Generally, now days, I use fewer tangles on a tile that I did when I began 10 years ago. But not always. Yesterday, I decided to create a complex string and use a lot of different tangles. I had been looking through tiles from years ago and I wanted to see if I could still tangle in that style. It took longer to choose the tangles than it did to draw them!
I haven’t posted a Zentangle from Amanda Higbee, CZT in a long time. The camera on her phone has been broken and other life things have interfered. But I have one for your pleasure today! I love the way she used strips of Ambler to draw the eye into the center of the tile. I also got a big kick out of the list of tangles on the back of her tile.
Disruption. Every time the energy returned, it disrupted the planetary patterns. She knew it was time to travel again, to take the ship out. But the energy patterns just didn’t allow for it then. She would study the patterns… perhaps there was a way. Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Antidots Betweed Flukes Ing Printemps Static
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.
River of berries. Adding a bit of graphite, using a simple pencil and a tortillon, transforms tangles on a tile into a small piece of art and fills it with life. Don’t fear the pencil! Zentangle drawn on an Official Zentangle tile using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Fife Flukes Poke Root
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.
Giving thanks. I have so many things to be thankful for this year, it would make a very long post to list them all. So I am going to tell you that I am grateful for my wonderful husband, beautiful daughters, and fabulous grandchildren. I am thankful for my good health and good life. I also am very thankful that I discovered Eni Oken. She is a fabulous artist that shares herself, her talent and her knowledge with others.
Pockets. This tangle reminds me of a pocket with a spiral lolipop in it. I wanted to experiment with the various brown pens in my collection, to see how much contrast there was between the various tones. Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using a brown Micron and brown and sepia Copic pens. Shading done with Polychromos colored pencils blended with Copic blending marker. Tangles: Buttercup Cootie Flukes Fracas Marasu Nipa Puf Quipple Rain Xircus
Divided. The string used for this tile had multiple spaces that allowed for quite a few tangles. I tried to place the random patterns in an interesting way. But looking at it all these years later, it feels like this one needs some stronger contrasts. It‘s a bit too even. Zentangle drawn on Official Zentangle tile using a black, Micron pen. Tangles: Ammon Cogwheel Dex Flukes Huggins Hurry Ibex Sampson Sedgling Swarm
Bridging the gap. Sometimes, having a design that goes from edge to edge helps the eye travel through the image. Here it works and although it is bold, it doesn‘t overwhelm the design. I messed up while drawing Pinwheels so I am calling this a variation of Pinwheels because it’s still interesting. Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black Micron pen. Tangles: Emingle Flukes Fracas Meer Pinwheels Warble Y-Knot