Spiral crazy!

This is a long post. Get comfy!

This week's zentangle challenge is to use a spiral as a string. I found this particularly challenging because a spiral on the page only makes one section to draw in! (Some creativity required.)

I've always liked spirals. They're related to mandalas and labyrinths. In many cultures they are a symbol of rebirth, reawakening, insight, and so on. You start from where you are (the outside) travel inwards to the center (insight) and back out again, bringing your new awareness with you into the world.

I did a tile using Marasu. I've really liked the feathery kind of highlights I've seen some people use - much better than what I've been doing - so I tried that, adding tiny dots in some of the white stripes. Some of the dots spun out off the spiral.

Tangles: black Pearlz, Striping

One of the later ones I did began with four pencil spirals. I started outlining them and trying to overlap/underlap them and wondered what would happen because all the spirals were empty. Then it struck me: there's going to be a whole lotta Hollibaugh here!

Tangles: Hollibaugh. Yep, that's about it.

Previous to the four spirals I had tried one with two.

Tangles: Parabola and variations, Sanibelle, Striping, Unyun and dots

I liked the effect of the arches (the beginning of Parabola) going around the spiral so I used it again. This one also began with a blind string. They're always interesting. I think I'm finally getting the hang of using white on black as part of the art rather than as a fixit method!

Tangles: Caviar, Parabola and variations.

I thought using a double pencil for the string would give me some predetermined sections. Here's a very simple spiral with a 2-pencil string.

Tangles: Caviar, Chartz (sort of), Coaster, Krliqs (my own) black Pearlz,
Purslane (or Flux 'tongues'!), Tipple

Here's one I did a while ago where two spirals coil together. I like that effect and hoped to do it again during this challenge, but it didn't happen.

Tangles: Coaster, Zander, dots

I like the tangle Xyp and used it here. This reminded me that it works best on a straight or slightly curved line. As the spiral tightens the pattern deteriorates and eventually disintegrates. Here it became a wobbly square, then circles and the spiral almost disappears. Still interesting.

Tangles: Caviar, Dutch Hourglass, Munchin, Xyp

Most of the tiles I did used random spirals, but I wanted to try one with a nautilus spiral, sacred geometry spiral, golden mean spiral, whatever you want to call it. The challenge (I almost typed 'problem'!) I always have with this spiral is that is expands so quickly outward that I'm soon left with just empty space. I used two of these spirals just to give me a little more to work with. Also, I had thought from the beginning that Printemps would be a perfect tangle to use, so it's here too.

Tangles: Caviar, Printemps, Rain and variations, Tipple

Finally, here's a piece of Zentangle inspired art that I did some time ago, using a nautilus spiral (it's called that because nautilus shells grow using this pattern). It sort of includes the divisions of the outer shell, and two large circles overlapping the center of the spiral (I wanted more sections to work with!).

Tangles: oh my gosh... !