Sandy Steen Bartholomew's Blog, page 31

Tangled Fashionista Contest

As an added bit of excitement and challenge for TangleU participants, my publisher, Fox Chapel, and I decided to host a contest with Elaine Huffman, the TangleU organizer. The contest was open to all CZTs (Certified Zentangle® Teachers) and the only requirement was that they use an image from my book, Tangled Fashionista, as their starting point.

The submissions were amazing! And it was really hard to choose a winner, but here they are:

CONGRATULATIONS Tangled Fashionistas!

It's Me?! Chris Titus' Grand Prize winning tangled art from Tangled Fashionista.Grand Prize: Chris Titus

Runner’s Up:
Judy Burkett
Kathy Redmond
Martha Deckel
Brenda Shahin
Marizaan Van Beek

You can download the pdf of all the contest entries from my Dropbox, here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l8h4ourrtdmxczx/LtC7uAyDDP   
(or click the cover image below)
It's a really big file since it is chock full of ART! Gorgeous art!


Design Originals also posted all the art on their Facebook page. That's a great way to see it all if you don't want to do any downloading. But the pdf has extra info and tips added to the pics as well as contact info. If you have been at a loss as to how to use Tangled Fashionista, this collection of art will get your creative juices flowing!

By the way, Chris' grand prize? The COMPLETE collection of Zentangle books from Design Originals/Fox Chapel! Awesome!

If you are all excited now - get to work tangling your own Fashionista artwork. I'd love to do a revised edition of Tangled Fashionista sometime and include even more inspirational pieces. Still not quite sure about getting yourself a coloring book? Sure, I get it. This one was designed to be a spoof of all those Fashion Magazines out there, so it is kind of whimsical/silly and geared toward big people. Yes, like you. So, anyway, if you like to "test" things out first, head on over to my website: www.SandySteenBartholomew.com and download a few pages for free. Then get to work!

Online Sale Too!

Yes, I can see the comments now "But I don't live close enough to come to your store..." So let's do an online sale too, OK?

This sale will be for 15% off everything in my Etsy store, Bumblebat. with a $20 minimum purchase. Sale ends April 18th, in the evening sometime.

Sound good? Be sure to enter the coupon code: SPRING13 during the check out process for the discount to take effect. (It doesn't count if you email me the code, I can't change your order.) Oh, and this sale is good until Thursday night. After that, the shop will be closed for vacation.

Starting this weekend, I will be away on an adventure for a few weeks and I'll be putting both the Etsy store and the
Speaking of Amazon, you may have noticed my fabulous, mysterious Tangle Cards are listed for "Pre-order". Yes, coming soon! Amazon says Sept. 2013, but I'm hoping it will be sooner. When I know for sure, I will give you all the nitty-gritty details. If you can stop yourselves from pre-ordering from Amazon and wait to pre-order from ME... I will award your patience with special, secret, limited edition... stuff. ;-D All I can say right now is you are SO GONNA LOVE THESE CARDS. Yes, I AM yelling!

Back to my running away... um... adventure. I'll be thinking of what to sell on my Etsy shop... still pondering the wholesale dilemma. Thinking about doing an Etsy shop with all my grandma's portrait paintings (yes, she was an artist too) for sale to raise money for The BeeHive. Thinking about a bunch of different book ideas I'd like to do - both real books and ebooks. Thinking about classes and workshops and retreats and teaching at Art 'n Soul again.... hmmmm.... Thinking about doing a summer art camp for kids - and maybe for adults too? - with Dianne (a fellow CZT!) Mostly, I seriously need to get some new work done! But if you have any ideas, opinions, or requests... for any of the aforementioned items.... now is the perfect time to tell me. I really do want to hear your thoughts. I probably won't respond to emails until I get back in May, but I promise to read and consider all ideas. Unless they're mean. Meanies, I delete you! Right now, I need protein and chocolate and television. And sleep. You - go buy some stuff so I can make some new things. ;-D

Studio Sale and Book Party in The BeeHive

Don't forget about the Book Signing Party for Jen Carson this Friday, the 19th of April. It's from 5-8pm and it's going to be a blast!

As extra incentive, I've decided I need to clear out some more space - I'm having a sale in the studio!
The sale is for 20% off everything - all books, art supplies, toys, and gifts.

My original artwork is NOT on sale, but prints and posters ARE.

Also, any of Jen's books or artwork are NOT part of the sale.

If you have been eyeing a certain book, or teapot, or adorable little camera case... or rubber stamps... now is the time to get it. I'm not likely to do another sale INSIDE the studio for quite a while.

Here's the coupon - you need it - this is a "Secret" sale just for you.

Note: you can print out this post or just show it to us on your phone at check out. :-)

April 19, 2013 • Book Signing with Jen Carson

Join us at The BeeHive on April 19th, from 5-8pm, for a Book Signing with Jennifer Carson.

Jen is excited to present her newest book, Beyond Bears - How to draw, design and sew your own stuffed animals . She'll be demonstrating how to make a tiny bear head pin from the book. Copies of the new book, as well as her previous adventure books, To Find a Wonder and Hapenny Magick, will be available for sale.

If you cannot make it to the book signing party, but would like to purchase a copy of Jen's new book, you can get it from her Etsy shop online. Be sure to ask her to sign it because she is getting famous and all her books will be valuable some day. If they had super heroes in the magical world, Jen would be Wonder Woman. But Jen's not a super hero because the cape would get in the way of her wings...

Note: If you are new to my blog or can't quite remember who Jen is... take a look at my blog post from last March. This party is all Jen's and there won't be a giant castle cake, but other than that, it will be great!

I heard rumors of teddy bear cupcakes...

Art Journal Retreat - Registration is Open!

Hey folks - the Art Journaling In Paradise Retreat is now open for sign-ups!! Jessica said she posted it on her blog and emailed those of you on her "list" and we already have 8 people signed up!

I'm kind of blown away by that - but if you are wanting to go, that means you need to sign up ASAP since we are going to try and keep this a cozy size. If you are like me, then you are worrying about pulling the money together, but there is even a great payment plan for us "budget-ers." :-) And, seriously, the whole thing is an incredible price.

Art Journaling in Paradise will be Sept. 14th - 19th, 2013 in Santa Fe, NM. You can get all the details, class schedule, materials list... and sign-up, by visiting this link: http://www.dotcalmvillage.net/artjournalinginp.html

A few things to note... "Paradise" is not the beachy, ocean-side kind of paradise. Although there will be plenty of sand, this is an "artist paradise." Santa Fe is full of galleries and glorious vistas, architecture and art. It's like leaving the country without... uh... leaving the country!

Another thing to note is Jessica's explanation of art journals and the tempo and spirit of this retreat. Although ALL levels of experience are very welcome, if you are the type who wants to move quickly from technique to technique and pack in the experiences... you won't be happy at this retreat. If you are looking for a slower adventure and an escape from your hectic regular life... if you have an open mind and want time to percolate your ideas... if you like piña coladas and getting caught in the rain... oh, sorry, the piña coladas are optional!

Jessica has some examples of her "art journals" at the linked page and here is one of mine as well.


This one was done at the Santa Fe Folk Art Museum. The sketches were meant as reference drawings for a bunch of polymer clay creatures I wanted to make. I have other art journals with more text, things glued in, photos with drawings, landscapes, cartoons of my sister and I crammed into tiny French airline seats... The point is there is a wide interpretation of "Art Journal" but the intent, for this retreat, is to use it to record your observations and impressions - using art. :-)
Last note. I mentioned it's like being in a foreign country? It's also at a high altitude and has all kind of weird and wonderful - different- flora and fauna. Unless, of course, you are from the southwest. But I live on the side of a mountain in New Hampshire. My mountain is like an inflamed hair follicle in comparison to THOSE mountains in Santa Fe. Anyway, last time I was there, it took me a few days to adjust and I was SO glad I had brought my allergy medication. I'm not saying this to scare you - I am a bit extreme, health-wise - just to warn you to bring your meds and take it easy on yourself. ;-D
It's gonna be fabulous!!! (And did I mention that it will be my birthday week too!?)

Napkin Note Biz Plan Workshop

Ally Piper is doing another Napkin Note Biz Plan Workshop! The workshop is one whole day, but it's done online and by phone, so you don't have to deal with a commute or any hassles. Or shoes. Or makeup. ;-D

There are great worksheets, time (offline) to do your "homework", and the best part (for me) the Q&A sections. I find I am always thinking "Yeah, but what if...?" and this actually gave me the chance to say that out loud and get some really useful feedback. At the end, we state what we will be working on, our goals, what we want to be held responsible for. For me, it was cleaning up a bunch of untidy... messes... before moving forward with a bunch of great ideas. Normally, that would be the conclusion to a program. But the Napkin Note program includes a few follow up group calls and a few one-on-one calls with Ally over the next couple of months.

I think these calls were the key part for me- they provided the accountability I so desperately needed. Thursday was my final call with Ally. And when she said "Wait a second, do you realize that you did everything you set out to do, cleaned up those messes... I hope you are planning on celebrating your success?" I realized it wasn't just accountability I needed, but acknowledgement! Yes, I'm no longer 8, but I still crave those gold stars!

And a party.
With cake.

Ally Piper, Ideapreneur(TM)I've had some requests from people to do mentoring or coaching, but that's not my path right now. So if you are one of those people, YOU want to work with ALLY. She's like me... super creative and great at brainstorming, but she is much calmer, knows what she is doing, and knows absolutely EVERYTHING about marketing. Yes, she actually overwhelmed ME with all her great ideas!



How often do you put your business dreams on the back burner?
If you're like most small biz owners I meet it's pretty darn often -- between serving clients and customers, family commitments and other obligations you have a lot going on. It's easy to focus on everything else. "I'll get back to that next week," you say.
But next week comes and goes and nothing moves your business forward in the direction you want to take it.

The thing is, it's when you invest time in your biz that the magic happens. I've seen evidence of this in my own biz. I've watched this happen for my clients.

What if you gave your biz the gift of just one day.
One day to get incredibly clear on your direction. One day to make important decisions that affect your earning potential.One day to learn about systems you can put in place to put your marketing on autopilot.One day to map it all out so taking action is easy.
What difference would it make?
Commit to just one day and you can change the course of your business.
If you're finally ready to create the business you want -- one that works for you -- I invite you to join me for one of my two upcoming Napkin Note Biz Planworkshops. It's a virtual day of working on your business and getting things done.
Two dates are available before summer -- April 22 and June 7. And when you register before Thursday, April 18th you'll save $100 off the regular workshop price.
Stop putting what you want on the backburner and start going after it NOW. Let me show you how at my NapkinNote Biz Plan workshop.
Here's to your success!
Ally PiperIdeapreneur™ + Marketing Director
BrightIdeasForBiz.com

Exciting News from Cherryl Moote!

Below is the official announcement from Cherryl Moote about her new book. I had the chance to take a look at it last week and it's lovely. This is not a Zentangle® book, but rather, a how-to-draw-plants book that uses the Zentangle approach to drawing. It also has interesting facts and observations about the plants and how to use them in your own artwork. Also note that this is a "real" ebook, not a pdf, so you will need to have a device and software that can read this format, ie: iBooks on an iPhone or iPad.


 Moote Points is excited to release our first ebook!

The Tangled Tropical Garden
by Cherryl Moote
The lush, tropical foliage of Maui is the inspiration for The Tangled Tropical Garden. Tanglers will find step-by-step instructions for drawing a variety of leaves, flowers and ferns using simple botanical forms and their favourite tangle patterns. This ebook is overflowing with vibrant colour and verdant greens, encouraging watercolour and coloured pencil enthusiasts to add a splash of visual impact to their work. Cherryl Moote is an experienced book and paper artist and author of a series of books and DVDs known for their clear, thorough, studio-tested instruction style. Cherryl is proud to be a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT) and has revelled in the opportunity to richly illuminate this book with tangles and Zentangle inspired artwork of her own. ISBN 978-0-9784951-6-9, epub format

To purchase, go to: www.mootepoints.com/ebooks.html.

This booklet is the first in a series of Tangled Garden titles. The Tangled Garden Series offers tanglers and garden art enthusiasts the opportunity to explore a variety of types of gardens and drawing styles while creating drawings in a relaxing, playful and colourful way. Each book in the series will be available as an ebook that is overflowing with vibrant colour and verdant greens, encouraging watercolour and coloured pencil enthusiasts to add a splash of visual impact to their work. Step-by-step instructions for drawing and generous examples of sketchbook and finished artwork are featured throughout the series. A print version of the series will be published in 2014 collecting the ebook titles from the series into The Tangled Garden (ISBN 978-0-9784951-7-6).

Art Journaling in Paradise!

If you were intrigued by the first mention of an art journaling retreat in Santa Fe, here is another post taken from Jessica Wesolek's blog:

Art Journaling in Paradise Workshop . . .We got a great response so far, Sandy has agreed to spend her birthday here in Santa Fe at this event, I got the classroom reserved and I will be publishing the highly detailed sign-up page this coming week.We do know the exact retreat days will be Saturday, September 14 through Thursday, September 19, 2013.Plan to come in on Friday, as we will gather early Saturday morning (9 am) in the hotel courtyard to start our adventure.Thursday, the last day of the retreat will be a full studio day. No formal instruction, but both Sandy and I will spend the day with everyone in the studio. If you must skip that day to get back to work, we will understand. We plan a relaxing catch-up day of art journaling for Thursday the 19th.Cost for the Workshop will be $650 for the six days. This does not include lodging costs.Suite style rooms with kitchenettes will be available at a rate of $55.50/night (plus tax). You will make your own reservations - dealing directly with the hotel. You do not have to stay at our hotel - we just happened to find the best deal in town for you!Meals are not included, but you will have a kitchen and a supermarket a few steps away. Santa Fe is a dining mecca and has great restaurants at every price level if you want to eat out. Bag lunches are a good idea, but there will be plenty of time to wander out and find something delicious if that is your preference. We may surprise you with a meal out on us.NO skill level is required. All we ask is creative enthusiasm and willingness to try.We will have a payment plan (for the workshop) so you can hold your spot while saving your money. Your hotel will not have to be paid until you get here, although you will probably have to guarantee your reservation with a credit card (standard procedure).This is all the info that is solid until I publish the sign-up page.While I appreciate everyone's input on when and where we should hold this retreat (I loved the suggestions from a few people that we should have the Santa Fe Art Journal Retreat on the East coast), we have reasons for our timing. Santa Fe is full of tourists and twice as expensive during the Summer months. By mid September, all is quiet and beautiful.Any questions on what we know so far, please email me:instructor@cre8it.comThink it through, because once we open the registration, we can only accept 24 students and we have a lot more emails of interest than that already.

Tangle U Recap

Has it been a WEEK since I returned from Tangle U?! Holy smokes! Everyone has been posting on Facebook, and I slept for a few days, so I hadn't realized so much time had past...

Elaine Huffman, who organized the whole durn thing, also designed these gorgeous diplomas. This is prettier than my degree from RISD!OK, I found a few pictures, so I'll try to give you the highlights, but, since I was also teaching, I forgot to take very many pictures. I wonder if anyone took any of me? I can't remember much from those... five hours? so I'd love some proof that I actually got up in front of that CROWD and spoke! ;-)


It was a very nice... enormous... conference room! I am, of course, sitting in the back row, watching Marie Browning teach her Seuss Garden workshop using Tombow markers. She has written a gazillion books, designs craft products, demos all over the world, is really nice, and, MOST important - she has a wicked sense of humor. She's my new hero.


 Here is my initial drawing. I liked it uncolored too - so much potential!


This is as far as I got during the conference. I'm actually STILL working on it (see next picture)! I loved the watercolor/marker techniques we learned and the secret blending tips AND... we used GLUE pens(?!) as a resist for those white details. Very cool.


My other favoritest new hero is Meredith Yuhas. Um... DR. Meredith Yuhas! She's a professor at Saint Joseph's College in CT, she lectures on mindful meditation, she is also stand-up-comedian-funny, and she talks TWICE as fast as I do when I'm excited!!!

Meredith taught us how to turn our tangles into a Zentangle garden on toned paper. This is the opposite of the Seuss Garden... no color.... but I loved it just as much.


 I'm thinking I'll probably offer these two workshops at my BeeHive studio in May or June, be sure to let me know if you might be interested.

After the conference ended on Sunday, a gaggle of tanglers headed out into Northampton to explore the local art store. Rumors had been spreading that they had a huge wall of colored envelopes and everyone wanted to stock up so they could add them to their Right-Brain Business Plans (the workshop that I taught!)


The rumors were true!! Every color and size of envelope. I even found biz card sized envies in purple and teal! ooolala!


After shopping and a fabulous Italian dinner, we headed back to the Hotel Northampton for long goodbyes and extreme silliness! Every photo I have seen of this hulabaloo is blurry, as are my own photos. I think this was due to all the laughter! No one could hold their camera still!

Paparazzi everywhere!

Everyone wanted photos of every conceivable combination of CZT and superstar. (Hee hee)
Jenny Farrel, from Australia made herself a "sandwich" between me (left) and Marie Browning (right). The only thing missing from her sandwich was some vegemite spread - which she gave us in teeny sample size containers, direct from the land down under.


Did I mention Jenny also had a wicked sense of humor? Something about Tangle U seemed to attract those of us who really love to laugh! Here is a photo I snitched from Sherry Cook - of Jenny paying homage to me. I'm not sure where she found the lily - probably from a hotel display - and it kind of looks like I'm "blessing" her?! 

"A blessing on your tangles!"


Finally, someone (me) suggested we do a group shot. I wish I had one of the entire group of 57 (?) graduates. This photo I snitched from Lisa Heron (the one in blue) - from Canada. Regina, rhymes with... well, nevermind. Yes, it's still funny! Anyway, the silly jokes help me remember names. :-) I have already forgotten most names - I'm awful that way - but I remember your faces and I can't wait to hang out with you all again soon!

MaryAnn - you look like our garden gnome! hee hee.

"The Art of Zentangle"

As I was rushing out the door to head over to The BeeHive yesterday, I tripped over a small box on the steps. I tossed it into the car and sped away. After I'd let my early students in (Hi Terry and Betty!), but before I'd turned the lights on... I ripped open the box to find...



Brand new copies of The Art of Zentangle !!
This is a very appealing new book from Walter Foster publishing and I had a very hard time waiting until today to examine it more closely! Of all the new Zentangle® books coming out, so far, this is my favorite. Lots of drawings, not so much text! I actually "read" the whole book. :-) I love the way it is designed as a workbook, with nice paper so you can draw along with the inspiring images.

The cover doesn't say so, but the author/artists included are CZTs Penny Raile, Norma Burnell, Margaret Bremner, and Lara Williams. The borders of the pages are color coded by artist, so you can easily flip to your favorite section. MY favorite section is the blue one... Norma Burnell's fairies have my jaw hanging open. But then, I placed my order for this book - last fall - in anticipation of her work!

This book, once again, gives me "page envy". Everyone seems to have so much SPACE these days (wink). Oh what I could have done with 144 pages...  This is typical of Walter Foster style books though - they really focus on showing the steps for drawing. And this book definitely focuses on drawing. I don't see that as a negative - there are plenty of books out there that explain the concept, method, philosophy, etc. of Zentangle. This book does NOT cover any of that. It is a ZIA drawing workbook - with a couple of interesting tangle craft projects thrown in at the end. (I have to try the glitter tangling...)  The subtitle is "50 inspiring drawings, designs & ideas for the meditative artist." And that is a pretty good description. Without that wording, I would have expected "The Art of Zentangle" to be either a gallery of works, or more about the process.

The book won't actually teach you how to draw like each particular artist - their styles are very distinctive... although one exercise feels a little too "Carla Sonheim" for me - they offer lots of great tips and variations for customization. And if you have been following me for any length of time, you know that I am ALL about encouraging people to "make it their own." [Note: that means to be inspired by art and change it to be "you" - don't copy.]

I had bought a few copies of this book for my shop, but it's crazy for anyone to buy this book in a store! Amazon has it for practically half price! They did that with Joy of Zentangle too. I will never understand why they do that? Although Amazon still is saying it is "pre-order" and I HAVE actual copies in my hot little hands (actually, they are rather cold at the moment...).

Oh, just a couple of negatives... $19.95 price - no biggie, it's cheaper online. It's big, not really portable, but nice paper. The font for the text is "hand-written" and hard to read, but there's not too much to read. :-) The cover is crazy and hard to read too, but I actually really like it like that... reminds me of Tangled Fashionista (my original cover).... And the "Getting Started" section feels rather vague. But, like the Harry Potter movies, those of us who have read the books just fill "all that" in in our heads.

The Verdict?
I, Sandy Steen Bartholomew, give The Art of Zentangle," two inky-thumbs up!