Free-Floating Bubbles

As you might recall, I was lucky enough to receive a (signed!) copy of Quinn McDonald's Raw Art Journaling:  Making Meaning, Making Art in a Found Poetry contest she held on her blog.

(Actually, it was a great lesson in humility:  I was so proud to win a contest based on my skill, rather than chance; after all, I had constructed a series of found poems based on book titles, and she had selected my creations to win.  Then, I read her blog post and discovered that she had her cat select the final winners.  There is always room to learn humility in this life!)

I have been enjoying my look through her art journaling book, and found myself especially drawn to her Over and Under Drawings and her Free-Floating Bubbles.  Creating these drawings has a definite Zentangle benefit, and I thought I would share the fruits of my doodling.

From the Moleskin I carry in my purse, drawn while in the waiting room at the veterinary opthamologist for my cat:

Okay, I have to admit that I am especially a fan of the little movement lines on some of the balls, which make them look like they are zooming around on the ribbons!

Drawn on book pages from a Spanish-language edition of Don Quijote:

I even added a little shimmer with my new glitter pen on this one; can you tell??

A little shimmer on this one, too!

I create most of my art with preschoolers at my elbow, looking over my shoulder, jostling for position and threatening to send my pen clear across the page.  I consider every completed project a triumph as a result of those circumstances.  And Quinn's art journaling exercises offer a meditative benefit to boot, which I have managed to benefit from in stolen moments when the girls are busy playing outside, in between demands for me to throw a beach ball around with them or monitor them on their scooters in the driveway!

"Put your hand to paper, and you can be as creative as your day demands," Quinn tells us on her page about the free-floating bubbles design.  Indeed, my days demand plenty of creativity for sanity, and I thank her for some new art journaling "tricks" to keep up my sleeve!

By the way, I am busy turning these designs into postcards, ICADs, and ATCs, in addition to art journaling pages.  Multi-tasking at its best!