Diva Challenge #202

This week we have a Duo tangle, two tangles to work with. One is Chabucto, the other Copada. I use the latter quite frequently, but not the first one. In fact I found Chabucto quite difficult to get my head around, but did my old age best! These were designed by one of  my fave tanglers, Margaret Bremner, her work is awesome. You can see it on her blog at Enthusiasticartist.

Ive been enjoying some lovely sunsets recently

 In February the Ficafolia gum trees come out in bloom. We have a Ficafolia festival, in which there  is a parade down the main street which is lined with the beautiful gum trees (or Eucalypts) . We are blessed to have one right outside our place. Its awesome when in bloom

We can sit in our lounge room and gaze at it through the window!
and I can't resist posting this delightful visitor we had to our balcony last week. (a kookaburra)

This weeks contribution for Facebook's Bible challenge. I love using an analogous colour scheme.

Diva Challenge #201 ; Art Deco

Thanks to those who left comments last week, they are always encouraging!
This weeks 'Diva Challenge is to use the Amoebius Syndrome symbol as it is Amoebius Syndrome Day on Jan. 24th. Purple is "their" colour.

Tangles used: Heartline; Coaster; Poser

A batch of ATC's to send to USA for FB ZATC Groups swap. Title "Monotangle"
Tangles used: Betweed, Bubbles and Coaster.
Media: Some on watercolour background, Micron pen, watercolour pencils.

MORE FROM NEW ZEALAND CRUISE

Some more Art Deco....

These two from the cruise ship

Beauty from The Old Telegraph Office

Below: Some common patterns used.

Cheerio! happy tangling.

Diva Challenge #200 Yeehah! and Napier, NZ

Congratulations to Laura Harms on such an amazing achievement. Two hunded Challenges ago she sent out her first zentangle challenge for aspiring tanglers. With 1.7 million page views and 3000 fans on Facebook she has brought so much pleasure to us all. Thank you Laura. You can find her site on
http://iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com

Our challenge for this week is to make a monotangle (using only one tangle in a variety of ways) using from our favourite tangle, and include the number 200 somewhere on a borderless tile. My fave one is probably "Leaflet" by Helen Williams (thanks Helen). I use it quite a bit as its such a flexible pattern to use in many ways. Below I have used a colour wash background, .005 micron pen, pigma brush tips and  Derwent Watercolour Pencils for shading.

A few others done for Facebook Zentangle sites

Camelia and Betweed

Leaflet, Coaster, Euca and Dl-nebula

Art Deco at Napier, New Zealand.

Typical Art Deco carpet

A national disaster resulted in Napier Becoming one of the purest Art Deco cities in the world. On the morning of February 3rd, 1931, a massive earthquake -7.9 on the Richter scale, rocked Hawke's Bay for more than 3 minutes. Nearly 260 lives were lost and the vast majority of buildings in the commercial centre of Napier were destroyed, either by the quake or fires which followed. The current styles of the time was Art Deco, Stripped Classical and Spanish Mission, thus rebuilding reflected these styles.

I am not only a lover of pattern, but especially Art Deco patterns. The style is rhythmic, often geometric, uses floral motifs and is most elegant. Colour also plays an important part in the designs.
My friends brother in law drove us around the city in his old vintage model T!! Here are some pics from Napier. As I was being driven around I had to video most buildings, so forgive the less than perfect pics.

Ready to drive me around Napier!

Typical patterning on a building

Hows that for a manhole cover?

Entrance to The Tobacco Company

Inside. Traces of Stripped Classical

So elegant

I think thats probably enough for one post!!

More to follow next week.

Lol.

btw..laura is offering prizes if you enter her competition this week. Why not have a go?

Diva Challenge #199 and a cruise.

First challenge for the year is a UMT "Hitched". I took the traditional approach for it.

During the holidays I completed a number of ATC's for a Facebook challenge. Using tangles which begin with our initials.

Afterglow, arches, arrows, a-fog, and arukas
Man-o-man, assunta, meer, apulia, and moon rocks

The current swap is to create a tile with only organic or only geometric tangles. Just finished a few.

These were both 'organic' ones. Media was watercolour wash backgrounds, fine liners and watercolour pencils or Prisma Verithins.

I mentioned in my last blog of 2014 that I was going on a cruise around New Zealand. Well it was great and not so great!!

It happened that hundreds on the boat caught a norovirus bug, also called stomach flu, which causes you to have bad diaoreah and vomiting, which confined them to their cabins sometimes for days.Then after all that they got stung a fortune in medical costs.

I selected a few shots for you.

Im off on an ocean wave!

With my friend Margie

Our cute cabin with plenty of room.

 A BBQ lunch

Such a work of art

Nearly tangled! port of call Wellington

Entering Fiordland

Though no sun, the clouds made it quite dramatic

This is my fave photo, I just love the colours

Amazing carpet design. Next week I'll do more on the Art Deco which pervades the ship.

Toodelooo