My first swap.

Hello, hello my zen friends.
I signed up for the first swap in my life. Here, in my country ATC and swaps are not usual. Actually, nobody knows about theme and nobody practice them. But, I found a wonderful international 2 phases Swap, hosted by a very talented lady, who was so kind to receive me on board even if I am a newbie.
The idea for the first stage is to draw only the borders, and in the second phase, the receiver will tangle the middle and send the 2 ATC to a new partner.
I think it is a great idea, and I wanted to share with you my 2 entries for this first phase of the swap:

So, what do you think?

Line up, guys!

Hello, hello, my wonderful friends!
This week, the wonderful Diva Lady launched another challenge. It is all about the lines. Only lines. No curves. This is my first atempt. I used Belline, Cubine, Hollibaugh and another one that it was inspired from embroidery, but I am sure that someone have already singed it up as a zentangle pattern. So, if you know the name, please let me know.

I say "first" because I want to make another one this week cause I have found a great source of inspiration: romanian folklore embroidery. On  clothes, on special Easter eggs, those patterns are extremly beautiful. I will try to deconstruct them and apply to zentangle. I think some of them are already in the zentangle patterns'gallery, like the one I have used for the challenge.

 

Something from the weekend and a question for my zen friends.

Hello, hello my dear zen friends!
I wanted to show you what I did this weekend. I needed to practice a little more, to discover new patterns, to learn how to add shadows and light, how to add perspective. But, must of all, I wanted to relax, to take the most out of the sunny days, of the smell of my peonies. I do not have a garden, so I always buy flowers from the old ladies that I find in the corner of the streets, on my way home or on my way to the office.
And I wanted to share with you the music that inspired and calmed me in this weekend: fado. Here it is the song I have listened on "repeat"while I was zentangling:

I shared those with my friends on Facebook, so I had to give them a name.

White on black - Diva Challenge.

Hello, hello, my zen friends,
I wanted to participate in DIVA weekly challenge. This week we have to do a white on black tile piece of work. I my town I could not find an white gel pen, nor a black pen&ink special paper. So, i used a black color normal paper and a Koh-I-Noor white pencil.
I am not very happy with the results, but I am glad I had the chance to practice more with some patterns.
For someone who is just starting to learn zentangle, white on black  is a little...weird.
So, here it is my tile for this week challenge:

It is all about four dots.

When I first saw a zentangle tile I was mesemerised. All those lines, patterns, tangles. I imagined that it took hours of planing, tones of talent and inspiration to creat that.

After reading about zentangle, I realized that it is all about patterns and all about...allowing your mind and hands to be free! I learned some patterns in the internet and I said it is time to zentangle.

And I took a white piece of paper, a pen, a liner. And trust me, I stood and looked at that piece of paper for minutes after minutes. I did not know where to start. I thought it is my fault. I have no inspiration. I am not an artist. I do not know how to draw. How can I arrange the patterns, what patterns to use, where do I start? 

And then I read a zentangle book and I found out about the four points. Four dots in the corners of a tile. Revelation to my eyes!

 The paper is no longer white! I have something to start from! It was amazing! The four dots in the corners and the free hand outline that unites them,  it is all you need to start. After the pen will flow from one dot to another, your mind will follow the pen movement. The white paper blockage it is broken! You do not belive me? Try it!

And from that, this is what I came up with:

Let me zentangle with you.

Hello, people!
I love to tangle my dreams. I need to zen. So, this is how I ended up inlove with this art doodle.
I still learn, I still strugle to let my mind flow free on the paper and not thinking what do I do next? What pattern should I choose? Is this flower to small?
So, if you like zentangle, if you like the colours of my dreams, or if you only see the life in balck and white, please stop by and learn with me, and dream with me!