Play Hard, Play Fair, Nobody Hurt

I've never been a big fan of contests, because someone usually gets hurt.  However, I have been involved in some of them during my lifetime.  When I do participate in one, I always remember what I learned at All Saints Episcopal School, "Play Hard, Play Fair, Nobody Hurt."  It's a great motto to live by.

Recently, Zentangle artist and author, Sandy Steen Bartholomew, launched her new book ZENTANGLE FOR KIDZ with a contest.  Since the prizes include copies of her latest book, and I work with children from 1st through 5th grade, I decided to enter the contest.  The book would be a great addition to my classroom library and my students are sure to love learning to tangle as much as I have.  The challenge was to design a freestanding "Lilah Bean," which is a tangle featured in the author's books.  The following is a description of my creative process:

© Arnoldo L. Romero 2011
First, I started by sketching a whole page of my own versions of a "Lilah Beans" in my art journal.  I kept the spirit of the figure, but played around with different kinds of tangles for the hair and shoes.

© Arnoldo L. Romero 2011
Then, I decided what format to use - so many choices, so little time!  Since I've been working on Artist Trading Cards (ATC) lately, I decided to design a freestanding format and collage the image on it.  I made the ATC into a limited edition of 2, and the picture above shows the end result.  You can read more about how I constructed it under the comments in the ZENTANGLE FOR KIDZ Blog.  (I would really appreciate your vote and comments - and so would my students who would get to enjoy the book, if I win a copy.)


Finally, I was so inspired by the contest, that I designed the animals above to use in my classroom's bulletin board this school year.  My school's theme is "Safari," so I believe these tangled animals will work perfectly!  I plan to have the students write their names or initials using tangles.  I'll post a picture of the finished bulletin board when it's finished.  What do you think?

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