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Our 5-year-old niece recently visited from Burns Lake, and we took her to Science World in Vancouver, BC. The featured exhibition was called A Mirror Maze: Numbers in Nature. It was an interactive exhibit that explained the mathematical patterns found in the natural world. Being a Tangler, I absolutely loved this exhibit!
The centerpiece of the exhibition was an 1800 square foot elaborate mirror maze.  We learned a lot about Fractural Branching, Spirals, Golden Ratio, and Voronoi Patterns.
There was also some very cool artwork featured by different mathematicians/artist
If you get a chance, I highly recommend you check it out. The exhibition is on until September 3, and BC Teachers get free admission to Science World.
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This past weekend, Momma Deb, Emily, and I hopped on a ferry and sailed to Tangle Island in Parksville, BC. We couldn’t resist cracking open the new tangle deck #3 and trying out some of the tangles. We absolutely love it!
As always, the very creative and inspiring, Jerryann Haggart (CZT) and Nancy Dawes (CZT) introduced us to many cool new tools, techniques and materials. Some highlights of the weekend included…
...tangling celtic knots...
...playing with watercolour pencils...
...building "itty bitty books" and exploring spray paint and lace...
...and playing with tea cup stencils...  As in previous years, there are no words to truly express how wonderful it is 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!
We recently travelled to Mexico for my cousin's wedding. It was a wonderful, relaxing and inspiring vacation.
I REALLY loved all the designs, patterns, and art we saw during the trip! So beautiful!
Today, I had the most amazing day with 10 very talented and inspiring Certified Zentangle Teachers from Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. I have so much appreciation and gratitude for being apart of this wonderful community of learners. There are no words to truly express how great it feels to just sit in a room and share, discuss and explore a common passion, Zentangle.  Big THANK YOU to Barb Round for organizing this event. Each CZT had an opportunity to share their latest projects, and ask questions.  I was really inspired by these ladies and look forward to trying out some ideas. I also got a little confidence boost when I was able to answer questions or give advice to other CZTs about various topics.  We were asked to make a name tag. We had to draw our favourite tangle. I've been really loving flux for the last while so naturally I did that. Some of the CZTs brought treasures to share with everyone. I just love my book mark, eco-dyed paper and engraved (with my name) scissors! Such generous and thoughtful people!
Overall, it was a really great way to spend my last day of Spring Break! I really look forward to our next meet up!
On Feb 15, 2019, I had the opportunity to facilitate two Zentangle sessions at the Illuminate Conference put on by the North Vancouver Teachers' Association. This was my first time presenting at a pro-d conference, and I had the opportunity to use some new technology (a document camera/project system) to teach. Forty-Eight individuals from the North Vancouver School District participated in a 1.5hr basic Zentangle class. Thanks to the NVTA, participants received their very own Zentangle mini kit which they were allowed to take home to continue their Zentangle journey. Big shout out to my most amazing husband, Andrew, for helping set up the night before (on Valentine's Day no less). Overall, it was one of the most amazing experiences, and I could not stop smiling throughout the entire day. I have so much gratitude and appreciation for all the positive feedback from the conference organizers and participants! I look forward to my next pro-d conference opportunity.
To see a video of my set up, check out Dashtangles on Instagram!
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. 
2018 was an inspiring, creative, and successful year! I look forward to continuing to learn, grow, and create lots of Zentangle Inspired Art in 2019. Happy Tangling to all and all the best in the coming year!
Once again, Zentangle HQ hosted the 12 days of Zentangle. This is my third year participating in the annual tradition. This year the 12 days Zentangle coincided with Project Pack 04: The Tangle Spinner. The idea HQ had was that the "tangled masterpiece will display a variety of your favorite tangles and also act as a fun way to choose what tangle to use next when creating with the Zentangle Method".
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.  To read more about Inktober, check out my first blog about it from 2017 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.
 During the month of July and August, The North Vancouver Recreation and Culture Commission, presents the Live & Local Outdoor events at Parkgate Plaza, Lynn Valley Village and Civic Plaza. It is an opportunity for community members of all ages to come out in the early evening and participate in a variety of creative activities and experiences. I had the opportunity offer Zentangle Demo Workshops at the August 16 Live & Local at Parkgate and the Live & Local at Lynn Valley Village on August 22. I alway enjoy the opportunity to share my knowledge and passion for the method of Zentangle.  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!
 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!
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... ...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.
The CZT community is a very creative, supportive and welcoming one. It was so wonderful to have the opportunity to reconnect with some of the CZTs who I attended seminar 26 with, as well as those who I have met at other tangling events. It was also exciting to finally meet so many CZTs who I have only connected with online. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures were everyone, but here are a few I remembered to take!
During the four day event, I had the opportunity to attend 6 core classes and 2 optional classes. Those classes included Marie Browning's Shading with TomBow Tutorials and Forest in the Park ZIA, Sampada Agarwal's Chalk Art, Tess Imobersteg's Don't Be Afraid of the Water, Eni Oken's Starfish, Annie Reiser's Charming Tiny Tangles, Kim Vanzyll's Linen Panel, and Brain Crimmins' Dynamic Dingbatz. I loved the opportunity to try new supplies and materials, learn new techniques, and observe and take note of master CZTs teaching styles. It was so exciting how much I was able to add to my skill set in just four days. Below are a few pics of some of the projects I began working on. I look forward to finishing them soon. If attending classes wasn't amazing enough, there was also a Zenbutton Swap, Pop Up Gallery Displays, a Sky Mall (a place for CZT to sell their goods), and Open Studio Time.  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.  To start, I have to say thank you to the MANY friends (and their children), family, and colleagues who participated in demo classes so I could build my confidence and skills to teach the method of zentangle. I taught 8 Zentangle Basics Demo classes, and I appreciated the opportunity to share my passion and knowledge as well as hear all the wonderful feedback. 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.
Emily and I are hoping that once a month, possibly the first Saturday of each month, we will come up with a fun tangling challenge to share and invite others to try, so stay tuned!
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.  I invited a lot of friends, family, colleagues, and students to come visit me at this market. Each person I invited received a postcard with 2 for 1 admission and when they used it, my name was entered into a draw to win a free table at the next market! I have so much gratitude and appreciation for everyone who stopped by to say hi and support me at the market. You know you have really great friends when they drive (over an hour) all the way from Maple Ridge and Langley to support you in your endeavours.  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!
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