Not all index cards are made alike!
Generally, when we think of index cards, we think of the standard 3-inch by 5-inch cards with lines on them to write on. Maybe, if we cook and record our recipes, we’re familiar with the same thing, only a bit bigger, 4-inch by 6-inches. Most of us have also used the ones that do not have anything on them. They are just plain white.
Guess what I am making!
I have been kind of “stuck” since about the beginning of the year. I got through figuring out how to handle black tiles, but then I couldn’t seem to get going on anything else I wanted to accomplish. Suddenly, about a week ago, something in the stars changed and I started making Zenbuttons, something I’ve wanted to do for some time. Now, I’m giving you a sneak peek at another project I wanted to try.
Amanda asked me, the other day about Indy-Rella. I told her I hadn’t used it very much because I always end up drawing it so tiny. She did it on a white tile, using black ink, making the elements rather large, which inspired me to try this. I started with the white pen. But I still didn’t get mine as larger as hers. So I thought it might be fun to add different color inks that would make it look like they were fading out on the tile.
Tangle games.
I’ve been tangling a long time. I generally tangle every day. Sometimes I get stuck, and don’t know what to do, or I can’t think of anything that thrills me.
There are a few tricks that will help, the most common ones are picking strings and tangles at random. I do that a LOT.
But I’m at the point where I often want to go beyond the common.
Today’s Zenbutton is brought to you by the season: Spring!
Here, the weather can’t make up it’s mind. One day we’re handed Spring, another Summer and then we’re back in Winter. I have to check the weather report before I can get dressed!
So, I decided that I wanted to encourage Mother Nature and gift her with a Zenbutton that embodied flowers and leaves and the happy spring colors of warm pinks and yellow greens.
Yes, another Zenbutton! Last Valentine’s day I really wanted to participate in the Valentangle challenge. I ended up admiring everyone else’s work, but didn’t get anything of my own done. So, now that I’m on a Zenbutton kick, I did the challenge from February 5th! I did use four circles rather than 3. And I went with “hearts and flowers”, in as much as Toodles looks a bit like a heart, and I used actual heart shapes on the innermost ring.
While I was working on yesterday’s tile, I was thinking that I would like to try this technique on a tan tile, with a Southwestern, Native American pottery theme.
I gave it a shot here. I’m not totally enthralled with it because I feel like the entire tile reads too “brown,” without enough light contrast. I will probably give this another try over the weekend. That said, I do like the tile for what it is!
I had so much fun creating yesterday’s Zenbutton I decided that I wanted to do more of them in different styles. So, for this one, I’m using Marguerite Samama’s Delft Delights style.
If you need instructions in this style, they are available from AcadiaLaserCreations on Etsy.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a blue Pigma Micron pen and a cobalt Copic Multiliner. Shading done with colored and graphite pencils.
This tile uses a basic technique referred to as a Zenbutton. CZT Marguerite Samama is credited as the inventor of this technique. She was experimenting with methods for using Fragments in different ways when she discovered it.
You can watch an instructional video, created by Melinda Barlow, CZT, here , to see the basic technique.
I’ve been thinking about trying it for a few days. Yesterday, I sat down and went for it.
Textural.
She was selecting the contents based on the feeling of the objects. This trip was for a world where the beings did not “see” things the way most did. They had no eyes. Instead, everything was based on texture and sound. So touching each item, with her eyes closed became very important.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
On Sunday, April 8, 2018, the home of Certified Zentangle Teacher, Cris Strovilas Letourneau, burned to the ground. Not only did Chris lose her home and everything in it. Her husband also perished.
Chris has been a major contributor to the Zentangle community. She is the author of Made in the Shade, a Zentangle Workbook , and coauthor of Pattern Play: a Zentangle Creativity Boost (Volume 1) , both of which are available from Amazon.
I look at this tile and I see many things. From a layer of stones arranged as the floor of a patio to stretched out Cat’s Cradles or perhaps a section of lace. Maybe I’m looking at some sort of atomic level structure under the microscope. Who knows what it is?
Crazy N’Zepple works as a fill for sections in a design or as a full design in it’s own right.
Jumble.
Others always wondered at how so much cargo could come out of such a tiny ship. They just didn’t understand. She’d captured so many universes in her travels. And now she could store infinite amounts in each one. All she had to do is make sure they traveled together!
It has always fascinated me how shading opens up, raises, or pushes back sections of tangles on a tile. Here, this crazy combination took on all kinds of dimension just from shading various edges.
This Zentangle is brought to you today by Thomàs Pádro . He has named this one Pickpocket. I’ve actually done a slight variation here. Instead of straight lines, I’ve chosen to curve mine a bit. I think it softens the design, making it a little less rigid and a little more feminine. I also chose to make it appear as if two different kind of materials were woven together by adding the grey auras to every other section instead of all of them.
Squashed together.
This is a tangle that, until yesterday, I really didn’t like very much. When I pulled it from the tangle jar, I just kind of plopped it into my tile as a type of medallion, because I really didn’t know what to do with it. Then I watched this video from Helen Williams. Her blog is A Little Lime, and has lots of interesting tangle related information! .
Armed.
As she looked into the tank, she could see that these creatures had some kind of appendages that sort of sproinged out of their bodies. They ranged in all sizes from teeny tiny to so large she couldn’t even see the body in the murk. It looked as if the smaller ones became entwined in the larger as they grew. But wouldn’t these prisoners become a burden over time?
Aquarium.
Even though there was little free liquid on this planet, it was the home to the Celestial Aquarium. Her crew had just brought in a new specimen for display. As they completed the delivery, she decided to take advantage of the situation and walked off to see all the creatures from this part of the cosmos for herself. Some were so odd, she didn’t even recognize them as life forms.
Miss Bunny.
I’m sure you know that even though I do a lot of tangling, I also do other kinds of art. For examples of another kind, you can look at the Art Journal Pages gallery .
One of my favorite things to do is cut up printed or painted (or stamped!) paper into shapes and make pictures out of it. So I decided to indulge in a couple of my loves to creat and easter card!
Paths.
She walked through the garden, following the path to gate. Nothing was in bloom yet, although she could see the buds just starting in some places. Some of the bushes were pruned into interesting shapes, mirroring the owners logos. The larger plantings were still wild and unkempt, not yet ready for the party.
I always find it amusing when a tangle that I use a lot comes out of the jar.
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.