Black Walnut Ink

Larry and I are blessed with some very tall beautiful trees in our yard. That also means we have seed and seed pods. That at times can be a bit messy. But like they say -  if you get lemons, make lemondade, I have black walnut pods so I decided to make black walnut ink.
I've never done it before but I thought it would be something fun to try so...
So I did YouTube searches and found several site. So in October when I had what seemed like thousands of pods I began. They've been steeping in a pot every since.
Today I decided it was time to check out the results. It's a very messy jobs. I strained the ink and added a little gum arabique to it. That's suppose to help make it flow. Here are the results.
It's more brown than the markers we use for the tan tiles. And it's not as thick or flowing as I'd like, but I may be able to fix that. I also want to try it on tan paper and as a background wash.
Needless to say I'm pleased that it worked.
I may have to create a class project in which we use the ink.

The Zentangle Art Expo is coming to Madison, WI July 11-12, 2014. I will be teaching a Tangle and Origami Note Card class. Class registration is now open. I hope to see you there. Here is the link.
http://www.penmarkpatterns.com/

Zentangle Art Expo

Here is the info on the Zentangle Art Expo.
I will be teaching a class on July 12th for Tanglegami. It will be an Origami notecard enhanced with Tangles. I hope to see you there.

Zentangle Art Expo   Celebrate the 10th Zentangle Anniversary! Madison, Wisconsin will be hosting the first ever Zentangle Art Expo in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Zentangle art method. We have officially booked Monona Terrace, a premier convention location and are enthusiastically engaged in preparations for this event.    The Zentangle Art Expo will take place on Saturday, July 12th and will focus on educational Zentangle classes. We are also planning a Zentangle Art Gallery, Vendor Exhibit Hall, raffle contests, a Master Class Session, guest authors, demonstration tables, feature lecturers and design tables for attendees to create cards for the local children's hospital.   The event is being planned in conjunction with the Art Fair on the Square; the Wisconsin state art event of the year. Association with this event alone has already provided a wide range of interest and awareness for Zentangle art and we are really excited! Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center Registration   (Click Here to Register)   How Much is Registration? Saturday's public events will have a $20 online registration fee or $25 registration at the door.   For a Limited Time... Special Pre-Registration Offer!  For a limited time, special early pre-registration is available to the public for only $15. These pre-registered individuals will also enjoy first dibs on the classes once the full registration is released. To view more information about the event or to register, please visit www.PenmarkPatterns.com or follow the link above. We expect full registration to become available sometime during the month of May.    What is Included with Registration? Registration includes admission to the Zentangle Expo venue. Attendees will have full access to the Zentangle Art Gallery, demonstration tables, Vendor Exhibit Hall and FREE tickets to the Master Class and featured lecturer on creative meditation. In additional, all registered individuals will receive a free goodie bag at registration and have access to a wide variety of classes taught by Certified Zentangle Teacher from across the region. These classes are optional and most sessions only cost $15 to attend.    Are Children Allowed to Attend? Yes, Zentangle Art can be very beneficial to people of all ages. However, to maintain a conducive learning atmosphere, all children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult. We are even planning special class sessions just for children. Any children under the age of six years old are free, but will not be permitted into classes or lectures. For the regular classes, we ask that parents make a judgment call based on their individual child's ability to sit and learn for a 50 minute art session.    Please Note: The regional CZT Conference will be held on Friday, July 11th and is only open to Certified Zentangle Teachers. Promote Your Business at the Event   Do you own a company that sells products for art? Do you have a clever idea that other Zentangle fans might enjoy? If so, you should consider advertising or running a vendor exhibit booth during the Zentangle Art Expo.   (Click Here to Learn More About Exhibiting)   (Click Here to Learn More About Sponsoring)   Please note, you do not need to attend the event to advertise your business by sponsoring. Further information and printable application forms can be found by visiting the website at www.PenmarkPatterns.com or feel free to email me with any questions at Katie.twinkle@gmail.com.

Saturday, July 12, 2014 What is Zentangle Art?   "The Zentangle Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns.   Almost anyone can use it to create beautiful images. It increases focus and creativity, provides artistic satisfaction along with an increased sense of personal well being.   The Zentangle Method is enjoyed all over this world across a wide range of skills, interests and ages. We believe that life is an art form and that our Zentangle Method is an elegant metaphor for deliberate artistry in life."   Zentangle, Inc.   Zentangle for Kids The Zentangle Art Expo can be a family affair. Even children can participate with specific classes, display areas, raffle contests and products just for them.   This event can provide an opportunity to share their own work and learn more about the Zentangle Art Method.   Spread the Word This will be the first Zentangle Art Expo and we are looking for your help to make this event successful.   Spread the word to friends or family that may enjoy participating.     Click HERE for the Printable Expo Flyer.

Zentangle® is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc®. Learn more at Zentangle.com.    The 2014 Zentangle Art Expo is independently organized and presented by Katie Butler, Certified Zentangle Teacher, with permission from Zentangle, Inc.

Tangle U

I just got back from a 4 day trip to Tangle U in Portland ME. What a wonderful time. I got to connect with several of the CZT's from my CZT 10 class. 

And I meet several new ones. It was a wonderful energizing 4 days. We learned lots of new techniques and received a ton of new tools to play with from Sakura. Not to mention all the other fun tools we received from our instructors.

We had classes from Suzanne McNeill. 

Sandy Steen Bartholomew. 

The days were packed with wonderful classes. Just some of the highlights were Chris Letourneau who wrote "Made in the Shade". 

Beckah Krahula, "One Zentangle a Day" ; Marie Browning, "Time to Tangke with Color"; and Molly Hollibaugh from Zentangle. 

Here are some of my pieces. Both were done on black paper. 

 

 

This one it's hard to believe it's on black. We used Gelatos Colors and embossed on the black time with a stylus. The black you see is the tile, not the pen.

 

There is another event coming to Madison WI in July. It will be for CZT's and all Zentangle enthusiast. I'll save that for the next post so standby for some summer fun. 

Thanks for the visit. 

CBS News Sunday Morning

Zentangles is making an effort to get on CBS News Sunday Morning. CZT's will be sending tiles and a note telling them what it is and asking them to call Rick and Maria for more information. Here is what I'm sending. Wish us luck and maybe we'll be on TV. 

The Gallery in The Studio

I'm grateful and quite lucky in that I have a room all to myself and just for my crafts. It's sometime called the Studio or friends call it my Obsession Room. Usually I refer to it as My Craft Room.
I've been doing quite a bit of ZIA work lately and I finally decided to frame some of my pieces. Michaels Crafts had a sale on frames so I had lots of fun picking them out and figuring which pieces to use. But now where to hang them?  You guessed it - in my Craft Room.  I'm very please with the results. Now I think I need to call this my Studio... Have a look yourself.
What do you think? And remember I can teach you how to do this. It's fun and truly an art anyone can learn.

Valentines Day

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentines Day. 

New Zentangle Renaissance tiles.

I had fun playing with the new Renissance Tile. Here is a finished piece. 

I love the way the colors pop. 

Ensemble done

My 9 tile ensemble is done. It will be part of a tile swap. Because the string on this ensemble are preprinted we will swap individual tile and make a new ensemble. I'll have a 9 tile ensemble that was made by myself and 8 other CZT's. 

Not much for words.

Well as you can tell I'm not much for words. I have however been busys. I have several new pieces. I decided that I should post them and not stress about not writing. I need to get them photographed and then I'll post them. 

Right now I'm working on what is called  an ensemble. It consists of 9 tiles. I'm almost done. When it's finished, I'll post the completed work.