Tag Archives: #zengem

CZT 32 and It’s a String Thing 257

Welcome to The Tireless Tangler everyone! It is time for this week’s “It’s a String Thing” challenge number 257! This week was a special treat for me as Adele Bruno chose CZT, Jody Genovese’s new Tangle “Twilight“. Jody is very special to me and I had planned to give twilight a try but hadn’t had a chance. Adele gave me the perfect chance this week and I was thrilled!

Here’s my tile! Awesome Tangle Jody! So many possibilities! 💜

Finally, I have the most amazing news! Last week, I thought my dream of attending CZT 32 in October was lost. I still had $900.00 to  raise. I didn’t think I could possibly do it by my August 26, deadline. Then Monday, a CZT who’d already donated sent in $150. A few small donations trickled in but on Tuesday I wrote Zentangle apologizing but canceling my spot. On Wednesday, I contacted my donors to let them know that I wouldn’t be able to attend. I was short about $600. Thursday was full of craziness, my son had a serious problem at school but Facebook was lighting up and the donations started to roll in. My brother made another donation and I was almost there, just $300 to go. God sent an angel in the form of a CZT I knew from the Zentangle ® Mosaic App. She and her wife donated the rest of it! It took another 24 hours for the stunned feeling to wear off!

I am humbled, and so grateful for each and every donor, for all the well wishes and supportive words! About 2 weeks ago, I was scammed for a small amount by someone saying they wanted to help. I could not believe that people were willingly preying on the needy. My faith in humanity took a hit. This week all of you showed me there is hope and goodness still in the world and it lives in the Zentangle community!

Thank you all for your kindness and support! 💜 CZT 32 here I come! 😍 I can’t believe my dream is actually coming true! Stay tuned for more CZT stories and be prepared to travel with me! No way I’m not shooting pics from training for you all!

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New Brand, YouTube and an Inktense Gem Tutorial

It’s a great new year! I’ve had a lot happening behind the scenes and time off with my family. First and most importantly for me was the gracious gift from the incredible digital artist Christel Foncke, allowing me to use one of her beautiful pieces of art to brand this website and all it’s social media sites. This incredible piece of art is just a hint of what Christel can do with her Apple Pencil! I will have her Artist Focus soon! Thank you, Christel! I can stop worrying about it now and I love it as much today as I did the day I added it! Follow Christel at @Christeldraws on Instagram.

Christel Foncke art ©️2018
Christel Foncke ©️2018

I have been in “school” at the YouTube Creator’s Academy because I’m slowly changing the format for this blog to include video. The more artists I focus on, the more I want to spotlight their work using video. Since my next artist in focus will be the incredibly talented Tomàs Padrós, I wanted to be sure I spent time learning to edit video, add audio and learn about copyright laws. I’ve been absorbing a lot of information and I needed to practice. This move was much more complex and involved much more time studying and practicing than I anticipated! I practiced by FINALLY doing the Inktense Pencil gem tutorial for which I’ve been trying to find the time about 6 months! So, I present my Derwent Inktense Gem Tutorial Part 1, which involves laying down and activating the Inktense bottom layer as well as 6 of my favorite color combinations. It features a traveling tangle tile with Amanda Rose Rambo, the “Gem Queen”, and myself. She has a great YouTube channel at Vitruvianart. Her content on creating gems is outstanding! So check her out! I’ve done two posts on her work if you’re interested (ZenGems: Meet Amanda Rose Rambo!, and Amanda Rose Rambo, Faceted Gem Master Class)

Traveling Tangle with Amanda Rose Rambo
Traveling Tangle with Amanda Rose Rambo

When I finished the first video, I uploaded it to “Gem Ho’s” the FaceBook group for Amanda’s VitruvianArt. They gave me some great feedback which I then used to make a part 1.5 which includes a complete gem using the new highlight technique I developed based on the feedback of the group. I would very much appreciate any feedback, positive or not. If you like the video please remember to like or comment and subscribe to my channel! It is pretty empty now but I have plans for it! I will be remaking the artist focus videos (with their permission) and uploading them both here and YouTube. I’ll be adding my pattern videos and anything else that seems interesting. My goal is to make each one better than the last! I need your help my friends! Give me honest feedback and comments. I can work on my accent if it’s too annoying but not if you don’t tell me it’s making you crazy! Thank you so much for all your support last year and Happy 2018!

Please remember to like, comment and subscribe!

 

 

ZenGems: Meet Amanda Rose Rambo

About a month ago in my Facebook group Tangle It! Pattern Club, they featured an amazing artist named Amanda Rose Rambo.

Amanda Rose Rambo

She was focusing on creating faceted gems with setting patterns provided by artists within the group. Faceted gems were something I’d wanted to try for awhile so I took a chance and tried it out. I could show you my last try but no. Best to learn from the mistress of gems, the talented, Amanda Rose Rambo. With a great YouTube channel, coloring books and and tutorials, both online and in books, Amanda’s star is on the rise. Looking at her work will give you an idea of just how talented she is.

Here is Amanda’s bio and links to her YouTube channel and etsy store. If you are crazy about coloring or tangling, Amanda’s books are a great place for information and exquisite art!

“Hello to all you lovely people. My name is Amanda Rose Rambo and I am a Gem-aholic!

It has been a life long dream of mine to be an artist and to do what I love as my career. With the incredible support of my amazing husband I began doing my art full time just under 2 years ago. 

Although I am not a tangler by heart my love for art and the constant work I began doing with art again led me to tangling, when I was looking into the craze of Coloring Books for grown ups. Traditionally trained as a painter and 2 dimensional artist I fell in love with tangling for a short while and did my first Coloring Book for Adults in the Zentangle style, (Color a Creation, For the Artist Within) After that my love for making coloring books took off and I joined the craze, creating books every other month or so. After a few coloring books were made I found more than a love for creating them I started really coloring and found that Colored pencils were a really versatile medium and began getting into the art of it, not just the illustration.

 

This is my favorite! The setting is lovely and the gem amazing.

 

A few months later I found ZenGems and a new obsession was born!! I couldn’t stop, I made gems and settings and doodled like a mad woman and then began creating Coloring books just for gems! I became pretty good at them and began getting asked if I made tutorials and such. Since I love to teach and help and see others grow I thought it was a lovely niche to be in! So now that is mostly what I do, I still create my Coloring books, just finished the 3rd one in my Gemstone series, and am currently working on the fourth but everything is gem focused now! There is so much I hope to create and so much beauty that I want to show in the world.

I have created follow along tutorials for gems, all kinds of them from basic ones to faceted.
Tutorials on youtube, written ones on etsy. Color alongs and follow along sheets. This is my whole little world of gemminess and I love it!  

zengem collage Amanda Rose Rambo

Faceted gems are the new craze!

For you lovely people I have even created some step outs for how to draw your own faceted gemstones! 

You can find me on facebook at facebook.com/vitruvianart
On Youtube at http://youtube.com/c/vitruvianart
On Etsy at etsy.com/shop/vitruvianart

 

Amanda’s gems are amazing and I would encourage you to watch her tutorials if you are interested in learning to create these gems. I will definitely be working on my faceted the gems again soon! Whether you are into coloring or tangling, Amanda has something for you.