To Infinity and Beyond!

Since Life as we know it can be weird and coincidental, it really was no surprise that the EIM and the 2X2 had similar themes this week. For the TwobyTwo, the word was "Astronomy."

Since life gets really weird sometimes, I recently received some mail that fit perfectly. 

We're particularly fond of Pluto, even if it was downgraded from full planet status; it was at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff that Pluto's existence was first revealed in 1930. Last year, the New Horizon satellite took close-ups of Pluto before leaving the Solar System and the observatory was in celebration mode all year. (The plastic bead is meant to represent the satellite. Do you think that works? I'm not so sure and haven't committed to it yet!)

The stamp arrived on mail last week for a different celebration. According to my dad's calculations, I'm going to be 37. I could live with that!

Over at the EIM, the word is "Infinity." I had nowhere else to go with this one. I pasted Buzz on a photo of the M33, the Triangulum Galaxy. If you're a geek like me, APOD is one of my favorite blogs, care of NASA, from whence I found the galaxy photograph.

Over at the Diva, the challenge was to step back, relax and just do the tangle. I stepped into the zone slowly. I gathered some "real" art supplies for a change (Faber Castell Pitt Manga markers and Strathmore paper instead of my usual journal and Sharpies), as part of the intent of Zentangle is to honor the method as well as the materials; to place value on the process and the result.
To experience unmitigated JOY!

I said some prayers to Rick and Maria, the founders of all things Zentangle and to Laura, the Diva herself. You know? To instill a feeling of gratefulness. I added Jean next to my list as she was the first CZT I found on-line and how I found the Diva and the EIM. Naturally, I then prayed for Trillian, the leader of the EIM and the entire pack that tackles teenie artworks on a weekly basis. Then back to all the creatives I've met through Laura.

Oh! My heart is full to overflowing!

I poured a cuppa, cleared my desk and was instantly derailed by the antique cuckoo clock that was recently resurrected. The ticking drives me BATTY! (I won't start about the midnight cuckoos)! 

Deep breath. 

I asked the Universe for healing that comes with FOCUS. 

I drew the most complicated string I've ever done because that's the way it wanted to be and the tangles filled the spaces and the world slipped away for just ever so long. 

Then I reproduced that string and did it the old-fashioned way, for me anyway. Just me and my Sharpie (two, actually, as one was destined for the great Dustbin in the Sky).

I drew it in this orientation:

But, when I was done I rotated it and much prefer this direction:

I "do" this with "Knightsbridge"--checkerboard in Zentanglese-- often JFF*, but this was the first time I restrained myself from filling in EVERY. LAST. CORNER.

It had reached its "enough-ness." 

Since you were so kind to stop by, I've posted the string in all its glory on the G2H page. Should you decide to use it, show me your handiwork--I'd love to see it!-- and be so kind to link it back to the page where you found it. 

Thank you for visiting. I hope you have a brilliant day! 

* Just for Fun

ECHO Echo echo.....

I'm kind of house-sitting in Anthem, la-dee-dah; my biggest job is to NOT kill the plants. I think I successfully pulled a couple gardenias through a few days of 102, fainting violets, indeed.
Otherwise, my job is to produce frosty recreational beverages (we call them FRBs for short. It's our survival mechanism for surviving triple digits ourselves) served out on the patio and watch the sunset.
Such trauma.
In between, I'm trying to make sure my little farmette survives the heat, too. I thought how could I possibly have time to be creative? I'm hardly sitting still. Doing a lot of driving around. Here I am thinking I've been slacking.
And yet...!
For your enjoyment, I've a surprising bunch of stuff here. It's kind of all over the map, so I'll start with the work I did for my own challenge blog, the TwobyTwobyTuesday.
The word for the week is, "Echo."
First, the portraits. I had to hunt far and wide to find a picture of a face in a magazine that would work for this. In the concept of "Echoism," a person who has a more symmetrical face is considered more appealing. Split the face down the middle and create mirror images of each half. It's an exercise I remember doing in sixth-grade art class (I was ten.).

Myrna Dow
Winner, PPFA Contest
And unwitting portrait
Participant

Sigh, I'm not ten anymore. I think I did a better job back in grade school. It was hard working on such a teenie scale.

If you visited last time, I put in a teaser for my other answer. This is that project in its entirety:

I took the tangle "Echoism" across the entire page in my journal, created six two-inch tiles, mixed them up, drew each one, then put them all back together again. That was more fun.

While I was at it, I did a more traditional piece, same method, just one pattern:

In my garden, I've been nursing an amaryllis bulb for two and a half years. You know, the ones you pick up at Christmas and force to bring bright colours into your home in the dead of winter? Well, normally, they are quite happy in desert surrounds, so armed with that knowledge, I planted the bulb out in the garden after it bloomed. That was winter, 2014. This is now.
Isn't she pretty?

Which inspired:

I took a photograph of the string and I give it to you all for your drawing pleasure. You will find it under a new page titled, "G2H." You'll see.

Now, onto some challenges.
Last week's IAST was to honor Mom. Adele started us out with a big "M" and the instructions to fill it in. These are supposed to be "Hollyhocks." Hmm.

This is my doodling for the EIM, the word being "Three-Dimensional." I'm a "flat art" artist, always working two-dimensionally. I picked a variety of ideas for creating the LOOK of that third dimension.

I couldn't wait to give the new-to-me tangle, "3-D Room" by Dami Tang a workout and I took my chance on the Diva this week, where I gave it a more controlled grid to fill:

The call was to use more black. I used a LOT of black last week. All I wanted to get out of this week was high contrast; didn't want to over kill it. It's interesting.

I think that brings me up to date. Be sure to check out the various pages across the weird wide web, I'm sure you will find inspirations in abundance.
Have a brilliant day! c