Margaret Bremner creates artwork
that is intricate, funky, and whimsical.
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Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Another angular Ensemble
Here is the last of three Ensembles I've done for swaps at events I'll be attending in the spring. They are a lot of fun to do, especially when the finished tiles are assembled and you see the whole thing for the first time.
Margaret, there are more and more tangles out there, some of which adhere to the Zentangle philosophy, others not so much. Your tiles always seem to me to have an inner cohesiveness. Is that because you limit your pattern choices, say to, official patterns, your patterns and those found on tangle patters.com? I would love to know how you limit, or not, your pattern pool. I'm finding all the new offerings overwhelming and I think my tiles have suffered as a result as I try to incorporate too many patterns that do not have the intrinsic strength of the official offerings or those designed by tangles who stick close to Rick and Maria's original vision
Jakki, I completely sympathize!!! There are more and more new patterns named and presented every week. I print the directions for ones I like and think I may use.
Three things will automatically eliminate a new pattern for me: 1) If it's directional. By that I mean it must be oriented a particular way to look right. (I'm glad you asked because I've been intending to remove my own tangle Scoops from my list because it resembles ice cream cones that should be upright. Now removed!) 2) If it's representative, meaning it's something too easily recognizable as an object (Scoops again!). None of the 'official' tangles do this, of course. I don't have a problem with a pattern that is inspired by some object but the pattern overall is sort of abstract - it comes off as a pattern rather than images of whatever. I'd put my own tangle Lilypads in this group. Also a new tangle Zenvelopes, as long as it's in the square grid format originally presented by Grace Mendez. Some have used it to create a series of envelopes: not a tangle anymore, imho. http://coachedbygrace.com/zenvelopes/ 3) If it's presented on graph paper. If the pattern can't be drawn without graph paper, it's not a tangle. And if it CAN be drawn without graph paper, that's how it should be presented. (again, imho)
Some other thoughts that might help: When I'm working on a zentangle I often ask myself, do I want something dark here or light? or bold? or unobtrusive? I have a list of tangles divided into several categories. Yup, a little OCD. ;) It always helps to repeat elements in a piece of art. I'll often use a second or third tangle that will repeat a zigzag pattern, or small circles, or star shapes, or stripes, or whatever. If a new tangle strikes you as being simply 'wrong' somehow, try it out if you want, but maybe don't bother with it. There are so many choices anyway!
Thank you so much for that advice! I see that I need to be more discriminating in my choice of tangle patterns to keep! Already I feel the weight of trying to save them all lifting from my shoulders! I have a touch of OCD, so I have a pressing need to keep everything! Now, I think I'll only put carefully considered patterns in my file, but I will address the other part of me by keeping a list of patterns/web addresses but I won't even illustrate them... I am taking the CZT training in October and am trying to organize myself and get back to the calmness Zentangling brought me when I first started and while my daughter was fighting cancer last year. As I said, I allowed myself to get overwhelmed and some of the joy has gone out of my tangling. Your advice was sage, and showed me the path I should take to return to the whole zen of it. Thank you!
Oh, my so beautiful!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt looks fabulous. I love doing the ensembles.
ReplyDeleteOh yippie, as I think this is the ensemble I am working on right now.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, there are more and more tangles out there, some of which adhere to the Zentangle philosophy, others not so much. Your tiles always seem to me to have an inner cohesiveness. Is that because you limit your pattern choices, say to, official patterns, your patterns and those found on tangle patters.com? I would love to know how you limit, or not, your pattern pool. I'm finding all the new offerings overwhelming and I think my tiles have suffered as a result as I try to incorporate too many patterns that do not have the intrinsic strength of the official offerings or those designed by tangles who stick close to Rick and Maria's original vision
ReplyDeleteJakki, I completely sympathize!!! There are more and more new patterns named and presented every week. I print the directions for ones I like and think I may use.
DeleteThree things will automatically eliminate a new pattern for me:
1) If it's directional. By that I mean it must be oriented a particular way to look right. (I'm glad you asked because I've been intending to remove my own tangle Scoops from my list because it resembles ice cream cones that should be upright. Now removed!)
2) If it's representative, meaning it's something too easily recognizable as an object (Scoops again!). None of the 'official' tangles do this, of course. I don't have a problem with a pattern that is inspired by some object but the pattern overall is sort of abstract - it comes off as a pattern rather than images of whatever. I'd put my own tangle Lilypads in this group. Also a new tangle Zenvelopes, as long as it's in the square grid format originally presented by Grace Mendez. Some have used it to create a series of envelopes: not a tangle anymore, imho.
http://coachedbygrace.com/zenvelopes/
3) If it's presented on graph paper. If the pattern can't be drawn without graph paper, it's not a tangle. And if it CAN be drawn without graph paper, that's how it should be presented. (again, imho)
Some other thoughts that might help:
When I'm working on a zentangle I often ask myself, do I want something dark here or light? or bold? or unobtrusive? I have a list of tangles divided into several categories. Yup, a little OCD. ;)
It always helps to repeat elements in a piece of art. I'll often use a second or third tangle that will repeat a zigzag pattern, or small circles, or star shapes, or stripes, or whatever.
If a new tangle strikes you as being simply 'wrong' somehow, try it out if you want, but maybe don't bother with it. There are so many choices anyway!
Hope this helps a bit!
Thank you so much for that advice! I see that I need to be more discriminating in my choice of tangle patterns to keep! Already I feel the weight of trying to save them all lifting from my shoulders! I have a touch of OCD, so I have a pressing need to keep everything! Now, I think I'll only put carefully considered patterns in my file, but I will address the other part of me by keeping a list of patterns/web addresses but I won't even illustrate them...
ReplyDeleteI am taking the CZT training in October and am trying to organize myself and get back to the calmness Zentangling brought me when I first started and while my daughter was fighting cancer last year. As I said, I allowed myself to get overwhelmed and some of the joy has gone out of my tangling. Your advice was sage, and showed me the path I should take to return to the whole zen of it. Thank you!