Author Archives: Julie Evans, CZT

They’re tangling in Hilo

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I’m so happy to announce that I’ve resumed teaching Zentangle classes! I’ve missed it. My friends at Hairy Monkey Books in Hilo offered a nice upstairs meeting space and the students have been excited and enthusiastic tanglers. See for yourself…

Zentangle 1: The Basics. Tangles include Fescu, Flux, Florz, Bales, Rain, Keeko, Hollibaugh, and Tipple.

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Zentangle 2: Beyond Basics. Tangles include Wirly Bird (new fave), FootLites (another new fave), N’Zepple which turned into Cockles ‘n Mussels, Bilt, Retikulated, Nipa, Ennies, Hurry, Poke Leaf (and a little Poke Root too) and Cadent.

Students loved the eye-popping tangles and enjoyed shading with their smudger tools. They did a marvelous job ~ and a good time was had by all! I look forward to another beginner/beyond basics run in March, so we can do an Advanced class in April. Tangle on!

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Hazy Shade of Winter

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I don’t know about you, but I’ve felt like a hermit for the past month or so… the energies have been swirling, rain and wind howling, and I’ve just wanted to curl up somewhere… like a seed in the ground waiting to emerge. Thankfully, I feel like things are starting to get lighter… of course the return of sunshine has helped! Time to bloom! :)

I’m so grateful for the CZTs, crafters and hobbyists who have given me such positive feedback and encouragement in my Zentangle endeavors. In return, I’d like to share something sweet with you… a book that has nourished my hermiting soul during the hazy shade of “winter” in Hawaii…


I recently purchased Cris Letourneau’s workbook, Made in the Shade ($15.99 on Amazon). It’s all about shading your Zentangle art! This is indeed a workbook—with step-by-step techniques and suggested projects to practice with. I love the Shading Playground in Chapter 6!

The book is entirely black and white, allowing the most basic shading techniques be clearly demonstrated—no distractions. Cris takes the reader through simple shapes, to more complex and even tangle-specific shading options with ease. I gobbled this book up in a few hours—tangling supplies in hand—exploring new techniques and refining ones I’d learned years ago!

If you’re interested in learning more about shading your Zentangle art, this book is for you!

In my previous post, I mentioned that KalaDalas Stencils for wet media (in vinyl) were coming. Well, they’re available now on my Etsy shop!
***CZTs, if you’re going to the upcoming Tangle U 2013 workshop, there are KalaDalas stencils for door prizes so check ‘em out!***

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Zentangle Classes forming in Hilo for March! Get started with The Basics on Saturday, March 9th at Hairy Monkey Books. Click here for more information.

KalaDalas for Wet Media Coming Soon!

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Aloha and Happy New Year! Hope 2013 finds you healthy and warm wherever you are—yes, mug in hand by a fire certainly counts! We’re in the rainy season on the east side of the Big Island and after about 10+ days straight of rain and cooler temperatures, I’m happy for a dose of sunshine today.

Several of you have requested and I’m excited to announce I’ve been working on sourcing materials for making my KalaDalas Stencils in clear vinyl, perfect for wet media! Finding a vendor who will ship to Hawaii for less than an arm and a leg has been fun, but I’ve found what I need and will begin selling the 3.5 inch stencils in clear vinyl on my Etsy shop very soon! I will continue producing the card stock KalaDalas as long as supplies last, then transition to all vinyl stencils.

Vinyl 3.5 inch KalaDalas

Clear vinyl is tough to capture!

For more options in your Zendala Classes, I’ll be offering 4.5-inch round stencils in the same designs as the smaller stencils soon too! I’m in the sketching phase of new designs which will only be available for the 4.5-inch rounds. I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions for new stencils.

Thanks again for your encouragement, comments and stories. I’m so grateful for this creative community! Have a wonderful weekend and make time for your ART!
~Julie

World Zentangle Bookmark Swap

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Earlier this week I posted a sneak peek of my submission to the World Zentangle Bookmark Swap put together by fellow CZT, Karen Izzi. Visit her event link on facebook here.

I was excited to use both black and white pens on this piece and chose a Tiffany Blue card stock from Paper and More which worked perfectly for the light/dark contrast. I had a long scrap of the blue paper from a previous project and just started tangling, no end result in mind, just taking a line for a walk, so to speak.

What evolved is this ~ and I love it! My lettering kind of got chunky, but I’m embracing imperfection these days and let it be.

Christmas Monkey

My Two Cents: If you’re stressed about holiday entertaining, spending time with your family, spending time with somebody else’s family or just being around your own kids for days on end, may I suggest you take some time for yourself (and your ART), embrace imperfection, and LET IT BE.

Wishing you joy this holiday and in 2013!
Aloha ~ Julie