View a YouTube, exploring optical illusion and Zentangle inspired art.

     As you know one of my passions in life is working with my hands… it can be sketching, painting, Zentangle®, glass, clay, designing art books, well almost anything creative will do. 2015 and 2016 have been filled with creative opportunities that I’d like to share with you.

       Last November I had the opportunity to visit Vietnam and Cambodia. I traveled with other adventurous spirits on a trip by OAT (OverseasAdventureTravel). The trip lasted 4 weeks and we explored from SAPA in Northern Vietnam where the hill tribes live, all the way down to the Mekong Delta in the South, and then over to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Every day was an adventure… just waiting to be preserved in my sketchbook and photos.

       In SAPA we visited a school where we stopped at a market to purchase vegetables (trying to communicate in Vietnamese, they did not speak English in the market). I sketched the school children during recess and enjoyed meeting them.  The children were fascinated and some wanted to join me by drawing in my sketchbook.  Being able to interact with local people added to personal memories of the trip.

       After returning home I covered my sketchbook with hand-stitched textiles from the Hmong and Dao tribal peoples.  I also did some painting with images inspired by my sketchbook. See the painting of my friend SuMe… she is from the Red Dao tribe.

       A big NEW BOOK Iover 100 pages) is in the works and I am really excited. I packed every page full of innovative ideas, instructions and prompts for sketching, coloring, Tangles, grids, FloraBunda and more.  I just finished proofing the pages and it is still at the printers… but can be pre-ordered from Amazon (search for ‘ZEN DRAWING WORKBOOK’ under books).