RRRRRiverwalk

As I explained in my post for the Diva Challenge--- you can find it here  --- last week I was busy with moving and didn't participate in any challenges. This week, now that I'm almost done unpacking in my new place, I have been able to dive into a couple. My two favorite challenges, in fact. The Diva, and SuzyMosh's "new to me" challenge

This week Suzy challenges us to use R patterns that we've never used before. What a LOT of those there are! 

Roxi was the one I started with and it looked so much  like the smooth stones you find along the banks of rivers, I ran with that theme.

Doesn't it remind you of walking or hiking along a mountain river? In Salt Lake we have half a dozen canyons that empty into the Jordan River, and from there to the Great Salt Lake. The valley has a lot of really good walking places, through trees, near slow moving waters, some of them left wild and some improved with garden-y spots and even a workout trail or two.

I traced two ATC's on a page of my sketchbook and started with Roxi along the edge. Sand swirls, Crest, and Barney are in the top frame, too.
In the bottom frame, I used Ripples on a grid, with a column of Seevaw, along with a repeat of Roxi and SandSwirls. Also, notice that Nipa! A lovely pattern.

but the star of the show really is River. I've seen it but never used it before. Shading it gives it a lift, like it sort of rises off the page. I love that effect and like to use it on other patterns. Once you aura something, and then put shading around the edges, it really does something to the depth of the piece. That's what I like about how River looks here.

With this piece, it feels like my creativity flowed nicely. I have been dissatisfied with my work recently, and feeling dry and stilted in my tangling. But this one opened me up and I was able to choose patterns without second guessing myself, and put them on the paper without judging. It felt good.

So, the R patterns that are completely new to me in this are: Roxi (top and bottom edges of both frames); RiverRocks (between the two frames); Ripples; and River.

This piece brought me that zen calm that is emphasized with zentangle. Peaceful, flowing, open.

Now to tackle a few other R patterns. There are a lot that I don't know.

(oops, looks like I am making up for last  week after all! ha!)