Diva's Challenge #160: "String Theory: Spiral out, Keep Going! (v.2)"

The Diva's Challenge is to use a spiral as your string.
This past week saw the introduction of 2 new patterns, both of which I like a lot, and both of which I thought would lend themselves well to a spiral form.

The first is Ansu, by CZT Lori Manoogian, 
which I added to this dual spiral, with a tangleation of Flux for the other arm of the spiral:

I thought it looked good, but needed something; either color, or shading. My first try at color was using
 Derwent's Inktense Pencils.

I like the color, but it was a little messy on the paper I was using. So I tried my Prismacolor pencils;

not so messy, but they didn't do so well on the textured paper I was using. Although the overall effect is not bad.

Then I tried some shading; this effect is also not bad. The main thing is that I was right about Ansu working well as a spiral. I really like it. I just don't know which version I like best.

By the time I finished (I didn't get a chance to work on it till today) there wasn't much time to spend on the other new pattern: Pax, by Christine Reyes. But I thought that if, instead of reversing the direction of each row, as in this example:

you continue in the same direction, it would be a spiral.

And it works. I didn't have time to work up a more elaborate tile, but you get the idea.

Let me know what you think.

Be sure to visit the Diva's site to see the other wonderful entries; it's amazing how different all the responses are. Maybe you'll be inspired to try out one of the Challenges yourself.
 

Thanks for visiting; please leave a comment, favorable or not. I'd love to hear your thoughts. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day; see you all next time.

Top O' the Morning

I haven't had much chance to work on challenges this week, and even less chance to look at all the entries into this week's Diva's Challenge. For one thing, my husband smashed his ankle with a mallet, and that kind of slowed down all the usual activities. 

Luckily, this week's theme: Top O' the Morning (take your inspiration from St. Patrick's Day), worked out well for me. It may be cheating somewhat, but I was able to make use of some of my ideas from last week's String Thing, which was also St. Patrick's Day related. You can check out my tiles from that challenge here on my blog from then.

What I was able to make use of from that String Thing was 

Adele Bruno's beautiful string: Lucky

 

 and then I added LukiLine by Mary Masi, and this is what I came up with.

For the color, I used Prismacolor pencils in 2 shades of green, and then added a 3rd, darker green for shading. Unfortunately, the shading is so subtle, it doesn't show up very well in this scan. You'll just have to take my word for it. All in all, it's very simplistic, but I like it.

Be sure to visit the Diva's site to see the other wonderful entries; it's amazing how different all the responses are. Maybe you'll be inspired to try out one of the Challenges yourself.

Thanks for visiting; please leave a comment, favorable or not. I'd love to hear your thoughts. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day; see you all next time.

Happy Birthday, Rick; and Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone


Because we are celebrating two happy occasions this week - Rick Roberts, the co-founder of Zentangle® reached a milestone 60th birthday, and St. Patrick's Day is on Monday, we pay tribute to both in our String Thing.

This is #31, 

and we start by using Adele Bruno's Lucky String Line:   
and then use the tangle patterns 

Lucky, by Adele and Paradox, by Rick.

I don't know where to start about how this went. For one thing, the  string was/is just beautiful on it's own. The first thing I did was to fill it with Paradox, and then I didn't know what to do next; it seemed perfect as is. Very flowing and lyrical.
 

So I left it and went on to try another, adding Adele's Lucky pattern to it this time:

 

Then I tried a dark background, didn't finish it

And reversed the tangles:

This one might have been better if I shaded it.

And on, and on, and on. Each one gave me an idea for another one. My work spaces are strewn with tiles, and sketches in my sketchbook. Will it ever end? I guess it will have to. What it all comes down to is that the first one is still my favorite, although technically it doesn't meet the criterion; I haven't actually used the tangle pattern Lucky. Except that the string itself is a version of Lucky.

So there you have it. Another week, another String Thing.

Be sure to check out all the entries @ Tickled to Tangle, on Monday, when Adele Bruno posts them. The vast differences that can be achieved using the same tangles on the same string are truly incredible. And, if you've a mind to try a String Thing yourself, check back on Tuesday, when she offers the new ones.


Thanks for visiting; please leave a comment, favorable or not. I'd love to hear your thoughts. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention. 



Have a great day; see you all next time.