It is with a heavy heart, and grieving for my friend, that I post this news about Dave Hunter's wife, Linda. She passed away on the morning of Friday, Feb 20 at 9:25 am.
Linda has been sick all winter, and took a turn for the worse on Friday morning. The ER doctors did their best to resuscitate her, working on her for 40 minutes. Dave says her heart just couldn't do it anymore.
Please hold him and his children and grand-children in your prayers. He will be taking a hiatus from the Diva challenges as he deals with all the details surrounding this sad event.
---Heidi
IT Gathering #42 Update.
We gather on the Second Sunday of the Month.
Date: Nov 11, 2018. (Sunday)
Time: 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Place, Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store (Click this link for Map)
Please R.S.V.P.
Reserve a seat at the next Gathering by filling out the contact form at the left.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Monday, February 9, 2015
Gathering #5
Our February Gathering! (Sunday, February 8, 2015)
We did it again! the Intermountain Tanglers had another Gathering, and what a fun time it was! There were eight people there in all, each of us with our favorite pieces to show around and techniques to share. Finally we met Lezli B, a regular participant in the Diva's Challenge, who has been trying to get to one of the Gatherings from the very beginning. What an artist! my word, but she does beautiful work. Her sister Judy was there, too
We had one gal there who we weren't expecting. This is how she found us (HeidiSue LOVES this story): Shelley was clicking around on taglepatterns.com. She is making a notebook with the stepouts for all the patterns, and she came across a certain pattern Hitched! by HeidiSue. And Linda Farmer put such a wonderful blurb in there about Heidi and about the IT Gathering...and Shelley came to visit! What a cool way to find us. I hope it happens again...and again.
Seriously, isn't that a cool way to meet?
Zentangle® brings friends together!
Annie, from the second Gathering, was there, and brought her part of the ensemble we started for our Gathering 2 project and now we have three quarters of it together. Sure enough, it was VERY cool to see how it fit in with the others. Now to get Robin back, and her piece will be in place and our ensemble will be complete.
One of the most fun aspects of getting together with other Tanglers, is checking out each others' work. It is inspirational, and we learn from each other about techniques, resources, tools, and equipment. There was a lot of talent in that room, and a lot of creative energy. Which is another wonderful aspect of getting together: we feed each other. Each of us picks up the energy of the room and it comes out through our pens to the paper. Annie created a very cool heart, filled with nothing but circles (and a cute little baby leafy thingy)...and the idea for the circles was something Heidi had been working on all day. (If you make the circles in the center of a shape larger, and at the edges they are smaller, gradually decreasing from the center to the edge...it adds depth and texture, naturally. Try it! here is a link with an example (Notice all the tangling! Don't you just want to do the same, and give it a try.!)
Along with our tiles, David made templates for hearts, for each and every one of us. We have templates and stencils to work with in many sizes and shapes of heart! Fun stuff. Oh! he also created a mandala template with almost unlimited combinations of angles and lines, that will be VERY useful to HeidiSue as she explores zendalas this next few weeks. And he brought the step outs for a few heart patterns for us to play with. (I wonder if anyone will use them for the Diva Challenge this week? Yes someone used Heartfully by Helen Williams from the Pattern Sheet, but his identity shall remain nameless.)
We all had a terrific time meeting each other, and greeting those we have met before (Annie, Barbara, and Susan have all been to previous Gatherings). we left energized and inspired for more wonderful zentangle® play!
 |
| Dave, Judy, Lezli B, Barbara, Annie, HeidiSue, Shelley (Susan had not arrived when this picture was taken) |
 |
| This is Susan. |
We did it again! the Intermountain Tanglers had another Gathering, and what a fun time it was! There were eight people there in all, each of us with our favorite pieces to show around and techniques to share. Finally we met Lezli B, a regular participant in the Diva's Challenge, who has been trying to get to one of the Gatherings from the very beginning. What an artist! my word, but she does beautiful work. Her sister Judy was there, too
 | ||
| Lezli on the left; Judy on the right |
 |
| This is Shelley, working on a delicate zendala piece. |
 |
| Annie perusing a book. Barbara was working on some charming little delights |
Seriously, isn't that a cool way to meet?
Zentangle® brings friends together!
Annie, from the second Gathering, was there, and brought her part of the ensemble we started for our Gathering 2 project and now we have three quarters of it together. Sure enough, it was VERY cool to see how it fit in with the others. Now to get Robin back, and her piece will be in place and our ensemble will be complete.
 |
| Ensemble projects are such fun. They are amazing when assembled. Three sections down, one section to go. |
David sought out and found Tiepolo paper online. It is the same paper that Zentangle® tiles are made from, and it just so happens that Dave used to be a printer, and has some equipment for managing large amounts of paper...so he took an order and cut our paper into tiles for us. It is amazing, the difference such fine paper makes. We got to round our own corners...or not...once we got our tiles. They were an inexpensive way of getting some very high quality paper into our hands. Good stuff!
 |
| Shelley, Susan, and Dave. What you talking about Dave? |
One of the most fun aspects of getting together with other Tanglers, is checking out each others' work. It is inspirational, and we learn from each other about techniques, resources, tools, and equipment. There was a lot of talent in that room, and a lot of creative energy. Which is another wonderful aspect of getting together: we feed each other. Each of us picks up the energy of the room and it comes out through our pens to the paper. Annie created a very cool heart, filled with nothing but circles (and a cute little baby leafy thingy)...and the idea for the circles was something Heidi had been working on all day. (If you make the circles in the center of a shape larger, and at the edges they are smaller, gradually decreasing from the center to the edge...it adds depth and texture, naturally. Try it! here is a link with an example (Notice all the tangling! Don't you just want to do the same, and give it a try.!)
 |
| Visiting over our art |
Along with our tiles, David made templates for hearts, for each and every one of us. We have templates and stencils to work with in many sizes and shapes of heart! Fun stuff. Oh! he also created a mandala template with almost unlimited combinations of angles and lines, that will be VERY useful to HeidiSue as she explores zendalas this next few weeks. And he brought the step outs for a few heart patterns for us to play with. (I wonder if anyone will use them for the Diva Challenge this week? Yes someone used Heartfully by Helen Williams from the Pattern Sheet, but his identity shall remain nameless.)
Tile Samples from the Tanglers present...
 |
| Susan Vaughn |
 |
| Judy Shupe |
 |
| Leslie Burge |
 |
| Annie Charat |
 |
| Annie Charat |
 |
| Barbara Huppe |
 |
| HeidiSue |
 |
| HeidiSue |
 |
| David Hunter |
We all had a terrific time meeting each other, and greeting those we have met before (Annie, Barbara, and Susan have all been to previous Gatherings). we left energized and inspired for more wonderful zentangle® play!
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Use your good stuff
This little essay stands by itself. It is good advice for art, and for all areas of life. Use your good stuff!
I have boxes and cabinets filled with things i have never used.. and I can't really tell you why. Because I'm waiting for something I think. No more. I'm going to pull out all my stuff and try and use a ton of it this year, what I don't, I will either sell and buy things I love and will use or I will give away to someone who might actually love and appreciate it. :) The other day in one of the groups I participate in, I posted something. It's been pretty popular and I'm glad that it reached the audience it has, but I want to pass it around a little more, because I think it's really very important. I've cleaned it up a little and made a few additional notes, but pretty much, here it is.
I've seen something a lot in groups and online discussion groups lately. I want to share something with you, not because I am a CZT (though I am) or because I want to sell you something (you have a million options for that and unless you live close to me I'd direct you to someone closer anyway) so I really have NOTHING to gain by what I am about to say. But it's in the spirit of Zentangle so I think it belongs here.
Use the good stuff.
Don't save your good paper for the day you feel your work is "good enough" because you never will. You'll always wait until you are "a little better" or you've "perfected that tangle" Don't practice on scraps, don't treat your work as insignificant. That makes me sad. Use the best you can. If that's a piece of notebook paper because that's all you have, fine... but if you have choices, find paper YOU love. It doesn't have to be Zentangle tiles... unless those are what you love. I mean.. I ADORE them, but that's MY personal preference because it's beautiful and make me happy to just hold them in my hands. You might love Bristol. If that's your favorite USE BRISTOL! Find a pen that works for you. Maybe you want something refillable, maybe the smell of sharpies makes you happy, maybe you like the way Pitts flow, maybe microns work for you. Good! Use what works FOR YOU.
Part of the joy of Zentangle is the play of the ink against the paper. Microns and tiles were selected to teach with because they work nicely together, they don't smear a lot, the color is deep and rich and beautiful and it's a JOY to lay the ink down on the paper. It really is. There are a lot of tools out there that will play nicely together. Each stroke feels like an event when you are using tools you love. Whatever your tools ARE, they should be ones that make you ENJOY what you are doing. Coloring in shouldn't feel like a chore, it should be part of the fun. The tools you use should be selected with that in mind. It doesn't have to be expensive. You can find a sketchbook to practice in with good paper for a couple dollars. I draw almost constantly and I only go through 1 pen or so a month. I can invest a couple dollars in that. .... If you love crayons, use crayons. But use what you love.
Use your good stuff, don't save it for someday,because someday might never come. My favorite responses to that (and there have been a lot) were the ones where people shared that they were going to do that, that they took it to heart and that it inspired them to take it outside their art as well. Go get a glass of your favorite beverage in something beautiful that you've been saving til you had company. You and your family are certainly as good as company. :) Make dinner tonight and use your fancy plates, even if you have leftovers. My Gram used to tell me, make each day a memory. :) I've been forgetting that myself. In the spirit of using things you love... I have a small carepackage of things I no longer love or need. It's a surprise box of goodies... so I'm not going to tell you what's in it... but this is a little bonus contest for the month. (I'll give everyone til the end of Jan) Post your entry on here, show me something using your good stuff. It doesn't even have to be a creation with your good stuff... It can be a china cup, or your favorite boots, or whatever you want.
By Kelly, at whimsy by Kelly
(Used with permission.)
I have boxes and cabinets filled with things i have never used.. and I can't really tell you why. Because I'm waiting for something I think. No more. I'm going to pull out all my stuff and try and use a ton of it this year, what I don't, I will either sell and buy things I love and will use or I will give away to someone who might actually love and appreciate it. :) The other day in one of the groups I participate in, I posted something. It's been pretty popular and I'm glad that it reached the audience it has, but I want to pass it around a little more, because I think it's really very important. I've cleaned it up a little and made a few additional notes, but pretty much, here it is.
I've seen something a lot in groups and online discussion groups lately. I want to share something with you, not because I am a CZT (though I am) or because I want to sell you something (you have a million options for that and unless you live close to me I'd direct you to someone closer anyway) so I really have NOTHING to gain by what I am about to say. But it's in the spirit of Zentangle so I think it belongs here.
Use the good stuff.
Don't save your good paper for the day you feel your work is "good enough" because you never will. You'll always wait until you are "a little better" or you've "perfected that tangle" Don't practice on scraps, don't treat your work as insignificant. That makes me sad. Use the best you can. If that's a piece of notebook paper because that's all you have, fine... but if you have choices, find paper YOU love. It doesn't have to be Zentangle tiles... unless those are what you love. I mean.. I ADORE them, but that's MY personal preference because it's beautiful and make me happy to just hold them in my hands. You might love Bristol. If that's your favorite USE BRISTOL! Find a pen that works for you. Maybe you want something refillable, maybe the smell of sharpies makes you happy, maybe you like the way Pitts flow, maybe microns work for you. Good! Use what works FOR YOU.
Part of the joy of Zentangle is the play of the ink against the paper. Microns and tiles were selected to teach with because they work nicely together, they don't smear a lot, the color is deep and rich and beautiful and it's a JOY to lay the ink down on the paper. It really is. There are a lot of tools out there that will play nicely together. Each stroke feels like an event when you are using tools you love. Whatever your tools ARE, they should be ones that make you ENJOY what you are doing. Coloring in shouldn't feel like a chore, it should be part of the fun. The tools you use should be selected with that in mind. It doesn't have to be expensive. You can find a sketchbook to practice in with good paper for a couple dollars. I draw almost constantly and I only go through 1 pen or so a month. I can invest a couple dollars in that. .... If you love crayons, use crayons. But use what you love.
Use your good stuff, don't save it for someday,because someday might never come. My favorite responses to that (and there have been a lot) were the ones where people shared that they were going to do that, that they took it to heart and that it inspired them to take it outside their art as well. Go get a glass of your favorite beverage in something beautiful that you've been saving til you had company. You and your family are certainly as good as company. :) Make dinner tonight and use your fancy plates, even if you have leftovers. My Gram used to tell me, make each day a memory. :) I've been forgetting that myself. In the spirit of using things you love... I have a small carepackage of things I no longer love or need. It's a surprise box of goodies... so I'm not going to tell you what's in it... but this is a little bonus contest for the month. (I'll give everyone til the end of Jan) Post your entry on here, show me something using your good stuff. It doesn't even have to be a creation with your good stuff... It can be a china cup, or your favorite boots, or whatever you want.
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