July Class Schedule
If you are in the Phoenix metro area, you can take a beginner’s Zentangle class from me! Introduction to Zentangle Class with Tandika Star, CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher) Zentangle is a simple-to-learn, relaxing, meditative way to create beautiful art by drawing structured patterns, one stroke at a time. Unlike other art forms, there is no preplanning, experience or mistakes in Zentangle. In the introduction to Zentangle Class, you will learn the philosophy, method and approach to creating Zentangle art.
Do a little. I’m still have a little trouble getting back into the swing of my daily routine. So I did this first thing yesterday morning, just so that I would accomplish something. I find that I can always fall back on the basic tile, that we all make in our first Zentangle class for a comfortable, meditative experience. In this case, I changed it up a little by using a black, 3Z tile.
Planetary jewels. Each planet she visited had special gemstones. Either forged in fire, such as the agate pendant or grown in the sea, like the beautiful pearls… They were collected and traded for other goods in the market. You see, even the finest, most valuable jewels cannot be eaten when you are hungry. 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.
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.
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.
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.
The newest Art Club video from Eni Oken's Art Club is a lesson on Zentangle Basics . Almost everyone, when they take their first Zentangle lesson from a CZT, creates a basic tile, using certain tangles that illustrate what Zentangle is all about. Eni’s video is no different, (after all, she IS a Certified Zentangle Teacher!) This is the tile I created while watching the video. I’ve been tangling now for many years.
When you are learning to tangle, Crescent Moon is one of the first that you learn. It teaches the concept of creating an “aura” near something that has already been drawn. Auras are frequently used to build repeating designs or to add emphasis or separation. This Zentangle is from Project Pack 1. Zentangle drawn on a black, Official Zentangle tile using three different sizes of white, Sakura gel pens. Highlighting done with white charcoal pencil.
This tile is a direct result of following the instructions on the blog post for the First Day of the 12 Days of Zentangle over at zentangle.com . The purpose of this exercise was to draw each of the tangles that are used to teach a brand new person how to tangle. The most common tangles used for a beginner’s tile are Crescent Moon and Hollibaugh and they are often followed by Florz (or Bales) and Printemps.
From the Zentangle Primer: Exercise 1, page 33. For this exercise, we each had to create a Zentangle using the same tangles as the first. However, we were to shade them differently. Amanda’s artwork is above. You can see how she shaded around the outside of the central bobble which makes it appear more like it is floating above the tile. She also altered Printemps from her original style. This version gives it a lot more drama and depth.
From the Zentangle Primer: Exercise 1, page 33. For this exercise, we were to create another Zentangle, using the same four tangles as the first tile. However, this time, we were instructed to shade each tangle differently. In addition to changing the shading, I also changed the style of each of the tangles. I chose to wrap Florz around a bobble and give it more of a 3D, or dimensional feel.
The Zentangle Primer. Our group has changed books. We originally wanted to use the Zentangle Primer , but we had to wait because Amanda did not have a copy. So, while we were waiting for hers to arrive, we have been using the One Zentangle a Day book. Amanda received her Primer on Saturday, so we have both been reading/rereading the Primer. Today’s post is from the Primer, Lesson 1, Your First Tile.
Wrapped up. This Zentangle is the result of two different Facebook posts. In one group, someone asked about shading a Zentangle that was drawn in blue ink. That got me to thinking about how I would handle the situation. So, for this tile, I’ve used blue ink. For the shading I used both colored pencil and graphite. I think the combination of the two allows for more dramatic depth than using the blue pencil alone.
Day 2. For this day, we are adding three new tangles to our repertoire: Fescu, Nekton and Knight’s Bridge. We were also instructed to practice making various strings. For Amanda’s tile above, as you can see, her string is much more complex than on Day 1. She also used areas of repeated tangles to tie everything together. Matthew did a wonderfully curvy string that gave him an interesting open space to fill with graceful Fescu!
Amanda’s Day 1. You will recall that I said yesterday I was working on a challenge with another tangler? Well, here is her tangle based on the same lesson! I love how she made the Tipple into bubbles, including a few popping at the upper and lower right! Amanda’s son, Matthew also did the Day 1 exercise! Matthew is a 17-year old, highschool junior. He is in his second year of art classes and is a very talented artist.
Day 1. This week, I’m working on a challenge with another tangler named Amanda. We both have the book, “One Zentangle a Day” by Beckah Krahula. Today’s tangle is for Day 1, which introduces Tipple, Static and Crescent Moon. I chose to follow the standard, Zentangle method, and started with dots in the corners and then connecting them with a frame. I used a simple string and filled each section with a tangle.
Easy. Some times, when you are tangling, you just want to do something simple, easy and relaxing. While I really love yesterday’s Zentangle, it was fairly time-consuming. As a result, I wanted the next one to just be something I could do to completely relax. I also didn’t feel like spending as much time on a single tile. And that’s perfectly OK! So, even though it is simple, there is still a lot of depth and dimension.
We looked up at the ceiling and saw the fan, its blades moving slowly across the light. Blinking, bright, dim, bright, dim, it left us hypnotized on a lazy summer afternoon. Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Antidots Betweed Crescent Moon C-Wing Footlites Nzeppel Orlique Printemps Tropicana
Leaves. Take a close look at the string used for this Zentangle. Do you see it? I traced around a leaf template to create the basic string. The Ennies at the bottom left was added because I felt it needed something there, so it‘s in addition to the leaves. Zentangle drawn on olive card stock using a black, Micron pen. Tangles: Courant Crescent Moon Cubine Ennies Flux Holey Huggins Isochor Tipple