Tangle Card Update

I want to remind everybody that there are TWO Challenges this week...
Challenge #5, Hemp, is HERE.  Post your art on the Beez Ink Studio Facebook Page.
Challenge #6, Pingline, is HERE. Post your art entry on the ZT for Kidz! Facebook Page.

There will be TWO winners chosen for each of these challenges. I will choose one and the other will be chosen by popular vote. So be sure to get your entry in ASAP onto the right Facebook page. Then, everyone should go and vote for their favorite by clicking the "LIKE" button for their entry of choice. It's OK to vote for yourself. ;-)  If there is a tie, it will be broken by whichever entry has the most "Comments". The winners will be chosen in the late afternoon (EST) on Thursday, August 22.

You can still pre-order the Tangle cards on my site. I have heard that they will be arriving soon at my studio and then I will start sending them out to you all. Or Bonnie will. Bonnie is my studio manager minion. You all know how badly I have needed one! she has been sorting orders and pre-addressing envelopes. And sorting tattoos... Yeah!

I have to show you some really cool stuff the publisher is doing to promote the cards...

Maybe it's a little shallow, but I take great pride in being listed at the beginning of the New Titles emails. :-)

And this POP (Point of Purchase Display) is so cute and makes my OCD heart beat a little faster...

 If anyone actually sees one of these displays (or any displays) of the cards in a store or Michael's or somewhere, please let me know! If you send me a photo, I'll send you something cool. Oooo bribery!

Ah - and I almost forgot - speaking of bribery - I have had a few emails from people asking WHY they would pre-order the cards from me rather than wait to get them from Amazon. That is a very fair question. Those of you who did NOT ask it probably already knew the answer. I have designed very cool little "extras" for you all - my faithful minions! New tattoos, stickers, pins... and I am giving extra-extras for the pre-orders. And there have been quite a few folks who ordered ALL the packs or even MULTIPLES of the packs... phew!... and you folks get other cool stuff too. Yeah - cool stuff! :-)

Art Camp Day 4

It's finally beautiful and warm. In the sun. And it's the last day/night of camp. The spiders have gotten bigger, especially the daddy long-legs in the bathrooms.

I have a theory that they are congregating there to plot a take over... They are the most venomous of spiders but feel cheated since they can't actually take down a human. So unfair. There were at least three watching me from the back of the composting toilet. 

Late last night, my cabin mate Katie, knocked on my curtain and said, "Sandy? Are you afraid of spiders?"  

"Is it bigger than me?" I asked. 

It was only about an inch and a half so I flicked it off the cabin door into the woods. This WAS an emergency since she couldn't leave to go to the bathroom. I should have taken a photo of it first though. It was scary looking. 

I chose the less private, but less-spidery outdoor showers this morning. I have to admit it was an interesting experience to shower early in the morning, outside, watching the fog rise off the lake and my own breath steaming in the sun. Brrr. 

Class this morning was with Mati Rose McDonough adding imagery to our paintings. We worked on the beach and played with transfer paper. 

We made sketches that we then transferred with colored Saral paper to our paintings. We got really punchy... Probably sunstroke...

Here's what I came up with...

And some of the others...

In the afternoon we talked about daily practices with Lisa Solomon - who wrote "Knot, Thread, Stitch". She had a lot of great ideas about how to integrate art into our daily lives and the importance of doing projects that are not for "work". And it's ok to make Bad Art. I had some good ideas, but I realize I need to feel accountable to someone to actually DO the work. Although, running away to Art Camp was my way of practicing impractical art. But I definitely need MORE. 

And in answer to one commenter's question... I am at ARC, Art Retreat Camp on Mayhew Island on Newfound Lake in NH. It's run by Susan Schwake who runs Artstream Studio in Dover, NH and wrote the Art Lab for Kids books. I'm sorry I can't add the links since I'm blogging from my iPhone. 

This is Susan...

We had supper outside tonight. Everyone is getting a little sad to head home to their... normal...  lives. 

We took a serious group photo, but this one is much more fun and true to nature. 

Now it is time for art share... Show and tell! 

The art is amazing! My favorite is this coat by Pamela Boulden from Arkansas...

Doesn't it look fabulous on me!? She's going to make me one in black and purple.  Or maybe a steampunk one!!!!! Ooooo. It's made from reclaimed sweaters. Notice how twirly it is? And how long the pointy hoodie is? The hoodie can wrap around your neck like a scarf. (Pamela has an Etsy shop, but her coats sell as soon as she makes them so they never make it onto the site!)

And there was a performance from the handmade instrument class too. Here is Kerry from Australia and Paul in the back... 

And lastly, check out the amazing ceiling of the lodge! The Mayhew Camp is an incredible six year summer program for boys and the ceiling hosts their cabin plaques. We were very fortunate to be able to use the space. 

There was a lot of talk about what the Art Retreat Camp might be like next year... More days, more people... I'd like to teach too! It was really cool to be part of the first year and I loved the small size. I got to talk with everyone and made some fantastic new friends. I admit I am reluctant to go home and if I could find Arkansas on a map, I might consider moving there! At the least, we'll stay connected on Facebook. :-)

It will be so hard to say goodbye tomorrow. Although I won't miss the spiders...

Art Camp Day 3

Since I ended with the "dye-ing on the beach" last night, I'll show you what the scarves looked like today... 

Here is Linda with her scarf... 

And mine...

And a bunch of the others...

And that bright little glow in the background is the campfire on the beach. I'm waiting patiently for the s'mores we have been promised. So patiently. 

Today was fun... But not as relaxing as yesterday. I slept much better, but woke up from nightmares about my digital boyfriend. (Don't ask) and listened to a lot of good advice at breakfast... But since it was all before 9am, I can't remember any of it. There was more great advice at lunch and that ended with my new friend from Australia saying I had one year to sell off everything, do a Kickstarter campaign, buy an Airstream, and take my daughter on a Tangling Across America caravan adventure. Hmmm... I started the idea, but it grew and grew...

The first class today was Dioramas. We were so cold working in the wood shed. When we took our pieces out to the beach to see if the glue would dry in the sun- we discovered it was a beautiful warm day... In the sun! Who knew?

So yesterday, I had used my teacup to create my Happy Place - Tiny World. Today I used the saucer to create my Dark Place in a cigar box. 

It looks much better in real life. The plate (moon) really glows in the box and makes the people look more like silhouettes under a tree. 

I finished a little early so challenged myself to use up all the extra pieces and the lid of the wooden cigar box. 

Kind of looks like an owl man. Upside down it looks like a bug. 

And the journal sketches:

I spent rest hour listening to the masters discuss biz and websites. 

Mimi Kirchner, Lilla Rogers and Mati Rose McDonough... Hanging out in the lunchroom is just as educational as the classes!

As for the afternoon class... I knew within ten minutes that this was a mistake! Children's Books and Collage with Rebecca Emberly. Rebecca is amazing and knows everything about the industry,  but we were all feeling a little deflated because its not such a happy industry. Then when she spoke about contracts and publishers... Well, let's just say the day took a turn for the worse. :-( When we broke for a short break, we fled for the kitchen looking for cookies. The food lady gave us a trough of salsa and chips and we drowned our sorrows. One of my friends said, "now I understand why your cabin on the rocks (yesterday's post) was so inaccessible!" Indeed. 

We only had about an hour to work on our collages, and I was still obsessing about cookies...

Definitely a theme here?

But we all came back to work on the porch after dinner. 

Ah! We just scarfed down the s'mores

Heaven. 

Now- I can go to bed happy!

Art Camp Day 2

It's August... How is it so cold?! Nevertheless, it is really beautiful here.

There is the most unusual barracks/cabin here with low walls and built in desks and shelves. 

That's not my cabin though. Mine is so tiny I can touch all the walls from the center of the room. And there is... some one... living in the bottom drawer. 

Today's fabulous class, Tiny Worlds, was taught by art-toy maker, Mimi Kirchner (mimikirchner.com).

I spent the day creating my own mini happy place. In a teacup.              

I'm sure it means... nothing... but there is no dock, no path, and angry waves. But the cottage is friendly and warm! 

And here is my cabin in situ...

And here is my fellow classmate, Joanne Hus', cottage. 

The elastic suspenders are just to hold it in place while the glue dries. 

We are so proud of ourselves! Not only did we actually finish, we had so much fun!

Now- I am starving. Again. I can smell wonderful things cooking in the kitchen. 

Oh! I didn't get a chance to mention it last night, but I got quite an unexpected surprise... I came here to run away and learn some new things. Imagine my delight to discover that my teacher, Lilla Rogers, is also here at camp. In my cabin. She's the one who recently hosted the Global Talent Search I posted about last week. Anyway, it has been really interesting talking with her in person! And there are a few other students from her online class here as well. 

A great day. Now, all I care about is food. 

Art Camp! Day 1

On Mayhew Island...

Sitting in the dark lodge, lit only with twinkle lights... Listening to people play all kinds of weird instruments and sing parts of songs that no one really knows the words to.... 

In case you can't imagine, here's a photo and the sketch I just did of the scene. I wish you were here with me to hear it. Magical. 

Tomorrow we start the ART. :-)

Tangle Card Challenge #5 - Hemp (And #6!)

For this week's Challenge, we are going to do things a little bit differently. I will be away at Art Camp next week so I won't be able to choose winners and post the art. I'll be on a little island in a lake, doing arts and crafts. :-) (YEAH!) That means, I am going to give you a harder... or more "interesting"... tangle, and you will have TWO weeks to work on your entry. Sound good? To make it even better, I will choose TWO winners. Well, I will choose one, and YOU all will choose the other by popular choice on the Facebook Page.

AND Tangle Card Challenge #6 will be happening simultaneously on the Zentangle for Kidz site. Anyone can enter #6 - any age, any skill level, and you can enter #6 even if you have already won on this site.

This next Challenge features Hemp. This design came from a Japanese kimono pattern, but seems to pop up all over the word in different forms. Basically, it's triangles divided into more triangles. There are all kinds of cool variations that include funky 3-D effects by using shading. My sample piece uses black to create graphic looking stars...

Post your art on the Beez Ink Studio Facebook Page.

The winners will be chosen in TWO weeks on Thursday, August 22nd, sometime after lunch. ;-)

Don't be afraid to post whatever you come up with - any skill level is welcome.
Let's see what you've got!

To see all the contest details, read this post.

Entries from Round 1 can be seen here.
Round 2 is here.
Round 3 is here.
And Round 4 is here.

Hemp is from the Totally Tangled Edition card pack. The Tangle card packs can be pre-ordered HERE.

Results of Tangle Contest #4 - Kaleido

It was nice to have an easy week wasn't it? Nevertheless - there were clever and beautiful solutions for this tangle - Kaleido.

Kailey McEvilly

Jean Chaney

Vicki Gentry

Arnoldo Romero

Becki Miller (Week #3 Winner)

Debra Castaldi

Dennie York

Faith Kaminsky Cohen

Ginny Stiles

Janneke de Lange

Lena Ulses

Lesley Scott-Gillilan

Lila Popcheff

Lynne Norikane Newberry

Meridiana Major

Nicole Kelly

Penny Brouckaert

Rita Nikolajeva

Traci Frogley

The winner is.... 
Maya Hardcastle's "Kaleid-ohm"!!

Maya Hardcastle - "Kaleid-ohm"

Maya's piece is simple and yet really plays up the fun "trick" of hiding another image inside Kaleido.
(Maya let me know where you would like me to send your brand-spankin'-new pack of Tangle Cards!)

Seeing all these interesting variations reminded me that this is a tangle I have been wanting to play with a lot more.

Tomorrow I will post the pattern for Tangle Challenge #5... AND #6.. Ooo-la-la.... ;-D