Zendala!

A quick photo gallery of a recent zentangle drawing: a Mandela of Zentangles, or a Zendala. (Such a pretty portmanteau, don’t you think? As a book I read once put it, “Zendala sounds better than Mantangle, doesn’t it?”)

Mandelas come to use from Hindu or Buddhist traditions. Simply put, they are a circular design to help focus thoughts and aid in meditation. Zentangling in a Mandela is just another way of using the deliberate artistic strokes to create fabulous art and experience some great meditation.

The entire design doesn’t have to be circular. You can incorporate zendala elements into other zentangle designs as well. Here is a series of photos detailing one of my sketches:

Also, who said Zentangles must always be black and white? No one! Experimenting with adding color is also a fun way to continue your zentangle experience.

Museum trip: Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal

Join Painter Smurf and I as we journey to the Cleveland Museum of Art for the “Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal” show!

My friend C and I made a quick trip to Cleveland to catch this exhibit right as it was exiting the museum. It was primarily pulled from the museum’s permanent collections, so the bonus? It was free! You have to love being able to drink in some fabulous art without having to spend any money!

We also took in a great exhibit that analyzed Picasso’s La Vie, including sketches leading up to and inspiring the main work. One of the things I love about CMA is that they usually will have iPad displays available that show you the work of art as it looks when it is exposed to ultraviolet light and x-rays. It’s so near to be able to see the pieces of art as the art restoration experts do!

Here are a few more shots from the regular exhibits at the museum:

And last but not least, we were completely surprised and awed by a travelling exhibit of William H. Johnson’s work. I had never heard of him before, but lovewhat I saw! So did Painter Smurf!

And I just couldn’t resist taking one last photo of Painter Smurf right by the gigantic banner for the WHJ exhibit. 🙂 objects at the museum are sometimes smaller than they appear! Can you even see Painter in the photo?

What about you? Been to any great exhibits lately? Please comment and share!

Newest Mashup: Girl with a Pear Earring

So I’ve been digitally zentangling lately, and having a fabulous time! Here’s the latest. Thank you, iPhone autocorrect error, for the inspiration! Girl with a PEAR earring! 😉