WoW: Dominatrix Di v.2–or not?

03 Feb 2012 4 Comments

by dwhirsch in Movies, Music, Vibrant Creativity, WoW, Writing Tags: art, artist, experience, linkedin, teeth, writer, Zentangle

“The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.”~Julia Cameron, American author (The Artist’s Way)

Diva Challenge #56 makes me ask the question: am I a dominatrix? According to dictionary.com, she is “A woman who dominates.” That’s obvious; women rule this world. To let go of all that control….

I’ve sacrificed my control for three years now: braces. Not being able to eat baby carrots, apples or movie-theater popcorn is a sacrifice. Giving up kettle corn, caramel and sweet roasted almonds is devastating. Now that my braces are off, just under 24 hours as of this post, I now embrace marshmallow crispy treats and bubble gum again. However, I do have retainers. Chained once again.

This week’s challenge orders us to submit to the weak, to draw the power from us and draw a Zentangle using the non-dominant hand, the string, shading, everything.  This will whip me into shape.

It’s easy to do that this week; in a cruel twist of fate, I injured my right, dominant hand. My driver’s visor was loose, and as I secured it into the catch, I pinched my fourth finger in the notch. The stars and Michigan roads aligned so that I hit a pothole at the very moment I wiggled my finger out. Gonna be a nasty blister, I thought, and then I saw the blood. I made it the two blocks home, pulled into the driveway and slumped into a whimpering heap of pain. There is a reason I did not pursue a career in the medical field.

Dominatrix v.2 string

Two days later, the finger is no longer oozing, but the injury on the top pad at the tip of my finger is an awkward tender spot. Do you realize how much you use that finger to brace things your hand does? The pinkie is out of commission, too, because using it squeezes that fourth finger into action. It is almost relief to do a tile this week with my left hand. Dominatrix in a non-dominant situation. Yeh, I like that.

Interesting to compare last year’s versionwith this one. At that time, I was not a CZT yet.  I was one week away from confirmation of the workshop.  In fact, I had my full Zentangle kit for just over a month at that point. I have all of my tiles saved, but just looking back at the earliest Zentangles posted, I see beauty in the simplicity, even in what I now consider the rudimentary. So many of the lessons learned from these challenges have been applied to this one.

Dominatrix v.2 shaded

I found myself slowing down.  A lot.  I concentrated.  I gripped my pen tightly.  (Relax.  Breathe.)  I found that moving my pen right to left was easier than left to right, even though that first action obscured my view at times.  I left open space.  As the finishing touch, I wrote the tangles I used on the back of my tile (using my left hand, of course).  Some were the same as last time. Can you identify all–or any–of the ones used here?

 

I see a progression in my art.  Even from just a year ago.  It looks like I have taken control back.