Monday, July 11, 2016

When Everything Happens at Once (also some art)

I.
Am.
Exhausted.
Time certainly flies when you're having fun...the last three weeks were absolutely crazy and absolutely amazing. NY Botanical Gardens. The Met. CZT Seminar 24. A whirlwind of classes (yes, already!). Buying new art supplies. Trying new art supplies. 4th of July. Hearst Castle...and all of a sudden, home. Aaaaaaah.... ^_^
Oh yeah, the Diva Challenge is gonna be at the bottom of all this. So if you don't want to look through my photos and my gushing, scroll down ^_^

Beautiful roses from the New York Botanical Gardens
The Botanical Gardens were a bit of a disappointment because nothing was in bloom...except for the absolutely spectacular rose garden at the farthest end. Worth the ridiculously long trek there and back. My mom took about 20 photos of the roses alone...I think this is the prettiest one ^_^

At the entrance to the Met
The Met was pretty darn awesome. I'm not gonna show you the rest of my photos because they're all just random works of art and I don't remember the details of most of them and really, seeing photos of a bunch of old paintings and reading a teenager's commentary on them isn't particularly exciting. At least not for me. ^_^

I also won't dump too many photos from Seminar on there...since everyone reading this either has gone or really, really should and I don't want to spoil anything for them ^_^

Me with Rick and Maria
I have to say, Rick and Maria are some the sweetest, most interesting, and most passionate people I've ever met. You could feel how much they loved what they were doing, and how much they believed in it, in every single sentence they spoke and every single piece of amazing artwork they showed us. They struck up conversations at the drop of a hat during breaks (well, when they weren't rushing around preparing whatever wonderful thing we were doing next). They were enthusiastic and gregarious and incredibly genuine, and totally one of a kind.

As for everyone else...I'll just say that Zentangle attracts the nicest people, and that despite the fact that there were people from 11 different countries there everyone spoke the same "language." ^_^

Just to remind myself it actually happened ^_^
Oh, and the store. The store...I spent, like, at least $30 more than I planned to. Aaaaah. It was amazing. ^_^

And now just for laughs...

Me and my parents
And now for the Hearst Castle pics - I actually don't have too many pictures of my own since my grandfather took a whole CD-ful, and he hasn't downloaded the contents onto my computer yet. Once he does I'll dump the ones I like into a separate blog post and put the link here. For now, you just get a tiny taste of what it was like ^_^

Also, warning: extreme opulence incoming.

The front door...seriously.
Oh yeah, William Hearst (the guy who built it) called this his "Ranch at San Simeon." Ranch.

I don't know about you, but I've never seen a ranch with a swimming pool...let alone one this big, with gold everywhere.
So. Much. Gold. And so many antiquities...and also so many patterns that will be turned into tangles in the days to come ^_^

And so there's my I-have-ADHD-can't-you-tell overview of everything that happened in the last three weeks and also my excuse as to why I haven't posted anything in three weeks right after saying I could post more often ^_^ I have, however, been using the Mosaic app pretty regularly, so if you have that you can "appreciate" me and get all my posts in your feed - my username is DanielLamotheCZT24. And if you don't have it - get it ^_^

And now, for the Diva Challenge! I really admire Suzanne Fluhr - I haven't been keeping up with her blog (or anybody's, really) as much as I want to but she's an amazing writer and a talented artist and it's really cool to see her featured, with such a timely challenge. So here's my Give Peace a Chance tile, done on the new Renaissance Bijoux, with the tangles on the inside of the peace sign spelling peace as well.


Tangles: Flux, Peanuckle, Ennies, Arukas, Crescent Moon, Enyshou
 And some calligraphy, with this frighteningly relevant quote from Albert Eintsein.


I don't really have a soapbox for this subject, so...
Enjoy and be inspired! ^_^
EDIT: So, I just realized that instead of a peace sign, my tile actually has the Mercedes-Benz logo. Sigh. I guess I did kinda divide the bottom half between Arukas and Crescent Moon? ^_^

18 comments:

  1. The Hearst Mansion in California is super impressive, too. A huge swimming pool INDOORS? and the largest swimming pool in the ... states?...outside.

    But how cool that you've been to a CZT seminar. Are you a CZT teacher now? neato! and your peace sign work is terrific. I like how shiny it is. :)

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  2. First, thank you for your very kind comments. Second, congratulations on your CZTdom. Welcome to the club. As you realized, Zentangle peeps are a pretty nice, generous, supportive and likeable bunch. Third, looks like you've been having a very nice bicoastal time. I have the antithesis of a green thumb, but I love flowers and we seek out botanical gardens wherever we are in the world. I've been to the Hearst place, the architectural poster child for more is more. Fourth, nice job on fitting a whole lot onto your bijou peace tile. Thanks for doing my challenge; and, Fifth: I've never seen that Einstein quote before. Someone should carve it into the desk of every world leader. Meanwhile, I'm "borrowing" it for my Meme pinterest board. May I use your calligraphied version? I'll credit you as the artist.

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    1. Thanks for YOUR kind comments! ^_^ And maybe a permanent tattoo on every world leader's hand would do better - you can get a new desk ^_^ As for Pinterest, feel free to pin any of my stuff and don't feel like you have to ask every time - it's an honor to know you deem it worth saving ^_^

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    2. I really like that tattoo idea. You inspired me to do the challenge myself on my blog. I included a shout out to you for the Einstein quote with a link to your blog post. You can see it at http://www.boomeresque.com

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    3. I really like that tattoo idea. You inspired me to do the challenge myself on my blog. I included a shout out to you for the Einstein quote with a link to your blog post. You can see it at http://www.boomeresque.com

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  3. I've been wondering where you've been.
    Welcome to the wonderful world of being a CZT! Rick and Maria are truly wondeful people, aren't they? I don't believe I've seen you on the CZT Facebook group. It's a wonderful resource for lesson plans, and everyone is really helpful if/when you have questions. You should consider joining it. :)

    Great tile for Diva's challenge.

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  4. Congratulations being a CZT!!!!! Nice response to the challenge.

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  5. Wow, I had no idea you were a teenager, such a mature blog, one that I always look forward to reading. I am so envious of your CZT training and the experience of meeting all those other lovely people - and of course THE shop lol.

    Your little bijou tile followed by the quote is a great response to the challenge and now you have made me want some Renaissance bijou tiles too. I will go and look into it now. Well done

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  6. Congratulations on joining the friendliest, sharing group in the world. I also highly recommend the CZT Facebook group. An awe inspiring group. Love your bijou peace tile.

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  7. Congrats for becoming a CZT. I've red your story already on a mail of Linda Farms and I was really touched. So nice that you join the big Zentangle club. Thank you for sharing your adventures, I wish you a lot of fun, keep on tangling Daniel and I like your tile, nice tangles you have chosen and a very nice quote!!!

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  8. Daniel, I am impressed with all you have done this summer. WOW! I love all your pictures. I have been to Hearst Castle so I know of that opulence. Pretty amazing place. What a great vacation. And I love, love, love the picture of you with Maria and Rick. What a great thing for you to have gone through the CZT training. Not only that, but you did a great tile for the Diva Challenge. That quote from Albert Einstein really says it all. Thank you for posting that too.

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  9. I haven't been to Hearst Castle in years but agree about the opulence. Great tile and congratulations on the CZT.

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  10. First - shut up. I'm already sulking because I haven't been able to get over to do the CZT training and then you make things even worse by visiting all those fabulous places. I'm way over my envy quotient for this week! Did you go to the Gugenheim too? I loved it when I went there some years ago. Your tile is amazing and I love the fact that you got so much onto one tiny Bijou tile. Lovely work, glad you're enjoying it.

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  11. Wow, Daniel, what a whirlwind you have had! Congratulations on your CZT accomplishment, and welcome to the club!! Aren't Rick and Maria just the best? How wonderful for you to be able to travel with your family and experience the treasures of this great country. I know you will treasure the memories. Thank you for your inspiring responses to the Diva Challenge. Your Bijou tile is so sweet and your calligraphy is enviable (by one who keeps practicing those alphabets but hasn't put it to the test yet!). I love that quote, and it is very relevant in today's world. Well done!

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  12. Congratulations on your CZT!
    And thanks a lot for sharing your story. Your tile for dc275 is wonderful and I love your calligraphy!

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  13. Congrats on becoming a CZT! It's a wonderful world!

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