Grand State of Mind

Everyday brings news. Some of it good, some of it not so much and a lot of it just needs to....be ignored. The last several holiday seasons has brought big, massive and decidedly in the not-so-much category sort of news.
Still, we carry on, don't we?
I, of the optimistic, glass half-full mentality, persevere.
When life hands you a bar coaster, you know just what you're going to do with it. First, you're going to squeeze fresh citrus and blenderize a margarita. Then, you're going to draw. This is what happened when I tackled the Diva's weekly challenge, number 301, a Diva Dance/Paradox duotangle:

This is an improved version, a tackle-it-after-coffee-infusion. An I'm not too worried about what I accomplish today version. It wanted to be a butterfly and butterflies are free.

At the EIM, the word is donkey. Doing some research on donkey made my head hurt and I'm not quite sure why I got too carried away with that as I knew right off what I was going to do. South of here, surrounding Lake Pleasant is a very strong population of wild burros (small grey Mexican donkeys). They are cute, but they are a hearty bunch that is overwhelming the environment and native species. You can adopt one through the BLM.
And hopefully NOT meet one by accident on the freeway. These signs were installed last year to try to prevent such incidents. (I tilted the sign 45 degrees to make it square instead of diamond-shaped).

Other than that, there's the TwobyTwo for next week. The word is "news." Hopefully, it's of the good news variety. I'm working on that, won't you join the fun? Anything can happen there, as long as it fits into a two-inch square.

Thank you all for visiting and your words of kindness and encouragement. It all makes my heart sing. I can't carry a tune, but my heart seems to know the words.
Have a brilliant day!

And the Rocket's Red Glare

The weather has been fabulous for this spot in the desert. We had rain (for ten minutes or so) a couple days in a row, which made the air just plain steamy.
Then it rained.
The Navajo have ten different names for rain and while I don't know what they are, I can easily identify a few. There are drizzles and showers. We have one we comically call twelve-inch rain--that's where we get a few splatters 12-inches apart. Then we have fat rain--big, burly splats of water that hurl themselves towards Earth and bounce off the ground.
It just rained, pure and simple.
Then the air cleared, just glorious. One hundred degrees and deep cerulean skies. And more of the same all week long. Perfect.
I have to get out and yank the weeds that were patiently waiting for a good soaking. They multiply before my eyes! But not until I take care of these little artworks....

These are for last week's IAST.

The first was the happy result of trying the #heftyhack that the Diva proposed a couple weeks ago. After many an attempt, I used Prismacolor brush-tip markers and kosher salt to create the watercolor background with "Ahh" fireworks. The second is a more traditional piece with my trusty Sharpie, Derwent charcoal and General white charcoal for highlights. The pattern "Floatfest" floats just above the surface.

Moving along to the inchie of the week...the EIM word is "computer." We are surrounded by them. I watched a program two weeks ago that showed the computers that helped put the man on the moon--with a whopping EIGHT megs of RAM! I don't think I knew what computers were in 1969, let alone RAM. Now here I am with 2,000 times the computing power at my fingertips.

That said, I give you the first known computer punch card created by a Mr. Korsakov in 1832.

The concept of which just begs that whole dangling chad debacle (2000 presidential election, Florida). This is an example of swinging door chads (and a single properly punched space):

Supposedly, there are some precincts that still use punch cards for the voting process. That's as scary a concept as thinking I could launch a rocket from this computer.

And while the Diva's proposal this week was to show our true (country's) colours, this was having none of it. I tried the Star-Spangled approach, humming the anthem all the while. I started with "the bombs bursting in air" and kept coming around to..."and the skies are not cloudy all day," (which has nothing to do with anything other than our beautiful weather). Doesn't explain this one wit:

It was supposed to be stars and streamers, fireworks and all that. Yeah, well....I guess I used that all up for the String Thing.
Hopefully, not a discouraging word is heard. Be sure to check what other crazy and tangly people are up. Always a treat. Have a brilliant day!

What in the World?

While the New Year is already a few days old, this is the first I've been able to do "me" stuff. You know what I mean, right? The obligations of running a household or taking care of or participating in family matters are caught up and you can do....absolutely nothing.
Which is surely an important task on the to-do list: to rest, to contemplate, to consider or resolve. I'm not one for resolutions on the top of the year, they become too overwhelming with guilt when they don't pan out immediately.
But I have my wishes: to be more creative, to be more fiscally mindful. to stretch the grey matter as well as all the rest of my cells....ah, the list is long and not very focused.
To wit, what does more creativity really mean?

I intend to participate more fully in the art challenge blogs I've enjoyed and to put more energy in the one I host. I want to try different media and some new techniques, especially before I buy more goodies from the art or crafts stores. And when the year is up, I'd like to have an organized record of what I've accomplished--whether it's here or in a box or heaven help us, framed and hanging on my walls (OMG!)

To get started, there's the art challenge blog called, "Every Inchie Monday," hosted by Trillian. The objective is to work on inch-sized art with "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" as the governing theme for this year. The word of the day is, appropriately, "galaxy."
I hold the galaxy in my hand every day, a Samsung phone that is smarter than I am. For a long time I desired granite countertops in my kitchen and the color I chose was "galaxy black," which looks very much like the glitter paper I was using last week. So this is where we ended up:

Six Colors of Glitter
Black glitter paper
Glue and goo

I wasn't too amused as I tried desperately to 'set' the glitter with a spray acrylic medium which spewed white ick instead of CLEAR sealant. Not only do I have white splotches on stuff, I STILL have glitter EVERYWHERE!

While I was trying to get my brain wrapped around the stellar concept, I found that there were new images of the Eagle Nebula out last week (but could not find the link again!). This region is called the "Pillars of Creation," as many stars are born here:

Messier Object 16
Hubble Telescope

I think I'll enjoy the space-related art prompts. And I'll have to read the book as I forget some of the story lines.

Moving along, the Diva Challenge this week is a duotangle--two tangles together--of Auraknot and Diva Dance. It's the five-year anniversary of Laura Harm's blog challenge and here's what I did with it:

Can you spot the mistakes? Good! There aren't supposed to be any in the Zentangle mindset, but that doesn't mean they don't exist!
I sooooo need a new stubbie, I lost mine on a flight to New England. I had had it since college, will it take me as long to replace it? Can I put an asterisk on that resolution to not buy a bunch of stuff at the art store?
Won't they miss me?
Won't you come back and visit to see how things are going? How about checking out the art blogs and trying your hand at it? Join in the fun!

Mass De-struction

This week was a helluva ride. It started out peaceful enough--the big agenda item was something innocuous like a haircut. I was breaking in a fairly new stylist--Monty at Carefree Salon. (He's also waitstaff at the Chili's in Tramonto). I was quite pleased by the result and in a peaceful frame of mind.
In short order thereafter, my son landed in the hospital (dehydration. I cannot stress enough: fluids, people! Fluids!) and my car was in serious need of tires, struts and a new battery. Veni, Vidi, VISA!
That kept me busy a good part of last week, with a little daughter drama thrown in for good measure.
In between all that is the kitchen reno. When Sleeping Man gets motoring it's go-go-go! We picked up the cabinetry from our friends at Home Depot, which are now cluttering our patio (the cabinets, not the friends!). They need to be finished, so that's a project for another day. Yesterday, the 42-year old stuff came out, but not without a fight. And, more importantly, where to put the stuff that was cramming a running ten-feet of cabinets?
But still, I kept up my little zinchies!

I'm cutting out little squares from whatevers (and drawing with my trusty Sharpie). Last week it was a soda carton, this week mostly from a waffle box. I don't want to deal with the freak-out factor if I don't have the "right" paper or materials. The Alligator was from a beautiful solicitation from Discover Financial, very fancy. The Chambord label has a star pattern that reminds me of Cathedral Window quilting (and a project I've been planning for, well, as long as my kids have been on the planet...). Which brings me to:

The Inchie word of the week is "Night." I really like Van Gogh's "Starry Night," and wanted to do my take on that, but patience is not on the platter this morning. I did some Googling and found a tutorial on creating this star pattern with vectors. I understand vectors, but for the life of me cannot work with them. And this tutorial just made my head hurt.
Thus, my contribution to this week's Every Inchie Monday is this star pattern. I'm sure there's someone out there that has de-constructed this for the Zentangle method, but I wasn't finding it. If you know of it, please let me know. Meanwhile, head over to EIM for the Night inchies! That's where I'm headed for a good dose of creativity from the brilliant minds that like to do teenie little artworks.

Breast Cancer Awareness Zentangle

The Diva Challenge this week was to honor the memory of the Diva's grandmother or others affected by breast cancer. The aura of Breast Cancer has hung around me since I was in college. I've had a couple scares and been through some surgeries that, thankfully, only found benign masses. One, the size of a golf ball, was particularly scary, painful and full of anxiety for way too long. My mom and my daughter have had similar situations.
But that compares none to having cancer of any sort. It doesn't run in my family (although, there are a host of other choices that afflict us: diabetes, heart conditions, MS...), but I've had to become vigilant because of my particular medical history. And I can't eat chocolate. But, I digress.
My siren call is: I avoid mammograms and I believe they are onerous. Every time, I have to also have ultrasounds and believe everyone should skip the mammos and go straight to this method. They are less painful and more reliable. And cheaper, about ten percent of the 'cost' of mammos here in the States. (And while I'm at it, a big kudos to the folks at John C Lincoln for fabulous care and talents!)
OK, that's my story. Now, here's my drawing (I just happened to be at Arizona Art Supply yesterday and I was able to pick up some pink Sakura pens. Woohoo! An excuse to buy more art stuff! I don't get there often, but I like to support the local, independent art community):

I was going with a floral theme initially as I believe I'd rather have flowers now than when I'm gone, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. It kind of got lost while I was doodling, but the thought is still there.
Everybody should be mindful of the potential for breast cancer, men as well as women. And everybody should have a boobie buddy. Isn't that more fun, anyway?

Diva Zendala

Oh, joy! The rural mail carrier brought prezzies from Amazon today: a set of Faber-Castell Manga series PITT pens and a stack of round bar coasters to draw on.
So, break out the new art supplies and go to work on this week's Diva Challenge! The parameter this week was to create a duotangle with Phicops and the Diva's Dance, patterns by and for the Harms, the couple behind the Diva's blog. This is my response:

I'm sure this may have worked out better if I had not hand-drawn the geometry of the mandala, but that's part of the charm of all this, the quirkiness of line and pattern (this is such a far cry from my former self who would've gone bonkers over a wonky line or anything out of square or place). I added a bunch of perfs (circles) and if some of them happen to look like "Black Pearls," that's how it goes.
The coaster paper doesn't like to be worked too hard; filling in black spots was kind of a chore. They are thick and absorbent, as they should be. I don't know how functional these coasters will be if I actually used them for drinks, we shall have to find out soon (although, I think this is too pretty to use!).
For now, it's hatches to batten down as another hurricane is headed to Arizona. Oh, joy!