I love the overall composition of this tile from CZT Amanda Higbee!
Zentangle drawn on an Official Zentangle tile, using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Cobbles Floo Hypnotic Msst Purk Printemps Static
On the back of this tile, created by Amanda, is written:
“If you can’t run, then walk
If you can’t walk, then crawl,
But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
As we are working on tiles, we hear or think of things that we want to remember going forward. So the back of our tiles become a kind of journal, over time, as we write notes on them.
Northwest.
Various parts of the country have a history of native, tribal art which influences the decorative choices of that particular area. Recently, my husband traveled to Portland, Oregon for a business conference. While there, he found a book, "Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast" by Hilary Stewart.
I like the graphic effect produced by using black, white and red. So I decided to give it a try on a Zentangle. I don’t know how effective it is here, but it was an interesting exercise.
Amanda created this tile with the help of her family! She has four children that range in age from 7 to 17 years old.
She started by creating the string and then, each child would roll a dice and select a random tangle. The child would also choose where the tangle would go in the string.
The kids got a big kick out of challenging Mom, and they had a ton of fun. In addition, the final Zentangle came out great!
Wevuz fever.
She was tired of being grounded because of the illness. She never should have gone to the liquid planet. But watching the merfolk swim, with their beautiful coloring fascinated her. It was the height of tourist season while she was there. So many beings from so many strange places, all sharing the pathogens from their home worlds. Something was bound to happen.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tradition.
We all enjoy learning new things, pushing boundaries and growing in our art. But we shouldn’t forget where we came from in the process.
To keep with the original tradition of Zentangle, I have used the die and legend that came with my new Zentangle Kit to select the tangles that I used for this tile. I chose them one at a time, filling in a section before rolling for the next. I went around clockwise, starting with Bales. I think it’s fascinating how everything fits together and looks good without having to think much or labor over what to use where. That is what makes this type of tangling a very meditative experience.
Giving thanks.
I have so many things to be thankful for this year, it would make a very long post to list them all. So I am going to tell you that I am grateful for my wonderful husband, beautiful daughters, and fabulous grandchildren. I am thankful for my good health and good life.
I also am very thankful that I discovered Eni Oken. She is a fabulous artist that shares herself, her talent and her knowledge with others. Over this year, learning from her has taken my art to a whole ’nother level, as they say. This tile is another one based on her Tan Treasure video lesson . I think this is my favorite of all the techniques I’ve learned so far!
Sail away.
I originally created this Zentangle for Columbus Day, 2010. I’m sharing it today because this past Monday was Columbus day for this year, 2017.
I love the half-compass on the right side and feel like all the other tangles tie into the theme nicely.
Zentangle drawn on an Official Zentangle tile using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Aah Scallops Bannah Floo Tidal
Field mice.
Even though the tangle is called Birds on a Wire, every time I draw it, I think of mice, not birds!
Zentangle drawn on Official Zentangle tile using a black, Micron pen.
Tangles: Afterglow Birds on a Wire Fassett Floo Garlic Cloves Lettuce Farm Msst Quare Waves Wiking
It‘s a star.
The string in this tangle started out as a star and then warped into what you see here after the random tangles were chosen.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using a black Micron pen.
Tangles: Baton Carrés Circfleur Diva Dance Floo Munchin Nzeppel OOF Pearlz Prestwood Stiritup
Making brown pop.
I‘ve tried tangling on various colored papers over the years, and sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn‘t. I cut a bunch of tiles from a pad of Saint-Armand Canal paper. They are various earthy, neutral colors. But the problem with the paper is that it is both very rough and very absorbant, so it‘s difficult to work with for Zentangles. But, every so often, I get brave and try it again.
Simple divisions.
The string for this tile was very simple. The space was divided into three sections with horizontal lines. The tile was then divided roughly in half by the vertical line. I did this to remind myself that I don‘t need to have a complicated string to make a pretty design.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen.
Tangles: Floo Isochor Linked Tortuca Vega Yincut
Conservatory.
For some reason, this tile reminds me of an old-fashioned, Victorian conservatory. I see the tile floor, the elaborate swirls of the wicker furniture and the plants.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen.
Tangles: Betweed Bronx Cheer Bucky Floo Flutter Tile Strircles Stiritup Swarm Verdigogh
We are all made of star stuff.
We are often psychologically influenced by our environment. But our interpretation of those influences varies from person to person. When I was tangling this, I was listening to “Hidden in Snow” by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. I didn‘t know the name of the song at the time, and to me, it sounded more like traveling through the stars.
This tile is also unusual for me because it contains only three tangles, one of which was used as the string for the design.
Canal paper
I have a pad of this paper that I purchased while visiting Santa Fe a couple of years ago. I liked the neutral tones and thought it would be fun to draw on. It turns out that the texture is a bit rough for tangling, although I made it work. I‘m not sure I like it for shading, or pencil drawing, though. I had a lot of trouble with that part.