This deceptively simple tile was so meditative because I took my time with the linework. A great trick to use, to get the spacing even is to “divide and conquer.” What I mean by that is to begin by dividing the space in half, vertically. Then divide each half in half again. Repeat until you are happy with the divisions. Then divide the horizontal spaces. In the case of this tangle, they are equal to the width of the vertical divisions, making a square.
I had a private class with a very artistic, imaginative young lady on Saturday. She wanted to know what the Zentangle method was, so we sat together and I taught the Basic Beginner’s Class. She was so much fun to work with because she is already a gifted artist and has an inherent understanding of things like drawing behind, line weight, shading, and auras! As I was showing her the way we do things in Zentangle, she was showing me how she does similar things.
How do you challenge yourself? As an artist I’m always looking for different things to try as ways to grow and expand my skills. Here, this tile was drawn entirely with my left hand. I even signed and dated the back with my left hand. Why? Well, first of all, I wanted to see if I could. In addition, drawing with your non-dominant hand builds new neural pathways in your brain.
This is my finished tile from the Tuesday Beginner’s Class. I rarely finish my tile during the sessions because I’m busy helping the students. However, I do always finish them eventually. I don’t mind having many tiles with the same design. I can always create my own, personal mosaic! Zentangle drawn on a white, Official Zentangle tile using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Bales Florz Hollibaugh Tipple
Another Beginner’s class last Tuesday! I love introducing the Zentangle Method to new students. Their excitement and enthusiasm is so contagious! Tangles: Crescent Moon Florz Hollibaugh Tipple
Another tile from a Beginner’s Class this week. I may have enough of these to create my own Mosaic! I never get tired of drawing these. Each time, while they always have the same plan, they come out somewhat different. It depends on the day, the artist, and what they feel like doing. It’s one of the wonderful things about the Zentangle Method! Zentangle drawn on an Official Zentangle Tile using a black, Micron pen.
I taught another Beginner’s Zentangle class yesterday. What a wonderful time we had sharing our drawing and life experiences with each other! Zentangles drawn on Original Zentangle tiles using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Crescent Moon Hollibaugh Florz Tipple
I had an introductory class with a private student yesterday. We had a wonderful time together. This is the tile I created while teaching. Every so often, I think it is very important to go back to the very beginning and do that “first tile” again. Every single person who has taken a class from a CZT creates this tile, or one very similar with the classic “Z” string. Sometimes the tangles used vary slightly.
I have taken a lot of time off from traditional tangling. Basically, since the beginning of 2019. Sometimes, you need to take a break to evaluate where you have been… and where you are going. Sometimes, roads take off in unexpected direction. Sometimes we set off the road entirely to explore new territory. And then the roads, the paths, the discoveries come around to a new understanding of where you were before.
We had a small, fun class yesterday! Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Bales Crescent Moon Florz Hollibaugh Printemps
Yesterday I taught a classes at Good Gifts Healing Arts Studio . Above is the mosaic from the Introduction to Zentangle class , including my tile (the one with Florz). I love sharing Zentangle with others! Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Bales Crescent Moon Florz Hollibaugh Printemps
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.
Monday, July 16, 2018 I taught the first and second Introduction to Zentangle classes at Good Gifts Healing Art Studio . We had eight eager students in the first session. You can see their tiles above, before we did any shading on them. The second session was smaller and more personalized, with two wonderful, attentive students. Below, I’ve added my tile to the mosaic to make it more impactful.
We all came to this particular path from different directions: locations, desires, experiences, expectations, dreams… Now, we will travel together for a while. Each doing the same thing, but each doing it their own way. This is our first step on this journey. My first tile from the CZT30 seminar! Zentangle drawn on an Official Zentangle tile using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Crescent Moon Florz Hollibaugh Printemps
This little Bijou tile is going into my tangle index book. It shows a hybrid between Well and Florz. I like the way, when it is shaded, it looks like it is woven! Zentangle drawn on an Official Zentangle Bijou tile using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: florz well fwell
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.
We missed celebrating Father’s Day on the actual day because we were in Providence at the CZT30 Seminar. So we celebrated yesterday. One of the things we did was to go to the Musical Instrument Museum . It is one of our favorite places to go because you learn about geography, history, music, and art all rolled into one. While my husband was walking around looking at the instruments, I spent a lot of time taking pictures of things that resembled tangles.
This is my second tile from Eni's Fragmented Windows lesson . I really wanted to try this in blue because it reminded me so much of floor plans. I also made the grid a bit smaller than the first one. I’m not sure if I like it better, or not. I did have to use a finer tipped pen to draw the fragments because the squares were so tiny!
This is my first tile from Eni's Fragmented Windows video lesson ! I’m really excited about this method because it is a very unique way of exploring the various Fragments from the Zentangle Primer . It was a lot of fun to do. Eni refers to the sections with designs in them as “windows”, but to me, they look like rooms in a floor plan. This one follows the lesson rather closely, but I’m looking forward to creating more tiles incorporating my own spin on the concept.
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.