It’s interesting how, as your Zentangle practice evolves, you sometimes veer away from grid-based tangles, preferring flowing, organic, individual elements. Every so often, I feel an urge to return to those structured reticula, filled with repeated fragments. There’s something soothing about drawing them that fills you with peace and zen-flow. For this small, Bijou tile, I chose Yincut. It is actually one of my favorites because of the overall look of the finished piece.
Crystalline. The crystal structure at the center of the lab was stable, yet it would grow over time to take up more of the space. What would happen when it filled all of it? It was needed to keep the environment stable on the planet. Would the foliage survive? If the plants grew larger, could they control the crystals? Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen.
A really fun way to explore balance while maintaining interest is by using big, bold tangles! Here, Amanda has turned Springkle into a “blossom” or central motif by starting all the stems at the same point. The big, bold Marasu with the wonderfully irregular edges holds it’s own without being overwhelmed by the Springkle, however. What a wonderful balance vs tension between the two! Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen.
Tiny details. This tile is a result of Eni Oken’s Tiny Details Lesson . This excellent video shows you exactly how to create and shade areas of a tile which include little, tiny detail drawings which can be a major challenge to shade! I love tiny drawing and repetitive patterns that are very close to each other. There is just something really soothing and satisfying about filling predefined areas with tangles like these, making this tile lots of fun to create.
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
Shield. She hid behind the shield and allowed the expression of art to speak her truth. I found the shield shaped string to be an interesting challenge. I tried to arrange the random tangles so that they complemented the shape, making it the focal point. Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Angel Fish Beadlines Bumper Fassett Raddox Shard Squill Yincut
Which way? Here, after drawing the string, I‘ve used ribbon tangles to define spaces that are filled with other tangles. For me, this is a simple way of creating a Zentangle from randomly chosen designs. Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Tangles: Deco Border Dex Isochor Juke Meer Snail Tipple Umble Yincut
Ca-Ray-Zee! Ok, this is old, and I don‘t remember what I was trying here, other than to try tangling on a colored background with a different colored pen. This tile has no shading, and frankly, I don‘t think adding it would help at all. It looks like the string had lots of curves, but who knows how it all began! Zentangle drawn on colored card stock using a sepia Micron pen.
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
Zentangle drawing done with Micron pen on Strathmore Vellum Bristol . Tangles: Tink Paradox Printemps W-2 Yincut