Incubation.
She found a group of eggs in various stages of growth in the Royal Nursery. She had no idea this was their method of reproduction until now. She wondered if each egg started with such elaborate patterns or if they were decorated after they were laid.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Caviar Meer Patena Printemps Purk Shattuck
Take two.
This Zentangle uses the same tangles that were used on Friday's tile . They are done, however, in a different string and on a black tile. I was curious to see how they would look.
I think Quandry looks good either way, and so does Shattuck. I definitly don’t like Toodles on the black tile. If I’m going to use it on black, I need to go about it a different way than I did here. I think the Bucky, done on black got really muddy because the lines were just to close together. It’s interesting, but not interesting enough. Sez and Fracas work on both.
Decora.
The most interesting accessory in her small room in this section was the basket of Toodles. They grew everywhere on this station. The habitants used them for beauty, oxygen production, food, and their fibers produced by the fruits could be spun into textiles. At the end, the entire thing could be composted to start the cycle over again! She would collect some seeds from the biozone tomorrow. Perhaps they would be useful as she visited other habitats.
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!
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.
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.
Merry Christmas.
Here’s wishing you all, friends, family, fellow tanglers, a very Merry Christmas. May this day be filled with joy, good company, and lots of fun for you all.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Dewd Shattuck Zailz
From the Zentangle Primer: Lesson 3, page 55, Exercise #9. We are instructed to let our tangles extend beyond the border.
In my tile, above, I decided to extend Braze all the way to the very edge of the tile. It looks as if it was dropped onto the drawing. I made the border very definite by turning it into a tangled frame all around the center of the tile. Florz made a nice, simple background that didn’t distract from the tangles sitting on top of it!
This is another in the series of Tan Treasure tiles . I decided to combine the treasure tile with the Distressed tile technique. For the theme, I chose a wreath. It’s the time of year when we start decorating for Christmas, so I thought it would be appropriate.
In addition, Zailz was used because it is the focus tangle for this week for one of the Facebook Groups that I participate in. I have to say, I didn’t think I would particularly like this tangle. But, I love it used here!
From the Zentangle Primer: Lesson 3, page 55, Exercise #7.
In this lesson, we are learning about strings. For the first exercise, we are supposed to combine two (or more) sections of our string together to form a new section that is better suited for the tangle we want to use.
Here is what Amanda’s original string looked like, so you can compare it with her finished Zentangle above.
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!
From the Zentangle Primer: Lesson 2, page 45, Exercise 4.
For this exercise, we were to use all the same tangles: Shattuck, Jetties and Bales, but use different shading.
I think Amanda (above) did a fantastic job with this tile! I love that she used several tanglations: Bales, Hollibaugh, Florz, and Jetties! My favorite is her version of Bales. It has so much depth to it now!
My artwork is above. I mixed Bales and Florz togther for my background, and pillow-shaded each floret in the design. I had a lot of fun with Jetties. I decided to treat them more like beads, and made each one different, although a few original Jetties snuck in on their own. I’ve drawn Shattuck many times, this is the first time I’ve added perfs to them.
From the Zentangle Primer: Lesson 2, page 36.
In this chapter, we are learning three new tangles: Bales, Jetties and Shattuck.
For the first tile in this chapter, there are step-by-step instructions that tell you where to put each tangle and how to draw and shade it.
I did make a few choices like drawing straight instead of curved lines for the Shattuck, and I chose to overlap my Jetties, rather than make them all touching. However, I did try to follow the shading instructions as exactly as I could.
Brooch.
The brooch was hidden among all the fine fabrics in the second wagon of the caravan. They were concerned for robbers and pirates along the road to the castle. They worked to keep the Queen’s treasures safe all along the way.
I am always fascinated by the end result of using random strings and random tangles. When I start, I have no idea what the finished piece will turn out like. I think it’s one of the things that keeps each Zentangle different from the next. Each one is a transcendent adventure while also allowing for the Zen of simply drawing one line at a time.
Unknown.
I don’t know what the tangle at the upper right is. I can’t find it in my step-outs. If you recognize it, please join in on Facebook and let me know!
Zentangle drawn on an Official Zentangle tile using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Black Box Nipa Nzeppel Shattuck Tipple Wadical Yincut
Dingbatz.
I‘m still trying to wrap my brain around the Dingbatz-style Mookas. I decided to try making them over-sized to see if that made any difference. I kind of like the way tese wrap around to the back of the tile. But After I did them, I realized I should apply the same techniques used for twisted ropes to them. I‘ll have to give that a try here in the future!
My tangle painter.
I think this tile shows a peek at my tangle brush painting designs across the tile.
Zentangle drawn on Official Zentangle tile using a black, Micron pen.
Tangles: Bamboo Cheesecloth Ennies Opus Ramy Rain Stacks Shattuck Stonework
Something fishy.
This tile didn‘t start out to be an underwater scene. I was trying to decide which tangle to put in the space where the “eye” is. In the process of rotating the tile around and thinking, I realized it looked a bit like an underwater scene and the Shattuck reminded me of scales. So I added the “eye” (which is now a tangle called Caviar!) and the Fescu to look a bit like a fin. That completed the illusion for me.