Alice Hendon, Artangleology

Art journaling. I love to work this way with my art. During the marathon that turned into Life in Tangles , I took a day off just to make art. Today, let's walk through the making of this 5" x 7" page that began with a simple gelli print.  I began by choosing the gelli print I wanted to use for my background, then I pulled out various elements that could work well with the background. That body came from one of Dina Wakley's Collage Collective books. I wanted to build my page around her. I am calling her a 'her' and you can't convince me otherwise. Hahahaha! I really liked the gelli print as it was but wanted a bit more texture. After glueing that strip of watercolor flower paper in place I pulled out a couple stencils and a couple ink pads. My favorite for things like this are the Dyestress Ink Pads .  Using my dab and stab technique I added texture with the use of two different stencils. Joggles has these little ATC size stencils called Itty Bitty Sten...

Now that Life in Tangles is available for purchase I have had several people ask me how much work it takes to make a book like this. Let me tell you - it takes a lot! Many hours, many pens, ideas, people, Tylenol, Prilosec, jelly bellies, M&Ms, hahahaha! Patience. It takes a lot! And along the way I took a few photographs. I began back in March. That is when COVID came to our little part of Maine. That is when Mark and I went into lockdown in our log home and took refuge from the rest of the world. And I brought out a new book I had worked a bit on from time to time, thinking that was the perfect time to finish it. But I just couldn't get into it and put that book aside. But I did like the patterns I had made for it, so I moved those into a new file (box) and started building a new idea. I talked with Sandra Strait and Christine Reyes and started to move ahead with a second book of tangles. I began with us three and started drawing each individual step of each pattern on littl...

  It has been awhile since I made a post and I have a great reason why. Life in Tangles is an awesome brand new book and it is available as of today on Amazon.com . I am so excited about this one! 92 artists from 18 different countries share 504 original tangle patterns in the book.  Remember, you can click on each photo to enlarge it and see it better. I broke the book down into categories to make it easier for you if you are looking for a specific type of tangle. Here is a screen shot of Dawn George's beautiful Flame Flower tangle from the Organic category. Dawn has several more patterns in the book and they are all just as wonderful as this one! I love her artwork, too! From the traditional category, here is Britt-Bead from my dear friend Christine Reyes. Christine named this pattern in honor of her daughter.  Most pages have more than one set of step outs on them. Life in Tangles is 258 pages long and that includes all 504 patterns, an index by tangle name with page ...

Gratitangles. Being thankful every day for something or someone specific and combining that with our tangling. We are doing this together in my Facebook group Tangle All Around all during the month of November.  The tile on left includes tangles: fife, black tie and rangoon.  The tile on the right includes tangles: ixorus, cee-a-mosa and printemps.  I am working in my journal I made using Bristol Illustrated paper from Hahnemühle , my go-to tangle paper. My tiles are cut from the same Bristol paper. The tangle here is onamato. The gemstone was made with prismacolor pencils. The sweet little dragon is a Pinterest find digital stamp which I colored with Copic markers. And I am actually caught up and not behind this month. Yet. Hahahahaha! Want to join us for Gratitangles? You can check it out at Tangle All Around or by clicking here . I am taking the rest of the weekend off to make art for swaps, then jumping right into the book making on Monday. Time to build the thing...

November is traditionally the month we give thanks. Actually we should be thankful every day. Each of us has much to be grateful for - even if we have to look for it and think about it, there is something to be thankful for. A bed to sleep in, shelter, food, our health, someone that cares about us,  the blue sky, the green grass, the snow . . . uh, wait a minute! Hahahaha! But you get the idea.  Remember, you can click any of these photo and see them enlarged.  CZT (certified zentangle teacher) Lisa Anderson put together a list of tangles with the thought that we could draw each day with the prompts she provided. As you draw begin by thinking about what you are thankful for. Contemplate on your thankfulness as you tangle. It is a fun way to document and remember throughout the month of November. Above is the cover page for my Gratitangles journal. I made this book using Bristol Illustrated paper from Hahnemühle and bound it with my Bind-It-All . 2020 has been one messed...