Zentangle ladies

These ladies present the next pages of my zentangle moleskin book. 

They are done with Micron pens and colored pencils. Such elegant gowns!

By the way, I'm having trouble locating more of these accordion fold moleskin journals. 

Think that they are also called Japanese fold. The size is 5 1/2" by 3 3/4". 

If you have a clue where to find them, please let me know.

Last week, my husband and I went to Jamestown and Sonora, CA. 

These towns are part of the gold country and now survive on tourist trade. The Rim fire had only been burning for about two days, but we could see smoke from the Yosemite area which was about 25 miles away. Each day the fire has exploded in size and is now among the top 12 big fires that have ever burned in California. 

We wish the best to all the fire fighters and residents of the area.

Mini sketchcrawl

Today a friend and I went to a park near the river where there are deer and lots of little critters. We are, along with another friend, planning of getting together every other week. Luckily for me, Bobbie Lou is a former art teacher! The importance of that is shown in the following pictures.

This is my rather anemic sketch that did include a live deer.

This is my sketch that has some personality!

 There is more interest in the tree with the addition of tapered lines,

 long and short shadow lines and color.

 I'm so lucky to have such a kind and helpful friend.

Park sketch

This evening we , my husband and I, went to the local park for a free band concert. They have them every Saturday and Sunday during the summer. There is play equipment for the children and the rest of us bring our own chairs and some bring their dogs. I sit and sketch. I tend to do a lot of  "backs" during these events.

Click to enlarge.

Shibori

Yesterday, a friend who has a big studio that is dedicated to silk painting, let me come over and play. I took my silk, folded it, placed it on a tube (waterproofed with scotch tape), wrapped it with string, then I squished the fabric to created mountain and valley folds. 

The last step it to add color (I used three colors) with an eyedropper. 

To a beginner like me, it is a total guess how the piece will look when it's done.

I put it in a pillowcase, dried in in the dryer for 60 minutes 

and then rinsed it to wash out the excess color.

What will I do with it? That is part of the fun. Somehow it will go into a quilted wall hanging.