stencils to pre-dye tiles and use the stencils for my string, so I decided to try one of my green tea applications and Jenny Perruzzi's  Zencils stencils (get them on etsy.com) Can't tell you my methodology yet, working it up for a class...shhh...top secret.

The whole tile is done in Gelly Roll pen this time. I laid down the metallic green first, and discovered my trusty Micron didn't like it, so I broke out the black Gelly...and ta-da...it worked great. tried to shade with a Tombow and blender, but that smeared a little, so went with General's Chalk Pastel Pencils instead.

Off to prep some more tiles!

Oh, and study for an Exercise Physiology test...

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Ahhh...Time to Tangle Today!

I've been a bit hard pressed to find much time to tangle lately, but I seem to have been pretty productive anyway...

So this week's Diva Challenge (#208) is Duotangle: Cubine vs. Pokeroot. Now...I have not ever done any Pokeroot before, so this was my maiden voyage with that tangle. I also made a trip to Artist & Craftsman Supply over the weekend and acquired a set of Sakura Moonlight Gelly Roll pens, so I was dying to try them out. Unfortunately, the fluorescent colors did not scan as bright as they look in person....oh well...

Last week, I didn't get #207 finished in time, but here it is now: Use My Tangle (UMT) Unbatz by Sandy Hunter. Got a little Narwal in there, and I don't know what the heck the other thing is. I actually used a string from TanglePatterns.com for this (#146) and it is a bit strange....lol...like me I guess.

Only one new card to show off...had to wait till today so the birthday didn't get spoiled.

That's all for today!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Tools of the Trade...Trading Tools?

Ok...this weeks Diva Challenge (#206) asked us to use something you don't normally use, or expand our horizons. I had it all planned out...the huge piece of beautiful Rosapina has been on my work table for weeks, I have it all planned out in my head. I started it...and it is now cut up into smaller tiles, as it really didn't work out the way I wanted it. (tried rubber-stamping words...not a good idea while you are on a conference call...)

So...I reverted to something else I figured as a semi-failed attempt a while back. I watercolored a few errant pieces of water color paper with the salt process and some cool Niji pearlescent watercolors, and when they were done, I didn't know what to do with them. They were so pretty, they intimidated me. So, I whipped out the least intimidating one (purple and grey) and the associated Tombows, and tangled away. I just got my Tombow markers recently, and haven't really used them much, and I have never really shaded with color, so this was a grand experiment.

I did mount it on a black tile, I thought it looked nicer.

Squeaking in under the wire...and back to homework.

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Year of the Goat! or Sheep? Happy Lunar New Year!

Slow week, not a lot to report...

Diva #205 gave us the prompt of Chinese New Year (Year of the Goat.) So...I found a lot of sheep that looked like goats...and goats that looked like sheep. Tried to keep a it a bit simple I guess, Found a cool vector graphic of the sheep and used it as my focal (traced, kinda, drawn, kinda) and thought it needed the red and gold colors I always see in pretty Chinese things.

Happy New Year!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

My Funny ...Valentangle?

And here I am, in the throes of my final semester of undergrad...buried in the hoopla that is internships and homework...

I am squeaking last weeks Diva (#204) in right under the wire. Since today is Family Day in Canada, she isn't posting this week's until tomorrow!

So #204 is a Valentangle. I thought I might like to try out my new Tombow markers, and I sure do like them. (ad before anyone goes praising my ability to make a Celtic knot...that is a Zencil and you can get the set for either 3.5 inch tiles or Zendalas, or even Bijou from Jenny Perruzzi at her etsy.com shop.) I am a little sad that the glitter pen I used in the rings didn't show up on the scan, but that's life. It's really pretty in person.

And for our Diva Throwback, I present to you, #195, which was Old Into New. I deconstructed Fengle to make this ring for my Trim-a-Rim. Derwent Inktense pencils and that Wink of Stella Glitter Brush (I'm on a glitter bender again...)

And another Diva Throwback (a bit more recent one!) #203 - UMT (Use My Tangle) Athitzi by Seven. I did this one on a Bijou tile, and turned it into the Valentine card my man!

I was really on a roll with cards this week, its my big birthday season, so here are the one's I did for my sister soldier, Gloria.

And the one I dd for Mom...

I would like to thank my pal Betsy (you know who you are) for giving me the card making bug...

That's all I have time for tonight. 

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Diva #202: Chebucto vs. Copada

Oh man...was this one a real challenge for me!

This week, our darling Diva asked us to do a DuoTangle of Chebucto and Copada by Margaret Bremner. Now, for those that know me, I'm not squeamish, and I don't practice, I just do. I have to say this one was a major trial for me (resulting in a couple of ripped up tiles in the trash!) I love Margaret, but I was calling her all kinds of names...and kinda lost my Zen. But on a last resort, I pulled out one of my old "practice tiles" and I think I came up with something workable. I was really getting back into it in the end. (Thankfully, that silver pen is opaque and covers up a bunch of things!)

So to make this week a real challenge, here is a throwback Diva from when I was being a bit of a slacker. This one was #194, entitled "Embrace the Yuck." The prompt was to go outside your comfort zone and do a tangle with your non-dominant hand. I'm right handed. I may as well only have one arm, because my left does not do what I want it to do. I procrastinated on this one really bad for a while, because it made me very uncomfortable. I did part of it with my left hand, and part of it with my glasses off (which just made my eyes water and gave me a headache...)

ok...and now back to homework!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Diva #201 - "Moebius Syndrome Awareness Day 2015"

This week, I learned a lot about a lot of things, and it's only Monday!

Laura Harms, The Diva, has a couple of really cute kids. The youngest, Artoo, has a neurological disorder called Moebius Syndrome. This coming Saturday is Moebius Syndrome Awareness Day, so she her prompt for this week's Diva Challenge was to use the Moebius Syndrome logo in our work. So...I printed it out...made it the right size for my 6 x 6 paper, cut it out, grabbed a piece of purple paper (the color they use for the Moebius Syndrome stuff) and did a little paper treatment. Paper curled with the spray...ack...I ironed it...it flattened.

Then I went to tangle on it. Alcohol ink Perfect Pearls Mist and Micon pens do not work well together. I did most of this in White Gelly Roll, but I wanted some black to accent it. Permawriter...no...IdentiPen...no joy...Black Gelly...worked for a minute...Black Gelly Glaze...worked, but boy was it inky! Interesting, to say the least.

So...this post will get a little weird. I thought I would collect up some of the Diva Challenges as I finish the one ones I am behind, and just post them all on one page so I can sort them out. I will do this from time to time!

The first here is Diva #199, which is a UMT (Use My Tangle) of Hitch by HeidiSue. On a Black Tile, with metallic Gelly Roll pen. Not completely happy with the red, it looks more pink on the black, and not quite as dramatic as I would have like.

And also, #197, which used the new Zentangle pattern Akuras. I feel like I cheated on this a bit, because I am going A-Z on Official tangle patterns in my Tangle-A-Day 2015 calendar, and it so happens I am catching up on that too.

And last, but not least...I saw this on Pinterest, so I had to have it for my work space.

I have been moving stuff from space to space to work, sometimes at the tall drafting table, sometimes at my desk with my computer, and sometimes at the sewing table (since I have the machine put up for now...long story...school is involved.) I set up my most used Zentangle materials in the top rack, including stuff I am currently working on.

So now I can just wheel it around, and work where I want.

One more day of freedom, then back to school...

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Viva La Diva 200!

I'm BAAAACCCCCKKKK!

Did you miss me?

This is my 5th and final week of my school break. Boo! OK....so maybe not so boo, as this is my LAST SEMESTER. That's right! I graduate in May!

Report card from the Fall semester - 6 classes, 6 A's! So while I was absent from the online Zentangle world, I did very well at putting my nose to the grindstone and getting a lot done.

We spent a lot of the holiday break traveling. We went to Florida for my sister-in-law Marie's celebration of life (cancer sucks) and we went skiing/snowboarding before Christmas (you truly cannot teach this old dog new tricks, I am going to stick to skiing after taking a whole day of snowboard lessons.)

Last week, we went to Texas to see the kids (and my cutie patootie grandson.)

So, in my last and final week of distressing, I could not help but be a part of The Diva's 200th challenge. The prompt: use your mac 'n cheese tangle as a mono tangle, take it all the way off the paper, and include the "200" on it. I had worked on Zendala tiles earlier in the week (pics below too) so I decided to go with the Renaissance Tan Zendala and my favorite tangle, Fengle.

This one took me a little while longer than usual, but I am surely pleased with the results.

And you may ask, why Fengle? Well, long before I even knew what Zentangle was, I got this tattoo...

And at the time, the only thing it stood for was my Arizona way of life, ala Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers (aka The Refreshments.) But now, I add its meaning of reminding me every day the Zen of my tangled life.

Oh, and before I forget, had a great get together with my Zentangle pals in San Diego this week. Shout out to Janet Masey (Tiki Tangles) for hosting, and Suzanne Wilka (Tinkered Art) for arranging to lead us through this ultra cool Zendala Tile box by Dorian Eng (Little Bit of Heart).

And...I think we are caught up for now. I have a lot of tangling to do to get caught back up with all the Diva Challenges I missed, so I set a goal to be caught up by the end of January, and then I am going to go back and start at #1 (I joined in at #161) and proceed throughout the year.

I should have some classes listed pretty soon, but I need to find a venue, and see what my school load is going to be like first.

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Playing Catch Up!

Ok...the rush of finals is over, and I am off school until January 24th.  Grade have not yet been reported, but so far I know of 5 of my 6 classes I got A's.

It is a Good News/Bad News situation. Good News is the Spring is my last semester; I graduate in May. Bad News is I have class 4 days a week (including my precious Quilts of Valor Fridays.)

I realize I have been lax in posting, and lax in my participation in the Diva Challenges, so I am making to rectify that. I left off with #193, which was Veterans Day, and the challenge was THX (Trio, Huggins, and XYP.)  Worked it on a watercolor post card, with Micron and Derwent Metallic watercolor pencil. I went over the gold watercolor with a gold UM-153 from Signo, because it seemed like it needed it.

I am setting a goal of being completely caught up before school starts again, so I need to get crackin! I started doing the Diva challenge at #160, so I think this year I will go back and start at #1...thought that would be lofty goal and give me a prompt when I need one.

Ciao for now. Happy New Year!

I am Alive...Diva #192: Use My Tangle - Seton

First off, I am alive. I know I've said repeatedly that I have 6 classes (I am attending) this semester, and subsequently, being that I will graduate in May, they have gotten increasingly difficult on the homework scale.

I have been trying to fit in some tangle time (mostly in class) and trying to keep up with at least a few challenges (mostly Diva and Square One on Facebook.)

So this week's Diva Challenge was with guest CZT Cris Letourneau, with a Use My Tangle (UMT) for her tangle, Seton. If you haven't checked out her book (with Sonya Yencer, CZT) called Pattern Play, I highly recommend it.

Seton is a grid pattern, that rather reminds me of a quilt, so I had a little fun with it.

And this week, on Square One, the focus was on Punzel. I have never done this one before, but I think I really like it.

One of my classes this semester is on Stress Management (I am majoring in Kinesiology) and we had to split into groups and do a review of literature and demonstrations of different techniques being used in Stress Management. My group was lucky enough to grab Art Therapy for our topic, and I was able to do a Zentangle demo with the class (interactive, of course.) I pre-string tiles for larger groups, to cut out some time (we only had 20 minutes) and found after this trial of the demo, I need to re-do one of my strings...it looks too much like boobs...but he did a really nice job on it...(sorry if this offends anyone....Tyler is an established artist already, and this was his first tile...so I was rather impressed.)

Anyway...back to homework!

Catching Up on Mid Terms...And Slipping in a Few Divas!

I know....excuses excuses!

But, this has been a really trying past 2 weeks. Last Tuesday, we lost our dear Marie (sister-in-law)  to cancer. It derailed me a little, and I actually forgot a lot of things for the week. I ran on school only autopilot. It was difficult for Tuna, but he, his mother, and his other siblings were there with her. My final take on this....cancer sucks.

And...in the midst of this I am having mid terms at school. Studying for my last 2 tests now. Whew...semester is half over.

I did so the Blind String last week (#187) but I gave it to someone that admired it in class, so I forgot to post it...so here that is. Black tile with all the metallic Gelly Rolls I could grab at the moment.

And on to #188...This one I really lamented over. To have a 12 year old who is so aware of the world and the inequities in it, is really amazing. So it is to him, and all my friends and family in the LBGTQA community that I dedicate this tile (if you don't recognize that last bit, it's Queer and Ally, and I also added a C tangle to my tile for myself!)  I wish the scan would show how sparkly it is!

And this is me....back to studying!

Stay Crazy My Friends,

CharKat

Diva #186: Leaves of Fall

How fortunate this coincided with my Sunday get together at Susan Bowden's for the San Diego-Temecula Zentangle Group! (Thanks Janet Masey for coordinating me to be there and I love how Susan added me - Temecula - makes me feel rather special!)  Susan's aunt was visiting from Canada, so she had prepared some lovely white tiles in fall-ish watercolor pencil with the maple leaf traced on it.

I did mine in sepia Micron with brown artist lead shading and a little Glitter Pen and Copper Gelly Roll.

To see a mosaic of everyone's tiles, click here!

I also worked up this cute ornament from Michaels. Sprayed with a few coats of low-odor matte acrylic first, then I tangled on it with Permawriter II pen and painted the top in silver acrylic ink. Sealed it again with a nice coat of matte acrylic. I have a few more to do to...later maybe....

For now, back to writing about cocaine...

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Char

Diva #185: Duo Tangle Phicops vs. Diva Dance...who won?

We are having a heat wave (and I don't feel very tropical!)

It is OMG hot in Southern California right now. So what better to do than stay inside and tangle...opps...I meant do homework!

So this week, our lovely Laura the Diva had us do a duo tangle with her tangles Phicops and Diva Dance, in celebration of her and B-rads anniversary. They are a lovely couple...and this pair of tangles are a lovely couple as well. This was a first time for Phicops for me...I did find it a little challenging at first.

Renaissance Tan tile, with sepia micron, brown artist lead, and white Gelly Roll pen.

I am trying to stay up with getting at least a few tiles a week done. I spent all last week prepping my demos for my first live demonstration yesterday (it was fabulous) so I didn't really have time to get to last weeks Tickled to Tangle tile, but I did get this weeks done today as well. The tangles are Girlande, Girdy, and my almost oops variation of Gingham.

Black micron, graphite, Inktense Pencils, and a Niji brush.

ok...off to read stress management homework...write papers...and dream of ebola...ack!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Diva #184: ING-ing Around in Circles

Thank you Diva for giving me an excuse to not do some homework today!

I was in the CZT class (14) where ING was introduced, and I have been tearING up a log of my tanglING ever since. I decided to take a slightly different approach this time, and made my zig zag curvy, and spiraled it out. Of course I am still on my "black on tan" period, so that played into it as well. And that little Auraknot in the middle? it just  happened. I think its rather plain, but bold, it has a beat, and I can dance to it.

As part of my Stress Management class this semester, I am supposed to be journaling. I posted the beginnings of my art journal (covers) previously, and have now tackled the inside front cover. Not to give away too much, but the first actual page is a piece of mono print in greens, that kind of reminded me of the Emerald City, so I went with a bit of a Wizard of Oz theme here. I am still learning some painting techniques, and I sure wish I had more time to play with it. (chant with me...9 more months...9 more months...)

And...lastly...I am giving my first demo as a CZT this week. So anyone in San Diego area that wants to drop by, I will be at the Sew Hut on Balboa from 2 until about 5 ish. I think my demo is actually at 3, but since I am driving down there, I thought I would stay a while and try to miss traffic coming back. We are gearing up to possibly teach some free motion quilting with Zentangle...and I am a little excited!

ok...back to Epidemiology...fun fun!

Stay Crazy My Friends!
Char