Category Archives: Non-Profit Organizations

Jan6

2016 – A Year of Change

Posted on January 6, 2016 by emeraldcitytangles

2016
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Wow! The New Year has begun!! Are you looking forward to becoming more creative this year? I know I am! Even the “teacher” needs to be re-juiced and so my plan is to take a couple of courses myself to learn some new things that I can pass along to inspire you this year! Let’s use the energy that comes our way to fuel our excitement and creative juices!

Innovation – freedigitalphotos.net

A fellow CZT found this cute little test that will help you come up with a word for 2016 if you need a jump start for some inspiration. Perhaps that word could be used in some way for fanning the creativity you desire for this year. When I took it, the word that popped up was “Innovation“. That’s interesting for me, because I don’t necessarily consider myself to be innovative or introducing something new or different. It’s been said that there’s nothing new under the sun, but when I scroll through Pinterest or Facebook, or look at the special groups I’m a part of and see the beautiful creations produced by many amazing artists, it sure seems like there’s something new being done all the time! Wouldn’t it be fun to come up with something innovative?? Something that everyone else just falls in love with and wants to do/copy/share? I’m going to work and massage that word a bit this year and see what comes of it. Feel free to share with me what word you come up with and what it might mean to you.

Zendala

We all need a little renewal to build up our own creativity. So, because I need to renew myself, I’ve decided not to teach a Beginner Zentangle class each month as I have done in the past. However…not to be dismayed! I have contracted with WSU’s community education program to teach a special two-part program – The Joy of Zentangle: Beginner, and Zentangle: Intermediate. Each part will consist of a two-week session. The Joy of Zentangle: Beginner will include the beginner class, obviously, and then cover strings, embellishments, enhancements and shading. Zentangle: Intermediate will consist of Zendalas and Lettering. If you have never taken a Beginning Zentangle class, start with that and take both programs. If you have taken a Beginner Zentangle program from myself or another CZT, you might want to consider just taking the intermediate session. You’ll need to contact WSU directly, so click here. These will be held in March 2016.

Flower Power

I’ll also be doing a Painting Made Easy class with WSU. This is open to anyone 15 years and older. You’ll learn a little bit about mixing colors and you’ll have a choice of one of three paintings to create. This two-hour fun paint class will be held in March 2016 and you’ll need to contact WSU directly.

Card – Valentine Gatefold

On the lighter side of things, I’ll be at the Carriage Factory Gallery in Newton, KS, on Saturday, January 16, 2016 from 10 am – noon to share a Zentangle Valentine’s Day Card making workshop. To add to the fun, if you can stay after the class, I’ll be demonstrating how easy it is to create fun gifts on repurposed ceramics and glassware. Bring along a plate, mug or wine glass and I’ll let you try out my pens after the demonstration! You can sign up here or contact the Carriage Factory Gallery directly.

So, there you have it! Here’s to a great 2016!!

Happy Tangling, B 🙂

Oct4

ZenXpressions Art Show = Success

Posted on October 4, 2015 by emeraldcitytangles

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I think I’ve finally recouperated from the “ZenXpressions: A Showcase of Zentangle Inspired Art”! Whew!! What a crazy time we had. Over 40 pieces were on display and we had a wonderful showing!

Here are the names of our artist winners: First Place – Brenda Smith (Painted Mandala on Canvas); Second Place – Paulette Mattingly (Zendala); Third Place – Tessa Reed (Panda and Bamboo). Unfortunately (my fault), I wasn’t thinking and didn’t take pictures of all of the pieces. I’ve made a note for next year’s show to do that!! In fact, I’m thinking maybe next year a little catalog of the entries might be in order.

The People’s Choice award had over 100+ votes come in and Tessa Reed was the winner!

Two of our artists sold pieces – Congratulations Kae Decker and Diana McCann! How exciting!!

And we sold enough of the handmade ornaments and bookmarks to be able to donate $100 to AFSP.org (Kansas). As you will recall, a portion of the entry fees and all proceeds from the ornaments/bookmarks would be donated to a local chapter for suicide prevention, which turned out to be quite fitting as September was designated as Suicide Awareness Month.

A special thank you goes to our Sponsors: Tessera Fine Art Gallery, The Avon Shop at Rock & 31st, Dopps Chiropractic NE, and Patti Doll-artist; and to our Judge, Ann Hathaway – CZT.

And, I couldn’t have done all of this without my wonderful team of volunteers!! You are all so very much appreciated!! Thanks for the good eats!!

Set your calendars for September 2016! Happy Tangling! Bonnie 🙂

Sep23

Whole Lotta Stuff Goin’ On!

Posted on September 23, 2015 by emeraldcitytangles

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There’s plenty a’happenin’ at Emerald City Tangles these days!

Senior Expo, Thursday 09/24/15, 9:00 – 3:00 pm, Wichita Art Museum

ZenXpressions: A Showcase of Zentangle Inspired Art, Friday 09/25/15, 6:00 – 9:00 pm

Winter Wonderland Card Making at Botanica, Thursday, 11/05/15, 6:00 – 8:30 pm

Beginner Zentangle Class, Saturday, 11/14/15, 1:00 – 3:00/3:30 pm

That will be it for 2015! Watch this space for more to come in 2016!

Happy Tangling! B

May21

The Times They Are A Changin’ or Living Life on the Fly

Posted on May 21, 2015 by emeraldcitytangles

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Both the titles above are apropos to my life as I’ve been involved in quite a number of things since my last post. So let me start with the fact that there’s been a date change for the “ZenXpressions” showcase (see more below).

I’ve been busy teaching and taking classes and have put up pictures in the gallery for you to look at.

When I returned from my cruise I had scheduled a Zentangle workshop at Botanica. We ended up with 34 students and it was a great learning experience for my and the students. One student in particular came with some of her work (she had started creating about a month prior to the class) and her talent was remarkable! There were lots of talented people in the class but her’s in particular was extraordinary. I encouraged her to look into becoming a Certified Zentangle Teacher.

Apple Collage

As a teacher, I realize that I need to stretch my own abilities past what I already know. Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson was teaching a paper paintings collage workshop in Lincoln, Nebraska, which I took advantage of since it was only four hours from my home. It was three glorious days of making our own printed papers and learning her technique for creating paper paintings. From afar they appear to be impressionistic, but when you get up close and personal you realize that they are made of painted papers. How fun is that? All of the students who were there did a fantastic job…we had people from all walks of life, from fabric artists to surgeons. The night before we left, my roomie and I held a “soiree” (I really like that word, I’m going to start using it instead of party when I have people over…reminiscent of a by-gone era)! Everyone brought something to add to our stash and we had a great time talking art, techniques and learning about each other. My piece is shown to the left. For my first try I was pretty pleased, more so with the background pieces than the apple and foreground. My favorite part of the project was painting the papers; I need more practice on my collage skills.

OF NOTE… there has been a change of date for the “ZenXpressions: A Showcase of Zentangle Inspired Art“. It will now be held Final Friday, September 25, 2015. The only thing that has changed is the date, SO DON’T PANIC!! Those of you who have already registered, I will contact you directly about this. For the rest of you, it gives you time to continue creating your Zentangle inspired art pieces to show.

WHAT I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND: This show is not just for those of you who think you are “qualified”. This show is to share Zentangle inspired art with the City of Wichita. Many times the voice in our head tells us that our work isn’t “good enough” or “I’m not as talented as so and so”, or “I don’t have enough of a creative mind to share what I’ve done.” Well, let me tell you, do not to listen to that negative part of your brain!!

JUST DO IT! You would not believe how creating a small sketch, coloring in a coloring book, trying your hand at a painting, scribbling in a notebook, or making something out of twistee ties helps to fuel your creative brain and fuel your life to help you with the choices you make. So start making your Zentangle inspired art pieces, register for the show and begin to find your artist within!!

Click here for all the info you need! Fun, food, drink, and prizes will all be part of the show…so join us and also help us get the word out by inviting to the event (here’s the Facebook invite).

Hula Hannah

In my February 4, 2015, post I mentioned that I am on the Creatively Fit journey with my own artist within. I’m almost finished with my certification and want to share part of that journey with you. In my earlier post my “aha” moment was to “be in the moment” — a revelation to me. I am so enjoying just painting and playing now, and watching as my artist within becomes stronger with each passing day. My perspective on things has changed and my imagination has begun to become a bit more imaginative. I admit I still have a lot to learn. Whitney Freya’s book, “the artist within – A Guide to Becoming Creatively Fit” is a wonderful book, full of insight, storytelling, creative exercises and principles. Going through her program and book has been amazing and I learn something new each day! This year I’ve created more things than I think I’ve done in the last 20 years! Even down to the silly little twistee tie hula lady (one of the exercises – pull out stuff from a junk draw and see what you can make). Actually, I think she’s my favorite. I’ve named her Hula Hannah and she sits in my dining area to remind myself to be silly and see what I can conjure up! Such a simple little thing, but again such a revelation.

Links are included throughout this post if you want to know more, but suffice to say that I can now start sharing this artFULL and colorFULL journey with you!! The first step will be to offer what is commonly called “Paint and Sip” classes. These are painting classes, which I’m calling Viva Art & Vino, that last around two hours or so — you bring your own bottle of wine, a friend or two or three, and have a fun evening of painting, socializing, and embracing your personal creativity. No previous experience necessary!! The second portion of the journey will be Viva Art & Life, for those of you who are interested in exploring and utilizing art as a form of life inquiry, to better understand yourself and others, and find out what it is you really, really want – to be, to do, to have. Again, no previous experience necessary!! The Viva Art & Life series will be session programs, anywhere from a weekend to a series of classes for a certain number of weeks. There will be more on that in my upcoming blog posts.

As of right now the Viva Art & Vino classes will start on June 18, 2015, and will be held at Three Pea Consignment, 4729 E Central, Wichita, KS (Southwest corner of Oliver and Central). Take one or take ’em all. I’ll send out an email and blog post letting you know where you can see what paintings we’ll be doing, what dates they’ll be offered, and additional information. That should occur by the beginning of June. I’m currently working on the website and it should be up shortly.

A portion of the class proceeds will be donated to Circles USA – Wichita, a national nonprofit that is helping to resolve poverty. Special store discounts will also be offered if you find something in the Three Pea you just gotta have!

Aug9

Cool Idea and Upcoming Newton Workshops

Posted on August 9, 2014 by emeraldcitytangles

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I came across a really neat video on my Facebook page with instructions on making a flower card, and wanted to share it with you if you haven’t already seen it. This would make a really neat card for someone (think: Birthday, Hello Friend, Get Well, Mother’s Day, etc.), especially if you tangle the flowers. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to embed the link, so if you want to see how it’s done, go to my Facebook Fan page, EmeraldCityTangles, and check it out. While you’re there, if you’d “Like” my page I’d be most appreciative. Feel free to share with others you know who may be interested in this type of fun idea.

I’ll also be offering two workshops at the Carriage Factory Gallery in Newton, Kansas. I’ll be there on Saturday, September 13, 2014. Two workshops will be available; Introduction to the Art of Zentangle (beginner), and Tangle Print Impressions, where you’ll learn to make a relief print. Come join us if you have never had a beginner workshop, or come see the new workshop I’ve put together. We’ll have lots of fun tangling and learning together!

HAPPY TANGLING!! Bonnie 🙂

Jul17

Camp Quality

Posted on July 17, 2014 by emeraldcitytangles

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I had the wonderful pleasure of recently sharing Zentangle with 39 children (and 40 accompanying adults) who were attending Camp Quality for a week of summer fun. Camp Quality’s mission is to provide community-based camping experiences and ongoing support programs for children with cancer and their families. Their tagline is “Letting Kids with Cancer Be Kids Again”.

Susie Mooney is the Executive Director for the organization here in Kansas and is a delightful lady! She has a real heart for her work and a fantastic staff (all volunteer), and was kind enough to sit with me for a bit and share with me. One thing she shared with me is that they are not funded by any entity, all funding to keep the camp moving forward is through private donations.

In November, Susie and her staff (the Kansas arm of this organization) will be hosting the national organization’s conference. They will be setting up “goodie bags” for the members who will be coming in from all over to participate in that event, and so I’m putting out the word that if you are a local business or church (or even national or web-based) and would like to donate about 100 items (or I’m sure they’d take cash donations), please contact her. You can go the website, www.campqualityusa.org/ks or call her office at 913.424.8355.

It was such a privilege to have this opportunity and it was really fun to meet such a group of amazing kids! They did such a Zentabulous job on their tiles as you can see in the pictures below.

Happy Tangling, Bon 🙂

Camp Quality Mosaic

Rachel, Staff

Sara, Staff

Jul18

Prairie Quilt Guild, Wichita, KS

Posted on July 18, 2013 by emeraldcitytangles

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Lecture Hall

Over a year ago I contracted with the Prairie Quilt Guild to present a lecture and workshop on Zentangle. Who would have known that a year later, when it was time to do the presenting, that I wouldn’t have to take off from work to complete this?? Things happen for a reason, no? I was able to do my presentations and workshops without worrying about using my PTO (paid time off). Plus, it was a paid lecture/workshop event, so I even made a little money (good thing…bills have to be paid)!!! The morning lecture had about 200+ people and the evening lecture had about 100+ people, so I was quite excited to expose Zentangle to this group of quilters! A few of them had already experimented with Zentangle on their quilting and were looking forward to taking the workshops – they were very excited about translating Zentangle to their quilting craft!!

The new document camera!! Ain’t it sweet??

The program was a wonderful two-day event where I met many of the members, had the fun of enjoying the “Show and Share” – seeing quilts different members had completed and were showing off on stage, and just being in awe of the beautiful work and amazing talent I was surrounded by! I gave a 45-minute lecture presentation about Zentangle in the morning and evening sessions on the first day, and then on the following day we held a Zentangle 101 (Beginner) workshop and, following that, Zentangle Too – the advanced workshop. I was quite excited about presenting the workshops because I finally purchased a document camera and projector, so now my students can see me working on a tangle on the “big screen” in real time. It is so much more fun than the whiteboard or the chalkboard!! A picture on the left…

Beginner Tiles Mosaic

Advanced Black Tiles Mosiac

The workshops were well received. I had 16 participants who attended both workshops. For the beginner workshop we learned the basics and completed a tile which is shown in the mosaic on the left. In the advanced workshop we worked on black tiles. All I can say is ZENTABULOUS!! The black tile mosaic is shown on the right.

Okay, so I’m getting a little better at posting these pictures, but still need to learn more about it. I finally went to the help section on WordPress to see if I could figure out anything and I learned a teeny, tiny, little bit as evidenced in this post – the pictures are at least are synchronized with the paragraphs. I’m still trying to figure out how to get the pictures to go across the face of the page in a row…eventually I’ll take better pictures, too, so y’all just gotta be patient with me 🙂

Tween Tangler, Holly, and Grandmom

I have to tell you a story, too! While we were in the workshop, one of the quilt members stopped by to introduce us to her granddaughter, Holly (to show us what Holly had created). Holly had recently attended quilt camp and had come to the meeting the day before with her grandmother to sit in on the lecture I gave about Zentangle. After the lecture she and grandma purchased a couple of Zentangle books I had for sale. Holly promptly went home and created a Zentangle even before she opened the books. She had seen the pictures on the screen during the lecture and enjoyed it so much that she just stated tangling!! This is one of the reasons I love sharing and teaching Zentangle! You just never know who will catch the fever!

Me and Susan

AND, I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to those who helped make this program possible for me – Evelyn Gernaat, PQG President; Susan McMillan, VP of Programs; Donna Loehr, Workshops; Shirley Prouse, Publicity; and Mary Ann Smith for being my helper in the workshops! Without your incredible efforts and coordination this would not have been possible! ZENTABULOUS!!!

Happy Tangling (in the Land of OZ),
Bonnie