Zentangle Challenge #15-Curves

My Hot Air Balloons tile was inspired by the Hot Air Balloon Museum in Albuquerque, NM. Each fall they have an International Balloon Fest I would love to see! When we celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary in  a couple of years, we hope to make a trip there with the kids and take a spin up there in the wild blue yonder!  Our anniversary is in December so we may have to really bundle up!!!!

If you haven't checked out the Zentangle website yet, I highly recommend you do so...it is really fabulous...see my links on the right sidebar.

Southwest Trip/ part II

After our fabulous trip to the Davis Mountains, our working people and school people had to return home as their Spring Break was about to end.  We continued on West into New Mexico for great food, art, and fun!

In Albuquerque...the Hot Air Balloon Museum

Inside the Balloon Museum

And another picture of hot air balloons

In Albuquerque, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center...with a great restaurant!

A beautiful park in the middle of the Cultural District, Albuquerque where we took a nice, long walk.

And the Albuquerque Art Museum which had a wonderful sculpture garden outside and great art inside. 

The visitors' center at the Acoma  Pueblo which we visited with a terrific local Indian guide.

Acoma is the oldest pueblo which still is lived in by the Indians...atop a mesa, a few miles outside of Albuquerque

A view of the Sacred Mesa, the original living area, from up at Acoma.

And on to Santa Fe...the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

One of the many great galleries on Canyon Road, Santa Fe..our reflection in a huge stainless steel chick!

Part of our room at a very cool motel...Inn of the Governor's, Santa Fe

Just a couple of blocks from our motel, a pleasant surprise..the state capital building housing some of the best art work we saw anywhere!

Floor of the capital

A huge buffalo head, created from found objects!!  It is probably five foot in height.

The Miraculous Staircase at the Loretta Chapel, Santa Fe...a must see for anyone.

And the famous Ranchos de Taos Church in Taos...about an hour from Santa Fe.

The green room in the Blumenschein Home, Taos, an artist known for starting the "artist" community of Taos.

The Big House of Mabel Dodge Luhan, a wealthy socialite who was also very influential in the art community of Taos, now a B & B and retreat area...great breakfast!!!

The door to the upper level...Mabel's private entrance.

Then on our last day, heading from Taos...we were in a snowstorm, in the mountains for about an hour and a half!


All in all, we had a wonderful trip, and other than a little snow, wind and dust, had perfect weather to enjoy everything!

Zentangle #14-I Walk The Line

Week #14 Challenge: I Walk the Line: Southwest ZIA

The Week Challenge for #13 was while I was out of town and I didn't get in on it.  Week #14 is titled "I Walk the Line"...using only straight lines to create the zentangle.  As we had just visited New Mexico and the Pueblo Acoma outside of Albuquerque as well as many museums and art galleries in the area, I couldn't help but be somewhat influenced by the Indian art.  I picked up a term from the Zentangle website....ZIA...which I really like. It stands for Zentangle Influenced Art!

Back Home from Family Trip

Rooms at Sproul Ranch

Beautiful Sunsets from the ranch over the Davis Mts.

Kathleen the horse whisperer!

    

Jeep ride around the ranch

Colin and Graham, Skeet shooting

Hiking above the Rio Grande at Big Bend

Horse-back riding out of Fort Davis

At the McDonald's Observatory

At Fort Davis

Colin, rock climbing near Ft. Davis

Sproul Ranch, a working ranch near Ft. Davis...great place to visit.

We went with our daughters, SIL, and grands to the Davis Mts. area in Texas.  We stayed at the greatest place, Sproul Ranch, just outside Fort Davis...near the McDonald Observatory, Marfa, Alpine, and less than two hours to Big Bend Nat'l Park.

After six days, the kids all headed back to Ft. Worth/ McKinney and Dick and I went on to New Mexico for a few more days....WE didn't have to be back at the end of spring break.

Zentangle #2 for me-Challenge # 12

Zen-Wave..."Something Blue"

I am still lovin' these Zentangles!  This the second challenge from the "i am a diva" blog.  The topic for this challenge is "Something Blue".  For some reason, Hokusai's wood block print of "The Wave" came immediately to mind....so in homage to Hokusai, my "blue" Zentangle is "Zen-wave"!

"The Wave" by Hokusai

After looking at the wood cut, I noticed that my Mt. Fuji was on the left of my pic rather than like on the right in the famous pic!!  My excuse...I didn't want to plagiarize!!!!  (Good excuse, huh?)

Zentangles

I have recently been obsessed with "Zentangles"!!!  I have been a prolific doodler all my life...all over college notes, meeting agendas, grocery lists etc.  but I did not realize there is an art form for this fascination with line!  Below is my first attempt at "Zentangling" (can it be a verb!)..created in my sketchbook while idling away the evening watching television.

I've also been looking at lots of other Zentangles... there is a website (it is also listed in my sidebar..."iamadiva") by that name on my sidebar.  And I discovered another site that names a weekly challenge for Zentangles with a specific topic.  So I decided to give it a try...this first week (for me) is "Monotangle" and here it is!

After my attempts at Zentangles, I discovered there are books out there and certified teachers to show you how to do it!!!  I love that!!!  But I think I will muddle along on my own for awhile so I can try to be original in what I do.

Try it ....it is fun!!!

studioQ meeting

Yesterday, my studioQ group met at the cutest little cottage where one of our members and her husband are staying while "between" houses...one sold/the other not yet purchased.  We had our usual great time...shared ideas and had a fun show and tell!!

We also had our challenge blocks from our last meeting to show...these were from drawings from our sketchbooks.  Here are a few:

 This is my block...I put a border on it because the edges were kind of wonky.  My original in my sketchbook is on an earlier blog.  I think I may add some beading to it and give it to the committee for the Silent Auction at our Show next fall.

            Wendy was a bit of an over achiever!  She enlarged her block!!

           Heather's block is very colorful....she really followed her drawing well!

Dyanna chose to do a part of her block which she found most interesting.  She said she like it so well she may make more to add to it...I agree!  Very nice!

Susan seemed to have many more pieces than some others...great job of replicating!

Bethany had a unique way to make her block.  She used a felt base and zigzag stitched each section to it.  Clever girl!

Our hostess, Beth, is quite an artist with beadwork on wooden thread spools.  She showed us how she does it...I would like to try, but it is really tedious!  I think I am going to have to wait until after my cataract surgery and new glasses before I try it! Here is a basket full of spools she had done!