GOD, Mandala and Paula Deen

There is a bible verse..... "Be still and know that I am God"  Psalms 46:10.   Now I am thinking that this is prayer or can be meditating.  Right ?  To keep our minds focused and clear of clutter.

A Mandala is a circular design .   It is a pattern to which to meditate.     They express completeness and invite us to experience ourselves as a whole being, an individual.   I took this partial sentence from a book of Susanne F. Fincher.    She has some coloring books, if you will, of different Mandalas and you may color them any way you chose and it very relaxing.  I have not colored any but have studied the book.  Susanne's Madalas are beautiful and help with Balance, Harmony and Spiritual Well-Being.  

  Eldon has another book with natural Mandalas in it.   A beautiful one with nature all intertwinded as nature is.  The title is Natural Mandalas all of nature to help find Peace and Awareness in the beauty of nature.  This book is by Lisa Tenzin-Dolma.   

Now I wanted to share this little bit of info with you to help explain just what in the world is Annette doing ? 

I first started out with one Mandala drawn and then went a whole and totally different direction with the creation of it.  I used my new art friend ' painted papers '   and just played,  This is what developed.   The words I used in it all talk about Mandalas.  It first started out simple with hearts, like with the compasses you played with in school and one of the assignments was to make a design and color it with the awful map colors.  They were so pastel.     I did love doing those also and usually would do several for different ones in the classes because they didn't want to do them.  I wonder if the teacher ever noticed they were all kind of alike but with different students names on them  ?   Probably but I never got into trouble doing that.   This one definately is not pastel, it did change colors many times until I felt good about it.  

 I just wanted to share this one with you and intend on making more, probably with the 'painted papers' and some with pastel and acrylics.  Just playing with them feels good. 

Close up of the center of the Mandala.  

The whole painting of the Mandala.   I loved the colors and just wanted you to wander around in it for a while. Oh, the little T's at each corner do not stand for Texas Tech.   Just a little FYI.   

That is if for now, just wanted to share another paper painting with you.

Oh and what does Paula Deen have to do with this ?  She has a quote or saying that I love and I think we all should go with it-------" A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand "   --Paula Deen.

Thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on in my world today.   Looks like I have made January a happy month and now it can stand proudly with the other months getting several blogs in under it's belt.

New Sketch Pad Needed

Here are a few more Zentangles.  My goodness this is habit forming and now I need to go buy another sketch pad and pen.  I ran out of paper in my pad and ink in my pen.  This is so relaxing especially when watching TV.   I found the Zentangles blog and they had lots of pretties on there.  

Hope you enjoy this, I am ready to go to another step with these now.

It amazes me how different they all are and all have such a calming feel about them.

One more Zentangle

I  tried a rectangle one here with the new little prompt from Zentangles blog.

I know this is a short blog and not to long winded from me.   It is really Annette doing this one, believe it or not.   I'll post the blog for Zentangles on my side bar.

Now off to do a new journal page for Roses on My Table.   Whew, I am going to wear my little fingers to the bone.  Well, not really, just enjoying myself.

Thanks for stopping by Annette's World.

Doodles or Zentangles

Sometimes you doodle on a piece of paper and some call it doodling and sometimes you can call it art.  A friend of mine a couple of years introduced me to Zentangles.  It is not a new idea and has been around for a while.   I just wanted to share with you the fun thing to do even while watching TV.   I got a wild hair the other day to do the alphabet.   Why ?  Don't know,  just seemed like the thing to do.  Maybe I can use it in some of my paper painting collages I am doing right now.   It could happen. 


The supplies ?   A pen (fine tip type is preferred ) and a piece of paper.  That is it.   There are several sites to go to  just type in Zentangles and see what all comes up.    There is a lady on youtube, her name is Milliande.  Wow she is good and makes it look so easy, I need to remind myself to watch her videos more often.    Her site is  http://www.zentangle.com/gallery.php or just type in youtube milliande.   Such inspiration to see and spark your pen to just mess and play.  There is no right or wrong with it---so just play my friends. 

Here are a few of the letters I did, nothing fancy and the first round one I did forever ago.   Hope you try it and just escape into your playing.

Here you go the letter A, now I feel like Big Bird telling the alphabet to you, but you get the picture and I am not even yellow

Guess who is next ? Yep the letter B.   Some of the little do hickies look like someone with hair.

Now after doing 27 of these little things I was running out of ideas and should have watched milliande's videos, but I was not near a computer.  Just pen and paper.  I know how can I function without a computer with me at all times.   Guess what, we don't even keep a phone-gasp-with us at all time.  

Now this piece of work was my basically first one and you can tell I did get inspired by milliande, some are her designs.   I didn't have a black pen can ya tell ?   

Well, that is what is going on in my world for today.   I do have another paper painting to post but will save for another day.  

Thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on in my world. 

A Journaling Discovery

Here we are into the new year.  January is a month that seems to fly by,  I don't know why but it always seems to, for me anyway.  It is kind of tucked away after Christmas and before spring.  I know that is called winter but that is how January feels to me.

Journaling, now I have always thought journaling as something like a dairy and you write your thoughts and hopes and fears in this prized little book.  Also hoping that when you are a teenager no one finds it or even worse reads the thing.    It can also mean like a journalist who writes exciting and not so exciting stories about what is happening in the world today.  That is a giant undertaking, being as so much is happening now in our world.   I have a friend in Australia- Bev-she is into journaling and suggested to me that I might like it.  Thinking OK, I would have to write but to my pleasant surprise it is art journaling.  I didn't even know there was such an animal as this out there in the world.  Granted I have been out of touch with this part of the art world for several years, 24 to be almost nearly exact.   Now trying to find my place in it again, I do digital art and love it and the gratification it brings but sometimes you just have to gob and goop and get the hands messy.  Guess like finger painting when a child.

You draw or not and just play in the journal to your little hearts content.  There is no right or wrong to do it.  I looked on the Internet and it is a whole world out there about it.   There are many many techniques and on you tube and different web sites.  The whole world is out there waiting to help you.  Here you can create your hopes, dreams, feelings or whatever you want to do at the time.   Spending as much time or little as you want.   Mine is little but that is OK.   You don't have to share it with anyone if you don't want to, you can keep several if you want to ---it is yours to do with what you want.

Many of the tools, if you will call them tools, you use are the scrapbooking supplies/tools I use when I scrapbook.  To me that is like a picture journal of my life and what is going on in it at the time.  Not the feelings though of what life gives and does to you.   Granted now that the wonderful grandchildren are grown it has turned a little differently but I do find it relaxing and like a first grader who  cuts and paste.  OK, guess that is what I am liking about art journaling is the cutting, drawing and pasting.

I joined a group  Roses On My Table  ( on my side bar ) and a talented group of ladies on there and there is willowing.ning also.  These are just a scratch in the bucket of what is out there in cyber world.  Zinnia on the Roses gives prompts a couple of times a month, which is good gets the old mind to cranking and I don't have to stare at a blank 5x7 piece of paper.  Which sometimes is just scary, how can a blank canvas be so daunting ? 

 The first page done, was very scrapbookie looking but drew, cut and pasted and was just a fun page with layers of little surprises in it.  Even some Tim Holtz ink dripped on it.

Opposites or contrasts or something like that was the prompt on this one, I figured can't get much more contrasty than black and white but did like the paper and pretties on here.   

I don't think this was a prompt, I had made some paper with shaving soap and paint and wanted to play with it, my friend Cat told me about that little adventure. 

This prompt was door or windows so I have a little sparkle door knob into my fairy land world that I drew with my pencils and oil pastels.  The oil pastels are a new toy for me. I did go back and water colored some light blue over the little windows of the door and liked that better.

This prompt was color, I stared with my new oil pastels and didn't have a clue where I was going, just started at the top and colored very helter skelter.  Like a first grader.  Then it just evolved into this,   I did cut and paste the flowers and leaves then uses acrylic paint and played with it and of course some bling.  Ladies do like bling. 

Last but not least there is a site and if you type your name in it will give you a fairy name.  So here is mine.  I didn't know what I was going to make the front of my journal but here it is.  Miss Gossamer Moondancer.   With real feathers for wings and all and of course glitter and bling.    I will put her site on my side bar if you would like to see what your fairy name is.  Fun !!! 

O.K. that is it for me right now and on my art quest.   I am working on another paper painting at the moment.  Still a wonderful find for me. 

Thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on in Annette's world.