As Winter Break comes to an end, I feel so much gratitude and appreciation for the many wonderful opportunities I had to be creative and enjoy the process of creating art. It brought me so much joy, and it was exactly what I needed winter break to be about. To begin, I worked a lot on my 12 days of Zentangle Spinner. I put the finishing touches on one spinner and started (with Momma Deb) and completed a second one. 

Then, while visiting Harrison Hot Springs,  Momma Deb, our good friend Emily, and I tangled  our tiles for the December Dash It All, Let's Tangle Challenge. We had to pick a tangle that was new to us in 2018 and that we really liked. I chose Ginili.

Next, our good friend Emily hosted a Artsy-Tanling "playdate" for Momma Deb and me. She went above and beyond. We focused on three different art projects (Zentangle Inspired) over almost 12 hours. Time flies when you are creating art! First, we worked on Eco-dyeing. Emily and I first learned about Eco-dyeing from Nancy Dawes at Tangle Island last spring. Momma Deb wasn't able to attend Tangle Island, and we knew she would love it so we showed her how it was done. This time around, we experimented with berries and veggies. The results were so beautiful. 

While our Eco-Dyeing papers were "cooking" and drying, we began our next project which was Eni Oken's Fantasy Agates. Emily was so organized and had all the materials we needed for the lesson prepared in cute little bags. Eni's lesson was fun and we learned about choosing colour palettes, how to create Fantasy Agates using watercolour, and how to incorporate various tangles into our piece. Emily had been playing with fantasy agates for a bit and discovered that adding Twinking H2os added more drama to the tile! Great discovery, Em! I really enjoyed the process of the lesson and wasn't so worried about the outcome, but they definitely turned out  beautiful. 

​The last project we worked on was Eni Oken's Metal Tangles. Once again, Emily was so organized and had all the materials we needed in a cute little bag for us. In the lesson, we learned how to use metal foil tape to create sparkly metallic tangles. I absolutely love getting to  experiment with new materials and finding new uses for tools I already have. The whole process was fascinating. We ended up with very  beautiful distressed pieces of metal art. Big thank you to Emily for hosting Momma Deb and I. The day was filled with so much laughter, joy, and creativity. We look forward to our next "playdate"! ​

Next up, I had the opportunity to teach one of my first multigenerational Zentangle 101: The Basics class. 3 grandma's brought 4 grandchild to a class. It was such a fun experience. I look forward to doing more classes like this in the future.  ​

This project pack included two custom made templates designed by Zentangle HQ, two mechanical spinners, two watercolour pencils, a watercolour brush, a Micron 01, a tortillion, and a graphite pencil. 

Each day, we followed along with Rick, Maria, Molly, Martha, and Julie as they guided us through mini-video tutorials on how to create a Tangle Spinner. We focused on individual tangles, fragments, and borders. The spinner became a fun, interactive work of art. 

Each year, I really look forward to the 12 days of Zentangle because I always learn something new, I am pushed outside my comfort zone and I am always so inspired by the beautiful pieces of art that we create.

This is my second year doing Inktober Tangles, and I really enjoyed it. I decided to use an opus tile (10.5x10.5 tile) to draw all my tangles on rather than individual regular tiles. I am very pleased with how it turned out. One tangle that I really enjoyed learning was Ginili. It reminds me of butterfly wings. Find the step out here.

On Saturday, Oct 20, 2018 I was in Port Moody at the Civic Centre for the Fall Harvest Marketplace. I really enjoyed the day, it was so nice to meet so many people interested in my art and Zentangle.

Each Zentangle Inspired Art piece (ZIA) is one of a kind, hand drawn by myself. This year, like last year, the magnets were a super popular item. People also LOVED the tangled pumpkins. 

New this year, if you signed up for the Dashtangles' Newsletter, your name was entered into a draw for a Tangle Me This! Sketchbook, and if you opened the first newsletter sent to you, your name was entered into a big draw to win a free Zentangle 101: The Basics class!

I'm looking forward to the upcoming North Vancouver Holiday Bazaar Nov. 17-18 and Dec 1-2. The new location this year is at West Vancouver Community Centre from 10am-4pm. Admission is free! Hope to see you there!

If you are interested in purchasing one of my zentangle inspired art pieces or having something custom-made, but can't make the markets, please feel free to contact me via email dashtangles@gmail.com. 

For the  September “Dash It All, Let’s Tangle “ Challenge, participants were mailed a tile that I started with a string and the tangle Flux. Each tile was started the same way, and participants could choose any tangles they wished to complete it.  My favourite part of this challenge was to see how different each tile looked when completed.

Above- pictures from the Parkgate event. Below- Momma Deb joined me for the Lynn Valley Village event. 

With only 5 months left until Christmas Day, prep for the upcoming Holiday Market Season is in full swing. 

Similar to last year, there will be holiday cards, ornaments, magnets, and book marks available for purchase. New this year, I hope to add a few other little treasures such as wine charms and framed art.

So, mark your calendars! All my creations will be available to purchase at the following markets!

• Oct. 20, 2018 Fall Harvest Marketplace in Port Moody 10am-4pm. Admission is $2
• Nov. 17-18, 2018 North Vancouver Holiday Bazaar in West Vancouver 10am-4pm. Admission is FREE
• Dec. 1-2, 2018 North Vancouver Holiday Bazaar in West Vancouver 10am-4pm. Admission is FREE

I look forward to seeing you there, but if you can't make it to the market and would still like to purchase something, please contact me at dashtangles@gmail.com. I am taking custom and pre-orders starting today! 

...eco-dying and book binding... 

...black ice (black tile, twinkling H2Os, glitter tapes, glaze pens, gel pens)...

...and playing with stencils, new tools, and tangles. 

As always, it is was so wonderful to be in a room full of like minded people who are passionate about tangling. ​I look forward to what is in store for us next year!

At the end of April, Momma Deb, Andrew and I travelled to Portland, Oregon so I could attend Tangle U, a "continuing education event" for CZTs. I had the opportunity to learn new techniques and ideas from master CZTs. There were close to 130 CZTs in attendance from all over Canada and the United States.

This year's swap was called "Circling the Word". Before arriving at Tangle U, CZTs created Zenbuttons, Spundalas, and Zendalas. Once at Tangle U, we handed our creations in and a beautiful mosaic was created.

The top row of  Zenbuttons were created by me. The bottom row of Zenbuttons were created by Chris Titus (organizer of the swap), Angie Gittles, and Cassandra Sagan.

Karen Sandoval, Pegi Schargal, and Sue Jacobs all did wonderful displays for the Pop Up Gallery. Very inspiring! 

I have so much gratitude and appreciation for having the opportunity to attend Tangle U 2018 in Portland, Oregon. It was four days filled with so much joy,  growth, and creativity. I'm so intrigued and inspired to set up, plan, and organize future classes. I can't wait to share all my new knowledge with all those who are interested! Stay tuned!

April 12, 2018 marked the one year anniversary of receiving my Zentangle teaching certificate. Becoming a CZT was a life changing experience, and this past year has been amazing! I have so much love, appreication and gratitude for all the opportunities I have had, people I have met, and memories that I will never forget. I have so much to be thankful for. 

Next, I have to thank the tangle enthusiast who continue to take classes and share their love of tangling with me. This past year, ​​I had the opportunity to teach 10 Zentangle classes including the Basics, Beyond the Basics (String Theory, Monotangles, and Shading), Black Tile, and Renaissance Tile. 

And finally, I have to thank all CZTs who either in person or online have supported me, answered my questions, and helped me develop various ideas for classes, marketing, etc. The CZT community is like no other community I have been apart of, and I truly appreciate being apart of it. 

March started off with the "Dash it All, Let's Tangle" Challenge entitled "Magnification". Tanglers pretended to use a magnifying glass on one of their favourite tangles. Then they added more tangles in the little spaces that are not usually available. Big THANK YOU to Emily for coming up with such a creative challenge idea and the sample tile. 

To kick off Spring Break, Emily and I attended Jerryann Haggart's Dr. Seuss Garden Workshop at the MacMillian Art Centre in Parksville, BC. I really appreciated the opportunity to explore various techniques using my Tombow Dual Brush Markers. They are amazing markers. As always, when I travel to Parksville, I really enjoyed meeting new tanglers, and catching up with those I had met in previous trips. They are a special, creative, and talented group of people. 

The Dr. Seuss quote I choose for my piece was "Today was Good. Today was Fun. Tomorrow is another one!" I thought this quote was fitting as I really enjoyed the workshop (it was good and fun), and the next day, I would be heading to Las Vegas with my husband, Andrew (which would be another one- good and fun). 

I was in love with all the beautiful art and inspiring patterns I saw while in Las Vegas. I have been to Vegas many times before, but this was the first time I had been there since being introduced to Zentangle. Talk about pattern overload! There were also many interesting pieces that I thought might look cool in one of my Dr. Seuss Garden pieces!

This March (spring break), marked the two year anniversary that I launched Dashtangles on social media. The first week I launched my Dashtangles Facebook Page, I had 50 followers. I remember feeling so ecstatic. Today, two years later, I have 200 followers, and I am over the moon! In the social media world, this number might be small, but for me, it's nothing but love and gratitude! Thank you to all my amazing followers. 

Just like that, February is done. Where did that month go? It has been very busy and super productive. The month started off with the "Dash it All, Let's Tangle" Challenge. Tanglers chose two tangles they love and created a "duotangle" tile. For an added little festive feel, in honour of Valentine's Day, tanglers incorporated a heart in their tile.  Here are some of the contributions from the Dashtangles' Tanglers FB group page. 

 One area of tangling that many enthusiast find challenging is shading. When I first started tangling, I had no idea where to begin. It wasn't until I read Cris Letourneau's book Made in the Shade: a Zentangle Workbook that it made more sense.  

The more I practice my shading techniques the more amazed I am at how shading can completely transform a tangle, and this month I had the opportunity to share my knowledge of shading with fellow tanglers at a Zentangle 102: Beyond the Basics- Shading class. If you are interested in taking a Shading class or purchasing Cris' book, Made in the Shade, please contact me. 

In support of my upcoming Zentangle Workshops at Karen Magnussen, I was featured in a NVRC Active Living Blog post. You can read it here!

Friday, February 23 was a professional development day in the North Vancouver School District. I attended an Artist for Kids watercolour workshop. We used the Roy Henry Vickers Print " Twin Sister" for inspiration. I really enjoyed the workshop and the opportunity to experiment with watercolours. I have taken a couple watercolour classes in the past and I look forward to offering a watercolour Zentangle class in the near future. 

To wrap up this whirl wind of a month, I taught a Zentangle Basics Workshop at Karen Magnussen Recreation Centre. Not only was it my first time teaching a class through the NVRC, but it was also the biggest adult class I've ever taught, with nine people, and I did not know a single person prior to teaching the class. The 2.5 hour workshop flew by and the artwork created was fantastic! I look forward to my upcoming workshops with NVRC at Karen Magnussen. Check out the NVRC leisure guide for upcoming dates and times for kids and adult workshops!

And finally, the Dashtangles' Online Store is officially open in February! Click the picture below to check it out!

A great friend and fellow tangle enthusiast, Emily, messaged me the other day and asked if I wanted to do a tangle challenge together. In the past, we have done these little tangle challenges together with different focuses and really enjoyed the whole process of coming up with the challenge, doing the challenge, and then seeing how different, similar and beautiful our tiles turn out. 

This time, Emily thought it would be neat to pick the 20th and 18th tangles on a Zentangle list and tangle those. I liked the idea since it was the new year and the new year is 2018. Then I suggested we could pick the 20th and 18th letters of the alphabet (T & R) and using Linda Farmer's Website choose tangles that start with T & R to create a tile. Right away the first tangles that came to mind for Emily and I were Toodles and Rumpus, two new tangles released  December 2017 by Zentangle HQ. 

Emily and I decided we wanted to include other people in our challenge this time. So we opened the challenge up to the tanglers in the Dashtangles' Tanglers Facebook group. This group is for individuals who have taken a Dashtangles' class. It is a place to share information, make friends, and share artwork. 

Once Emily posted the challenge to the Facebook group, she suggested we create our own challenges for the rest of the year! She came up with some pretty great names, too! "Saturday Morning Cuppa Tea and Tangling" and " Dash it all, let's tangle" were just a few. We haven't settled on a name yet for the challenges, but are having so much fun doing them. 

Emily and I decided to do two tiles using the R & T tangles. The first tiles we did were done using tangles we had not practiced before. On my tile (on the left), I used Reticulated and Tizzy (a variation of it), and on Emily's tile (on the right), she used Rixty and Tidings. 

Exciting news! I won a free table/one day fee (value 100$) at next year's Holiday Bizarre!  Thanks to all those Dashtangles supporters who stopped by the 2017 North Vancouver Holiday Bizarre and used a 2 for 1 admission postcard with my info on it! Nothing but gratitude & appreciation!

So mark your calendars! I will be at the North Vancouver Holiday Bizarre Nov. 17-18 and Dec. 1-2 from 10:00am to 4:00pm daily!

It's that time of year, again! Starting December 11, 2017, Zentangle HQ hosted the "12 Days of Zentangle". The 12 Days of Zentangle is an annual holiday tradition where Rick, Maria, and the HQ crew playfully use a familiar holiday song to lead tanglers through twelve consecutive days of tangling together. Last year was my first year participating in the 12 Days. You can read about it here. 

The theme for the 2017 twelve days was described in an email from HQs as follows...

This year's theme will be a stroll down Zentangle memory lane. Each day in the series we will revisit moments in Zentangle history as we reminisce about the tiles, the tangles, and the techniques of the past while creating things completely new. Each lesson will explore different tiles and tools and guide you through the creation of your own tangled masterpieces…

I had a lot of fun doing the 12 Days of Zentangle this year. I felt each day, I learned something new, was pushed out of my comfort zone and ended up with a beautiful piece of art! 

Wishing you a wonderful Holiday Season! May 2018 bring much joy, happiness and time to tangle! 

This past weekend was a busy one. On Saturday, December 2 from 10:00am- 3:00pm, I participated as a vendor at the Holiday Artisan Festival & Youth Market at Gleneagles Golf Course. I was very excited and a bit nervous as this was my first Holiday Market as a vendor and I wasn't sure what to expect. 

Although I had spent weeks prior to the weekend prepping, designing, and creating, my one of a kind hand drawn Zentangle Inspired Art, I was going to the market with a mindset and goal of just informing people about Zentangle, let them know who I was and that I am a Certified Zentangle Teacher available to teach classes. Needless to say, I was deeply humbled and overwhelmed by the positive response people to my Zentangle Inspired Art. Many of the items sold our or were close to selling out, and there were a ton of people interested in signing up for classes. 

Although the market was on the small side (less than 30 vendors), I really enjoyed my day and felt that it was a great first introduction to the market world. 

On Sunday, December 3 from 10:00am-4:00pm, I was a vendor at the North Vancouver Holiday Bizarre at Carson Graham. This market was much larger than the previous days with over 100 vendors. 

Overall, I had an amazing weekend! I was so inspired by the interest people had in my Zentangle Inspired Art and learning the Zentangle Method. I look forward to future opportunities to share my passion and knowledge of Zentangle! 

I really enjoyed working on so many tangles during the month of October. Some days it was more challenging then others to get the pen to the paper, but I did it! I look forward to doing this "challenge" every year! I found it to be very rewarding! To read more about Inktober, check out my first blog about it here. 

I am so delighted to have had the opportunity to be apart of a Canadian Zentangle Artist Exhibition hosted by Jasper Community Habitats for the Arts and curated by Susan Szathamary. 

Celebrating Canada's 150th and Alberta's Culture Days, 35 Canadian Artist from Vancouver Island, BC to Kentville, Nova Scotia submitted over 150 pieces for the exhibition held September 30 - October 12, 2017. I only wish I had the chance to see it in person. 

To see more art from the exhibition, check out the Canadian Artists Zentangle Inspired Exhibition Facebook Page

Goodbye September! Hello Inkobter! It is unbelievable that September is coming to an end, but I am super excited that the end of September means the start of Inktober!

​Inktober is a yearly drawing challenge created in October 2009 by artist Jake Parker. Jake's goal was to complete 31 drawings in 31 days. He created the challenge to “improve [his] inking skills and develop positive drawing habits”.  Since then, his challenge has grown worldwide, and every October, artist all over the world take part in Inktober. 

​For those that struggle with coming up with 31 different ideas of what to draw, Jake has created an official prompts list to help generate ideas. You can use the prompts as inspirations for what to draw on that day. 

​The official rules of inktober include: 1) make a drawing in ink 2) post it online 3) hashtag it with #inktober and #inktober2017 4) repeat every day of October.  

New this year for Inktober, Stephanie over at Everything is Art has created “Inktober Tangle Prompts”.  The official prompts that Jake created are more for illustrators, so, Stephanie created a new prompt list using tangles and the hashtag #inktobertangles

I LOVE this idea so much! I encourage you to participate and share your work! Without a doubt, it will be inspiring, challenging, and most rewarding!

Happy Tangling!

This fall, along with teaching my regular classes, I will be partnering with North Vancouver Recreation & Culture and offering beginning Zentangle workshops to adults at Karen Magnussen. Registration is now open! 

They each did a similar string on a plain 3z tile. The tangle is Paradox. 

We used pop ups to elevate an Aquafleur bijou tile on a plain white regular tile tangled with Umble. 

Last week, I had the opportunity to head up to Penticton and teach a few Zentangle 101: Demo Classes to some very special people. 

A couple of Momma Deb's friends took a demo class.

Some of my very good friends from high school took a demo class. 

 And finally, I did an apprentice class with some of my friends' kids and their friends. 

Overall, it was a whirlwind of a week and we all had a really great time! I really appreciated all the feedback everyone gave me and I look forward to teaching many more classes and sharing my knowledge of the Method of Zentangle with others. 

This past weekend, I attended Tangle Island in Parksville, BC Canada for the second year in a row. Our CZTs, Jerryann Haggart and Nancy Dawes, introduced us to various new tools, techniques and materials. Some of the highlights of the weekend included...

...learning to use a parallel pen...

...playing with gold leaf...

...creating a never ending card...

...and learning to quill.

As always, it is was so wonderful to be in a room full of like minded people who are passionate about tangling. ​I look forward to what is in store for us next year!

The weeks following CZT Seminar #26 have been a whirlwind. I started by organizing all the supplies and materials I had purchased at seminar for future classes. As well, I needed to figure out what it would actually look like teaching a class in my condo. 

I designed and ordered contact cards, postcard flyers, and a couple of other goodies from Vistaprint. I am very pleased with how they turned out!

Something Rick Roberts' (co-creator of Zentangle) said during seminar really struck a chord with me. He said, "You only teach your first class once".  His statement stuck with me for weeks following seminar. I am a very sentimental person and often times can be very emotional, so it was very important to me who my first students were going to be. 

When I returned from CZT #26, there was a lot of interest from friends and family to take a Zentangle class. There were even a few individuals who connected with me from referrals from other CZTs in other cities, provinces, and countries.  I was so grateful for all the enthusiasm and even a little bit overwhelmed as well. All of sudden (almost overnight) I was finally going to be able to do what I had waited almost a year and a half to do, teach my very own Zentangle classes. Then it became clear to me, I knew exactly who my first students would be! The two people who have supported me so much through my whole Zentangle journey to become a CZT, Momma Deb and my husband Andrew. 

Momma Deb and Andrew were great students and their Zentangle 101: The Basics tiles turn out amazingly! I appreciated their constructive feedback on the class, and they really  helped me find my confidence to teach the Method of Zentangle. 

Since my first class with Momma Deb and Andrew,  I have taught two more Zentangle 101: The Basics classes which went very well! 

I am really enjoying teaching the Method of Zentangle. I find it very meditative watching others drawing one pen stroke at a time. I look forward to the future classes I have booked and I have been working on finding ways to let people know about Zentangle and the classes I am offering. I finally updated my CZT profile on the Zentangle Website, and I created an instructor's profile page on the Opus Art Supplies Website, 

I have also been putting up postcard flyers and contact cards around town. Big thank you to my husband, Andrew, for being able to safely pull the car over when I (at the last minute) spot a community board to place my items! ​

If you or someone you know is interested in learning the Method of Zentangle, please do not hesitate to contact me via email dashtangles@gmail.com or phone/text 604-219-2445 ​to set up a class. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and passion for the Method of Zentangle with you! Happy Tangling!