The Lost Art of the Personal Touch

Remember the days when the mailbox held a funny card? A thoughtful note? Or a letter catching up over the miles? Today we stay so connected electronically that there are rarely cards and notes to keep in the boxes and trunks of our lives. No mementos or keepsakes to treasure as time passes…

I recently went to the mail and retrieved an unexpected thank you card, a beautiful, tiny fan with peach blossoms on one side and a hand written note on the other. It was beautiful. It was thoughtful. The whole gesture really made me feel special and appreciated. I’d like to get back to the place where we express our appreciation to those that matter to us. It seems society has a mindset now that everything is disposable, and not worthy of value. Let’s challenge that trend.

Until next time... Get tangled!

Increasing Creativity and Productivity with Sketchbooks

For the longest time I thought that sketchbooks were something sacred that needed to be beautiful from beginning to end.  Then I went for years having several sketchbooks — one for continuous line quilting patterns, one for play, one for geometric and/or piecing designs, and one I carried with me to museums to sketch and jot notes in… and that was a mess.

Many artists use just one sketchbook at a time and work from front to back until it is filled — then they move on to the next sketchbook.  This is more the idea I am going with now, except I keep two — one is for Zentangle and the other is for everything else.

I keep my tangles separate because these I actively use as a reference. Referring to them for tangles as I work, either in a book or on a tile, etc. 

The other sketchbook is for anything else. If I am trying to figure out something, I pull out that sketchbook and work there. If there is a tangle I am unsure about, I work there. If I am jotting notes about an artist or a quote, that is where I put it. It is far less messy; and because it is in one place, I can find things easier than when I had five sketchbooks going at once.

That’s the beauty of being an artist, I guess.  Finding your pattern in the chaos, where you fit and can express your vision the best.  I want to help get you to a place that increases your focus and creativity, helping you create some of your best work.  Anything is possible one stroke at a time, right?  Until next time... Get tangled!

What a bit of shading can do

How often do you think things are boring? Visually, something isn’t interesting, doesn’t captivate your attention. An event fails to wow? You can’t relate to what a speaker is saying because there is too much technical jargon and not enough life…

Drawings can be like that. Great contrasts of values, black and white that pop from a distance yet don’t hold the eye longer than the few seconds it takes to disseminate the image. One way I have seen that adds interest to hold the viewer is shading to add depth. A tile tangled with good value contrast can be nice. That same tile with shading can be truly stunning.

If we can add interest to a tile with a little graphite — what can we add to life with a little grey by way of inclusion, acceptance, breathing…?

Conference in Santa Fe

Hanging out with like-minded people is something that is always worthwhile. Realizing Santa Fe, New Mexico is a favorite destination spot for many people, I never had a desire to go. In 2013, Studio Art Quilt Associates had their annual conference in Santa Fe. The conference was great — hanging out with like-minded people, listening to speakers who engaged and inspired. When I heard that Tangle U, a conference for Certified Zentangle Teachers, was going to Santa Fe in 2015 I knew I would be going too!

The high desert holds little appeal aesthetically to me; brown earth, adobe, terra-cotta, few trees… The mountains in the distance are pretty. The shopping, the art, the whole spirit is amazing. I loved wandering the section of Old Town near the hotel and conference center. Shops of the handmade or artisan made each spectacular versions of its kind.

The conference held equal attention. [Classes about products, teaching methods, new approaches to projects. Each class sparked ideas and stimulated the creative monster.]

One class took the traditional idea of tangles and talked about refining lines and adding shading in a unique way that creates even more dimensionality. I also was introduced to the idea that tiles can be ‘intimate’ or have less value contrast (less to look at from a distance) and yet have smaller detail or more change in sheen (using a clear pen with white glitter on white paper) that you can only see as you move around the tile. More a sense of wonder than wow.

Another class introduced me to TomBow markers. A product I knew of and had not tried. Trying it for the first time in a guided manner was great. Who knew a marker could be blended?!

There were also opportunities to meet other Certified Zentangle Teachers who came from all over the world. I met Laura Liu from Taipei, Taiwan. Japan Diamond is her pattern. It is one of my favorites! Even a fellow Tennessean, Amy Brody who shared tales of her tangles.

It was a great trip. I look forward to next year in Maine.

Quilting Arts TV

If you have seen the recent issue of Quilting Arts Magazine you will have seen the article on my Zentangle Book in a Box. (April/May 2015) It was quite an experience to submit, write, ship, wait and wait for the whole process.

The whole thing came about because of Margarita Korioth. She moved to the Memphis area almost two years ago and we became friends. She has written many articles for Quilting Arts Magazine (including an article in the same issue!) and other publications and encouraged me to submit.

Last May I finally got it all together and submitted proposals for articles. In September they asked me to do the Artist Spotlight featuring my Zentangle Book in a Box. I wrote the article. In November I shipped my book and waited. Finally a few weeks ago the issue was released and almost a year of waiting was over.

Meanwhile — in November Susan Brubaker Knapp was the national teacher for Uncommon Threads Quilt Guild. I took some classes from her and got a chance to chat with her. We talked about her job hosting Quilting Arts TV and what it was like to be on the show.

Bolstered by my article success I submitted a proposal and was asked to join the team in Solon, Ohio to tape three segments for Quilting Arts TV.

The first segment was about applying colour after quilting. I love this topic! I started first with paint atop quilting when I first started quilting in 2006. A class with Lura Schwarz Smith opened the world of ink. Then I discovered using coloured pencil set with medium, and finally the magic of Inktense Pencils by Derwent. NOW — you’ve got nine minutes. GO!

The second segment was a little longer at 13 minutes and was all about my two sided quilts and how I frame them. The hours of preparing the project sample was well worth the work as things went smoothly (or so they seemed on my side of the camera) and we seemed to cover a lot of ground.

Finally there was a segment about the Zentangle Book in a Box and showing how I made the paged of the book and how I quilt. Only a few minutes, but it was exhilarating! Possibly best of all was meeting so many great people; the production staff, the Quilting Arts people, the lady from Bernina, and many other artist there to tape as well. You will have to watch season 1600 to see us all!


*Note - Quilting Arts TV is aired on many PBS stations. If you are not in one of the viewing areas you can purchase the series on DVD or view an episode or series on line.

Sentiments to Society

What is there to do when you are feeling down trodden and are trying to 

procrastinate --  not get down to work?

What else but practice some calligraphy 

and write out some sentiments from the heart!

above is a blend of Walnut Ink and 

Dr. Ph. Martin's Spectralite liquid acrylic ink in 51K Brass 

plus a little graphite shading.

Here the attempt is using watercolor and blending from one colour to another

plus a little shading with Prismacolor Pencils

Sumi Vermillion ink for the lettering and 

Sumi Vermillion blended with Walnut Ink 

and ever increasing amounts of white watercolor.

Each page was done entirely with pointed pen. All the decoration, while inspired by Zentangle was done with pointed pen and an intention to play with the thick and thin lines created by a pointed pen calligraphy nib.

I used Canson Calligraphy Parchment for the first page (8.5 x 11 / 24lb.) and Paper and Ink Arts brand Diploma Parchment (8.5 x 11 / 47lb.) for the other two. The nib was a Brause Steno used throughout. I did intend to try several nibs, but this nib was very nice and holds a lot of ink -- so I just kept using it!

Legibility and Sincerity

If you know me or regularly read my irregular blog posts then you know that I am at the end of taking my second calligraphy class this year. And I love it!
Writing is an important thing. Calligraphy is beautiful and also strives to be legible. How words are strung together is also important though much writing is typed and the legibility comes from the font and not from the hand. The mind however is important to both processes and can convey much more than the sequence of words convey or the look denotes.

Which leads me to the point of this post...
Thank You messages. Especially from businesses.
Perhaps you are a business person or simply someone who is mindful of sending 'Thank You' notes to others when you feel it appropriate. Many businesses  do this as part of their regular marketing champaign. And it can be a good idea.
However!
In the past few weeks I have gotten three such messages from three various businesses I patronize. The first was a hand addressed envelope with a custom printed card, the front of the card had an etched image of the business, housed in an attractive old house in Memphis. Nice. When I opened it out fell a business card and a small card printed with 10% off... Nothing personal. No salutation. No signature. All just stuck in the envelope.
Another was an e-mail message that said in many words to tell me "I was appreciated." There was a nice quote from Gertrude Stein and it was 'signed' from the person at the business that I deal with. Upon closer inspection I noticed several things. My name was no where to be seen. It was sent from his assistants e-mail address and his name was in the 'To:' line meaning that it was a generic e-mail sent to all his clients by his assistant. Not personal at all.
The second note was from a retail business I frequent. In the mail yesterday was a smallish white envelope with no return address. It was hand addressed. Not fancy, yet nicely written. Inside was a flat card with a hand written note saying I was appreciated and there was a sale going on and then signed. Just a nice, legible hand written note from the store and sales person.
Which experience do you think I liked the most and said to me I was appreciated?
See you are very smart and know how to create a great impression. So how do so many miss the point?
And doesn't the assistant know there are mail programs that will place a name into the message to personalize it? From a list?
And if you are hand addressing an envelope can't you write "Thanks" and sign your name? Because if you want to tell me that you care about me the customer... try pretending for a moment that I really do matter and make the effort personal.
Or just forget it all together!

Say!

If you would like to learn more about making cards so You can send someone you appreciate a note I am having a ZenTangle Project Class on Card Making May 20th from 7 - 9pm at Studio Nysha. leave me a comment here on by mail if you would like more information. Or visit my Studio Nysha