Monday, April 23, 2012

The Juggling Act


This past couple of months I've been feeling overwhelmed. Unlike many of my illustrious blog sisters, I'm not accustomed to writing several series at once. There's this sensation of juggling--and the balls are moving faster than my hands.

Last night I finished writing my second book in my new Jane Eyre series--DEATH OF A DOWAGER LADY. In the midst of working on it, I needed to stop and write 50 pages of another series I've committed to doing.

I took the Zentangle training partially because I wanted to learn more and partially to have a neat skill to offer when I visit libraries and groups. Little did I know it would be so incredibly popular that I'm having trouble keeping up with the requests to teach classes.

To relax between projects, I stop and tangle a bit. The project above is a sampler. First I dabbed watercolor paint on a plastic template in the shape of a grid. When I had the colors I wanted, I sprinkled rock salt over the paint. Salt lifts the paint in splotches, making the most beautiful texture. The next day when it was dry, I rubbed all the salt off. Last of all, I tangled in each of the squares.

I've been putting all my tangles and bookcovers up on Pinterest. Go to www.Pinterest.com/JoannaSlan to view them. I love Pinterest!

See you all at Malice and Festival of Mystery this weekend and next Monday!

4 comments:

nancy curteman said...

Zentangle sounds pretty interesting. I find doing something entirely different from writing rejuvenates my energy.

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

I totally agree!

Betty Hechtman said...

Funny how we ended up with almost the same titles for our blogs for similar reasons. See you at Malice.

Linda O. Johnston said...

I identify with your juggling act, Joanna. Glad that your tangling helps to relieve some of the pressure. See you soon!