Today is THE day! The BIRTH of Ready, Set, GOrilla! written by Melissa Stoller, illustrated by (ME!) Sandy Steen Bartholomew, and published by Spork/Clear Fork Publishing.
I am SO excited, but I don't know what to do with my energy - just wandering around the Studio thinking how hungry I am and I need a Book Party and cake... maybe some balloons?
Melissa and I celebrated with Callie, our publisher, on Facebook Live - watch our video!
And we have already started to come up with more ideas for the characters and we need STUFFIES! Which characters would you want as stuffed animals?
Don't forget that you can get tattoos of them at www. Bumblebat.com
Yes - I'm all over the place. Sorry.
SO - a PARTY...
We'll be having a little Book Party celebration on December 1st, from 11am-Noon, at the Velvet Moose in Warner, NH. Kids are welcome - there will be coloring pages, tattoos, snacks. But I'd also LOVE to see you big people too. This is my way of celebrating a success (Hey! I have a new published book!) so please come and celebrate with me.
If you can't make it to the party, the books will also be available at the Pop-Up Holiday Shop on December 8th at the Simonds Elementary School (also in Warner, NH).
And you can order the book on Amazon and from other booksellers.
WHAT'S THE BUZZ?
BEEZ Ink Studio, Bumblebat Books, Sandy Steen Bartholomew
Showing posts with label Video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Video. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Friday, August 24, 2018
Ready, Set... Interview!
I'm the featured Illustrator today in Mira Reisberg's "Craft & Business of Illustrating Children's Books" course! It's a closed group on Facebook and I can't send you to the page, so I made a screenshot of Mira's introduction of me. It made me blush. And giggle "Sandy lives somewhere beautiful with kids and barns." Yup, that's New England... where the leaves are already changing color and I haven't been to the beach yet.
I've been answering questions on the page all day while also cleaning out The BeeHive and hosting an impromptu yard sale in the Studio! I'd be talking to someone about how to use something I had for sale, and my back pocket and laptop would be binging with Facebook notifications! It was surreal.
My plan had been to run into Concord for a few hours, sell a few things people had asked to pick up, throw some more things into boxes, pack them into the car, come home and do the Facebook thing...
I didn't get home until after 9:30pm! I am so tired. I should just save time and have that tattooed on my forehead: "I'm Tired"
Rambling.
Right. Here is the interview that I had with Mira when I finished the Ready, Set, GOrilla! book and she featured in her online class today:
Ready, Set, GOrilla! should be out around November 13th.
You can Pre-order the book directly from Clear Fork Publishing!
Please please encourage your libraries and local bookstores to pre-order - here's the link to share: https://www.clearforkpublishing.com/store/p127/ReadySetGOrilla
You'll also be able to pre-order on Amazon.
There's another short video on YouTube which has a glimpse of a book I wrote and I'm illustrating - and a testimonial for the Children's Book Academy classes. (Here: https://youtu.be/LT_MzOF7XUI )
I've been answering questions on the page all day while also cleaning out The BeeHive and hosting an impromptu yard sale in the Studio! I'd be talking to someone about how to use something I had for sale, and my back pocket and laptop would be binging with Facebook notifications! It was surreal.
My plan had been to run into Concord for a few hours, sell a few things people had asked to pick up, throw some more things into boxes, pack them into the car, come home and do the Facebook thing...
I didn't get home until after 9:30pm! I am so tired. I should just save time and have that tattooed on my forehead: "I'm Tired"
Rambling.
Right. Here is the interview that I had with Mira when I finished the Ready, Set, GOrilla! book and she featured in her online class today:
Ready, Set, GOrilla! should be out around November 13th.
You can Pre-order the book directly from Clear Fork Publishing!
Please please encourage your libraries and local bookstores to pre-order - here's the link to share: https://www.clearforkpublishing.com/store/p127/ReadySetGOrilla
You'll also be able to pre-order on Amazon.
There's another short video on YouTube which has a glimpse of a book I wrote and I'm illustrating - and a testimonial for the Children's Book Academy classes. (Here: https://youtu.be/LT_MzOF7XUI )
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Tangle of the Week - Nebel (take 2)
I recently received this email:
Hi Sandy,
I have the yoga for your brain tangle cards. Right now I'm trying to do "Nebel" and having a hard time with the beginning steps. I was wondering if you could do more of a step out for me. I just can't seem to get it right.
I'd appreciate it and enjoy reading all your newsletters.
Sincerely,
Sylvia
I forwarded the request to my Minion, Bonnie, and she said she couldn't do that one either. That made me think that there might be quite a few people who don't "get it."
OK - I actually needed an excuse to use my new video setup! Ian, my fabulous App guy, had sent me a very cool grippy-bendy-tripod and instructions on how to film myself drawing tangles really fast... all using just my iphone. (Thanks again Ian!) It would be much faster and easier than drawing and posting step-outs.
(Click here to watch this video on YouTube.)
I have found it easier to draw Nebel if you turn the tile as you work and start by drawing all the center lines, horizontally and vertically. It starts out looking like a slightly wonky Cadent!
Hope this video helps!
Hi Sandy,
I have the yoga for your brain tangle cards. Right now I'm trying to do "Nebel" and having a hard time with the beginning steps. I was wondering if you could do more of a step out for me. I just can't seem to get it right.
I'd appreciate it and enjoy reading all your newsletters.
Sincerely,
Sylvia
I forwarded the request to my Minion, Bonnie, and she said she couldn't do that one either. That made me think that there might be quite a few people who don't "get it."
OK - I actually needed an excuse to use my new video setup! Ian, my fabulous App guy, had sent me a very cool grippy-bendy-tripod and instructions on how to film myself drawing tangles really fast... all using just my iphone. (Thanks again Ian!) It would be much faster and easier than drawing and posting step-outs.
(Click here to watch this video on YouTube.)
I have found it easier to draw Nebel if you turn the tile as you work and start by drawing all the center lines, horizontally and vertically. It starts out looking like a slightly wonky Cadent!
Hope this video helps!
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Happy Easter!
I had a fabulous day with my mom and my kids - church, music, food, Legos... but my favorite part was my genius idea...
How do I get rid of the candy that the bunny left in the basket?! We ate a few Peeps - yum - but the kids and I can't really eat sugar.
I said "Let's bring the extra Peeps and candy to Gramma Magda!!"
"Yeah!!" everyone yelled.
Gramma Magda is at the graveyard - we usually only bring chocolate on her birthday - but I figured she must be lonely since it has been such a long winter. And today was SOOOO beautiful I needed another excuse to get outside.
Lilah laid out all the Hershey's Kisses on the bench-grave and the black stone was so warm, the Kisses started melting. After we finished the mosaic of candy, in front of the new lilly we planted, Lilah did a finger painting in the chocolate. Ick. Of course, I was out of Wet-wipes back at the car.
We had a lot of fun and no sugar crash!
[Looking at the video - it's interesting to see how the kids naturally made patterns on the ground - and one was a kind of mandala.]
How do I get rid of the candy that the bunny left in the basket?! We ate a few Peeps - yum - but the kids and I can't really eat sugar.
I said "Let's bring the extra Peeps and candy to Gramma Magda!!"
"Yeah!!" everyone yelled.
Gramma Magda is at the graveyard - we usually only bring chocolate on her birthday - but I figured she must be lonely since it has been such a long winter. And today was SOOOO beautiful I needed another excuse to get outside.
Lilah laid out all the Hershey's Kisses on the bench-grave and the black stone was so warm, the Kisses started melting. After we finished the mosaic of candy, in front of the new lilly we planted, Lilah did a finger painting in the chocolate. Ick. Of course, I was out of Wet-wipes back at the car.
We had a lot of fun and no sugar crash!
[Looking at the video - it's interesting to see how the kids naturally made patterns on the ground - and one was a kind of mandala.]
Monday, February 17, 2014
Rubber Band Bracelets... Behind-the-Scenes
This post was a long time in the making. It seemed like such an easy, great idea...
My kid, Lilah, came home from school one day and insisted on teaching me how to make a rubber band bracelet using tiny-tiny elastics (like the ones I remember from wearing braces) and two of my fingers. I had seen some stuff about Rainbow Looms and all that online and thought it was kind of silly. But after getting the hang of it, with Lilah's instruction, I thought "hey, this is kind of cool!" We made little bracelets for everyone at Thanksgiving too.
So when I saw that my publisher, Design Originals, had come out with a book of fancy loom patterns, I asked if I could have a few copies to play with, and give away. They now have a number of other Rubber Band Jewelry books out including one with designs for adults! I just ordered that one as I am just a little addicted... I will do a second post with pics of my favorite bracelet that I made.
I gave one of the books to Mikayla, (her mom works at The Foothills Restaurant)... she had a very impressive "studio" set up on the lunch counter.
She had bracelets all over her arms, and the counter, and I admired her very clever, portable, organization system. I just LOVED the idea of having a little cubby for each color! If you have purchased rubber bands for this craft, you will note that most come in bags with lots of colors mixed together. I found I spent most of my crafting time with Lilah, just picking apart the different colors to find what we needed. Separate cubbies! Eeeeee!
First thing I did when I got back to the studio was search for my own storage. I found this one on Amazon (Stanley 014725 25-Removable Compartment Professional Organizer
). It takes it one step better with removable cubbies! We can pull out the bins with just the colors we need.
And the cubbies lock into place when the cover is closed.
But there is more to making bracelets than just having perfect storage!
Lilah got to work studying the book and all the gorgeous designs for bracelets, hair accessories, etc. She was especially excited to see that the book was written by a kid - but then overwhelmed because she, of course, chose one of the hardest designs in the book! To start with. It made my eyes cross, so we looked on YouTube to see if we could find a video. We could. We eventually gave up and went back to the beginning of the book to try some easier designs!
BUT - again, Lilah was really impressed that the best rubber band bracelet videos - were created by kids!
She was already in the habit of snitching my iPhone so she could film her stories and her dolls talking to each other... so I should not have been surprised when I discovered some very large video files when I downloaded my pics.
I cleaned them up a bit - removed the long stretches where she is off camera, the nose rubbing and scratching, odd bits of songs - well, watch it if you are in the mood for some silly, cute kid stuff...
If you can't see it here, this is the YouTube link.
Keep in mind, she did that on her own - we didn't even know she was filming.
She wanted it to look more professional and kept asking to use my stuff to prop the camera, etc. So I suggested she try it in my studio where it is nice and bright, use my tripod so the camera wouldn't shake... and brush her hair, cut her nails... hee hee. But still, she did this on her own. I only handed her a little "C" hook. (That's actually one of my favorite parts).
And this video will actually teach you how to make a bracelet!
Here is the YouTube Link.
It took quite a while to go through all the videos she made and put them together! There were some very funny things that I took out... like one part where she gets so frustrated with the little hooks, that she gives up and throws it! I say it's "funny" because I did the same thing the first time I tried to do the hooks! That's why having a book with tips and tricks and variations is so wonderful. Some people might love the loom - Lilah and I hate it. Some might like using their fingers, some might prefer using crochet hooks. It's nice to have options!
The next time Suzanne McNeill asks me to do a video, I think I will refer her to Lilah!
Check out the next post to see the bracelet that I made using Lilah's instructions.
My kid, Lilah, came home from school one day and insisted on teaching me how to make a rubber band bracelet using tiny-tiny elastics (like the ones I remember from wearing braces) and two of my fingers. I had seen some stuff about Rainbow Looms and all that online and thought it was kind of silly. But after getting the hang of it, with Lilah's instruction, I thought "hey, this is kind of cool!" We made little bracelets for everyone at Thanksgiving too.
So when I saw that my publisher, Design Originals, had come out with a book of fancy loom patterns, I asked if I could have a few copies to play with, and give away. They now have a number of other Rubber Band Jewelry books out including one with designs for adults! I just ordered that one as I am just a little addicted... I will do a second post with pics of my favorite bracelet that I made.
I gave one of the books to Mikayla, (her mom works at The Foothills Restaurant)... she had a very impressive "studio" set up on the lunch counter.
 |
| Mikayla - rubber band bracelet diva! |
First thing I did when I got back to the studio was search for my own storage. I found this one on Amazon (Stanley 014725 25-Removable Compartment Professional Organizer
). It takes it one step better with removable cubbies! We can pull out the bins with just the colors we need.And the cubbies lock into place when the cover is closed.
But there is more to making bracelets than just having perfect storage!
Lilah got to work studying the book and all the gorgeous designs for bracelets, hair accessories, etc. She was especially excited to see that the book was written by a kid - but then overwhelmed because she, of course, chose one of the hardest designs in the book! To start with. It made my eyes cross, so we looked on YouTube to see if we could find a video. We could. We eventually gave up and went back to the beginning of the book to try some easier designs!
BUT - again, Lilah was really impressed that the best rubber band bracelet videos - were created by kids!
She was already in the habit of snitching my iPhone so she could film her stories and her dolls talking to each other... so I should not have been surprised when I discovered some very large video files when I downloaded my pics.
I cleaned them up a bit - removed the long stretches where she is off camera, the nose rubbing and scratching, odd bits of songs - well, watch it if you are in the mood for some silly, cute kid stuff...
If you can't see it here, this is the YouTube link.
Keep in mind, she did that on her own - we didn't even know she was filming.
She wanted it to look more professional and kept asking to use my stuff to prop the camera, etc. So I suggested she try it in my studio where it is nice and bright, use my tripod so the camera wouldn't shake... and brush her hair, cut her nails... hee hee. But still, she did this on her own. I only handed her a little "C" hook. (That's actually one of my favorite parts).
And this video will actually teach you how to make a bracelet!
It took quite a while to go through all the videos she made and put them together! There were some very funny things that I took out... like one part where she gets so frustrated with the little hooks, that she gives up and throws it! I say it's "funny" because I did the same thing the first time I tried to do the hooks! That's why having a book with tips and tricks and variations is so wonderful. Some people might love the loom - Lilah and I hate it. Some might like using their fingers, some might prefer using crochet hooks. It's nice to have options!
The next time Suzanne McNeill asks me to do a video, I think I will refer her to Lilah!
Check out the next post to see the bracelet that I made using Lilah's instructions.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Tangle Library App - Now 50% Meatier!
The little glitches in the IAP have been fixed and there is an update available if you have already downloaded Tangle Library and the first in-app-purchase tangle pack - Totally Tangled.
And even better news! The second in-app-purchase tangle pack - Kidz edition - is available now as well. Don't be fooled by the name, this pack is not just for kids!
You need to purchase Tangle Library if you don't already own it. You can get it in the Apple App Store - just do a search for "Tangle Library".
Once it is installed on your device, you can purchase the second and third packs from within the App.
Ian made this very useful little video to walk you through the process. It is also posted on the Tangle Library Facebook Page, in case you can't see it here.
Once you have purchased the additional packs of tangles, you don't have to buy them again on each of your devices. You do need to be sure that each device has been Updated, then, on the page where you would make the purchase in the app, click on the "Restore Previous Purchases" and the tangles should be added to your App.
Added Note: I didn't realize that each time a new major upgrade is posted, the previous reviews disappear from the iTunes App Store page! If you are enjoying Tangle Library or have an usual use for it, could you please post a review? It really does help! Thanks in advance. :-)
And even better news! The second in-app-purchase tangle pack - Kidz edition - is available now as well. Don't be fooled by the name, this pack is not just for kids!
You need to purchase Tangle Library if you don't already own it. You can get it in the Apple App Store - just do a search for "Tangle Library".
Once it is installed on your device, you can purchase the second and third packs from within the App.
Ian made this very useful little video to walk you through the process. It is also posted on the Tangle Library Facebook Page, in case you can't see it here.
Once you have purchased the additional packs of tangles, you don't have to buy them again on each of your devices. You do need to be sure that each device has been Updated, then, on the page where you would make the purchase in the app, click on the "Restore Previous Purchases" and the tangles should be added to your App.
Added Note: I didn't realize that each time a new major upgrade is posted, the previous reviews disappear from the iTunes App Store page! If you are enjoying Tangle Library or have an usual use for it, could you please post a review? It really does help! Thanks in advance. :-)
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
TANGLE LIBRARY - I have an APP!
I have an APP! I have an APP! I have an APP!
Yes! I AM EXCITED!!
Here's the official description-information-stuff:
TANGLE LIBRARY
This app will show you how to draw 40 gorgeous tangles by published author and Certified Zentangle Teacher™ Sandy Steen Bartholomew. These tangles are structured patterns that are easy to make and fantastic to look at. All you need is a pen, pencil, and paper to start making beautiful art!
Once you've created your masterpiece, use the built in photo tool to take a picture of your work and file it with the tangles you used.
Features:
- 40 tangles from Sandy's "Tangle Cards - Yoga For Your Brain" card pack. Each tangle includes a picture of the finished pattern and step by step visual instructions so you can make them yourself.
- Filter the tangles by shape, shade, and more to find the perfect tangle for your composition.
- Star your favorite tangles to easily find them again.
- Use the built in photo organizer to take pictures of your finished drawings. You can later review your photos organized by the tangle used.
- Also includes a quick start guide to tangling for those new to the process or who could use a refresher.
(Note: This app is not created by or affiliated with Zentangle, Inc.)
Tangle library is designed for iPhones and iPads.
Check it out!!
Demo video, Part 1:
(If you can't see the video, click here to see it on YouTube)
And then, Part 2:
(If you can't see the part 2 video, click here to see it on YouTube)
Want to SEE the face that belongs to the voice on the video? Ian McDowell is the genius behind the Tangle Library App. Visit the Tangle Library web site to learn more.
Got questions? Got opinions (for the developer)? There's a FAQ page for that!
And LIKE us on Facebook so you'll be kept up to date on additional tangles, or if it becomes available for Android phones (we'd need an Android Developer for that).
OH! You want to buy it for yourself!!?? You can get it here:
http://appstore.com/
It will be available for a limited time at a super-special introductory price... then it will go to it's regular price of $4.99 (still a bargain). Please remember that the App is sold through Apple on the iTunes store. If you have a problem purchasing it or downloading it, I can't help you. You will need to contact them.
If you have comments on the App itself, Ian would love to hear them.
We'd both love to hear praise!
And we appreciate any help in getting the news out to the rest of the world.
I hope you love it!
Yes! I AM EXCITED!!
Here's the official description-information-stuff:
TANGLE LIBRARY
This app will show you how to draw 40 gorgeous tangles by published author and Certified Zentangle Teacher™ Sandy Steen Bartholomew. These tangles are structured patterns that are easy to make and fantastic to look at. All you need is a pen, pencil, and paper to start making beautiful art!
Once you've created your masterpiece, use the built in photo tool to take a picture of your work and file it with the tangles you used.
Features:
- 40 tangles from Sandy's "Tangle Cards - Yoga For Your Brain" card pack. Each tangle includes a picture of the finished pattern and step by step visual instructions so you can make them yourself.
- Filter the tangles by shape, shade, and more to find the perfect tangle for your composition.
- Star your favorite tangles to easily find them again.
- Use the built in photo organizer to take pictures of your finished drawings. You can later review your photos organized by the tangle used.
- Also includes a quick start guide to tangling for those new to the process or who could use a refresher.
(Note: This app is not created by or affiliated with Zentangle, Inc.)
Tangle library is designed for iPhones and iPads.
Check it out!!
Demo video, Part 1:
(If you can't see the video, click here to see it on YouTube)
And then, Part 2:
(If you can't see the part 2 video, click here to see it on YouTube)
Want to SEE the face that belongs to the voice on the video? Ian McDowell is the genius behind the Tangle Library App. Visit the Tangle Library web site to learn more.
Got questions? Got opinions (for the developer)? There's a FAQ page for that!
And LIKE us on Facebook so you'll be kept up to date on additional tangles, or if it becomes available for Android phones (we'd need an Android Developer for that).
OH! You want to buy it for yourself!!?? You can get it here:
http://appstore.com/
It will be available for a limited time at a super-special introductory price... then it will go to it's regular price of $4.99 (still a bargain). Please remember that the App is sold through Apple on the iTunes store. If you have a problem purchasing it or downloading it, I can't help you. You will need to contact them.
If you have comments on the App itself, Ian would love to hear them.
We'd both love to hear praise!
And we appreciate any help in getting the news out to the rest of the world.
I hope you love it!
Friday, September 6, 2013
Obsessing About Tigers
I've been obsessing about this song:
This video is of Kate singing the song at TEDxSydney:
I love what she says about the "cannibal tiger"!
There are two versions of the song. The first is on Kate's album Nightflight. This version is sung in a style similar to most of her music - her voice is absolutely incredible and she does really interesting things with it. She does this neat thing like a screechy-tweety-something with her hand over her mouth - just before the "whisper" part.
The video for it is animated with cute characters and kind of hints at the idea of animal totems and inner beasts.
The second version is on her album Liberty Bell, (Fatty Gets a Stylist) and if you didn't know it was the same singer - you'd never guess. Her voice is so much deeper and edgier. The song feels so much harsher and... in your face.
I have quite a few of her albums and adore her music. It's so strange - the subject matter and her amazing opera-singer voice. But after I got the Liberty Bell album and heard the more disturbing version of Tiger Inside..., it started haunting me. When Lilah woke me at 2am last night - there was a tiger in my dreams. When she woke me at 7am, the song was playing in my head. And when I stood in the shower, it just kept going around and around...
There are two parts to this that started gelling in my head. The first, like the first version of the song, is the sadder, more normal interpretation. I have been stamping my feet and screaming "It's not fair" for quite a few years now. Various events (that I cannot write about here) that happened this summer (some good, some bad) left me feeling like I was spinning around in circles, gasping for breath, wondering what rabbit hole I had fallen down? "It's not fair!" morphed into "I don't understand?" When I felt I couldn't possibly get any more confused - and asked the Universe to at least give me a CLUE, if not a road map... I stumbled upon an online class that is basically like archaeology of your brain. Dig down, clean up the mess, build some new inner scaffolding, and do some redecorating.
Yes. I'm ready for a new story. A new interpretation.
I love the sweet, sad version of Tiger Inside... but I am so intrigued by the idea that this woman (Kate Miller-Heidke) is so confident in her abilities and her vision and her place (in this rabbit hole), that she can make up a new identity, a new band, a new voice, and just put it out there - and yet still be herself.
I want to know how that works.
The second part to the thoughts in my head - what is rattling around from the second version of Tiger Inside... (Rattling is definitely the word for it). Obsessing... I'm not sure I want to think of Obsessive Compulsive as a "Disorder" anymore. It's always been very useful to have labels on all my drawers. ;-) And isn't that an oxymoron anyway to put the word "disorder" together with two words associated with "total order"? My OC-ness has mostly been seen as problematic because it's thought-based. In other words, if someone gets upset at me, their words will spin around "obsessively" in my head inflicting pain over and over and over... until something pushes them out. Usually some other thought. I have no way of stopping or preventing this - and I guess that's what makes it a disorder.
It's not always "bad" stuff that goes around and around. My great ideas work the same way. I've tried to explain it as my head is full of ping pong balls. They are ricocheting at super sonic speeds and it can be dangerous in there! Makes it hard to focus, communicate, or sleep! But it's just the way it is.
The Tiger Inside Will Eat the Child, put some faces onto those ping pong balls. (There's an interesting image...) and the constant spinning of the song in my head, started to create some order to the images. If the Child is the inner child, innocence, playfulness, creativity - all that, and the Tiger is that other stuff... maybe the adult part, the real world, wisdom...? They are both inside us - constantly at battle. There is always the threat that we will destroy ourselves if we let our guard down for even one second. I love the animated interpretation of the song - when the girl finally wears herself out, gives in, and is practically drowning - the tiger actually saves her and carries her to safer ground. She's no longer under attack and no longer alone. How do we find a way to cooperate with ourselves?
Now the ping pong image is changing into more of a rainstick analogy. Have you seen those things? There are multiple levels inside with different size holes in each level and different sized tiny metal balls. As the rainstick tips over and the balls make their way through the levels, it sounds like a downpour. Very soothing. From the outside.
On the inside it is crazy chaos as the balls try to sort themselves out and rush downward. So, inside my head, in my crazy rabbit hole... the tiny balls are spinning around incredibly fast until they find the right hole to fall through. Some ideas, thoughts, balls... rush around for a very long time. The ones that find their way disappear from sight - and out of mind. These are the successes, problems dealt with, or things dismissed. Unsolved mysteries, what if's?, unresolved conflicts, things to do, overwhelming obligations, other people's problems... etc.... those keep spinning around and around...
Have I completely lost you? I've been told I am "scary". Apologies. I know - rainstick - tigers - tiny metal balls - what the heck is this girl on?!
Just one bit more, OK? If you follow the image of the rainstick - the ideas and successes fall through their correct holes and are - gone. So it looks like I am holding on to the bad stuff, right? And not celebrating my successes? And I have no self-worth? In the song, she says:
The minute you think you know you got it
Is the minute you know it's gone for good
As soon as I am successful, on any scale, or level - the "ball" drops out of sight. It goes through the right hole and disappears down the rainstick. Likewise, if I solve a problem, deal with a medical issue, resolve a conflict, it also drops through. Gone. And from the outside (to the rest of the world) it looks like a beautiful waterfall and sounds like a lovely rainstorm. Inside, it's just...empty. So maybe this upending of my world, (every few months!) - the feeling that I'm falling down the rabbit hole - is the Universe's way of tipping my rainstick over so it starts again. The awful stuff, yes, but also all the amazing stuff too.
Maybe the "tipping" is my Tiger? And what I need to do is find a way to co-exist with the imbalance, prepare for the next free-fall, and just give in to the illogic and magic of living in Wonderland?
The Tiger Inside Will Eat The Child
by Kate Miller-Heidke
Wade in the rising water
Walk in the sinking sand
Crawl through the shadow valley
To try to understand
I climbed a Jacob's Ladder
I fell down holy stairs
I found Siddartha's temple
No answer anywhere
The minute you think you know you got it
Is the minute you know it's gone for good
The second you pause his claws are on it
The tiger inside will eat the child
Oh, oh
I saw a hall of mirrors
I saw a burning wheel
I saw a rain of arrows
I lost the way to feel
I saw a million faces
Stare at a fallen star
I saw the last horizon
The end of time
The minute you think you know you got it
Is the minute you know it's gone for good
The second you pause his claws are on it
The tiger inside will eat the child
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Speaking in quiet whispers
You hear it everywhere
It leaves as you're arriving
Arrives and you're still there
You drink, the cup is empty
You pour, the cup is full
You'll never get to hold it
It's always holding you
It's always holding you
It's always...
The minute you think you know you got it
Is the minute you know it's gone for good
The second you pause his claws are on it
The tiger inside will eat the child
Oh, oh, oh, oh
This video is of Kate singing the song at TEDxSydney:
I love what she says about the "cannibal tiger"!
There are two versions of the song. The first is on Kate's album Nightflight. This version is sung in a style similar to most of her music - her voice is absolutely incredible and she does really interesting things with it. She does this neat thing like a screechy-tweety-something with her hand over her mouth - just before the "whisper" part.
The video for it is animated with cute characters and kind of hints at the idea of animal totems and inner beasts.
The second version is on her album Liberty Bell, (Fatty Gets a Stylist) and if you didn't know it was the same singer - you'd never guess. Her voice is so much deeper and edgier. The song feels so much harsher and... in your face.
I have quite a few of her albums and adore her music. It's so strange - the subject matter and her amazing opera-singer voice. But after I got the Liberty Bell album and heard the more disturbing version of Tiger Inside..., it started haunting me. When Lilah woke me at 2am last night - there was a tiger in my dreams. When she woke me at 7am, the song was playing in my head. And when I stood in the shower, it just kept going around and around...
There are two parts to this that started gelling in my head. The first, like the first version of the song, is the sadder, more normal interpretation. I have been stamping my feet and screaming "It's not fair" for quite a few years now. Various events (that I cannot write about here) that happened this summer (some good, some bad) left me feeling like I was spinning around in circles, gasping for breath, wondering what rabbit hole I had fallen down? "It's not fair!" morphed into "I don't understand?" When I felt I couldn't possibly get any more confused - and asked the Universe to at least give me a CLUE, if not a road map... I stumbled upon an online class that is basically like archaeology of your brain. Dig down, clean up the mess, build some new inner scaffolding, and do some redecorating.
Yes. I'm ready for a new story. A new interpretation.
I love the sweet, sad version of Tiger Inside... but I am so intrigued by the idea that this woman (Kate Miller-Heidke) is so confident in her abilities and her vision and her place (in this rabbit hole), that she can make up a new identity, a new band, a new voice, and just put it out there - and yet still be herself.
I want to know how that works.
The second part to the thoughts in my head - what is rattling around from the second version of Tiger Inside... (Rattling is definitely the word for it). Obsessing... I'm not sure I want to think of Obsessive Compulsive as a "Disorder" anymore. It's always been very useful to have labels on all my drawers. ;-) And isn't that an oxymoron anyway to put the word "disorder" together with two words associated with "total order"? My OC-ness has mostly been seen as problematic because it's thought-based. In other words, if someone gets upset at me, their words will spin around "obsessively" in my head inflicting pain over and over and over... until something pushes them out. Usually some other thought. I have no way of stopping or preventing this - and I guess that's what makes it a disorder.
It's not always "bad" stuff that goes around and around. My great ideas work the same way. I've tried to explain it as my head is full of ping pong balls. They are ricocheting at super sonic speeds and it can be dangerous in there! Makes it hard to focus, communicate, or sleep! But it's just the way it is.
The Tiger Inside Will Eat the Child, put some faces onto those ping pong balls. (There's an interesting image...) and the constant spinning of the song in my head, started to create some order to the images. If the Child is the inner child, innocence, playfulness, creativity - all that, and the Tiger is that other stuff... maybe the adult part, the real world, wisdom...? They are both inside us - constantly at battle. There is always the threat that we will destroy ourselves if we let our guard down for even one second. I love the animated interpretation of the song - when the girl finally wears herself out, gives in, and is practically drowning - the tiger actually saves her and carries her to safer ground. She's no longer under attack and no longer alone. How do we find a way to cooperate with ourselves?
Now the ping pong image is changing into more of a rainstick analogy. Have you seen those things? There are multiple levels inside with different size holes in each level and different sized tiny metal balls. As the rainstick tips over and the balls make their way through the levels, it sounds like a downpour. Very soothing. From the outside.
On the inside it is crazy chaos as the balls try to sort themselves out and rush downward. So, inside my head, in my crazy rabbit hole... the tiny balls are spinning around incredibly fast until they find the right hole to fall through. Some ideas, thoughts, balls... rush around for a very long time. The ones that find their way disappear from sight - and out of mind. These are the successes, problems dealt with, or things dismissed. Unsolved mysteries, what if's?, unresolved conflicts, things to do, overwhelming obligations, other people's problems... etc.... those keep spinning around and around...
Have I completely lost you? I've been told I am "scary". Apologies. I know - rainstick - tigers - tiny metal balls - what the heck is this girl on?!
Just one bit more, OK? If you follow the image of the rainstick - the ideas and successes fall through their correct holes and are - gone. So it looks like I am holding on to the bad stuff, right? And not celebrating my successes? And I have no self-worth? In the song, she says:
The minute you think you know you got it
Is the minute you know it's gone for good
As soon as I am successful, on any scale, or level - the "ball" drops out of sight. It goes through the right hole and disappears down the rainstick. Likewise, if I solve a problem, deal with a medical issue, resolve a conflict, it also drops through. Gone. And from the outside (to the rest of the world) it looks like a beautiful waterfall and sounds like a lovely rainstorm. Inside, it's just...empty. So maybe this upending of my world, (every few months!) - the feeling that I'm falling down the rabbit hole - is the Universe's way of tipping my rainstick over so it starts again. The awful stuff, yes, but also all the amazing stuff too.
Maybe the "tipping" is my Tiger? And what I need to do is find a way to co-exist with the imbalance, prepare for the next free-fall, and just give in to the illogic and magic of living in Wonderland?
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Zentangle® on the News!
Take a look here: WGAL Zentangle Story
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Toot-Toot! The Tangle Cards are Coming! The Tangle Cards are Coming!
Let's travel back in time... to April 17, 2009...
(I had been certified as a Zentangle Teacher, just one month earlier! Wow- time flies!) In April of 2009, I posted my first "Tangle of the Week":
Notice the lovely Tangle Trading Card shown? You all know that I am just a tad OCD, (just a tad)... So I had designed these cards as a way for me to catalog and organize all the 100 existing Zentangle® patterns, plus the ones that I was creating on my own. I still sell the small packs on my Etsy store and you can get bulk packs (100 cards) in my Zazzle store. It's funny that I still use this Tangle of the Week card as my sample card in the shop. :-)
Fast forward to last summer, 2012, and my publisher has asked me to create card decks with the tangle steps drawn in. I spent the entire summer drawing... 120 tangle cards, plus instruction cards, PLUS three tangle puzzles!
Here is one of the pages from my sketchbook showing the art for the fronts and backs of three tangle cards - Puff-O, Punkin, and Revel.
And this page is the art for one of the puzzles in the card packs:
I designed one card pack for each of the books - companion cards. There is a Totally Tangled pack, a Yoga for Your Brain pack and a Zentangle for Kidz! pack. Also a smaller bag of DIY, blank cards so you can record your own tangles.
A year later - the Tangle Cards are coming! The Tangle cards are coming!!
The cards will be available in September!!! September 2013!
It's like being pregnant for over a year but then finally meeting your children and discovering they are everything you ever dreamed of. Can you tell I am really proud? ;-D I've never been great at tooting my own horn, but I find it pretty easy to toot these cards. Fox Chapel (my publisher) sent me some packs and I couldn't stop fondling them. Here are the really cool features:
The card decks come in sturdy, color-coded boxes. The edges of the cards match the box, so it is easy to sort and clean up - if you feel inclined to keep them together. Each card is numbered as well. (See? OCD dream come true, right?) There are little boxes in the corner where you can put codes like "ZT" for original Zentangle tangles or "JP" for Japanese inspired, and an index card to record your categories.
Each pack has 40 cards with a tangle on each. There are 10 cards with info, instructions, ideas and an index. The backs of 9 of those cards have a piece of a puzzle. There is a different puzzle (and different info cards, too) in each pack.
Here is one of the professional shots from the publisher:
Perhaps you are thinking, "How hard could a 9 piece puzzle be?" Well, here is a little video of a few certified Zentangle teachers trying to assemble one in my studio:
You're up for the challenge? You are wondering how you can get your hands on these?
They are expected to hit stores (with a thunk) in early September and are available on Amazon for pre-order (Yoga for Your Brain Tangle Cards
, and Totally Tangled Tangle Cards
). I also have them for pre-order on my own webstore (http://bumblebat.wazala.com).
If you have no intention of buying the cards but want to get some more "free" tangles, then go to Amazon because they have a peek-inside feature. If you are totally addicted to Zentangle and think that being able to pull out certain tangle cards to work on and sorting patterns makes you smile - then I made these cards for YOU - and you should buy them directly from ME. I wholeheartedly believe in bribery. And collectibles. So these packs (directly from me) will each have a special little prize in each box. Only from me. Mine. Just mine! ;-D
NEED to get your hands on a pack sooner? Read the next blog post!
(I had been certified as a Zentangle Teacher, just one month earlier! Wow- time flies!) In April of 2009, I posted my first "Tangle of the Week":
Notice the lovely Tangle Trading Card shown? You all know that I am just a tad OCD, (just a tad)... So I had designed these cards as a way for me to catalog and organize all the 100 existing Zentangle® patterns, plus the ones that I was creating on my own. I still sell the small packs on my Etsy store and you can get bulk packs (100 cards) in my Zazzle store. It's funny that I still use this Tangle of the Week card as my sample card in the shop. :-)
Fast forward to last summer, 2012, and my publisher has asked me to create card decks with the tangle steps drawn in. I spent the entire summer drawing... 120 tangle cards, plus instruction cards, PLUS three tangle puzzles!
Here is one of the pages from my sketchbook showing the art for the fronts and backs of three tangle cards - Puff-O, Punkin, and Revel.
And this page is the art for one of the puzzles in the card packs:
I designed one card pack for each of the books - companion cards. There is a Totally Tangled pack, a Yoga for Your Brain pack and a Zentangle for Kidz! pack. Also a smaller bag of DIY, blank cards so you can record your own tangles.
A year later - the Tangle Cards are coming! The Tangle cards are coming!!
The cards will be available in September!!! September 2013!
It's like being pregnant for over a year but then finally meeting your children and discovering they are everything you ever dreamed of. Can you tell I am really proud? ;-D I've never been great at tooting my own horn, but I find it pretty easy to toot these cards. Fox Chapel (my publisher) sent me some packs and I couldn't stop fondling them. Here are the really cool features:
Each pack has 40 cards with a tangle on each. There are 10 cards with info, instructions, ideas and an index. The backs of 9 of those cards have a piece of a puzzle. There is a different puzzle (and different info cards, too) in each pack.
Here is one of the professional shots from the publisher:
Perhaps you are thinking, "How hard could a 9 piece puzzle be?" Well, here is a little video of a few certified Zentangle teachers trying to assemble one in my studio:
You're up for the challenge? You are wondering how you can get your hands on these?
They are expected to hit stores (with a thunk) in early September and are available on Amazon for pre-order (Yoga for Your Brain Tangle Cards
, and Totally Tangled Tangle Cards
). I also have them for pre-order on my own webstore (http://bumblebat.wazala.com).If you have no intention of buying the cards but want to get some more "free" tangles, then go to Amazon because they have a peek-inside feature. If you are totally addicted to Zentangle and think that being able to pull out certain tangle cards to work on and sorting patterns makes you smile - then I made these cards for YOU - and you should buy them directly from ME. I wholeheartedly believe in bribery. And collectibles. So these packs (directly from me) will each have a special little prize in each box. Only from me. Mine. Just mine! ;-D
NEED to get your hands on a pack sooner? Read the next blog post!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Happy New Year!
I can't believe I actually feel excited again! I have to admit, I love the internet...
I had been going through my usual mid-winter, end of year, I hate the holidays, etc. doldrums... I stayed up really late last night trying to "assess" the past year and prove to myself that I had achieved something and not just wasted another year. I eventually gave up at 2am and went to bed. I slept surprisingly well, but woke up feeling panicky and trapped by lawyers and publishers and ex-husbands. Not necessarily multiples of each one, but you get the idea. There was a crowd of unwanted voices in my head!
A few weeks ago, I alienated almost my entire group of business mastermind colleagues. While that's a very impressive and thorough feat, I'm not sure if I should include it on my list of accomplishments for 2012? It certainly wasn't my intention! I was trying to explain an inkling I'd experienced. Many of you have told me that you are on a similar quest to mine - how to figure out what the heck you should be doing with your life!!? I have proven to myself over and over that MONEY is not the "purpose." YES. I need money. YES, I want money. Lots of it. But that is so that I can DO things. It's not the reason WHY I do things.
I had had an experience where I was part of a group who experienced profound joy, happiness and pride... in someone else's success. It was the kind of feeling where you really feel like you might explode! But it wasn't just MY feeling. Almost everyone at the event was feeling it. It was shared - and magnified - and I didn't want it to end.
THAT. That feeling is what I want to build my career on. I guess it is crazy, but that's what I want.
In my usual fashion, I have been torturing myself trying to figure out how all the things I CAN do, can lead me to this goal. In short... I have NO idea what the heck I am doing. But I have learned that completing one of my own goals is not enough if it doesn't involve a success for others as well. For example: I have been sending off manuscripts to publishers since I was fifteen years old. When Totally Tangled was published by Design Originals, the real success, happiness, goal-achieving feeling came from the fact that there were other artists involved in the book. At the book signing, we were all yelling and signing each others' books.
My brain has been wanting to curl up in my studio for the rest of the winter, eat Cheetos and watch Vampire Diaries. Maybe draw something too. :-) But my heart and creative bits want to DO something. Get together with people. Make a difference. Help someone help themself. Create. Make friends. Get OFF the computer... I know I need to open The BeeHive already. Stop being so scared and just see what happens. Maybe no one will show up. This week. But maybe someone will come next week? Just start.
So why do I love the internet? Oh, there are SO many reasons, but today, it's because that's where my mentors and my tribe are. (I'm talking about YOU!) :-) When I dragged my brain out of bed (and the voices of the ex, the publishers, the lawyers, etc.) at noon and sat in front of my computer - there was a new post from Marie Forleo (my hero):
She not only encouraged me to just start already, but she shows how she started her MarieTV. And she shares a quote:
"Dissatisfaction and discouragement are not caused by the absence of things but the absence of vision."
I found myself yelling (in my head) "Yes! Yes! Stuff and money are not the POINT!" and "I need a VISION!" Of course, I realize that I have a vision. It's that thing that makes my heart feel like it is being ripped out when I don't know what I can do to help in certain situations. I had this strange sensation that if I could find a way to put that feeling into words, then I could start working towards my purpose and vision... goals, whatever you want to call it.
I wouldn't feel like my world was being cut apart every couple of years when I have to reinvent myself and my "job". The purpose and vision is always there whether I am an Egyptologist, an illustrator, a teacher, a store owner, an author... a mom...
These setbacks that we all have, some more than others, are clues, just as the little "inklings" are clues. Sometimes, we are so busy moaning about what's not fair, or hurting us, that we miss the quiet sparks of insights. There are clues scattered everywhere! All I've been seeing is the clutter.
In November, I had the chance to work with Ally Piper of Bright Eyes Creative. I enjoyed talking with her so much - her mind works a lot like mine. I asked her to come to my home studio first before our "real" meeting at the business studio. I wanted her to see all the things that no one else sees - my home is like my portfolio! When we were talking in the business studio - now called The BeeHive - we brainstormed and came up with lists of amazing ideas of all the things I could do. Later, Ally emailed me the list with all the action steps needed to be successful. Wow. You know what I did? Yep. Panic attack. Overwhelm. Not because of the list and all the work involved, but because of all the things that were left OUT! How screwy is that? What I realized was - if we had sat down in my home studio and made a similar list, it would have been ten totally amazing things that I could do, but completely DIFFERENT from what we came up with at The BeeHive. Oh dear. But now I know that this is where the VISION part comes in. I need to evaluate, eliminate, adjust all the good ideas to see what and how they can fit with my purpose and vision.
Ally is doing a group, online, business retreat on January 14th - it's called the Napkin Note Biz Plan.
And I'm going to attend. Now that I have a slightly clearer, well... less foggy... idea, I want to evaluate all my options and decide where I should focus my energy. You can look at the page for all the details, but here is a quote from the description that sums it up for me:
I haven't written my official resolutions for this year yet. I'll take a shower first, procrastinate a little bit more... but I'm thinking I will be less specific than usual. Something to do with redirecting my energy. I realized this morning that my energy has been consumed by vampires in my life. Yes, I did invite them in. I'm naive, gullible, trusting. Alrighty then. No, I have no idea how to break free of them, but I've watched enough Vampire Diaries in the past few weeks to know that I can start by hanging out in the sunshine instead of the gloomy shadows!! The BeeHive is bright and cheerful and it will be open from 3pm-9pm starting this Friday. I'd love to hang out with you too!
I had been going through my usual mid-winter, end of year, I hate the holidays, etc. doldrums... I stayed up really late last night trying to "assess" the past year and prove to myself that I had achieved something and not just wasted another year. I eventually gave up at 2am and went to bed. I slept surprisingly well, but woke up feeling panicky and trapped by lawyers and publishers and ex-husbands. Not necessarily multiples of each one, but you get the idea. There was a crowd of unwanted voices in my head!
A few weeks ago, I alienated almost my entire group of business mastermind colleagues. While that's a very impressive and thorough feat, I'm not sure if I should include it on my list of accomplishments for 2012? It certainly wasn't my intention! I was trying to explain an inkling I'd experienced. Many of you have told me that you are on a similar quest to mine - how to figure out what the heck you should be doing with your life!!? I have proven to myself over and over that MONEY is not the "purpose." YES. I need money. YES, I want money. Lots of it. But that is so that I can DO things. It's not the reason WHY I do things.
I had had an experience where I was part of a group who experienced profound joy, happiness and pride... in someone else's success. It was the kind of feeling where you really feel like you might explode! But it wasn't just MY feeling. Almost everyone at the event was feeling it. It was shared - and magnified - and I didn't want it to end.
THAT. That feeling is what I want to build my career on. I guess it is crazy, but that's what I want.
In my usual fashion, I have been torturing myself trying to figure out how all the things I CAN do, can lead me to this goal. In short... I have NO idea what the heck I am doing. But I have learned that completing one of my own goals is not enough if it doesn't involve a success for others as well. For example: I have been sending off manuscripts to publishers since I was fifteen years old. When Totally Tangled was published by Design Originals, the real success, happiness, goal-achieving feeling came from the fact that there were other artists involved in the book. At the book signing, we were all yelling and signing each others' books.
My brain has been wanting to curl up in my studio for the rest of the winter, eat Cheetos and watch Vampire Diaries. Maybe draw something too. :-) But my heart and creative bits want to DO something. Get together with people. Make a difference. Help someone help themself. Create. Make friends. Get OFF the computer... I know I need to open The BeeHive already. Stop being so scared and just see what happens. Maybe no one will show up. This week. But maybe someone will come next week? Just start.
So why do I love the internet? Oh, there are SO many reasons, but today, it's because that's where my mentors and my tribe are. (I'm talking about YOU!) :-) When I dragged my brain out of bed (and the voices of the ex, the publishers, the lawyers, etc.) at noon and sat in front of my computer - there was a new post from Marie Forleo (my hero):
She not only encouraged me to just start already, but she shows how she started her MarieTV. And she shares a quote:
"Dissatisfaction and discouragement are not caused by the absence of things but the absence of vision."
I found myself yelling (in my head) "Yes! Yes! Stuff and money are not the POINT!" and "I need a VISION!" Of course, I realize that I have a vision. It's that thing that makes my heart feel like it is being ripped out when I don't know what I can do to help in certain situations. I had this strange sensation that if I could find a way to put that feeling into words, then I could start working towards my purpose and vision... goals, whatever you want to call it.
I wouldn't feel like my world was being cut apart every couple of years when I have to reinvent myself and my "job". The purpose and vision is always there whether I am an Egyptologist, an illustrator, a teacher, a store owner, an author... a mom...
These setbacks that we all have, some more than others, are clues, just as the little "inklings" are clues. Sometimes, we are so busy moaning about what's not fair, or hurting us, that we miss the quiet sparks of insights. There are clues scattered everywhere! All I've been seeing is the clutter.
In November, I had the chance to work with Ally Piper of Bright Eyes Creative. I enjoyed talking with her so much - her mind works a lot like mine. I asked her to come to my home studio first before our "real" meeting at the business studio. I wanted her to see all the things that no one else sees - my home is like my portfolio! When we were talking in the business studio - now called The BeeHive - we brainstormed and came up with lists of amazing ideas of all the things I could do. Later, Ally emailed me the list with all the action steps needed to be successful. Wow. You know what I did? Yep. Panic attack. Overwhelm. Not because of the list and all the work involved, but because of all the things that were left OUT! How screwy is that? What I realized was - if we had sat down in my home studio and made a similar list, it would have been ten totally amazing things that I could do, but completely DIFFERENT from what we came up with at The BeeHive. Oh dear. But now I know that this is where the VISION part comes in. I need to evaluate, eliminate, adjust all the good ideas to see what and how they can fit with my purpose and vision.
Ally is doing a group, online, business retreat on January 14th - it's called the Napkin Note Biz Plan.
And I'm going to attend. Now that I have a slightly clearer, well... less foggy... idea, I want to evaluate all my options and decide where I should focus my energy. You can look at the page for all the details, but here is a quote from the description that sums it up for me:
The process I’m going to share with you keeps me sane when my creative mind takes off in a million directions and I start teetering on the edge of overwhelm.
Seriously, is that me or what? Yep. And how about you? People call creativity and imagination a "gift" but sometimes it can be a curse too. How about a class for learning to control your super powers? ;-D Cape optional.I haven't written my official resolutions for this year yet. I'll take a shower first, procrastinate a little bit more... but I'm thinking I will be less specific than usual. Something to do with redirecting my energy. I realized this morning that my energy has been consumed by vampires in my life. Yes, I did invite them in. I'm naive, gullible, trusting. Alrighty then. No, I have no idea how to break free of them, but I've watched enough Vampire Diaries in the past few weeks to know that I can start by hanging out in the sunshine instead of the gloomy shadows!! The BeeHive is bright and cheerful and it will be open from 3pm-9pm starting this Friday. I'd love to hang out with you too!
Monday, December 24, 2012
Happy Holidays!
 |
| Joy to the Modern Family! |
No, that's too easy. I want to share a couple more things. My Playmobil manger and three Playmobil advent calendars (yes, three!) had been lost for years. it drove me crazy that I couldn't find them. Then, when I moved all my junk from my mom's attic a month ago - I found all sorts of forgotten treasures, including the Playmobils.
Lilah and I set them ALL up on the dining table - four scenes in a row. There was Santa's Workshop, the Christmas Market, and the Heavenly Bakery. Everyday she opened a few boxes and set up the characters and objects in their respective scenes.
 |
| Here are the three advent calendar sets, in the back, with the calendars in the front. |
 |
| "Uh... Mary? Where's the baby?" |
I will post a picture when all the scenes are completed. Should be interesting...
On a different tangent, you may have seen, on the internet, the amazing snow tangles created by Simon Beck? OMG those are so incredible. But, seriously? The whole point of Zentangle is to simplify so that anyone can create beautiful designs. But thanks to Simon, we are all desiring our own snow tangles, right? Here is a video of Lilah showing you how to create your own snow-tangles. This is the FUN, relaxing, stress free way...
Now, I will wish you HAPPY HOLIDAYS! And I hope this New Year will be more Zen and less Tangle for everyone. ;-D
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
How to Create a Sand Zendala (Mandala)
Awhile back I mentioned that I had created a sand mandala as a way for our church members to celebrate our interim pastor. The Reverend Donoghue had mentioned sand mandalas a few times as examples of how joy can be found in the process rather than in the finished work. He explained how monks would spend hours... days even... placing each colored grain of sand in intricate, meditative patterns. And when they finished, the art was swept or blown away. It seemed fitting that we, as a church, create one to show that... well, that we had been paying attention.
• I used a large (about 2 feet by 2 feet - or so) piece of masonite. Foam board could work too. Use a material that is very smooth, but not static-y.
• Tracing around large round objects or stencils would be the easiest way to create the basic circles, but I couldn't find anything that big in my studio. so I did it the old-fashioned way. Using a long ruler, I marked the centers of each edge of the board, then connected those dots to find the center of the board itself. I measured out intervals along each axis where I wanted my circles to be. ie: 4" and 6".
• Placing one end of the ruler on the center dot, I slowly rotated it, like the large hand on a clock, marking 4" and 6" with a dot each, at one o'clock, 2o'clock, etc. all the way around. Then I sketched in the circles (in pencil) by connecting all the 4" dots. then all the 6" dots.
• Since I wanted this piece to be symmetrical, I lightly sketched in the basic shapes of the tangles. Normally, when doing a large Zentangle, a mural or such, I don't use any guides - I just draw.
• I used black and white Sharpie oil-based markers to draw in all the tangles, then filled the larger shapes with black and white acrylic paint. I ended up using white gesso to get better coverage over the brown board. I was careful to keep all the brush strokes very smooth (so the sand wouldn't catch on them). Since some of the church council members had expressed their doubts about doing something "artistic" :-) I wanted to prove that this was easy and satisfying and anyone could do it. So I created the mandala on the board as if it were a template - like a coloring book or paint-by-number. I put the suggested colors down and all they would have to do was fill it in. (See the last picture with the Rev. holding the painted board)
• I put the colored sand into squeeze bottles (technically, "pour" bottle), but I also put extra sand into small food storage containers with plastic spoons. A few people felt more comfortable using a spoon - like sprinkling sugar onto cereal - it's a familiar motion.
• It took a bit of coaxing to get people to give it a try. The kids dove right in, which gave the adults the confidence to try too. The kids got SO confident, they started adding their own touches and embellishments! Notice the hearts on the corners?
• An older women used black sand to draw lines between the flower petals and then the kids used that idea to embellish the embellishments.
• One little boy discovered the side of the spoon worked very well as a "noodger"... it could push stray sand back into place or create an even line. Clever!
• When it was complete - in true Zentangle fashion - any blips and bloops, spills and differences in technique - all blended into the overall design. It looked so beautiful! Everyone stood around looking very pleased with themselves.
• We carried it out to the parking lot where the Rev. tossed it into the wind. Not a single bit of sand remained to show what we had made - and yet we were all laughing and smiling.
• And, of course, the Reverend has the mandala board and extra sand so he can create another sand mandala in the future. I know he works with soldiers returned from war, so I am hoping it might help to introduce them to the idea of tangling.
I really love seeing the application of the Zentangle method with other, more tactile materials (blog post about shaving cream). It fascinates me how the mindfulness and creative confidence can transfer to other mediums besides pen and ink. AND how easily people accept it and dive in when they feel they recognize something about it... "I've been doodling all my life," or "pouring the sand is like decorating a cake"... has anyone else tried any unusual materials for tangling?
• I used a large (about 2 feet by 2 feet - or so) piece of masonite. Foam board could work too. Use a material that is very smooth, but not static-y.
• Tracing around large round objects or stencils would be the easiest way to create the basic circles, but I couldn't find anything that big in my studio. so I did it the old-fashioned way. Using a long ruler, I marked the centers of each edge of the board, then connected those dots to find the center of the board itself. I measured out intervals along each axis where I wanted my circles to be. ie: 4" and 6".
• Placing one end of the ruler on the center dot, I slowly rotated it, like the large hand on a clock, marking 4" and 6" with a dot each, at one o'clock, 2o'clock, etc. all the way around. Then I sketched in the circles (in pencil) by connecting all the 4" dots. then all the 6" dots.
• Since I wanted this piece to be symmetrical, I lightly sketched in the basic shapes of the tangles. Normally, when doing a large Zentangle, a mural or such, I don't use any guides - I just draw.
• I used black and white Sharpie oil-based markers to draw in all the tangles, then filled the larger shapes with black and white acrylic paint. I ended up using white gesso to get better coverage over the brown board. I was careful to keep all the brush strokes very smooth (so the sand wouldn't catch on them). Since some of the church council members had expressed their doubts about doing something "artistic" :-) I wanted to prove that this was easy and satisfying and anyone could do it. So I created the mandala on the board as if it were a template - like a coloring book or paint-by-number. I put the suggested colors down and all they would have to do was fill it in. (See the last picture with the Rev. holding the painted board)
• I put the colored sand into squeeze bottles (technically, "pour" bottle), but I also put extra sand into small food storage containers with plastic spoons. A few people felt more comfortable using a spoon - like sprinkling sugar onto cereal - it's a familiar motion.
• It took a bit of coaxing to get people to give it a try. The kids dove right in, which gave the adults the confidence to try too. The kids got SO confident, they started adding their own touches and embellishments! Notice the hearts on the corners?
• An older women used black sand to draw lines between the flower petals and then the kids used that idea to embellish the embellishments.
• One little boy discovered the side of the spoon worked very well as a "noodger"... it could push stray sand back into place or create an even line. Clever!
• When it was complete - in true Zentangle fashion - any blips and bloops, spills and differences in technique - all blended into the overall design. It looked so beautiful! Everyone stood around looking very pleased with themselves.
• We carried it out to the parking lot where the Rev. tossed it into the wind. Not a single bit of sand remained to show what we had made - and yet we were all laughing and smiling.
• And, of course, the Reverend has the mandala board and extra sand so he can create another sand mandala in the future. I know he works with soldiers returned from war, so I am hoping it might help to introduce them to the idea of tangling.
I really love seeing the application of the Zentangle method with other, more tactile materials (blog post about shaving cream). It fascinates me how the mindfulness and creative confidence can transfer to other mediums besides pen and ink. AND how easily people accept it and dive in when they feel they recognize something about it... "I've been doodling all my life," or "pouring the sand is like decorating a cake"... has anyone else tried any unusual materials for tangling?
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Warner Fall Foliage Festival
My Open Studio on Saturday went really well! People tended to come in waves so I didn't get much time to talk with everyone in depth. I did meet a fellow who was trying to discover all 106 of the official Zentangles and he had an impressive stack of finished tiles. I have to track him down for you all - he described an intriguing system he has of cataloging all the tangles.
Lilah and I did face-tangling. Actually, I started out doing all the painting and tattoos myself. But then Lilah slowly took over. At one point she even snitched my paints and took them out to her friend Nathan's booth where she undercut me by working for free! Hey!?
We worked out a compromise eventually.
I am learning that, just as my son considered Wingdoodle to be "his" store when it opened 11 years ago, now, Lilah talks about the new studio shop as "hers"! She is also asking when I will create a line of rubber stamps from her images. We really need to come up with a good name for the new... place. So many people walked in assuming it was Wingdoodle re-opened and I kept stamping my foot (in my mind) and mumbling, "No, it's MY studio!" I've been thinking of calling it BeeHive and BumbleBat. A beehive is where all the busy creatures hang out and create their magic. And Bumblebat is my online store's name... If I could only decide, then I could get a real sign made and start re-training everyone.
Alex performed a scene from Alice in Wonderland (his dance school did it last spring, set to Beatles' music). He was the Mad Hatter and his specialty is twirling knives. In this scene, he gets to cut the cake at the Tea party. :-)
Today, Sunday, I was feeling less than social, so I didn't push myself to open the shop again. Although it was an even bigger crowd than yesterday, I just felt like wandering.
I wandered into the Town Hall where all the crafters are set up - and I found Dianne Klabechek - a former Zentangle student of mine, now a CZT - selling her beautiful tangled cards! Dianne's Zentangle inspired art is worked into the shapes of animals and insects and drew lots of attention from passersby.
.JPG)
The big attraction on Sunday is the parade. The theme was "Entertainment Through the Years" and there were some very clever floats. I loved the Pirates of the Carribean dinghy, and the Angry Birds were hysterical. The High School band performed music from James Bond movies. This one sounded pretty good... (Alex is playing the saxophone)...
Lilah and I did face-tangling. Actually, I started out doing all the painting and tattoos myself. But then Lilah slowly took over. At one point she even snitched my paints and took them out to her friend Nathan's booth where she undercut me by working for free! Hey!?
We worked out a compromise eventually.
I am learning that, just as my son considered Wingdoodle to be "his" store when it opened 11 years ago, now, Lilah talks about the new studio shop as "hers"! She is also asking when I will create a line of rubber stamps from her images. We really need to come up with a good name for the new... place. So many people walked in assuming it was Wingdoodle re-opened and I kept stamping my foot (in my mind) and mumbling, "No, it's MY studio!" I've been thinking of calling it BeeHive and BumbleBat. A beehive is where all the busy creatures hang out and create their magic. And Bumblebat is my online store's name... If I could only decide, then I could get a real sign made and start re-training everyone.
Alex performed a scene from Alice in Wonderland (his dance school did it last spring, set to Beatles' music). He was the Mad Hatter and his specialty is twirling knives. In this scene, he gets to cut the cake at the Tea party. :-)
Today, Sunday, I was feeling less than social, so I didn't push myself to open the shop again. Although it was an even bigger crowd than yesterday, I just felt like wandering.
I wandered into the Town Hall where all the crafters are set up - and I found Dianne Klabechek - a former Zentangle student of mine, now a CZT - selling her beautiful tangled cards! Dianne's Zentangle inspired art is worked into the shapes of animals and insects and drew lots of attention from passersby.
.JPG)
The big attraction on Sunday is the parade. The theme was "Entertainment Through the Years" and there were some very clever floats. I loved the Pirates of the Carribean dinghy, and the Angry Birds were hysterical. The High School band performed music from James Bond movies. This one sounded pretty good... (Alex is playing the saxophone)...
Friday, October 5, 2012
Fall Festival - Open Studio - Prepped
Lilah and I have spent the past few days trying to make my mess of a studio look presentable. I think it finally looks a bit like a store! Yesterday we climbed - OK - LILAH climbed- up ladders to string tinselly fall decorations and place bats in high places.
Today, my son crawled out of bed, around 2pm(!?) and reluctantly started designing my sandwich boards. He got really into it. Then his sister said, "I want to do what Alex is doing!". Predictable. So I said, "Sure!" Alex glared. Then, I said, "but I have an even better job for you... you can design the sidewalk sign!" Squeals of delight!
And here are the results...
.JPG)
.JPG)
It's not really a "NEPO OPEN STUDIO..." The NEPO is for people who are reading it from the other direction...
After she finished my "sign" Lilah proceeded to decorate the wooden bench in front of the window, then she drew arrows from 30 feet in either direction leading right into my shop. And THEN she warned away all the pedestrians, "Not today! We are open tomorrow! NOT today!" (By the way, we are open tomorrow!)
While she drew, Lilah narrated. Suzanne McNeill would be proud (she always tells me I have to talk while demonstrating... anyway....). I thought it would be a hoot to film her - she could do her own tutorials. But it sounds like there is an airplane taking off in the road behind us, followed by a fire engine! Good grief. I'm not kidding when I say that thousands and thousands of people invade our tiny town for two days - and you have the proof in this video. By the way, I did the sign on the wall. I don't make my kids do ALL the work. :-)
.JPG)
And when I thought she would burst with excitement if she had to wait any longer... we headed over to the amusement rides. We twirled and slid and ran and laughed (and shed just a few tears)...
the Warner Fall Foliage Festival has begun!
.JPG)
Today, my son crawled out of bed, around 2pm(!?) and reluctantly started designing my sandwich boards. He got really into it. Then his sister said, "I want to do what Alex is doing!". Predictable. So I said, "Sure!" Alex glared. Then, I said, "but I have an even better job for you... you can design the sidewalk sign!" Squeals of delight!
And here are the results...
.JPG)
.JPG)
It's not really a "NEPO OPEN STUDIO..." The NEPO is for people who are reading it from the other direction...
After she finished my "sign" Lilah proceeded to decorate the wooden bench in front of the window, then she drew arrows from 30 feet in either direction leading right into my shop. And THEN she warned away all the pedestrians, "Not today! We are open tomorrow! NOT today!" (By the way, we are open tomorrow!)
While she drew, Lilah narrated. Suzanne McNeill would be proud (she always tells me I have to talk while demonstrating... anyway....). I thought it would be a hoot to film her - she could do her own tutorials. But it sounds like there is an airplane taking off in the road behind us, followed by a fire engine! Good grief. I'm not kidding when I say that thousands and thousands of people invade our tiny town for two days - and you have the proof in this video. By the way, I did the sign on the wall. I don't make my kids do ALL the work. :-)
.JPG)
And when I thought she would burst with excitement if she had to wait any longer... we headed over to the amusement rides. We twirled and slid and ran and laughed (and shed just a few tears)...
the Warner Fall Foliage Festival has begun!
.JPG)
Friday, August 24, 2012
Sakura / Zentangle Teaser Video
Sakura and Zentangle have teamed up recently to release special Micron pens and tile kits. And just today, Leslie Crumpler, who works for Sakura and is a Certified Zentangle Teacher, released a really fun teaser video! The video features CZTs and their students working on Zentangle tiles (and using Sakura products). It also features some really adorable kids (like Molly Hollibaugh's daughter) and my little angels. hee hee. You can see my kids... Lilah is drawing from 0:58 to 1:11 and Alex is tangling from 2:14 to 2:25. Both my kids are using Zentangle for Kidz! as inspiration. :-) And you can see Lilo Bean, the cat, sitting on the bench next to Alex. She is in the book too - but she doesn't tangle.
(The video link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
(The video link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Friday, May 18, 2012
Creative Confidence
When everything around you feels like chaos and even your own mother is disappointed in you... it is very easy to forget your purpose. Assuming you ever knew it in the first place. You give yourself points for keeping your head above water and repeat over and over "Keep swimming, keep swimming." (Yes, Dory from "Nemo"). Come to think - maybe Dory has another lesson - because she constantly forgets what she has just done or who she has met, everything is constantly new for her. Hmmm... I need to ponder that one too.
Anyway. "Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."
I have been wracking my brain trying to solve (perceived) problems for my mother, my children, even my ex-husband. I have "complaints" about work, friends, family, real estate, and the current state of Zentangle®. Seriously! I bet you all know what I mean? It is so easy to fall into that state of just being discontent. Like everyone is out to get you and messing up your stuff... just because they can. Yes, we both know it is just a way of thinking about it, "thoughts become things", be happy, don't worry...
I was trying to remember why I felt so much MORE confident last year even though it was filled with insane events that were not in my control. Sure, I whined plenty last year, but I FELT more in control of my own actions and feelings. Is that confidence? This year, as part of my feeling-like-I have-to-solve-everyone's-problems I've thought about moving my studio downstairs where Wingdoodle (my recently closed store) used to be. I've been agonizing over what to call it - The Belfry- doesn't really work for a ground floor space, how do I fit all my stuff into that space, and how do I run another store when I can barely keep up with all my current endeavors? Yep, I have seriously been making myself crazy with these stupid thoughts. Yet, when you finally get angry enough to want to scream - that's when you actually find out what is important to you - my inner child is yelling "but I don't WANT to move! I don't WANT to run a store! I don't WANT to be responsible for solving YOUR problems!" Interesting.
I am a problem solver. Some people would call me an artist. My mother calls me flaky. But I work in whatever medium is required to solve the problem. It might be acrylic paint, glass, dirt, teaching Zentangle or database design. "Problems" are not always bad things - often they are just situations that need ideas or solutions. And many, many times, there is no one within ten miles of me who can actually see the problem that I am addressing. Once the problem is dealt with, there is no point (for me) in doing the same thing. To many people, it appears that I lose interest or I move on to something else. Flaky. If I continue in the same vein, repeating something - like running a store, or other repetitive work - I get depressed and lose all my confidence. If I continue to solve things and do new things, I gain confidence, make friends, make money, and I'm pretty much happy. It makes sense.
The one area where I seem to get really snagged is in the area of solving problems FOR a person. I KNOW that you can't change other people. I KNOW that, but my brain can't distinguish one challenge from another. What I have recently come to understand is that my confidence is reinforced from helping people to learn to solve their OWN problems. No, not like a therapist, more like a Zentangle teacher. I have been explaining Zentangle for years as a way to teach creative confidence. I have noticed that even the Zentangle people have taken that tagline as their own to replace "meditation" in their descriptions. Because that's what everything important boils down to: creative confidence.
People with creative confidence not only can solve their own problems, they take responsibility for themselves (thus decreasing their negative impact on those around them), and they see the world as basically a good place with some "problems" that need tweaking.
Here is a wonderful TED talk by David Kelley on this very subject.
Creative confidence is what powers our perception. What he says about the people who are afraid of snakes makes sense, but the example of the MRI machines is just a whack to the side of the head. "DUH!?" We are afraid of things because we are told to be afraid of them. We make everything so much more complicated than it really is. It's all perception. If I hear the words "CT scan", "radiation", "Xray", "needle"... agh, my hands start to sweat. I have had plenty of bad experiences with all those things and more. But take a look at the MRI room in this video.... ohmigosh it looks like FUN!
Hospitals are cold, impersonal and terrifying. What else would you expect? But one person saw it as a problem to be solved, had a vision of how to fix it - his friends thought he was crazy - but he made it real anyway. And now it seems so obvious to everyone.
So instead of feeling cut off from people because they don't see what I see, perhaps my purpose in life is to help change what others are seeing?
Anyway. "Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."
I have been wracking my brain trying to solve (perceived) problems for my mother, my children, even my ex-husband. I have "complaints" about work, friends, family, real estate, and the current state of Zentangle®. Seriously! I bet you all know what I mean? It is so easy to fall into that state of just being discontent. Like everyone is out to get you and messing up your stuff... just because they can. Yes, we both know it is just a way of thinking about it, "thoughts become things", be happy, don't worry...
I was trying to remember why I felt so much MORE confident last year even though it was filled with insane events that were not in my control. Sure, I whined plenty last year, but I FELT more in control of my own actions and feelings. Is that confidence? This year, as part of my feeling-like-I have-to-solve-everyone's-problems I've thought about moving my studio downstairs where Wingdoodle (my recently closed store) used to be. I've been agonizing over what to call it - The Belfry- doesn't really work for a ground floor space, how do I fit all my stuff into that space, and how do I run another store when I can barely keep up with all my current endeavors? Yep, I have seriously been making myself crazy with these stupid thoughts. Yet, when you finally get angry enough to want to scream - that's when you actually find out what is important to you - my inner child is yelling "but I don't WANT to move! I don't WANT to run a store! I don't WANT to be responsible for solving YOUR problems!" Interesting.
I am a problem solver. Some people would call me an artist. My mother calls me flaky. But I work in whatever medium is required to solve the problem. It might be acrylic paint, glass, dirt, teaching Zentangle or database design. "Problems" are not always bad things - often they are just situations that need ideas or solutions. And many, many times, there is no one within ten miles of me who can actually see the problem that I am addressing. Once the problem is dealt with, there is no point (for me) in doing the same thing. To many people, it appears that I lose interest or I move on to something else. Flaky. If I continue in the same vein, repeating something - like running a store, or other repetitive work - I get depressed and lose all my confidence. If I continue to solve things and do new things, I gain confidence, make friends, make money, and I'm pretty much happy. It makes sense.
The one area where I seem to get really snagged is in the area of solving problems FOR a person. I KNOW that you can't change other people. I KNOW that, but my brain can't distinguish one challenge from another. What I have recently come to understand is that my confidence is reinforced from helping people to learn to solve their OWN problems. No, not like a therapist, more like a Zentangle teacher. I have been explaining Zentangle for years as a way to teach creative confidence. I have noticed that even the Zentangle people have taken that tagline as their own to replace "meditation" in their descriptions. Because that's what everything important boils down to: creative confidence.
People with creative confidence not only can solve their own problems, they take responsibility for themselves (thus decreasing their negative impact on those around them), and they see the world as basically a good place with some "problems" that need tweaking.
Here is a wonderful TED talk by David Kelley on this very subject.
Creative confidence is what powers our perception. What he says about the people who are afraid of snakes makes sense, but the example of the MRI machines is just a whack to the side of the head. "DUH!?" We are afraid of things because we are told to be afraid of them. We make everything so much more complicated than it really is. It's all perception. If I hear the words "CT scan", "radiation", "Xray", "needle"... agh, my hands start to sweat. I have had plenty of bad experiences with all those things and more. But take a look at the MRI room in this video.... ohmigosh it looks like FUN!
Hospitals are cold, impersonal and terrifying. What else would you expect? But one person saw it as a problem to be solved, had a vision of how to fix it - his friends thought he was crazy - but he made it real anyway. And now it seems so obvious to everyone.
So instead of feeling cut off from people because they don't see what I see, perhaps my purpose in life is to help change what others are seeing?
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