Zendala Challenge

This week at The Diva's Page the challenge presented by guest CZT Erin Olson, is to create a zendala using her template. Erin posts a regular zendala challenge that a lot of people participate in, but I never have, though I've played with mandalas a little bit. This project got me hungering for more.

The mandala template is linked, but I couldn't get it to print up at work, so I just decided to make it. I have a large sketchbook and that's where I put it. Thanks to a mandala project 
that I tackled a little while ago, I already knew how to draw a circle with a compass, and how to mark six points along its circumference. After dividing the circle into six equal parts, I just kept the zendala template in front of me and pretty much copied it.

this is the penciled mandala

these are the tools and the book

The pencil doesn't show up very well, but that is the mandala, penciled into my large sketchbook.






Now, lately I've been playing with spirals. I have a couple of pages with lots of spirals. Kind of seashelly.

 When I did this one, I really liked how cool Tropicana looks along the edge there, so I decided to make a spiral full of Tropicana,





and this is what I ended up with. I fell IN LOVE. It looks like a silver brooch or pendant. 

A pageful of spirals

Here it is on grey tone, with highlights

Gosh, it's cool looking! I added Navaho and zinger in there.











Well, when I saw the zendala template, I knew right away what was going into the circles, and that's where I started. The rest just sort of followed.

The tropicana spirals, with pokeleaf and pokeroot spilling out, then meer and wud in the ovals, and paradox in the center. I was trying for a wooden stem look with the meer and wud. Not sure if I'm all that pleased with those patterns, but shading it helps.

There is a lot of energy and motion in spirals, and the organic pokeleaf and pokeroot, and the abundant little tiny tipples filling the negative spaces in there...well, the zendala looks like it's spinning. I might do it again, since today is my day off and I have a cold AND my Cousin Charlotte is in town...ugh. Not a go out and do things kind of day. More a stay at home and soak my head kind of day.