There be...Cats

I've been dabbling with zen tangles since last spring. My dad's girlfriend introduced them to me, and I fell hard and fast for this art form. Google it to see some great examples, but its basically doodling in patterns. Love to doodle, and I get lost in patterns. What a beautiful marriage! I started off slowly and had fun playing but never really felt like I achieved lift off. When I did carve out some time, I'd lose track of time and I fell into the shapes and patterns. This is a great form of meditation for me.

This past Boxing Day, or December 26th, I drew my first Zen Cat. I received a new zen doodle book from my brother and sister-in-law for Christmas and it inspired me to pick up my book, pencil, ERASER, and ink pens again. I liked the idea of cats because of the obvious play on my name, plus they come in so many pattern. Not that any of my cats look anything similar to a real cat...but you get the idea. To start, these cats do represent me. I'm starting to put more thought into them before I start drawing now so I have elements of my feelings incorporated in them. I'm starting to add just a splash of color, playing with water color pencils. These drawings take 3 to 5 hours to complete. I know that sounds crazy. But it is a slow process and I get up from time to time to refill my wine glass. :-). I start with pencil to get the shapes and spaces the way I want them to be. Then I outline with one of my fine point markers. I have 8 different styles of markers, depending on how fine I want the detail. If I put music on and sit on the floor or at the kitchen table, I get completely lost in what I'm doing. It's relaxing and peaceful. They bring me joy. 

With all of the good in my life right now and the fact that I am back to running and working out...and I'm also knitting again, I can't say that I really need to tangle. But it is another great outlet that I have found for those times that I am working something out, or wanting to share my joy with the world. It's nice to have ways to connect with your core. With your essence. With your joy or sorrow and to just feel. When I look at these drawings now, I can hear the music I was listening to and feel the feelings I had at the time. I think that art evokes emotions in the eye of the beholder, but it also primarily evokes emotions in the person that created it. What I draw or write is a personal expression. And the way someone else views it is based of where they are on their path of life. That's the great thing about art. It means something different to everyone.

To be clear, these are just beginning drawings. I learn more every time I create one and I'm learning to be more mindful as I create. My next step is to add a couple additional animals into the rotation so I can start story telling. I drew an elephants for a special lady. With the addition of a few extra elements, it really got me thinking as to where I can go with this. I think there is a story here. An illustrated one.

Below is the collection so far...

<3  Cat

First Cat, 12/26/145

12/31/14

12/27/14

1/30/1

2/4/15

For Bev  <3  2/1/15