Thirty-one days and thirty-one CDAs (Creative Daily Acts) around the theme “The Bleak Mid-Winter.” When the theme was first revealed all I could remember was last year’s January with its countless grey days, low sky and lots and lots of snow. 2014 was much different – more sunshine with many ice cold days, but all around my outlook was much brighter.
I decided to make this challenge manageable to start with. I had quite a bit of teaching preparation ahead of me, and I was still a bit weary from all the travel and teaching during the latter part of 2013.
In early December my friend Colleen and I had participated in an introductory Zentangle class. Realizing that I had always doodled (even without the fancy trademark name) I chose some mixed media paper (equivalent to heavy watercolor paper), several fine-tipped black pens and a pencil. Best of all, I didn’t have to rush out and buy supplies. I set my watch most mornings to 15 minutes, and I am happy to share that 95 % of the CDAs above were completed in 15 minutes or less.
Yes, there were a few days where I had to catch up, or my CDA was not tackled till bedtime. But I never felt overwhelmed and pressured to spend time I didn’t really have.
And what would I have done if I didn’t complete all 31 CDAs? I would have posted the number I completed. Whether I create one or ten or thirty – the point is to do more and explore one’s creativity. One creative endeavor leads to another: I completed my Kantha bag, started to rewrite my Kantha Primer, continued work on a Kantha baby blanket (for a baby that was born last July…) and I explored my photography. Best of all I created a whole new set of handouts with brand new content for my Advanced Design classes in the studio.
Share your insights and experiences, and if you have not received your invitation to post your CDA images on Flickr, let me know and I will send out another invite. Your other option is: If you have a blog or website to post your images for sharing, insert the info in the comment section below. Don’t worry if it doesn’t show up right away. I often have to approve comments with links. I will approve your link as soon as I am done teaching today.
Welcome to February – are you bursting with ideas for the new theme? “FEVER” will sure stir the ol’ brain cells! Enjoy your weekend!
Anna Hergert, Art & Design 
Pingback: December CDAs: Putting on the Glitz | Anna Hergert, Art & Design
Anna,these are marvellous. I love the variation in the detail. You have done more with line in creating complexity with balanced compositions than I have enjoyed before They are truly inspiring
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Thanks, Elinor – just doodles with a black pen on white card stock…
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Those Zentangles of yours are simply scintillating Anna – truly fantastical and beautiful!
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Thank you, Judith!
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Vivian, the way I usually connect to Flickr is just go to the website. It should recognize you right away. You may have to type in your password, but it usually does not create an issue with me.
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Thanks Anna. Eventually everything worked, although my pics don’t look as professional as the rest. Is there a trick to having them fill the space, rather than appear like mine have?
As long as they are posted….the few I managed to get done!
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Vivian, your CDAs are great!!! Thanks for persevering and uploading the images. They are wonderful.
To have less negative space around your image you need to crop the background. If you don’t know how to do this, there are a number of tutorials on line. If you don’t want to spend the time and energy don’t worry about it. Put that time and energy into your February CDAs instead…;-)
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Thanks, Pat – looking forward to seeing your CDAs. Leave a note in the reply section to let us know when your images are uploaded for viewing.
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Thanks for sharing, Anna. I quite enjoyed your CDAs. As always, your work is so inspiring!
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Thanks, Susan.
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Your CDAs for January are lovely Anna – I can’t call them doodles because they are much, much more!
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Oh, but they are just that, doodles. Thanks for weighing in with a comment, Bev.
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Hi Anna, I love your Zentangles – you have such great imagination!
Now I have to be honest and say that I do not like the advertisements ‘they’ (whoever that may be) are attaching at the end of your blog. Especially the one about beer! I thought you should be aware that this is happening.
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Thank you for your input, Karen.
Advertising on this blog is totally out of my hands. I have upgraded to a paid domain name recently to combat the pesky advertising – however, I understand that I will have to pay another fee every year to not have advertising appear.
I offer free information and am really frustrated that I have to pay to keep advertising off my site. I am checking into alternatives, and will do the best I can not to offend any readers in the future.
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I had of course assumed it was not your fault that this was occurring, so please do not take my comment personally. I have noticed it on another website too. I guess it’s like the billboards we pass as we drive by – we can choose to ignore them!
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Yes, until I have made a decision on whether I want to pay money to get rid of advertising, ignoring them is the best course of action!
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I think I just put the pictures on flicker within the group. They are backwards and start at January 31 and go from there. Darn.. Not sure how I did it, but let me know if I did it right.
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No worries, Katina – mine went on the site in reverse as well – live and learn! Glad you got the CDAs up for everyone to see.
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I was taught the zen tangle method a few years ago but didn’t take it too far. Love your creations. My pictures are done, just not sure how to get them on the flicker page. May have to get help from my son tonight.
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Katina – Zen doodling is a great way to refocus. I have been doing this for nearly 15 years – just not on a daily basis… this was a great way to start each day.
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Anna: those are fabulous tangles. Can’t believe you did them in 15 minutes! I also took a class but it is aa chore for me to do them. You should try adding some colour. and check out Rick and Maria;s website, they are the original zentanglers.
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Thanks, Patsy. They were completed in so little time because I set that as my main goal, and I kept the size manageable. I have added color while in the workshop and it actually turned me off Zen-doodling for a while. I prefer the simplicity of black and white – as this was also in keeping with the “Bleak Mid-Winter” theme…
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I was mesmerized as I watched your images scroll by! I, too, took a tangle class in the fall but have not done much sketching since. I believe you have inspired me! Thanks.
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That’s the idea – to inspire and keep creative acts going on a daily basis! Have fun, Linda!
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These are great CDAs! Love each one! Inspires me to get my pencil sharpened!
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Thanks, Colleen – they were so much fun and it was so easy! Can’t wait to see what you will doodle…
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Beautiful, Anna! and inspirational…
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Thanks, Minnie! Glad they are inspiring… that was really to ultimate goal – to inspire!
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