THE GATHERING

 

My grocery store always has a beautiful display of gourds during the fall season.  The grouping is interesting.  They almost seem like a family gathered together for a wonderful celebration.  There are all shapes and sizes, tall and short, bulbous and slender.  The texture is usually smooth, with an occasional ridge or blemish.

This is what I thought about when I received the wonderful “Doodling Borders for Wood Burning Gourds & Drawing,” written by Bettie Lake and published by Schiffer.  What fascinated me as I reviewed the book was how the art form, Zentangle, was utilized to enhance the borders and surface of each gourd.

Many patterns are introduced and subsequently shown as border designs. There are many examples of beautifully designed gourds, utilizing transferring images and then applying watercolor pencils and paints.   Other gourds are illustrated with very intricate carved and wood burned surfaces.

The last section is a step-by-step process of choosing and cleaning the gourds.  Once all of the scraping and sanding, and scouring has taken place, the gourds will be ready for enhancement. 

The wonderfully decorated gourds, which I viewed in this book, has really captured my imagination.  They too seem like a family gathered together for a very special celebration.

 

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 IT’S A STICKY AFFAIR

 Aleene’s Glue

 

I just received a carton of this “Favorite American Craft Glue.”  Inside were five cylindrical 4 fluid oz. containers consisting of Clear Gel Tacky Glue, Original Tacky Glue, Quick Dry Tacky Glue, Fast Grab Tacky Glue, and Turbo Tacky Glue.  I had been doing some seed bead decorating on my Zentangle designs, and was anxious to see if any of these products would produce the results I was trying to achieve.  My mantra had been “glue, place, and stay.” 

Unfortunately, in the past I had not been too successful.  My designs were well conceived, but I could not get the glue to adhere for any prolonged time.  No matter how long I waited, there was always a recalcitrant bead that refused to stay in line.  Some of my clients accepted the designs in their asymmetrical fashion, but that was not really the statement I was trying to make.

All of the above glues hold my beads fast to the  beaded drop earrings or my Zentangle images.  Now my mantra is “glue, place, and thank goodness” for Aleene’s Favorite American Craft Glues.

 

 

 

THE ART OF ZENTANGLE

After perusing this book, “The Art of Zentangle,” I decided to go on Amazon to ascertain what other readers were posting about it.  I certainly had my own opinions, but it is always useful to get other readers slant on things.  Almost 100% of the reviewers agreed with my premise that this book is extremely well conceived.  All of the sections are laid out with great care and numerous zentangle concepts are explored.

 Tools and materials, patterns and borders are all there at one’s fingertips and micro pen.  If one can see, one can “tangle.”  Page after page is enticing the reader to listen to the music and begin the dance.  On one page, a whimsical creature is introduced after a camera reproduction of cobblestone walk.  These inspirations are all around us; it is just a matter of interpretation and then presentation. 

 I was introduced to many variations of a basic zentangle pattern which then led to my freedom to think outside the box and let my imagination begin the creative movement. There are blank spaces on some of the pages which allowed me to practice.  The instructions on the mandala stencil string were fun to follow and the finished project lead to many additional zentangle drawings.  As my strings separated the tiles into different sections, I couldn’t wait to put my pen to paper tile and begin.

One doesn’t have to have to be an “artist.”  Once you pick up this book, you will be hooked on “The Art of Zentangle” and the many meditative and fun activities you can then pursue.