Sunday, February 10, 2013

Moose's Latest Photo Shoot


The most recent photos of Moose are here…there are a few areas that we have gesso-ed over to “re-do”, i.e. on the front legs—Caroline is determined that her “punzel” be “just so.”
 



 
On Moose’s belly we have decoupaged the encyclopedia entry for “Moose” from a set of old encyclopedias (copyright 1925!) that I rescued when my parents were going to discard them. It was such a short entry with no photos or illustrations, it practically asked us to apply it right there.
 
That's it for now! The highest bidder will get to choose whether or not Moose gets a sealed with a glossy finish or a matte one!
 
Bid quick!!! Here's the link....the aution ends at noon!
 
 

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Moose — Part Deuce and Paushalöv

C-Gal and I have been busy adding tangles to  Micro Moose. We are learning as we go--sometimes the curve of the sculpture throws us for a loop and our pen does not move across the surface as we intended. Gesso is our friend! It allows us to have fun and take risks, and if they don't work out well, or if lines need tweaking, we can re-do or tweak. This is not an aspect of my every-day Zentangle practice, but I don't mind adding that to my ZIA repertoire for use under circumstances that merit it--and this circumstance does, I feel.

Check out this video that we made! (But beware and be kind--we are not seasoned videographers. In fact, this is the very first video I have ever posted to YouTube.) I'm so glad C-Gal wanted to do this for Moose! I would not have had the confidence to something like this when I was her age, so I'm really proud of her. If you want to view it on YouTube, just click here.



Moose has even more tangles now! It's like he's softly woofing to us to add such patterns as punzel and coil...and we don't want to turn him down! But we won't post any more images until he is complete, which will be in just a few hours. (Final touches always occur at the last minute for me...I never manage to achieve closure until my time is up!)

The auction ends soon!!! We'd love for you to bid on our beloved Moose...click here to link to the auction! We will send him out Monday to the highest bidder...so if that's you, you can have him in time for Valentine's Day!

C-Gal also made a Valentine featuring dansk this week. I can't say who it's for until later, but it is for someone very special! It's a card that opens to the right and left, kind of like double doors with flaps...the flaps make the heart. The entire card is red, so I covered all but the front flaps with white card stock so you can see the heart better. The rest of the card front is simply solid red.

Can you see a new tangle? Caroline came up with it for this card, and we are still trying to come up with the right name for it.

Speaking of tangles...in the video Caroline mentioned the tangle that I named after our dog. I am happy to say that I finally have step-outs for paushalöv to share with you! I can't stop doing this tangle. Try it out and let me now what you think!

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Meet Moose--My Muse

Isn't he handsome?!
I have a new dog in my life! Well, kind of. I don't want to mislead you. We have not adopted another living, breathing furry friend--but my muse, Moose, is available for adoption, if you have room in your home, heart, and life for a very special canine! In addition, I am working on a sculpture in honor of Moose...and it is available for purchase via a very special auction. (Click here to link to the auction!)


"Micro-Moose," mid-makeover
It's a collaborative artwork; I am not the only artist involved. Terri Malloy of Vernon, Vermont created nine papier mache sculptures of some very special greyhounds, including Moose. I had the opportunity to sign on as an artist to finish one of the sculptures for an online auction, and that's how Moose became my Muse. C-gal is helping me. It's not easy tangling a 3-D surface...in fact it's quite daunting. But I decided to take on the challenge, leave my comfort zone of traditional Zentangle tiles, and embrace the opportunity to participate in this grand, charitable event supporting the Fast Friends Greyhound Rescue and Adoption Center of Swanzey, New Hampshire. Fast Friends is a state-licensed animal shelter and non-profit organization, dedicated to educating the public about racing greyhounds and finding responsible, loving homes--forever families--for greyhounds.

Also in on the creative collaboration are Amy Reisinger and Betty Mullan, who made tiny beaded collars for each miniature greyhound.

More about Moose, the actual dog:
He's a big one. And a mighty one: he is winning his battle with cancer. He needs a forever home in which to relax and enjoy retirement and remission. While I am not in a position to provide this for him, it is my honor to tangle this sculpture that can help fund the his cause--his individual cause, and the cause of greyhound rescue/adoption through Fast Friends.

More about "Micro-Moose," the tangled papier mache sculpture:
I've been calling him "Micro Moose" to distinguish him from the living, breathing Moose. But don't get the wrong impression--"micro" makes him sound tiny. He's actually about 7 inches tall, 9 inches long, and 2 inches wide. He has a base coat of white gesso and some patches that mimic his actual markings, based on photos of actual Moose. The patches are tangled with zewm, bunzo, and diva dance. Other tangles that you see in the photo above include y-not (aka etcher),  Rick's paradox, gneiss, betweed, mooka, patena, and a Celtic knot completed in the style of auraknot. More have been added since this photo was taken, and still more will be added in the next day or so--it's a slow, careful process.

C-gal and I will be finishing up Micro-Moose this week and sending him to the highest bidder. I encourage you to visit the auction, check out all the dogs, and support Fast Friends by bidding! You could end up with a fabulous piece of art while supporting animal rescue!

Rick's paradox, shattuck, paushalöv, inapod, and dansk.
OH--I almost forgot! I was so busy with "Micro-Moose" last week that I never finished my Diva Challenge piece. Oh well! I'll finish it eventually. I didn't want to miss yet another weekly challenge, so when I checked out this week's challenge (# 105, Use My Tangle, v. XIII: Dansk), I realized that I already had a perfect "starter" tile. I had begun this tile weeks ago, just as a relaxing piece, and set it aside, unfinished, until I felt inspired to complete it. There was just one space left to fill, and it happened to be the largest area of my string. Today I realized that dansk would complete it nicely, so here it is. If I have time, I'll do another; dansk is really fun! But Moose comes first. I'll post more photos soon!