ZIA Ideas: Clouds

Puffy, poofy, soft-looking, marshmallowy, cumulus clouds.

Tangles: Floo, Tipple (Caviar version), Auras, and a tangle that's not yet public.
Susan Szathmary had done the color wash and the
green gem-pebbles. I added the 'clouds', the 'waves', and the 'sand'.

I received an interesting comment when I posted the above tile on a Facebook group page:

"I'm getting fascinated by your use of tangles to suggest textures... that would make a great blog topic if you wanted to share your thinking."

This topic is closely related to a class I offered at CanTangle 2015 drawing streetscapes and wonky buildings, and I've had a many inquiries about that. So, I've decided to start an occasional series called ZIA Ideas in which I'll offer suggestions, and show examples, of tangles that can be used to suggest particular things.

I want to emphasize here that a proper tangle is non-representational. A tangle is simply a pattern - a structured pattern - with a simple series of steps to accomplish the end design. Of course, many patterns are inspired by a floor, upholstery, a fence, a pattern on a carpet, a stack of dishes, a pile of stones, flowers, and the list goes on. But the intention is not to do a representative drawing of that thing.

Here are some of my favorite tangles that may give you

 THOUGHTS OF CLOUDS 

DUST BUNNY (from Margaret Bremner)

Find step-outs at this link.

ENNIES (from Zentangle)

Find step-outs at this link. Example below.

"Lollipop Tree" (c)2016 Margaret Bremner

FLOO (from Zentangle)

No step-outs online. Example in the tiles at the top and bottom.

POPCLOUD (from Carla DuPreez)

Find step-outs at this link. Example below.

"Mountain Ash" (c)2014 Margaret Bremner

PRINTEMPS (from Zentangle)

No online link. Example below.

Detail from "Overcast" (c)2016 Margaret Bremner

There are two tangles I haven't tried as clouds yet, but I think would be very good:

KANDYSNAKE (from Vicki Murray, CZT)

Find step-outs at this link.

GINILI (from Randi Wynne-Parry)

Find step-outs at this link. I find this tangle has more impact in a larger area.

Of course, there are tangles unfamiliar to me, 

and tangles that will strike you as perfect for a 'cloud' you need somewhere.
Experiment. Have fun. And let me know if you come across a jim-dandy 'cloud' tangle!

"At Home in the Clouds" (c)2015 Margaret Bremner
Examples of Printemps, Floo, Pop-Cloud, and even Opus and Pixioze as 'clouds'.

More houses from CanTangle

More delightful eye-candy as people complete their whimsical landscapes with houses from my class at CanTangle in July. See the first post here.

Sue Sharp wrote, "I'm much happier with it than I worried I would be… This project was fairly stressful, but in a good way, I think. I love some things, not so much some other things. I tried new things, I borrowed ideas seen in others landscapes. I had to add some colour to get the feel I wanted. All throughout I had to remind myself that I had lots more paper, many more pens, and to relax and TRY whatever felt right. I loved the one Margaret brought that had night and day in the same scene, and that's what I tried to capture here."

She went on to do another:

Caren Mlot added just a few hints of color, and white in the clouds. I like the cinderblock look of the middle house, the way she used stippling in the 'bricks'. And look at that chimney smoke! Caren didn't like the Crescent Moon shape on the left, but others did! Originally it was the sun, but morphed into a tree behind a fence. It's all good!

Aleesha Satva did a second one she calls "On a Hill Far Away".

Sue Clark wrote, "I worked on my houses on two different camping trips... On my last day of finishing the houses a storm was coming in over the mountains and the clouds grew dark and pretty soon it was happening on my paper too, but instead of just rain, it turned to snow and a winter scene. The river froze and an ice skating pond appeared. If I named it, it would be Moon Shadow because that Cat Stevens song kept going thru my head after I made the moon."

Susan Cirigliano is on a roll and has done two more! In her first here there are many very pointy ends but also a lot of graceful flow - a lovely combination. Her second piece has some red wine in the wash, giving an interesting purple-red hue. Sue calls that one "Manhattanville".

Houses from CanTangle

In mid-July I taught a session at CanTangle - a learning event for Certified Zentangle Teachers in Regina SK. We began a small artwork (5"x11") based on the rows of houses I often do. Some people were given cool-toned materials to work with, others had warm tones.

Such great beginnings! I asked people to share their finished work with me so I could share it with my blog readers. Prepare for a lot of wonderfulness!

Cris Letourneau used a blue wash to finish the sky. I like how the house looks as if there's bunting draped around it for some sort of celebration, and the shading under the bottom edge.

Aleesha Sattva mentioned that her moon had turned into a sun. She arrived home to discover that her paper had torn during travel. She worked with the rip and titled her art "TiMe WaRp". Enter through the door. :D

Laura Harms - of DivaCZT Weekly Zentangle Challenge fame - used her 'honor tangle' Diva Dance in the sky. And such lovely shading on the middle house, provided by the original gray wash.

Cris Titus' houses found themselves on an island. What fun! Note how she used gray pen to do Printemps in the sky. And I like her use of Leaflet for a tree -.

Debra Castaldi used Verve in one tree (gotta remember that one), with a lovely country pond behind it. Note how the crescent moon in the sky echoes the 'moons' on the lefthand rooftop.

Lynn Mead commented, "I was surprised when the sun became a tree and a walkway became a stone wall, but what really surprised me was when bubbles popped out the chimney... this was really fun." I like the border of long, thin stripes, and that's Lynn's tangle Fassettoo in the sky.

Susan Cirigliano's creation is just chock-a-block full of interesting patterns. Her Indyrella at the top left is wonderful; I have trouble with that one. What an interesting droplet-shaped window!