Dot Fever

I feel like time is flying by much too fast, that precious resource slipping through my fingers. I have lost my focus on what I enjoy and prioritized the wrong things. Television, the Internet, and milk chocolate (which isn’t even as good as dark chocolate) have distracted me from my art and education. I don’t know how I skated through the first quarter without any disappointing grades. I didn’t apply myself the way I wanted to, and I hope I can put forth a more sincere effort.

Tuesday, my family hosted my grandparents’ birthday party. Both Nana and Day (the sobriquet I gave my dad’s dad when I could not pronounce “grandpa”) were born on October 5^th. It was a funky karaoke party with plenty of pizza and sugar to go round. My dad even hung up our disco ball for the occasion. I had a blast hosting the “dance show” with my darling cousin Charlotte.

I believe the song was "Dancing Queen".

It really spins! Wouldn't it be cool to have it running nonstop?

My activity opportunities for fall break have been slashed by the flu. It all started Wednesday morning after the birthday bash: I woke up lethargic and headachy. My head wasn’t hot though, so I poured myself a cup o’ joe and went to school anyway to take the PSAT, which went smoothly. We were dismissed before noon and went outside. It was 68º and only slightly windy, but I was freezing. My teeth were chattering so violently that I struggled speaking. Later that day I was again chilled fell asleep on the couch under a blanket. I woke up an hour later covered in sweat. It was a long, uncomfortable day. Thursday, I was drowsy and it hurt to swallow, though my fever was reduced. Ever since, my fever has stayed normal and my energy has returned, but my hands and feet have been killing me, thanks to a weird viral symptom. I hate being sick because I wanted to spend my fall break riding my bike, playing with the dog, and going to a school football game. I just hope that I feel fine tomorrow when classes resume.

Completed Friday, October 18.
I should have posted sooner.

Here is my submission to Laura Harm’s Weekly Challenge #140! "Monotangle, Pointillism style!". I am satisfied with what I have done. I used three pens (the Sakura Micron 005, 01, and 05) to have a variety of different dot sizes. It was also nice to use the 05 to move more quickly in darker areas and to avoid damage to the finer tips. I like the ambiguity between what is foreground and what is background and the drama that comes from the dense areas. I only wish I had been able to complete it in less than three hours. Was your patience also tested by this-consuming technique?

Tangled Tags and Bands of Beamz

I am so happy that yesterday was Labor Day, augmenting the weekend by twenty-four hours and giving my family enough time to make a visit to Virginia. My grandparents were celebrating their fiftieth anniversary, and they took us to a dinner theater production of Les Misérables at the Riverside Center. It was fabulous! The stage rotated just as in the original Broadway show. I will admit that that long performances can make me antsy, but this production was exciting and impeccably done. I am now obsessed with the bacchanalian song “Master of the House”, though my favorite character has to be Javert. He may have been cruel, but he was only trying to do his job.

Here is my submission to this week’s challenge: Beamz by Traci F. Beamz is tricky, but I love how many different ways it can be interpreted. To me, it is a geometric version of echoism with funkier options. On my tag, the first side is dense while the other is more delicate. I usually prefer doing echoism in the fuller/denser way, but I find the other is fits better within the awkward confines of knightsbridge. I accidentally omitted the diagonal lines that Traci illustrates in her instructions, but I don't think I could have added them because I worked so small. I want to give this tangle another go sometime and try it the original way.

You may notice that rather than using a tile, I used a tag. From now until September 15, 2013, the ZT for Kidz website is hosting a contest called Tag—You’re I T T T! (Invited To Tangle a Tag). I am ineligible to win because my mom is the host, but I have enjoyed tangling several tags. This is my most recent, but you can see the others at ZTforKidz.com. Please check it out and encourage any kids (or adults that are children-at-heart) to enter. We look forward to seeing and sharing everyone’s work.

Refreshing Beginnings

I have wanted to start a blog for years, but there has always been something in the way. Either homework took too long, my room wasn't tidy, or I was too lazy to put in any actual effort. At last I have decided to dive into the blogosphere by initiating my blog, ZenTiced. I am using the realm of Zentangle® to structure this endeavor as I have recently become the world's youngest CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher), and I have been practicing for over two years. I sincerely hope that I will keep ZenTiced alive with fresh posts periodically just as I hope to achieve my other goals for the upcoming school year.

Yesterday, I took the first major step in starting Zentangle Club at my school. I had a table at our annual club fair filled with examples and resources. I am grateful to have had about 40 people sign up, more than I had even hoped for. Of course, we have to wait and see how many keep with it. My sponsor is my school's revered learning specialist. We think that Zentangle will mesh well with our school community because it will counteract the stress of the academic environment. I owe much thanks to my mom, Amy Broady, for setting up the fabulous display; it attracted a lot of kids and even teachers. We were also blessed with sunshine, although it made our backs sweaty and our free chocolate melt. I'll do my best to post pictures later, but I must check with my school first.

I love how my mom described my tile: "fizzy".
The green looks like sea foam.

Doesn't it feel good when the back of
your tile looks exactly how you wanted?

Here is my submission the Diva's challenge this week. We were supposed to incorporate tipple as a major component of our piece(s). I broke away from my typical route and used white, green, and black on black. Introducing Zentangle at my school seemed a perfect occasion to break out my green Metallic Gelly Roll pen I received at training. I actually didn't have a black Gelly Roll or other pen that would work on the dark tile, so I used a combination of navy and silver Sakura glaze pens for the shiny look. I wish those dark details showed up in the scan—they form neat teardrop shapes. (If you highlight the picture, you can see them a lot better.) I also used the "black" to mirror the white stippling on the inside of the green orb border. The Zendalas are really magical; they elevate even the simplest of designs to a visually intriguing level. The black also makes the tile pop because of the contrast. I did have to trace over my orbs to make them opaque, but the extra effort was worth it. I hope to do more work on black in the future.

Overall, the past few days have been really enjoyable for me. I kicked-off the week with an in-class summer reading essay, but it went smoothly. I am still giddy from a white-water rafting trip with my peers Saturday. Each year, the entire sophomore class at my school goes rafting on the Ocoee River. Recent showers had raised the water level to uncommon highs, making the adventure a little more technical but a lot more exciting. Each raft seated six students plus a guide. I sat in the action row in the very front with my new friend Courtney. Our guide directed from the back and told us we did a fine job leading our boat. "General John" made sure we were safe but had a great time. Every now and then, he would cheerfully say/sing "We be raftin'". Our journey culminated with an intentional crash into a concrete pillar on the left side of the river. We wondered how in the world we would navigate around the obstacle until BOOM . . .we bounced right off and farther into the raft with shrieks of laughter. I wish I could replay those few hours with friends forever, but, alas, I have no such ability. At the very least, I can repeat the memory in my head whenever I want. Plus, isn't being a once-in-a-lifetime event what makes moments like this extraordinary?