Weekly Challenge #285

Happy Monday everyone.

I feel as though it's been a really busy week for me, but as i looked back over my photos this week, i barely took any.  So, i suppose i really have been busy!

I'm still easing Artoo into spending all day at school, including lunch.  I am there to assist the EA to make sure he's safe, because one of the things about Moebius Syndrome is that eating is a safety hazard for him.

my handsome lunch date

 Artoo had his first solo day last wednesday, and he did really well, and so we're planning to "Phase me out" over the next couple of weeks, however his teacher did ask if i'd like to volunteer in the classroom a few times a month, so i'll be doing that too.

This handsome man loves his green bowtie

 Chewie is a bit harder to snap a photo of, these days, what with being 8 years old and all. But Artoo still calls out: "Take a picture of this!!" when he's playing.

playing at the playground

There are still a few gorgeous fall days left, but nights are colder now... and i know what's coming... i'm not going to say it, though cuz i don't want to jinx it.

Weekly Challenge #285: "Relax, bro."
So, it came up in discussion in the CZT facebook page last week -  fellow CZT, Kelly Barone,  asked the question whether or not our work looked different when doing it for the sole purpose of relaxation.

And it seemed that the majority of those who replied agreed that the tangling they did for personal use was a lot different than what they maybe showed on their blogs or pages or in their classes.

I know that this is the case for myself.  My blog is my 'workplace' (albiet an upaid workplace) where i am working, developing a brand, developing a style... and each week when i sit down to write my challenge and do my tile - there's a lot of work that goes into it.  Not only am i creating a challenge, and then working within that challenge, i'm also thinking about composition and balance (some weeks more than others) and i'm thinking about how my tile can come together in one go.  There's definitely some planning - again more some weeks than others.

And i started noticing that in the past couple of weeks, i'm finding myself tense as i tangle, and i'm clenching my teeth, and i'm totally not zen.

So, when Kelly brought it up in the group it has stuck with me and i've been thinking about it all week.

what if....

what if we showed that not every tile we made was carefully planned out, and thought about.
what if we picked up a tile and rolled our shoulders, took some deep breaths and took a few minutes for ourselves to find that place of zen.
what if we didn't concern ourselves with what tangles goes with what?
what if we didn't think about composition, or drama, or how many likes we'd get on instagram or facebook?
what if we did it solely for ourselves, whatever that means to you.

what if we allowed ourselves the luxury of dancing like no one was watching... but with a pen and a tile?

And so, this week's challenge is to consciously make a space for ourselves and tangle like no one's watching.

light a candle
turn on the zen flutes, or the death metal, or the polkas, or saturate yourselves in silence - whatever moves you to particularly bliss out.

grab a warm cup of tea (or put red wine in a tea cup... no judgement)

i'm not gonna lie, it's wine. 

really appreciate the pull of your pen on the tile, and tangle whatever comes to mind.  the first one you think of.  Don't over think it, just do it.  and smile, and breathe, and appreciate where you are and that you're giving this gift to yourself.

If you're feeling brave, post your private work.

Sometimes that's hard to do.  Sometimes, for me at least, these types of tiles are super raw and emotional and intensely personal, but they aren't always aesthetically pleasing.

So.  i'm posting mine.  But don't feel obligated.

If you want to share any thoughts or personal experiences you had this week in the comments, please feel free to do so.

finished

Some of the things i noticed while i did this was that i used a few tangles that i NEVER ever use on my challenge pieces, because i'm not very good at them - because a wonky tile i suck at is not part of my 'style' that i'm trying to portray here... it was definitely freeing not to over think my tile, to just DO and to just go where my pen took me.

Also, i was pretty relaxed and didn't need to unclench my jaw at all.   Don't get me wrong, i enjoy the pieces i do for the other week's challenges, but this was a totally different mindset.  Just pure creation for the sake of creation.

Also, i noticed that i used a lot of busy fine line tangles.  and i really took my time with diva dance, and for fun i tried to see how close i could get some of the lines together without them actually touching - and i had to go VERY slow to do it.

I hope you give this a try this week!

let me know how it goes.
Have a great week!

And if you're on the Zentangle Mosaic App, - i'm @iamthediva - come on by and follow me, and i'm using hashtags on the app for each of my weekly challenges.  So if you're game - use the hashtag #DC285 (Diva Challenge #285) for your tile this week!  You can also search in the app for people's contributions to the challenge by clicking on the hashtag from inside the app, or using the search function.  

If you have a blog or host your images on line (like on Flickr or Picassa or Pinterest), add the site-specific URL where your tile is posted to the linkey machine below! Don't forget to link back here so that others can join in the fun! (if you don't know how to find this, you can see my half assed tutorial here) Also, please feel free to come back often and visit the links of those people on the linkey machine - don't forget to leave a comment or feedback, everyone loves feedback. ;)