A Toast to Molossus

Molossus, of Life Imitates Doodles fame, has been posting some pretty wonderful "Bleedthrumanades" lately, one of which is entitled "Martini Time."  My latest tangle pattern is dedicated to her intoxicating Zentangle-Inspired Art and her tireless support of her fellow artists through an extensive tangle index, tutorials, advice, examples, useful links, and administration of the Flickr Group, Freehand Doodle Patterns.

Here's to you, Sandra -

Thanks for your support and inspiration!

Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhhhh-isle.

The argyle pattern is derived from the tartan of Clan Campbell, of Argyll in western Scotland.  And from a fantastically groovy pair of blue argyle thigh high socks that I wore back in the seventies.  Well, so they seemed at the time.  Regardless of my questionable fashion phase, this pattern is a classic.  

Enjoy!

MoonAttic

Confessions of a Button Addict and My First Diva Challenge Entry

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The inspiration for this design comes from the border on a Victorian button in my collection.  And the inspiration for my collection came from my mother's button box, which I loved poring through as a little girl. That pastime led me to sorting through little piles of buttons in antique shops and ultimately to eBay lots.  

My husband is completely baffled by this obsession, but I've learned a lot through collecting them, and consider each one of them a tiny work of art.  I still hold out hope that one day I'll show him a little treasure and he'll remark, "Now, THAT'S interesting!"

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Below is my first entry for Laura Harms' weekly challenge.

#27 is "Duo-Tangle" using only Dex and Verdigogh. 

Those who have been following my blog may notice a familiar shape!  

The Dex portion is a lot wonkier than I'd like, largely due to my succumbing to the temptation to draw this on my daily bus commute to and from work.  

Now THAT'S a challenge!
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A New Multi-Cultural Cuisine? No, A New Tangle!

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Ever heard of a Thai-Mexican Restaurant? Nor have I. But if you say the name of this tangle out loud, you'll hear the clue to what I began to see when I drew what I intended to be a purely abstract pattern:

Click image for higher resolution

 

I was inspired to sketch out some new tangle ideas on graph paper after collecting and drawing so many elegant grid-based patterns from Neil Burley (Perfectly4med). I have a bit of a split personality when it comes to artistic taste (Classical to Jazz and Funk, Vintage Givenchy to Bohemian, etc.), so it follows that my favorite tangles range from the organic, free-flowing designs to the classically-inspired 'wallpapery' patterns.

Variety is the spice of life, yes?  (Hmmm - anyone know what kind of spice goes well with a tamale in peanut sauce?)

~ MoonAttic

Happy, Happy Summertime!

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Summer is finally here! 

It was a rather long winter and a rather short spring in Seattle, with rather more cool, grey days than usual.  Today the first day of summer promises to be at least 71 degrees (F) - practically balmy!  To celebrate, I offer a happy little tangle I named after Karl Blossfeldt, whose beautiful black and white botanical photography inspired this pattern.  I added the "1" because I hope to do more tangles from his images.

Do you see little welcoming arms?  They're welcoming warm summer days ahead! 

Enjoy!

~ MoonAttic

A Zentangle Tangle for You and Bob

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I patterned this tangle after the border on a stoneware dish designed by Mary Colter in 1936 for the Santa Fe Super Chief.  Mary was a designer and architect who was inspired by Native American art forms and artifacts.  

To my delight, I discovered that copying and rotating this tangle results in some very interesting variations.  I certainly hope you enjoy this versatile design!

(And, what about Bob?  LIAM, Bob!)

Thanks for visiting,  

MoonAttic

Ever heard of a bumbershoot?




I found another tangle pattern for you in the Moon Attic!



Bumberly - a tangle by MoonAttic

Ever heard of a bumbershoot? 

It's what I don't bother carrying around with me in Seattle. 

(It doesn't usually rain very hard here - it just drizzles.  A lot.) 

It's what we've named our annual Labor Day weekend international music and arts festival. 

It's what looks a lot like a parasol, without the optimism.

Well, I guess it depends on how you look at it (is the glass half full of rain, or half empty?).  It's because of all the rain, after all, that Seattle is nicknamed "The Emerald City".  It stays so very green here. And no, I'm not referring to the moss.  Although, I do love the moss.  But, again, I digress.



Well, if you haven't figured out what inspired me to create the steps for "Bumberly," you must live where the sun shines ALL the time.  For you, I weep.  Because it takes a little rain sometimes to make you appreciate the sunshine.  Maybe that's the reason that Seattle leads the nation in per capita sunglasses sales.  (Okay, okay - it's really because we need them so seldom that we forget where we stowed them and have to go out into the sunshine, squinting like moles crawling out of their burrows, to buy another pair.  And that's a fact.) 

Make art while the sun shines. 

And especially when it doesn't.

Have a very lovely weekend,

MoonAttic

Ready for a new tangle?

I'm ALWAYS up for a new tangle to try. I haven't incorporated them all into Zentangles®, but I believe I've recorded (drawn) examples of over 1400 tangles I've gathered from all over the internet (Life Imitates Doodles, Zentangle.com, TanglePatterns.com, Zentangle® books by CZTs* Sandy Steen Bartholomew, Suzanne McNeill and Marie Browning, Flickr, etc.). 

Is that obsessive?  My kid sister, Bob (pet name), thinks so. But I'm hoping  that this summer we'll have time to tackle some of those tangles together!  Hmmm, perhaps "tackle" isn't a very Zen way of going about drawing tangles.  I do like a good alliterative phrase now and zen, however.  And to use a pun or two, too, I'm afraid.  And I wouldn't shy away from a homophone or so.  But, I digress . . . . 





Stash - Another Tangle from the Moon Attic

 

Cheers!

MoonAttic

*Certified Zentangle® Teachers

Just Call Me Mrs. Corset!

So, Earthling (aka my dear friend that called one of my Zentangle®s a "corset print") - here's another one! 

I think that image may stick in my head now and all subsequent drawings may subconsciously end up with boning and lace!



(click image for higher resolution)

Garden Heart

Playing with Rhodia paper and Letraset Promarkers again, I decided to contrast pastels with a deep red center for this Zentangle®-Inspired Art (ZIA) piece.

I never quite know what I'll end up with when I start my Zentangle® journeys. Do you?  (Is that a bug's head in the middle? How did that get there? Is that a heart tangle underneath it?  Or is that the bug's mouth?)  WICCTM*

I started tangling over the bleedthru on the back of the paper, but I wasn't happy with the result, so back to the drawing board! 

Gladly!

* (Wriggling In Chair Chuckling To Myself)



I'm on a Roll!

 

 
This piece uses the same basic outline as many of my Zentangle® tiles, but I think using different strings and tangles really changes the feel. This is definitely not a corset!




And this one is mother's favorite of my Zentangle® tiles. Thanks, Mrs. Nonquist (pen name)!

Maybe these shapes ARE related to corsets, in a way.  I think these Zentangle® tiles represent my "creative core," somehow.

 And here's a new tangle for you to try.  My inspiration for tangle patterns usually comes from things I've seen, but this one seemed to come to me quite literally one step at a time, like a cartoonist not knowing what's going to happen in the next panel frame....

Well, as my husband would say, "I think I'm past my pull date!" 

(In other words, time for bed. )

Pleasant dreams to one and all!

New Tangles and Molossus-Inspired "Bleedthrumanades"

Creative Growth

Inspired by Molossus' incredible "Bleedthru- manade" Zentangle®-Inspired Art (ZIA), I laid down some color with Letraset Promarkers in my Rhodia No.16 pad in the shape that continues to recur in my strings, then tangled!  I love the vibrancy of these saturated colors.


Core Set

This is the "bleedthru" backside of Creative Growth.  I decided to let more of the color show on this side to give it a different feel.  Some color shapes I treated as strings, some I ignored.


My tangle "Kilroy" forms the border at the lower edge. The steps for Kilroy and two of my other tangles are shown below....

"Kilroy" was inspired by the famous WWII graffiti image (sans fingers).  "Bark" was inspired by the Dogwood blossom:

And "Pekinitch" is patterned after the Peking Stitch in embroidery:

  

If you 'adopt' any of these tangles, I'd love to see how you use them.  Enjoy!

Welcome and a warm hello!

I am an artist living in the Seattle area and exploring drawing, mixed media, altered art, collage, jewelry design, metalsmithing, fiber arts, and Doing Strange Things in the Name of Art!

I'm currently trying my hand at Zentangle® to get my creative juices flowing after a long 'drought'.  Here are some recent tiles I've created:

I've also had fun creating some tangle patterns.  I'll include them in my next post.  Well, coffee break is over - everybody back to work!  Enjoy!

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The Zentangle® art form and method was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. Zentangle® is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.