Sample Journal

Hard at work on the Nile Journal... I wanted to share page 1 so here it is...  I hope this gives you a better idea of what the class will be like.  And yes, I promise you can do this without having ANY ability to draw!! 

New Class Series

I am working on a new series of classes that I'll be teaching at Stamp Your Art Out in Blue Ash in the Spring.  Have you ever seen those beautiful travel journals created by artists, a combination of drawings, watercolor paintings, and written travel memories?   Here is your chance to travel through time to exotic places without worrying about dysentery, bandits or extra baggage fees.  I'll teach you tricks to add drawings to your journal without being able to draw!  Our journals will come to life by combining tracing, collage, watercolor, stamping, and many other techniques.  We'll fully immerse ourselves in our fun destination and learn something along the way! 

Watch for more information....

Too many holidays

Another great kid quote, this time from my 6 year old nephew, Jack...

My sister, Allison, said her boys were telling her how they learned about Hanukkah at school and how it started this week on Thursday.

Jack:  "There are a lot of Holidays this week, Mom."
Allison:  "What other holidays are this week?"
Jack:  "Well, Monday was a holiday."
Allison thinks about it for a few minutes and then has to give up and ask, "what was Monday?"
Jack:  "It was an online holiday, Mom."

Allison:  "You mean Cyber-Monday?"

Jack:  "Yeah, that's the one!"

tried something new

I tried something alittle different.  More gears, no zentangle... definite steampunk influence...  I like combining the organic with the inorganic.  I'll be trying more of these I think

Latest Zentangle

I'm going to be doing a class at Stamp Your Art Our in January that combines stamping and Zentangling.  Here is one of the samples for the class.

  The class will be January 15th, if i can get my act together and get samples and paperwork down to Connie. LOL!  Hope to see some of you there.

Gears

I've always been fascinated but clockwork machinery...  gears, cogs, anything of that nature.  When I was living in England, I visited The Cabaret Mechanical Theatre at Covent Garden.  It was a fascinating display of automatons, gear driven sculptures, so intricate in design as to seem magical.  Of course my visit was almost 15 years ago, so much has changed I would imagine.  There is a website that is quite inspiring, http://www.cabaret.co.uk/, so do visit them. 

Conversations

One of the blogs I read on a fairly regular basis is the Zentangle blog. There is always something interesting and the art work is astounding. Yesterday, Rick and Maria posted a letter they received. You can read the post by clicking here.

http://zentangle.blogspot.com/2010/11/conversation.html

I think what amazes me most about the email that Rick and Maria received is that it was sent at all. And yes, I know, that's terribly naive but really, they receive them on a regular basis? What a waste of time and energy. What did the individual hope to accomplish by writing to them? Why not channel that energy into their own art or back into helping the community, (which is ALWAYS the best use of extra time and energy). Engaging in thoughtful debate is a necessary part of human civilization, we are all entitled to our opinions. But ignorance is not an opinion. To quote Martin Luther King Jr. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

I'm going to put these comments into their blog as well as here so you may see them twice. My apologies. I am just amazed as to the emotional response Zentangle attracts. I don't mind people who are passionate about things.... please just be respectfully passionate about them. LOL. Putting away my soapbox now.

A Short Art History Lesson

I only wish that I'd known my self better when I was younger.  I would have liked to have majored in Art History, not that being a History major was far off... but perhaps I could have pursued a career in art.  I remember being fascinated with art history even in grade school.  One of my Social Studies books had a picture of the Venus of Willendorf on its bright, glossy pages and it has forever captured my imagination.  If you aren't familiar with this comfortable little sculpture, she is alittle over 4 inches high, and was carved from limestone between 22,000 and 21,000 B.C.E.  She was discovered by Austro- Hungarian archaeologist Josef Szombathy in 1908 near the village of Willendorf in Austria.   It's interesting to read what all the scholars have decided that see represents, from a fertility idol to a self-portrait.  What I find so amazing about her is that during a time when human beings needed to direct all their energies on surviving, someone would have found the time to create art.  Human beings have always and will always feel a need to create art in some form, it is as basic as eating, sleeping, and breathing.  The Venus of Willendorf proves that.

Zentangle Class at Marco Paper

I will be teaching an introductory Zentangle class at Marco's Paper on Saturday, November 20 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Marco's Paper is located on Whipp Road near Far Hills.  For all the details about the class follow this link,
http://www.marcopaper.com/products.php?product=Untangle-with-Zentangle-with-Nicole-Ewing-%252d%252d-November-20

I hope to see you there!  It's going to be alot of fun.

Sassy Zentangle Chic

I finished this sample for a class I'll be teaching in January and my favorite part is definitely her hair!!  I used an old stamp that I've had for years that was just the outlines of a paper doll.  Then i zentangled her insides.  With such a chic dress, she cried out for an elegant bouffant hairdo.... and this is the result...  aren't you just lovin' the hair?  or and that little thing in her hand is supposed to be a purse but it didn't scan very well...

I had such fun making her, I'm going to have to do a whole bunch of zentangle paper dolls, just so she'll have some friends at that party she seems to be going to.... :)

new pattern

I've posted this pattern on my flickr site but I'm going to start posting my patterns here on my blog.  This pattern is from the grid work at the front of my church.  And yes i did sit and sketch it out one morning during the service....  I'm horribly ADHD....  what can i say?  drawing helps me focus.   Anyway, the final version smudged badly but its supposed to be shaded to make it look very 3D.  As soon as I've done something i actually LIKE using this pattern I'll post the finished piece.  In the meantime, here are the steps...

The Wisdom of Children

My 6 year old informed me very sagely this morning, "You know mom, alot of people have butts.... So they can sit down.  'Cause if they kept walking all the time, they'd get really tired."

Very true, I guess I'd never really thought about it like that before.  I suppose I should be more thankful, for both my 6 year old and my Glutieus Maximus.

New Zentangle

Here's my latest zentangle.  I've been wanting to try this idea out for awhile.  I would really have liked to do it on some bigger tags but this was the only size I had and right now I'm on a "use what I have" kick, (translated as, i have no money).  I also thought the twigs anchored the tags nicely on the page, but I'd love to hear some feedback. 

A quick craft project

The words "craft project" will make some people shudder in revulsion.  But I wanted to share this one since it was cheap, easy and made my boys very happy.  We move ALOT...  I don't think we've been in the same house for more then a few years.  So for my boys, learning to feel at home in a new house is a big deal.  One way that I've found to do this is to personalize their bedroom by hanging their names on the door.  I decided that painting the letters would look boring and flat so instead I covered them with scrapbook paper.  I chose a different color family for each boy, blue for Charlie, and red for Tommy, and decoupaged the papers to the wooden letters.  The letters I had were unfinished when i bought them so I had to sand them, and paint them white first, but you could buy them white.  I painted the glue on the letters then turned them onto the paper which i lay wrongside-up on the table.  Once the it was dry, I cut around it with an exacto blade and lightly sanded the edges.  Here's the results....

I know...  bad picture... If any one's interested, I can put up a close up picture of a letter.  Anyway, hope someone trys this project!  It's super easy and the results are terrific!

My Shoes

(or how I got started)

I never imagined that a discussion about my stinky shoes would lead to an invitation to teach a class at Stamp Your Art Out.  But, that's exactly what happened one afternoon when i wandered into the store in search of a white pen to tangle on my old, beat-up, blue sneakers.  When I mentioned to the ladies there what I wanted the pen for and they said they had never heard of Zentangling, I was shocked!  Zentangling was absolutly the coolest thing ever!!  and i was so sure they would love it, that i ran out to my car to grab my sketch book and show some examples. 

"Wow!  This is amazing!"  They said. 

"I know."  I replied.  "You should offer a class here on how to do it."

"Why don't you teach it."  They said

"Oh, no.  I can't teach it.  I'm not certified."  I said definitely.  They laughed at me.  I explained the process, gave them all the information to the Zentangle website and left.  Two months later, I was back with my shoes and despite everything, they still wanted me to teach the class.

One of these days... I'll get that certification...  i swear.

First Untangle Class

I hope all my students had a great time in the Zentangle class yesterday.  I know I did!  It was a wonderful first experience for me because you all were so supportive and enthusiastic.  Thank you, thank you, a million times thank you! 

This site is still a work in progress, partially because I'm not sure of its full purpose in being yet.  Perhaps I'll do some Zentangles and the answers will come to me. :)  I did want to make sure that I posted your beautiful artwork from yesterday so here it is! (Click on the image to get a better view)

I'd love to see any new Zentangles you all create so please take a picture and send them to me.  Also, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask and I'll do my best to answer you.

Thanks again,
Nicole

Sketches