It’s almost time for the Spooktacular Anniversary on Facebook’s Micro Art Journaling Group! In honor of the occasion, I am making a new journal cover and inserts to use during the month of October. The outside of the cover is a nice combination of fall colors with touch of sparkle. The paper I used for the cover was blank on the reverse side, so I used various stamps to add color and texture to compliment the theme.

Most of the time, now days, I draw the “crazy” version of Nzeppel, rather than the “grid” version. So I thought I would do this for a change of pace. I decided to add an internal aura to each bubble, just to provide some interest. That lead me to making the colored border. Zentangle drawn on an Original, Zentangle Bijou tile using a black and a brown, Micron pen.

I liked yesterday’s grid tangle tile so much, I decided to do it again! I love the way Dex creates the illusion of depth in the paper. It’s as if you could enter one of the fragments and set up a room to sit and relax in. Zentangle drawn on an Official, Zentangle Bijou tile using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Dex

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.

My second Aura Timeline tile! You can read more about this project here. Zentangle drawn on Stonehenge White using a black, Micron pen.

How do you Aura? Here you can see my first exploration of this basic, Zentangle technique. Auras are a mainstay of tangling. We generally think of them as drawing a parallel line, a little bit away from a previous line or shape. But did you know that they could be so much more? That they could actually be part of your overall design? Follow along with Eni Oken’s Aura Timeline Lesson, and learn how to take auras from boring to beautiful!

Back to classic style! Random string with random tangles! Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Claws Crazy Nzeppel Flux Nexton Pods Pokeleaf Poke Root Sez Shard

A few days ago, I told you about the Bijou Raffle Game that Eni Oken introduced to the members of Art Club. This lesson is also available to anyone as a stand-alone class on teachable.com! So you don’t have to be an Art Club member to view it! I’ve been working with it, and decided to add some of my own cards that weren’t included in the bundle. Some of these are from other classes and tutorials, some of them are prompts for unusual tangles (or ways of using tangle) and some of them are for using specialized tiles.

It’s interesting, when you create a monotangle, what meta patterns appear over the tile. Here, because the basic tangle was executed across a triangular grid, circular, flower-like designs end up in the corners and sunken, shield-type shapes are offset across the tile! I chose to add the lines to give the impression of screws in each small circle because I thought it would be more interesting and help break up the design a bit.

It an interesting thing about tangling. Sometimes, an idea doesn’t come out anything like you imagined it would. But it’s still interesting. Just different. This is the first time I’ve tried this paper. It is fairly stiff and thick, and the surface doesn’t absorb and spread the ink like I thought it would. It’s also a darker grey than I would have liked. But the darker color makes the pink ink pop!

It was graduation day for my Saturday morning tribe! They created tiles using Renaissance techniques. I’m so honored that this group allowed me to start them off on their Zentangle adventures. I’m sure I’ll be seeing lots from them in the future! Zentangle drawn on Official tan 3Z tiles using a black and brown, Micron pens. Shading done with graphite pencil. Highlights created with white chalk pencil. Tangles: Festune Ravel Striping

Bijou Raffle

  Zentangle Bijou

Can’t think of what to tangle today? What do you do, when you get stuck? You can always pull tangles, at random from your repertoire. But even that doesn’t always work out well or offer enough variation. What if you want to stretch your skills further, or go beyond a standard tile? Check out the latest offering from Eni Oken! The Bijou Raffle game is perfect! As you can see, I’m combining the lesson Bijou tiles with my own.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a meditative Zentangle. I took the time for this one because I was having one of “those days”. The Zentangle method is a great technique for setting aside all of the outside world noise and just relaxing and drawing for a bit. Give it a try! Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.

A little over a year ago, I posted a tan, 3Z tile with this design. I was looking at it yesterday, and wondered what would happened if I used the same tangles and string, but in a different color? Here, I’ve tried it in the colors of the Delft Delights tiles. It’s interesting how there are differences and similarities to the previous version! Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol 3Z-size tile, using several different blue, Micron pens.

I am not sure what I think about this. It didn’t come out like the picture I had in my mind when I started. On the other hand, I kind of like it. I may try this again, but slightly differently, or with a different tangle. Zentangle drawn on an Official Zentangle Renaisannce tile using black, sepia and brown Micron pens and a white Gelly Roll pen. Shading done with graphite and colored pencils.