Tag Archives: creativity

ZENTANGLE EXHIBIT

Standard
Bonnie Henna Drum Painting

Bonnie Henna Drum Painting

I hope you will join myself (Emerald City Tangles) and my dear friend, Diana McCann (The Tangle Goes On) as we share our love of Zentangle with the City of Wichita on Final Friday, April 29, 2016.  We will be exhibiting our Zentangle art work at Visit Wichita, 515 S. Main St., Suite 115, Wichita, KS, from 6:00 – 9:00 pm, Friday, April 29, 2016.  There will be demonstrations, artwork to admire, artwork for sale, light refreshments, and lots of good times as our friends, family and collectors gather to celebrate with us all that we love about Zentangle!!  Don’t miss it!  One attendee will be the lucky winner of an original Zentangle art piece.  Make sure you when you arrive that you get your ticket for that drawing!

 

Zentangle

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

2016 – A Year of Change

Standard
2016 freedigitalphotos.net

2016
freedigitalphotos.net

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

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

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

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

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 🙂

 

 

 

Update…

Standard

It’s been almost a month since my last post and, as usual, much has been happening…

I had an opportunity to paint with a student recently that had never painted on canvas before.  Mind you, she is a creative type, but I was just blown away by the piece she completed with my instruction. Here are a couple of pictures…

 

Beginning Zentangle classes are still ongoing.  Here are some pictures of my most recent classes.

 

The next Viva Art & Vino painting class at Three Pea Consignment is scheduled for August 20.  We’ll be painting Whoo Whoo The Owl.  You can register here if you are interested in attending that event. Bring a bottle of wine and bring a friend to share in this special painting time with you!

 

The Annual Chalk Festival was held at the beginning of August and we had great weather and fun!  If you scroll down through the comments in the link, you’ll see that Ralph Joest, Mutual of America, picked up my house chalk painting.  This was my first time participating as an artist.  I’d love to do again next year and have more of you join us.  It’s for a good cause and it’s wonderful to see all the art that is created.  Plus there’s YOB (frozen yogurt) right in the square and makes for a great treat after a long, hot day!

 

The Wichita Tanglers have been very busy working on Christmas ornaments that will be sold at the ZenXpressions Art Show at the end of September.  The money we collect will be given to a local charity.  If you haven’t submitted your application for the show, please get cracking!  It’s less than two months away!  Don’t worry if you don’t know what you will be entering, just complete the application to the best of your ability and get your payment in to hold your spot.  Titles of the pieces can be provided later, and the artwork itself isn’t due until closer to the show.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call me.  You can download the application instructions here, and the application for entry here.

 

Vision Quest

Vision Quest

 

Those of you who are interested in exploring your creative side on a greater scale might consider participating in Vision Quest.  If you want to create change, to invest in what you know is POSSIBLE for you, and to open up and expand the way you feel about your life, Vision Quest starts September 11.  As your Creatively Fit Coach, I’ll be working right along side of you, to hold you accountable, tailor the experience to your needs and love you through the process.  Everything you need to know can be found here.

 

 

 

 

Botanica has requested that I return again, this time to share creating Zentangle Christmas Cards (a couple of examples are shown).  The event will be held November 5th if you are interested, and is for anyone – beginners and advanced alike (21 years and older, please, as you are able to bring wine with you).  Botanica has not yet posted the link for this workshop…it should appear on their events calendar soon.

 

I think that’s plenty to keep you up-to-date on what’s happening at Emerald City Tangles Studio!

Keep on Tanglin’!!  B 🙂

Infinite Possibilities…VISION QUEST

Standard
Vision Quest

Vision Quest

My coach, Whitney Freya, is always talking about infinite possibilities…”Just like the blank canvas, infinite possibilities exist in the art that is your life,”  and “Life is the canvas of your soul”.  That is so, so true.  I had NO IDEA at the beginning of 2015 what an adventure I was in for.  Sometime at the very beginning of the year I posted some art I was working on in a Facebook post and it prompted an old friend to comment, “you need to be a part of our tribe”.  What the heck?  It turns out this friend had taken the Creatively Fit program from Whitney a few years before and was thoroughly enjoying the “infinite possibilities” that had now become a large part of her life. Always being open to new opportunities and because I was beginning to allow my creative juices to once again flow, I asked her to connect me to Whitney so I could learn more.

I knew in my heart that I wanted to create more. My Zentangle training had awakened my Artist Within and now I wanted to continue on that journey. Although I grew up in a family of artists, I never had any formal training, and I always thought that I needed formal training to be called an artist.  One of the first lessons I learned from Whitney was that I was an artist!  My Artist Within wanted to get out and begin participating in the art that was my life!  Because, you see, just as you create art from a blank canvas, you create the life you want on the canvas of your soul.  How exciting is that??  Although I wanted to be creative, I needed guidance. Whitney became that guiding force through her program, now called VISION QUEST.

As I began creating art on a daily basis (even for as little as five minutes), I began to understand that my right brain had been dormant for way too long.  I’m a pretty organized person (if you go into my closet you’ll see that all my shoe boxes are labeled…okay, okay, maybe a touch of OCD – LOL) and I keep track of my life with my calendar and to-do lists.  My left brain was so strong that my right brain was crying, “help me, I’m melting!”  My left brain was the dominant force and my right brain really, really wanted to have a say.  Through the Creatively Fit/Vision Quest experience, my right brain is getting stronger every day, providing me with insight and understanding of the infinite possibilities that can and are occurring in my life these days.  I’m now using art making as an expression of my life!  The connection between personal creativity and personal growth and fulfillment is real and your Artist Within knows it.

YOU have an “Artist Within.” Your Artist Within lives in your right hemisphere and is the part of you that thinks intuitively, fearlessly, and creatively. You might also call your Artist Within your Higher Self, your Soul or Spirit.  It is infinitely creative, infinite in its perspective, and the only part of you that can CREATE miracles, joy, passion, and radical AUTHENTICITY. ART making is SO much more than creating product; it’s about creating a life that is ART!

So, would you like to ignite your passion, experience more ah-ha’s, enjoy more excitement and feel less stressed?  Join me on the VISION QUEST journey this September (open the EVENTS tab).  If you are anything like me, you’ve spent hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on books, online courses and other “stuff” that is probably STILL sitting on your bookshelf and in your computer! The Vision Quest experience will provide you with accountability and you will never be the same!  I will accompany you on that journey every step of the way! Commit to four months – change WILL happen.  Your Artist Within WILL be unleashed!

Here is a quote from another fellow Rainbow Warrior Vision Quester.  Her words echo exactly what I feel…

“Before the Creatively Fit Program I felt very stuck, and while I intellectually took responsibility for my life, I had repressed my soul’s callings and labeled them as ‘impractical’…In spite of having many ‘successes’ and blessings, life felt very ‘heavy’ and ‘quietly desperate’ (Thoreau)….Immersing myself in Creating & the Creatively Fit program has brought such New Life and has helped me to see possibilities. While I’m very much still on this Journey, I more fully ‘own’ truly being the Artist of My Life. I’m more accepting of letting things flow vs. needing to have detailed plans. I’m becoming more brave in putting my art ‘out there’ and am filled with new energy & excitement. This program has truly changed my life and has greatly supported me in excavating my true self.”

YOU can become part of this “tribe” THIS SEPTEMBER 2015!

You want to create change, to invest in what you know is POSSIBLE for you, and to open up and expand the way you feel about your life. Your Creatively Fit Coach [ME :)] is here to hold you accountable, tailor the experience to your needs and love you through the process.

It starts SEPTEMBER 11, 2016, and ends JANUARY 11, 2016!  Here’s where you’ll find all the information — Open the EVENTS tab once you arrive at the site.  We are combining personal creativity, art making, spirituality, self-awareness and personal transformation in a whole new way. Not just for a weekend, or an evening. It won’t be experienced on an isolated page somewhere in cyber space. It will be personal, interactive, communal and expansive. Big change requires time and integration, guidance and inspiration, support and contrast, creativity and courage.

Four months from now, you won’t remember what it was like to NOT be surrounded by your own original art, your talismans and messages from your Soul.

You WILL remember your purpose, your passion, your own special “secret sauce” that is what you, and only you, can bring to the world. You WILL remember that, in fact, you are the sole CREATOR of your experience and you WILL remember how to take back that power.

Watch out world. Here YOU come!

Zentangle Art Show In Wichita!!

Standard

Please note that “ZenXpressions: A Showcase of Zentangle Inspired Art” has had a date change.  The new Final Friday date will be September 25, 2015.  All other information is correct.  Thank you for your understanding in this!  B.

IT’S HAPPENING!!  THE COMMITMENT HAS BEEN MADE!!

On Final Friday, July 31, 2015, in Downtown Wichita, Kansas, at Tessera Fine Art Gallery there WILL BE AN ART SHOW dedicated to all the Zentangle enthusiasts in the Wichita and surrounding area!

Sandy Hunter, CZT

Sandy Hunter, CZT

This art show is going to get the word out to the people of Wichita that Zentangle is taking over!!  Let’s show them what Zentangle is all about!!  My goal is to share the wonderful world we have become involved in and let them know that you don’t even have to know how to draw a straight line to be an artist!  We are ALL ARTISTS, with creativity inside of us just waiting to be nurtured and let out.

Think about it…how many of you, when you first came to learn Zentangle said, “I can’t draw”, “I’m not an artist”, “I haven’t done any art since high school”, or…. “I remember loving to create when I was younger, but family and work got in the way and I just didn’t have time”, “I wanted to be creative but I never thought I was good enough”, “It takes too much money to buy materials”, or some other such thing??  But when you sat down and someone shared with you, you found a voice, a wellspring within you, a gleam of light showing you the way, and you realized that, “YES!  I can create this wonderful piece of art!”  Remember the fun and joy?  How we looked at each other’s tiles and were so excited to see how everyone’s was different and unique?

Brenda Lee Shaver, CZT

Brenda Lee Shaver, CZT

I am so looking forward to having you participate in this great event.

CLICK HERE to find all the information you’ll need to participate and/or attend the show.  SCROLL DOWN the page to download the event entry forms (there are two pages).

I’m counting on you to share with others you know who are Zentangle enthusiasts.  Invite friends, family, and coworkers to the show.  Share it on Facebook and other social media to help me spread the word.  I could always use some volunteers as there is a lot to be done.  If everyone can do one little thing, we can get this big thing done!!  All my volunteers will get recognition!

LET’S REACH FOR THE STARS!!

Happy Tangling!  Bonnie