The idea for this tile comes from ValenTangle 2018 by Marguerite Samama CZT. I chose to work on Day 6. We are to do a variation of the F11 fragment, with a heart in the center instead of a circle, on a black tile. I chose to make mine on a 3Z shaped tile.
There is also a Facebook group for Valentangle which you can find here . This is the second year for this two-week project, which runs from the beginning of February through Valentine’s Day.
This is my own design, done in the Tints on Tan style. I wanted to finish out the week of beach-themed tiles with something original! After looking at pictures of sea horses, I realized their bodies are basically made up of a bumpy grid. Once I got that, the rest was easy!
I didn’t add any wave foam or sand dots because this one is actually meant to be under water.
This is the final, official tile for the Tints on Tan, beach series.
These tiles, combining colored pencil and tangling have been so much fun to do. Technically, these would be considered ZIAs (Zentangle Inspired Art) rather than standard Zentangles. However, if you like this type of thing, they can be just as “zen” and relaxing to do. I particularly like the subject matter because the ocean reminds of of summer and vacations, happy times and warm weather.
This is the third tile in the Tints on Tan series. I think this one is my favorite. I love the color combination and Printemps is one of my favorite tangles.
Zentangle drawn on Kraft Stonehenge paper from Legion, using a white gel pen and a brown, Micron pen. Color is from colored pencils.
Tangles: Printemps
This is my second tile in the Tints on Tan series. I liked doing the starfish. It wasn’t too compilcated, and this time, I planned better and the water is going over the the ends of the arms!
Zentangle drawn on Kraft Stonehenge paper from Legion, using a black and brown, Micron pens. Color is from colored pencils.
Tangles: Flux Printemps Tipple
Tints on Tan is a set of classes created by CZTs Marty Deckle and Jenny Peruzzi. It was first presented at CanTangle in July of 2015. Recently, the kit has become available on Etsy, and there is now a Facebook group for this style of tangling.
I decided to do each shape from the beach set on it’s own tile, along with the full grouping. This is my first tile, the sea shell.
This Zendala concept is from Zentangle’s 12 Days of Zentangle and Project Pack 2. On Day Seven, Maria shows us various ways to use Auras to fill in shapes on a pre-strung, Renaissance Zendala tile.
I didn’t have any pre-strung tiles, so I used a blank, white, Official Zendala tile, and filled in with my own design. I chose a simpler string than I used on the last Zendala, which made it easier to draw.
Palette.
Her basket was full of magical designs just waiting to be added to a frock or a cushion. Some plain, some fancy, some simple, some complex, woven together they created a magical mixture for the customers to choose from.
The basic string for this Zentangle came from the Tangler's Palette" stencils from Acadia Laser Creations on Etsy. I wanted this set of stencils as soon as I saw them. They offer so many different possibilites for creative play!
Invasion.
What were they? These small, twisting larve must portend the hatching of something new, something different. She grabbed her nets and basket and pulled up her skirts as she waded in to grab some for closer examination.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Cogwheel Echoism Molygon Squill Striping
Hints of spring.
The patio by the pond was clear of snow. The air was brisk, but the sun shone brightly. She donned the fur-lined cape and boots and headed out to see the frozen lily pads as they thawed. The new buds among the fallen pods added their bright green hue to the rusty brown landscape.
This is my first “standard” Zentangle of the year. I set up with a border and string, then I select the tangles at random. I never know what I will get. It’s always fun to make them fit together and see what I end up with. When the tile is done, I sit and look at it surprised at the end results. There is often a story that emerges, as if reading a book in my mind, with the tile as an illustration.
This is my version of the bonus tile from the Delft Delights series. This was an interesting challenge in that I wanted each section to be the same as its partners. I like the way it came out, and the coloring. I think it’s time to experiment with some other tangles to see what else can be accomplished using this technique!
Zentangle drawn on an Official Zentangle tile using blue marking pens. Shading done with colored pencil.
I decided to try the Delft Delights techniques on a 3Z-sized tile, thinking it would look a bit like a pottery shard. I also did a bit of research into patterns used on Delftware, so that I could find tangles that corresponded. The ones shown here I actually found on examples on the internet!
Zentangle drawn on 3Z-sized Strathmore Vellum Bristol using blue Zig and Staedtler markers. Shading done with colored pencils.
This is my first tile from the Delft Delights kit. I purchased my kit from AcadiaLaserCreations on Etsy. It was designed by Marguerite Samama , a CZT® from the Netherlands.
In addition to the instructions, the kit includes two Zendala-sized and one standard-sized Official Zentangle tiles. It does not include any pens or pencils, but a list is provided. I did not have the exact products listed, so I found the closest things I had in my supplies and used those.
This is actually the second-to-last of the Project Pack 1 series, but I saved it to do last. Unlike the other projects in this series, this one is done on a tan tile. In the video Maria shows us her daughter’s beautiful photograph of pumpkin seeds that have arranged themselves into a spiral. It was the inspiration for this exercise, where we are using Pokeleaf, drawn in a spiral pattern.
This monotangle Zendala is from Project Pack 1. In the video , Molly tells us that the pre-strung zendala in each pack was chosen at random, so there were several different designs. I didn’t have a pre-strung tile, so I copied the string from the tile at the beginning of the video.
This is the second Zendala tile that I’ve drawn on. For this one, the bigger size didn’t bother me. But I did have a bit of a challenged figuring out which way to go with the stripes in each section.
This duotangle, done on a larger, apprentice-sized tile is from the 12 Days of Zentangle, Project Pack 2. For this tile, Martha instructs us in the video to draw a larger version of Paradox, which we are using as a reticula, and then filling it with Marasu fragments.
I found this very easy and relaxing to do, and I really enjoyed adding the shading and highlights. I think I’m starting to have fun doing black tiles!
For my final Crazy Huggins sampler, I cut a large, apprentice-sized tile from a new paper I got recently. I filled the tile with Crazy Huggins shapes, then filled each element with another tangle. Somewhere along the line, the design developed a mind of its own, and decided not to be symmetrical anymore. But, honestly, I think that just made it “interesting!”
This tile took quite a while to complete. I knew it might take a bit longer, but it turned out to be a lot longer! And, when I finished filling in all the shapes, I wasn’t sure I liked it. But, in true, Zentangle fashion, I continued on and shaded the design. However, it wasn’t until I added the highlights that I decided everything was fine.
While this isn’t an exact negative of yesterday's Project Pack exercise , it’s almost there.
In this case, the tile is a standard, 3-1/2" square and the basic tangle, Huggins, isn’t the crazy version. I also changed up the highlight area in the center of each Huggins element a bit.
I’m finding that doing the black tiles is actually also improving my regular shading. Either that, or the agility of my brain is getting better at switching between the two types.
The concept for this tile is from the Zentangle Project Pack 1 series. This time we’re drawing on an Apprentice tile. Since I don’t have any, I cut an appropriately sized tile from black paper.
In this video , Molly takes us through the steps of creating a large version of Crazy Huggins and then filling each element with another tangle. The fills alternate between Crazy ‘Nzeppel and Shattuck, depending on the direction of the Huggins element.
If you saw my New Year's post , then you know that I have challenged myself to work on black tiles more frequently this year. I want to develop techniques and find the materials that work for me. For that reason, for every challenge or lesson from Eni or any other artist, I am making a black tile for the theme as well as a normal one.
To that end, this is my black tile from Eni’s Zentangle Basics lesson. for this one, instead of charcoal, I tried using a white, colored pencil to do the highlighting. I found that it would actually move and blend, somewhat, with a clean stump. I do wish it was a brighter white where it was applied the heaviest, though. I will need to keep experimenting!