Zen Gem: Lightning Ridge Opal
· drawing Polychromos tile zen gem zentangle 
Fire. Black opals are the most valuable opals in the world. The most beautiful examples of these come from the Lightning Ridge mining area in Australia. Opals are classified according to the pattern of the fire within the stone. This example is a cross between pinfire and palette. While some lists show that Tourmaline or Pink Zircon is the gemstone for those who were born in October, opal is actually the traditional stone. Now days, Tourmaline is said to be an alternative. I think that came about because they come in so many different colors. I don‘t know who came up with Pink Zircon, but it was hugely popular when I was a kid as THE stone for October birthdays. Personally, I never considered it valid.
Daily Zen 2016110901
· drawing tile zentangle 
Yes, I‘m weird. And proud of it. Sometimes I just stick things into corners or odd places to add a touch of whimsy and surprise. It‘s fun and makes for eye-catching, interesting drawings. This drawing kind of messes with your mind because of the variety of depth of the shading and sizes of the tangles. In addition, since I was tired of drawing with black, I decided to switch to a sepia pen and use a couple of brown colored pencils to do the shading. The slight tint adds to the uniqueness of this tile.