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This tangled trophy is the second in my series of wall mount animal heads (no animals harmed in the process!) Inspired by the Chiaroscuro (Italian for light-dark) drawing technique usually done on gray or tan paper, this stag was painted in the "Renaissance" style using warm colors with highlights of white. The white bust (made of cast plater and resin) needed quite a bit of preparation before I could begin embellishing the surface. My husband concocted a custom combo of fill

Hints of aspen gold, cool mornings, and humming birds dwindling; these are all signs that summer is yielding to fall. We will celebrate summer's end with our final show for the season at the Estes Park Monday Artisan's Market (MAM) tomorrow, August 20. I painted this Rocky Mountain icon; a big horn sheep mount to attract visitors to our booth for the first show. It's hard to believe that this last show for us is already here. My ram at MAM did draw in many who had questions

Braggadocio or braggart; one who boasts about achievements or possessions, according to Webster. Call me a braggadocio, because today I have to brag about one of my students and her incredible creations. Flip back to my blog post from June when I wrote about my studio grand opening. Several lovely ladies christened my studio with a “gem tangles” class. Two participants were sisters and recently one of them wrote to me, showing me the gorgeous gem tangles her sister created af

If you follow our blog, you will know that exciting things are happening in the Botangle world. The business has become a family affair and since we last wrote, we (Annie, Rolf, and Christie) have been working hard to create a product line with our new laser engraver "Zing." The start of this all was purely serendipitous. When Christie was in Colorado in July helping me expand my Botangle business, the sign I had ordered for my front gate, as a marker to my home studio, arri

July: the month that I proudly display our US "stars and stripes." For thousands of years, stars and stripes have adorned so many things found in the art and culture of every nation on Earth. The patterns hold intrinsic beauty and value as well as varied symbolic meaning; like our own flag. Maybe these are some of the reasons that you find so many star and stripe patterns in our world of Zentangle;® people love them! When I was shopping for my season's supply of garden flow