We Are On The Tangled Map!

We are literally on the map - my new "It's a String Thing Map".

Let me explain...

Some time early last year, our good friend Mark suggested that I pin on a world map where tiles are sent in from for "It's a String Thing" (IAST).

I immediately loved the idea.  I cherish our community here and the fabulous tiles sent in each week. I delight in the fact that it is truly world wide.  We come from far different worlds and share a common passion for tangling.  How remarkable would it be to see it displayed on a map!

At the time though, many other ideas needed my attention.

As the months passed, I would occasionally search the internet for a map.  Several times I even added one in an online shopping cart, but never followed through with the order.

The idea continued to hover on my 'To Do' list as a few more months passed.  I gave just enough attention to it to keep it from slipping away.  My search for just the right map kept turning up empty and I decided to draw my own.

I bought a black framed cork board - and even that sat in the closet off my studio room for a few more weeks.

Finally, just this week, my schedule cleared enough to put the project into production.

Here is the saga of the creation of the piece.  I hope you enjoy it and who knows, it just may inspire you to make a similar one...

I began by cutting a piece of paper that covered the cork center of the frame - 14" x 20".  With a line art map image from the internet for reference, I penciled the world outline and then traced it over with an 08 Micron.

Next, with an 05 Micron, I added Printemps by Maria Thomas around the shapes.  My daughter Isabella suggested that I use a "wave looking" tangle, and I filled in the remaining areas with large curves of  Sandswirl by Karry Heun.

This is what it looked like at this point~

Shading worked wonders for the tangles.  For contrast, here is the map partially shaded:

And here it is with the shading finished ~

My initial idea was to use little flags on large pins to mark each contributor's name. To date, that number is well over 300 - too many to fit into a small space - so the idea morphed into using the flagged pins to designate the countries of origin.

My husband, Lou, suggested that I have the map scanned and copied in case I wanted to use it for other projects.  I took it to our local Staples and was delighted to pay just under four dollars to have it scanned and a few prints made.  Using one of the copies enabled me to pin the flags and try other little details before deciding what to do with the original.

I used a thin red tape to make the flags.  Using a Sakura Identi-Pen, I wrote each country's name twice, folded the tape over a pin, and then trimmed the end in a 'v' shape.

A bit disappointed that the map was too small to personalize the pins, I penned IAST tangler's names in the waves of Sandswirl with an 01 Micron.

It was coming together nicely ~

Once the large country pins were set, I added small red tipped pins to designate approximate locations of where tiles were sent from.  In the early years of IAST, I did not always know where the tiles originated, so some contributors' names are included but not their pins.

And (ta-da!) here is the final - the ongoing, I should say - project, hanging on my wall ~

Living art, we could call it, as I will continue to add names and pins as more tanglers join our wonderfully creative community here.

The visual is remarkable because it shows at a glance that five (five!) continents and twenty-six countries are represented, as well as where IAST tanglers are located.

If you have been following along, observing, thinking of sending in a tile - please do!  I'll add you to the tangled map with a very warm welcome.

Enjoy!

It's a Wonderful Wednesday

Six Figures and Countless Thanks

This past weekend, my blog view count reached the six figure mark.  My initial reaction was to let it pass quietly, but that would be like putting a lid on a boiling pot - eventually it would pop off and spill over!

That is how I feel - bubbling up inside with excitement and enthusiasm and ready for even more tangle happiness in the next 100,000.

I am thankful for you, "dear hearts and gentle souls" (to quote a letter I read recently), for your support, your kind words, your participation in "It's a String Thing", and for sharing a love for all things tangled.

It means a great deal to me that you stop by and visit, read, learn, and teach (me and others) with your work.  Most of all, you multiply the joy of tangling and I am very grateful.

100,000 Page View Tile, Adele Bruno,CZT

A special shout out to Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas for the opportunity to be part of the Zentangle® world, to Genevieve Crabe for her fabulous work at TangleHarmony, and to Linda Farmer at TanglePatterns.  Thank you all for your support.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

ZIA Home Sweet ZIA Home

Last Friday's post featured Susan Perego and her volumes of tangles.  (Click here to read if you missed it.)

Today I have the honor of showing the work of another student who incorporated Zentangle® into the beautiful art of miniatures that she lovingly creates.

This is Florida artist Madeleine Mackenzie's one-of-a-kind nicho (art box).  She writes, "It is filled with vintage and found objects."  She hand painted it and added tangled touches.

Thank you, Madeleine, for sharing your charming, colorful, and creatively tangled ZIA curio!

Letters for CBS News Sunday Morning

It's not too late to join in the fun!

If you keep up with the official Zentangle® website, you know that two CZT's - Linda Cobb and Linda Halvorsen - have organized a letter writing campaign to the CBS Sunday Morning News.  Their goal is to bring Zentangle to the station's attention and hopefully have it turn into a story on the show - very exciting! 

You can read all of the details here in the Zentangle newsletter. 

While the letters were to be postmarked on April 1, it is not too late to join the party.  Can you imagine the impact a steady stream of letters over the next few weeks would have?

If you need some inspiration click here to see and read some of the letters that Rick and Maria have posted on the Zentangle blog.  One is more fabulously ornate than the next.  Imagine being on the receiving end of those beautiful mailings!

Pictured below are the inside flaps of my card.  I used a tri-fold enclosure and decorated each side...

I encourage you to read the suggestions in the newsletter and send in your own note and artwork.  All of the information, including the mailing address is listed there - click here for the link.

This is a very exciting opportunity - take time to support Rick and Maria and Zentangle - tangle a note and join in the fun!

Wednesday's Word - STRINGS - and a bit o' Zentangle History

There are a multitude of reasons that I am personally drawn (pun intended) to the concept of strings in the practice of the Zentangle® art form.

The Book of Zentangle is available @ www.zentangle.com 

In their fascinating book about the origins of Zentangle - The Book of Zentangle® - co-founders Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas explain strings this way:

A string is a line or lines that divide a marking surface into sections to be filled with tangles.(pg. 102)

Rick tells the story of making rock candy with his grandmother.  In the process they dipped strings into a sugary water mixture and crystals formed and grew on the strings.  He parallels that phenomena with tangles growing out from strings when drawn on a tile.

It's a treasure of a story and a beautiful origin for such a simple yet elegant concept in the practice of Zentangle.

As an early student of the method, I found strings more than a bit daunting.  To draw or choose a string and then face tangling in the defined spaces was intimidating.  All hesitation and self-doubt had to be put aside.  It was a swan dive into the unknown, a delving into the process, a commitment, a definitive move.

For me, it was reminiscent of when I've climbed to the platform of a ten meter board, or stood on the starting line of a long distance race, been admitted to the hospital in labor, or forced that first step down the aisle in times of great joy and of great sorrow...if you will, a giving over of one's self.

But - much like the way I describe to people what it is to have Faith - it is in the letting go, the trusting of the process, the confidence that you have what it takes to see to the other side, the belief that you have the talent and the ability to accomplish great things and have something beautiful to show for it, that we find joy...

A metaphor for life - and all in this little thing we call a string.

Choosing strings as a theme for the weekly challenges was very purposeful.  It is my hope that you feel comparable joy as you tangle and experience both the 'elegance of limitations' and the world of possibilities.

Happy tangling to you!

Zentangle Spoken Here

Last weekend I had the privilege of visiting my son John, his girlfriend, and their friends in Greenville, South Carolina.   Before leaving for my adventure, I searched the CZT page on Zentangle.com and found a fellow CZT in that 'neck of the woods'.



 

To my delight, she had a beautiful bead shop right in the middle of town.  Meet Heidi Woody, CZT:

 

Heidi's shop, The Beaded Frog, is a bright and inviting space decorated in cheery shades of purple and green.  The back classroom boasts a beautiful wall mural by Heidi's son, just one of the many delightful details in the store.   Along with Heidi's penchant for pretty frogs, the shop overflows with beads and all things bead related.  

Tucked in among the frogs and the beads, is a space where Heidi sells her Zentangle® related things.  As we visited, she pointed out the framed "Zentangle Spoken Here" pictured on the purple wall in the photo above. 

As it turns out - that sign is the original art work of Maria Thomas.  Heidi explained that she originally coined the phrase and Maria sent the painting as a thank you.  How cool is that?!

And now, as Paul Harvey would say, you know the rest of the story!

When I teach a class, I hang a printed copy of that sign on the gallery door - now I know who to thank for the inspiration. 

If you ever find yourself on Main Street in Greenville, South Carolina, stop in and see Heidi at The Beaded Frog.

Thank you, Heidi!