On the Mend

Stamped page ready to tangle

Well, that was an interesting week. I think the virus has run its course, and I am mostly upright since the weekend, but still taking it easy as that really wiped me out. No sense rushing back into activity, not wanting to have a relapse, wanting to feel well enough to manage the ArtWalk opening reception on Friday (more on that later). There's plenty I can do sitting down and I did feel up to a little drawing yesterday afternoon. You may remember the small button booklet I've been working in on and off, where I stamped an image on each page and have been going back in to Zentangle around it. You're really not supposed to plan out your Zentangling in advance, but I at least need to be inspired and it took me a long time to come up with an idea to compliment that stamped leaf. But I had finally settled on something, before getting sick, and now I felt up to trying it out.

Finished tangle, colors truer than top photo

I enjoy developing little vignettes with the tangling, and although that wasn't where I thought I'd go with this, it became more fun when I realized I was creating a little landscape of sorts. Some parts are more successful than others, but it was an enjoyable way to spend an hour and get those creative juices flowing again. The most delightful part was how well the fountain pen worked on this paper. I had struggled with it on the official Zentangle tile and feared the ink looked more black than brown. However, on this paper the pen flowed effortlessly without skipping and the color of the ink matched the pad ink used to stamp the leaf on the page. A little thrilled by this.

Thanks to everyone who left messages of concern and get better quick wishes. They truly buoyed me up and gave me something to smile about when I was feeling so very rotten. Love you all . . .