Which Schway Did He Go

This week's Diva Challenge was to use Maria Thomas' awesome new tangle 'Schway'.  It's probably all kinds of illegal but I'm going to cut and paste the directions here because it is just so nifty: Two simple steps make all of those arrows!

I thought about not posting this challenge entry  because, while I was so anxious to try this pattern-as well as take a much needed stress break, the resulting tile was less than stellar. In fact it down right stinks, but it did the job as a stress reliever anyway. My challenge rules are that I always go with the first attempt. Sometimes it works. In this here particular case....not so much.

So to apologize, I will share this one that , while unshaded, I am much happier with. It's one of my favorite Maya Angelou quotes. I did it on Friday night at a coffee shop while I was visiting with the Knit Sisters. You can double click on it to make it a little bigger.

If and when I get it shaded, I'll repost.

At any rate, thanks again Maria for a cool pattern and Laura for a wonderful challenge. I'm sorry my first attempt didn't do it the justice it deserves. I am looking forward to refining my execution of this pattern once things settle down again!

Weekly Challenge #116: "Blind Sighted"

This week's Diva Challenge was a great one! It was to close your eyes and blindly draw a string and then  tangle it. The' tangle it' part was with your eyes open.  I learned that one the hard way. In fact, I learned several things during this exercise.

1.  I have no concept of size.

2. To others, that little bump the pencil makes, signifies that you are leaving the 'safe zone' of the thick cushy tile, and venturing into the 'no-no' territory of  the  white counter top.

3. Not to me it doesn't.

4. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser cleans the pencil strings off the white counter tops just fine. ( I believe this exercise is why Maria came up with the 'strings are only in pencil' rule. I'm sure she envisioned the possibility of me trying to clean permanent marker off white tile with my Magic Eraser. Thanks Maria!.)

My first string made it a little onto the tile but not much. The part on the top right that ended up on the counter top (and a little on my my phone bill) was much more interesting, but I always go with what I have.  I outlined the string in red.

So you can see...precious little string to work with.

Here's the second one I did, because I seem to be all about the colored pencils these days. The string is in red.  The rest of the top right hand loop is on my counter. A significant amount of the bottom left hand line is on my Chang Jiang Menu. All indications point to the fact that the clutter on my counter needs to be taken care of sooner rather than later.

And here it is without the string.

Why, when I was working on a 3.5 inch tile with my eyes closed, did I think I could make huge sweeping-motion strings a la Jackson Pollack? Twice? A little too enthusiastic about this challenge? I don't know. It is yet another one of the  mysterious qualities that makes me the 'special' person I am today. I'm not crazy. My Mum had me tested.

Thanks again for another great challenge, Laura! You rock!

Amanda Day 3013

This week's Diva Challenge was to create a tangle to do with Earth Day (endearingly re-dubbed 'Amanda Day' last year by Laura's adorable son, Chewie ). Since time is of the essence these days, I decided to just doodle something quickly in my calendar and call it good.

 However, as is usually the case when time is of the essence, a 10 minute doodle didn't have the restorative properties needed to calm the mind monkeys lately, so before I knew it, I was shirking all responsibility and knee-deep in a tangle WITH COLOR! When I go off the rails, I really go off the rails!

I just love the natural world around us so much that I couldn't put those feelings into just black and white.   And wouldn't you know, once I had finished, I had renewed energy to finish up the chores I had waiting for me. You're done it again, Laura! Thanks for the great challenge!

Tangle Pattern: Pawla

Paula Poundstone is one of my favorite stand up comediannes. She travels a lot for her performances and from time to time, she posts pictures of 'interesting' hotel room art.  This one was from last week.

In honor of Paula, I turned it into a tangle

 

And I used it on the tangle for the 16th in my calendar.

Hope you have fun with it!

Weekly Challenge #114: "You with the Stars in your Eyes - Stars v 2.0"

Boy did this week's Diva Challenge come just in time! It's been an extremely challenging but exciting couple of weeks at Molly Bees Attic; a roller coaster and a rocket ship ride all rolled into one. I looked forward to sitting down to Laura's challenge all weekend and was thrilled to see that the theme was 'stars'.

My initial tile is my official 'entry'.  I love, love, love, to draw the sky pattern at the top of the tile. I use it a lot. I could watch the stars all night long but, living in the city now, I can't see them as well as I could when I was a wee lassie in the wilds of Northern Maine where they crammed into every corner of the night sky.  Of course, as is the way of life, I took them for granted then. This pattern always reminds me of the skies back home.

I did this one a while ago in my art journal. It contains my favorite 'star saying' so I thought I'd include it:

 'I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the starts makes me dream."

Since I finished my entry tile right away, I decided to do another. I was watching the news while drawing. Never do that! It takes away all of the restorative properties of relaxing with a Zentangle tile. Especially when some moron sets a couple of bombs at the Boston Marathon finish line. Don't even get me started. I'm not giving the perpetrator(s) one second of the time, media and attention they demand. I feel exactly the same way Patton Oswald*, does.  Suffice to say, I have many friends in the Boston area as well as friends and aquaintances that were running the race and was relieved to hear that everyone was miraculously safe and uninjured at the end of the day.

Thanks again. Laura for another fabulous challenge both in theme and timing! You rock!

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*This probably violates all kinds of copyright laws, but I skimmed this from a newspaper article who skimmed it from his public Facebook account so I'm posting it here. Patton, if you see this and are ticked, contact me and I'll remove it:

"I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, 'Well, I've had it with humanity.' "But I was wrong. I don't know what's going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths."

 "But here's what I DO know. If it's one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out."
-Patton Oswald.

Weekly Challenge #113: String Theory v. XXIV "Hip to be Square"

This week's Diva Challenge was to draw your string as a square in a square in a square etc. This is a weird angle, but here it is.

I really liked this challenge because I like to color in the lines! Clearly defined spaces are my friend.  It was a nice easy piece to relax with this evening after a long stress-filled day. Thanks for the challenge, Laura!

It Finally Feels Like Spring!!!

FINALLY!