April 03, 2022

Zentangle® – March 2022

April 03, 2022/ Gwen Morrison

March was a busy month with an overlay of trauma (laptop problems, getting sick while I was traveling) but making Zentangle tiles helped me weather the increased stress. The daily routine of creating at least one tile is one of my most reliable methods of coping with whatever is happening otherwise.

I am still using up old pens so there are fewer colors in this set…although while I was in Texas, I had the box of old gel pins to add to the variety. I used more round and square coasters this month – realizing that some of them were yellowing after being unwrapped – perhaps absorbing some moisture from the air and beginning to deteriorate. There were a lot fewer rectangular tiles this month. Overall – I like the patterns and colors in this collection.

I’m always a little surprised when I choose the tiles for the month….enjoy again what I created during the month.

The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.

March 02, 2022

Zentangle® – February 2022

March 02, 2022/ Gwen Morrison

Even without the Valentine tiles I posted about on 2/14, I still had plenty of tiles to choose from to make the 28 for the February Zentangle post! The square tiles include 2 made from a purple folder I found while cleaning out my office; the color is very dark…requires gel pens for the patterns. There is a square coaster (rounded corners) in the group as well; I found a stack of them that I had forgotten about so there will be more in March.

The rectangular tiles are probably my favorite shape/size. The color of the lightweight cardboard varies slightly. I like the more golden color (the one with cut corners) the best.

The last 4 tiles are on black paper (it is a pad that my daughter bought back in in high school…well over 10 years old)! I’m savoring the black background and the different weight of these tiles…still have more than half the pad left!

February 18, 2022

J. Walter Fewkes eBooks

February 18, 2022/ Gwen Morrison

I browsed the books by Jesse Walter Fewkes available on Internet Archive recently. His work in the late 1800s - early 1900s is an early record of the archeology and anthropology in the American Southwest. He was one of the first to advocate for government preservation of the ancient sites. I’ve chosen three of his books to feature in this post.

Designs on Prehistoric Hopi Pottery (1919) – When I browse books like this, I am always gleaning ideas for Zentangle tiles. This one also brought back memories of participating in Camp Fire Girls when I was growing up; they included native symbols and geometric designs as part of the program which I enjoyed; it made the arts/crafts were appealing someone like me that was disappointed in any attempts at realistic drawing.

Hopi Katcinas Drawn by Native Artists (1904) – I wonder if Fewkes was one of the first to encourage these artists to document their own culture…emphasizing the aspects that were most important to them rather than using other artists from outside the culture or photographs that might be realistic but subtly emphasizing the aspects important from their own cultural perspective.

Tusayan Katcinas and Snake Ceremonies (1897) – The close of the katcina mask shows how elaborate they could be.

The views of the Altar of the Antelope Priests in 3 different locations were interesting. It’s an opportunity to see similarities and differences…wondering if it was difference in the progress of the ceremony or variance due to location that caused the altars to look different. Are the parts that are the same the most important?

February 14, 2022

Valentines!

February 14, 2022/ Gwen Morrison

I used Valentines Day as a prompt for some Zentangle® tiles. At first it was all about heart shaped patterns and red coloring.

My fascination did not last long with the shape…but I did like the red coloring. I started another project with everything the same except for the ‘string’…keeping the red coloring for Valentines Day. It is surprising how different the tiles look with that one change in the frame – string – patterns + coloring - appreciate process.

February 01, 2022

Zentangle® – January 2022

February 01, 2022/ Gwen Morrison

31 days in January…31 Zentangle tiles selected from the ones I created during the month.

I made a commemorative Zentangle tile on the back of the card stock rectangle that was my name plate from the door of my hospital room. The nurse handed it to me just before we headed down to the area where my husband was waiting to take me home….and I covered the back with my patterns a few days later.

There were various types of card stock and cardboard for the square tiles…all reused materials that would have otherwise been recycled. The lighter ones are from decades old file folders from my sister’s clearing out old files from my parents’ storage; some of them were over 50 years old! The darker one was more recent…from boxes of canned soft drinks. In both cases – I use a paper cutter to create the 3.5-inch squares. The limited color palette is caused by me trying to use up older Ultra Fine Sharpies before I open a new package.

The rectangular tiles are all made from light weight cardboard inserted as dividers in boxes of small cans of cat food. There are several kinds…varying shades of light brown. The texture also varies. I used the paper cutter to make them 3.5 x 4.75 inches tiles. Most of the time I prefer the rectangles over the squares – not sure whether it is the larger size or the textures or the colors that are the greatest appeal (probably it is all three!).

January 02, 2022

Zentangle® – December 2021

January 02, 2022/ Gwen Morrison

31 tiles for the 31 days of December….

In the first few days of the month, I continued to use my old pens…but then switched to red (with black…sometimes white) and some Christmas themed patterns. There was a skew toward square tiles rather than rectangular this month…just as there was in November.

I enjoyed the red pen…will return to it for February (valentines). Maybe in January I will pick another color to feature in most tiles….and strive for some very different patterns.

December 21, 2021

Cancer Diary – Entry 6

December 21, 2021/ Gwen Morrison

A month of waiting for surgery and almost another month to go….assuming that the hospital does not become overwhelmed with treatment of COVID-19 patients and the surgery is cancelled/postponed. I am not anxious about the possibility….yet; my concern has been ramping up over the past few days with the hospitalizations in Maryland increasing and the indicators that the Omicron variant’s being more contagious than the Delta variant….and knowing that a lot of people are gathering for the holidays (more than last year….with vaccinations available, a lot of people made big plans for this year prior to Omicron emergence). By early January – the medical system could be very stressed. There is little I can do to improve the situation aside from staying healthy myself; I am trying to keep myself busy and focused on other things.

There was little in my activities this month on the critical path toward my surgery other than continuing to take the medication. The surgery date was moved forward by a couple of days and an appointment made for a pre-surgery COVID-19 test. I was glad there was a lull; I thoroughly enjoyed my daughter’s whirlwind visit (road trip for her) for Thanksgiving and then had time to focus on supporting my sisters’ from afar as my mother was hospitalized. Fortunately, the hospitalization was short, and the follow-up seems to be improving her condition rapidly; her quality of life is improving beyond what it was a month ago! And I am relieved that I didn’t need to make an unplanned road trip to Texas.

We ventured out for a walk around Druid Hill Park and through the Christmas lights at Brookside Gardens. Both were enjoyable outdoor experiences…good for our mental health. There are other outdoor activities we’ve planned…but on our own in uncrowded settings rather than organized events. The more we learn about Omicron, the more cautious we are becoming.

It’s cold enough that I have ramped up indoor activities… another effort to avoid thinking too much about my cancer. I am spending considerable time on a Coursera course: Anatomy of the Upper and Lower Extremities (from Yale University). During the holidays, I spend more time cooking…making more complicated recipes and trying new things. And there are the regular things like Zentangle tiles and book browsing that I can ‘do more’ too. I’ve started buying flowers every time I got to the grocery store since the view from my window now is bare trees; on the plus side, the birds are easier to see.

Overall – this month of waiting has not been hard at all. At this point, my mental perspective is about the same as it was a month ago although I find myself bracing for the possibility of the increases in hospitalizations from the pandemic causing a postponement of my surgery…an event that would be a major setback from my perspective.

December 01, 2021

Zentangle® – November 2021

December 01, 2021/ Gwen Morrison

30 days in November…so 30 Zentangle® tiles to showcase.

There are a few ‘special’ tiles this month:

This one was started as I was leaving Texas and I took the glittery orange gel pen with me to finish it since it was about out of ink. It ran out before I finished all the fill I had intended….but I still like the tile.

Another special tile is one of the first tiles I made after one of my aunts died suddenly. I acknowledged my preoccupation with her death by using the first letter of her name (L) as the string. There were many other tiles made this month that provided me quiet time to grieve…and remember happy times with her.

And now the 28 other tiles for November 2021!

November 01, 2021

Zentangle® – October 2021

November 01, 2021/ Gwen Morrison

31 days in October…picking 31 tiles. They are all rectangular ones this month and all done with old pens…saving my new ones and the square tiles for my road tip. I found myself in so many varying moods during the month and the variable density of the patterns reflects that. There is one tile done entirely in white highlighting pen! Enjoy the Zentangle tile mosaic for October!

October 01, 2021

Zentangle® – September 2021

October 01, 2021/ Gwen Morrison

In recently months I have produced a lot of Zentangle tiles….not in September. I needed 30 to meet normal the one-a-day goal; there were only 39 to choose from rather than averaging 2+ tiles per day as in previous months. I put away my white highlight pen for the month as a challenge and discovered that I miss it too much; I’ll be using it again in the October tiles!

The September tiles were dominated by rectangles…only two squares during the entire month!

September 01, 2021

Zentangle® – August 2021

September 01, 2021/ Gwen Morrison

The August Zentangle tiles include some from the end of July – made after I had done the post a little early for the July tiles while I was still in Texas…and then making the road trip home. There are tiles made in Texas, Missouri, Kentucky and Maryland in this batch!

Making tiles is a calming activity before bedtime or while I am watching a burst of news. A variety of pens were used this month: Ultra Fine Sharpie Markers, Fine Sharpie Pens (new), various brands of gel pins (some with glitter…in Texas), Sakura Pigma Pen 05, and Sakura white Gelly Roll for highlighting.

It seems that doing something creative like making one or more tiles every day helps me be creative in other areas of my life. This month I’ve been breaking some of my dietary bad habits (dramatically reducing refined sugar and eliminating soft drinks) and tightening my personal actions re climate change. Those are significant changes for me….and require creativity for the actions I take to be as effective as possible.

August 30, 2021

Ten Little Celebrations – August 2021

August 30, 2021/ Gwen Morrison

So much to celebrate in August….

Drive through West Virginia. The beauty of the interstate in West Virginia (I64, I79, I68) that is part of my route from Springfield, Missouri to my home in Maryland is something to celebrate. It is full of curves, forests, mountains….and not a lot of traffic. It’s easy to enjoy as I drive.

**Cloud at sunset**. Maybe it is being in the right place at the right time to see it that makes this a little celebration for me! This was taken from my office window.

Home again. I like to travel…but every time I do, I celebrate coming home. This time the delta variant ramped up while I was traveling and was relieved to get home…glad that my precautions on the road (vaccination last spring, masking, hand sanitizer, air purifier in hotel room, eating outdoors or in the car/hotel room) evidently worked.

Macro photography. My husband got me started with new gear and I’m improving although I am still at the stage of celebrating every in-focus image I get.

Stopping my diet Pepsi habit. I am celebrating more than 2 weeks free of my habit….still very consciously avoiding soft drinks completely!

Sunny day that was not overwhelmingly hot. We’ve had so many very hot days…that it was a treat to have one that was pleasant outdoors. My other strategy is to get some outdoor time before 8 AM before the day heats up.

Farmers Market. It’s fun to shop for veggies straight from the farm. In August, the cantaloupe, watermelon, tomatoes, and peppers were all tasty. The watermelons may be what I celebrate the most.

Zentangle tiles make on the deck in the early morning. A celebration pf creativity to start the day.

Spaghetti squash custard. Yum. I celebrated the flavor and texture of a simple custard.

Video of a Monarch butterfly emerging. Probably the high point of August for me. I’ve always wanted to capture the moment. And this time I did!

August 01, 2021

Zentangle® – July 2021

August 01, 2021/ Gwen Morrison

The July Zentangle tiles are neatly divided by shape and where I made them. The rectangular tiles were made in Maryland and finished with Ultra Fine Sharpie colored pens that are running out of ink. I’ll buy some new pens for the August tiles.

The square tiles were made in Missouri and Texas…finished in Texas with gel pens left over from my sister’s teaching years. I had a few instances of smeared ink (the gel pens don’t dry as fast as the Sharpies). But it was fun make selections from a largish box of pens – riches of glittery color.

At home or traveling – making Zentangle tiles is something I manage to fit into almost every day!

July 19, 2021

A Zentangle® Project – July 2021

July 19, 2021/ Gwen Morrison

I made 4 tiles using the same starting idea and similar patterns. The starting idea was to make a frame that was connected to the string of the tile…and the string was not a single line but something that had more heft (Iike yarn). Sometimes the yard looped…sometimes it simply undulated across the tile. I filled some of the spaces created with auras or orbs. I scanned the tiles just after they were drawn and then after I added color and highlighting. It was a short project…enjoyable.

July 01, 2021

Zentangle® – June 2021

July 01, 2021/ Gwen Morrison

30 Zentangle tiles selected from the tiles made in June after I returned home from the road trip to Texas and Missouri. They are all rectangular rather than square and colored with old Sharpie Ultra Fine pens that are low on ink or have failing tips. Maybe I’ll buy a new set of colorful pens in August. Enjoy the June mosaic.

I’ll be going to Texas and Missouri in mid-July and am anticipating another round of tiles colored with gel pens that at my parents’ house in Texas. Until I leave on the road trip – I’ll be picking the Sharpies that are still functioning. I might start drawing tiles and saving the coloring for when I am in Texas!

June 03, 2021

Zentangle® – May 2021

June 03, 2021/ Gwen Morrison

So many tiles to choose from! I colored the patterns (drawn with a black ultra-fine Sharpie pen) using miscellaneous gel pins that my sister had from the last years of her teaching career; the large number of colors and types of the pens prompted me to make a lot of tiles – even though some pens were drying out and stopped working before the tile was finished. The iridescence of the many of the gel pens does not show up well in the scanned imaged; the actual tiles look more interesting than the scanned versions! There were 91 images to choose 31…more challenging than usual. Enjoy the May Zentangle mosaic…..

I like gel pens for fill rather than drawing of patterns since the pens tend to skip and blotch more easily than the Sharpies.

The gel pens were a great diversion for my time in Texas in May. I’ll look forward to using them again next time I am in Texas.

May 02, 2021

Zentangle® – April 2021

May 02, 2021/ Gwen Morrison

Savoring the Zentangle tiles I made in April. There were the usual shaped tiles that I scanned before I lift on the road trip:

Rectangular

(cut from recycled dividers of cat food vans)

Square

(cut from file folders and light cardboard boxes)

Circles

(paper coasters)

Then there were square tiles I made on the road trip and after I got to Texas. Since I don’t travel with a scanner – I used the phone’s camera set to square images….which works almost as well as the scanner.

Overall, I was pleased with the results of the scanning and photos. There was the usual challenge to pick just 30…and I’m savoring the variety of patterns and colors that show in these mosaics. I am getting closer to using up enough of the Ultra-Thin Sharpie pens to buy a new set….it will be like mid-year Christmas!

April 01, 2021

Zentangle® – March 2021

April 01, 2021/ Gwen Morrison

Even though I am getting outdoors more with the improved weather, there is still plenty of time to create a daily Zentangle tile – or two or three. My favorite tile material is the cardboard dividers from the boxes of cat food; it has a slight texture that I like…and the size/shape appeals as well. It’s thick enough that I can make patterns on both sides of the tile.

A tissue box makes for some odd tiles. I’m using this one as a bookmark in one of the few physical books am reading.

The traditional square tiles are made on a mix of card stock, recycled cardboard (FedEx envelope, tissue box, and canned drink boxes).

I cut one sheet of blue card stock into 4 tiles…no wastage of the sheet. I’m not sure I like the larger size.

I bought some triangle tiles and use a few of them each month just for variety. They are on the small side

Making Zentangle tiles is something I do every day…it’s a positive habit….something I enjoy for the quiet focused time it creates in the day – a bubble of calm - and the result is enjoyed immediately/savored for longer. The tiles that are started without a clear plan and then emerge are my favorites.

March 17, 2021

Green Zentangle® Tiles for March 2021

March 17, 2021/ Gwen Morrison

St. Patrick’s Day was my prompt for cutting some green cardstock tiles for a March Zentangle project; I cut the tiles to have no waste of the cardstock pages so they are 4.25 x 5.5 inches. I’d got the cardstock from my sister – left over from her teaching days when she retired. The color was dark enough that it required use of gel pens which I generally use only for highlighting - a change of pace (and challenge). The pink gel pen on the green paper was not very appealing to me. Later in the month I started using the black Ultra Fine Sharpie again.

The two favorite tiles from the project were the last ones I created! On one I made flower patterns with the white gel pen then added black auras and green poke leaves with Ultra Fine Sharpies. The other one was a grouping of 5 pattern clumps with connections made with circles, auras, and fills.

March 01, 2021

Zentangle® – February 2021

March 01, 2021/ Gwen Morrison

I created a lot of tiles in February – not counting the Valentines themed tiles I already posted. I am continuing my theme of utilizing tile material completely (modifying tile sizes that I cut to leave no small pieces of card stock/cardboard unused. I also started making two-sided tiles when the cardboard is ‘blank’ on both sides; these will lend themselves to hanging mobile type displays eventually. All the tiles were physical ones this month and I will probably continue that way until I use up the Ultra-Thin Sharpie set that I’ve had for a few years now; some of them have run out of ink already.

Most of the tiles were made without a plan in mind….I like to start with a pattern and then build a tile from the middle out – or start with a frame…with or without a string. Often I am surprised at various stages along the way – when I finish the drawing in black ink….when I finish ‘coloring’….when the highlighting as been added as a last pass. Sometimes the parts that remain as black lined patterns are a frame or simply the background. The white lines always draw my eye.