Welcome to the second edition of a newly-established Alphabet Salad tradition-to-be, Tangled Tuesday! There has been a LOT of tangling-related goodness in my world since my first post in this new series, and I’m anxious to share it all with you, so let’s get on with it!
Tangling Goodies
Not specifically Zentangle®1-related, but I was happy this week to receive the package of bookmark sleeves I’d ordered so I could send some finished bookmarks to the sponsors who requested them. I’d originally planned to send them out as-is, but was concerned that if they were used for their intended purpose the pencil shading might smudge onto the pages of the books, which would obviously not be a good thing! I debated using fixative, but in the end opted for the sleeves as I don’t yet have any experience with fixative and didn’t want to ruin my finished pieces… also, I’m not crazy about the idea of working with harsh and potentially dangerous chemicals that require sufficient ventilation (funny, that!). So sleeves it is, at least for the time being.
Tangling-in-Progress
A friend of mine owns a diner whose walls are full of original art pieces, many of which are offered for sale. I approached her about the possibility of displaying one of my finished pieces, and much to my delight she agreed! I created one 8″ x 8″ piece that I hoped would be appropriate (more on that below), but in the end after holding it up against the wall and standing back a bit we decided that its details were probably too fine and the piece too small to be fully appreciated on its own, so following my friend’s suggestion I decided to create a second piece to accompany the first.
Later that day, however, I was shopping for art supplies and came across a four-pack of simple black 8″ x 8″ picture frames which I thought would be perfect for my finished piece. Seeing the four together, it came to me that if I were to create three more 8″ x 8″ pieces (instead of just one), then all four framed pieces could be hung together in a larger square – much more effective than one lone framed picture. So that’s what I’m doing! At this point I’ve completed a total of three for the set, and hope to have the fourth ready this coming week.
Before they end up in frames, however, I’m going to take all of them in to a local print shop and have them professionally scanned (the quality of my home scanner just doesn’t cut it) so that I have the option of using them in the future for prints, on products, etc. The thing is, they are so very time-consuming (each circle takes somewhere around 5 or 6 hours to create) and I will probably get a whole lot more mileage out of them if I go a little further than just trying to sell the originals. We’ll see, I guess!
Finished Projects
My first finished project this week was the 8″ x 10″ ZIA I started last week as a gift for Mom. I’m satisfied with the final result, and (based on the photo I sent) Mom says she likes it, so I consider the project a success! The original is currently somewhere in the postal system winging its way to her in Victoria, and I hope the real thing is worth the wait.
ZIA 14 – 8″ x 10″ – A gift for my mom
As I learn new tangles I add them to my tangle practice sketchbooks and then, even if any given pattern isn’t something I particularly love, try to use each of them at least once by working them into a finished piece. After finishing Mom’s ZIA I wasn’t quite ready to start in on another time-consuming project, so I thought I’d do a couple of small pieces that incorporated some tangles I hadn’t yet taken beyond the practice stages.
Zentangle 76
ZIA Bookmark 5
Once I decided I was ready to tackle another large project I started in on my 8″ x 8″ circle designs (the evolution of which I described earlier in this post). I managed to finish three of the four, and am quite happy with how they turned out.
ZIA 15 – Zendala 1 of 4
ZIA 16 – Zendala 2 of 4
ZIA 17 – Zendala 3 of 4
What’s going to be a bit of a challenge once I’m done is determining a price to set for the originals. I’ve been directed by friends to a couple of resources on how to price original art, which have provided me with some great ideas. Now I just have to bite the bullet and make a decision.
Coming Soon
This week’s tangling goals include:
- Creating the final circle ZIA.
- Taking all four pieces in to be scanned.
- Framing my finished pieces, deciding on a price, and bringing them to the diner for hanging.
- Set up an online shop (most likely on Zazzle) and begin offering for sale products that feature some of my work.
It’s going to be a busy time, but it’s all exciting stuff, so I’m glad to do it! And I know that every bit of effort I spend takes me another step closer to my goal of saving up enough money to attend a CZT training seminar, so it’ll be well worth it.
P.S.
For background on how I discovered and got involved in Zentangle, and links to further information and resources, check out my blog post For the love of tangling.
You can browse my entire tangle gallery at Ten Thousand Tangles.
And, if you’re interested in having a little piece of my art for yourself, please click on the GoFundMe button below for more information!
1 The Zentangle® Method was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas and is copyrighted. Zentangle® is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
