Project Pack #6: Part 2

Zentangle recently released its sixth project pack and I've been having a lot of fun with it. (For Part One, go here.)

DAY 4:
Molly shows Munchin and Paradox, and transitioning between them. I included two other tangles based on triangles and some of them flowed onto the next page.

Tangles on this page: Fassett, Munchin, Paradox, Sqaro

DAY 5:
Julie draws weighted Printemps and her variation 'melting Mooka' with other tangles as fills. I didn't try the melting Mooka until later but it's quite fun, and - as someone else said - has an Art Deco look. A couple of mine got a bit rebellious at the end!

Tangles: Camelia, 'Nzeppel, weighted Printemps

Tangles: Black Pearlz, melting Mooka, Shattuck, Tipple

DAY 6:
Maria draws ING with some wonderful additions. I love the spiral fills! On the page beside it I did my variation curvING

Tangles: Ing, Pearlz

Tangles: curvING, Crescent Moon (layered), Printemps,

DAY 7:
Molly draws Indyrella. It's not a tangle I've done often but I enjoyed this.

Tangles: Indyrella, hints of Msst

There's more to come!

Project Pack #6: Part 1

Zentangle recently released its sixth project pack and I thoroughly enjoyed it! (In fact, I haven't finished yet.) The pack includes the various pens and other tools you'll use as well as a charming little 'journal' to work in. Each journal page, while mainly white paper, has a black ink "spill" to work with. The video lessons are available on YouTube. To order your own project pack, go here.

This project honors the 'no mistakes' philosophy of Zentangle. From the Zentangle website:

The "No Mistakes" philosophy has been an integral part of the Zentangle Method since it’s beginning. "No Mistakes" is a mantra we use in our Zentangle practice that allows us to see every line as an opportunity... Whether intentional or not, with this perspective, one can learn to see beauty and potential in whatever mark we make and whatever path our artistic journey takes. 

This seems like an appropriate time to share the first page of my little journal, although it was done after several other pages were completed.

Tangles: Black Pearlz, Pearlz, Striping with a twist, Sprouts, Zonked, and Auras

DAY 1
Maria draws Mooka and Crescent Moon; I used Icantoo and Paizel - organic forms flowing over the border between white and black.

Tangles: Icantoo, Paizel, Printemps

DAY 2
Rick draws Arukas, again flowing back and forth between black and white. I chose to use the curvy lines of the black ink 'stain' rather than straight lines. And I had a perfect opportunity to include a yin-yang symbol!

Tangles: Arukas, Black Pearlz, Msst

DAY 3
Martha draws Pearlz with Rounding between each pearl, such a lovely variation. She also does Ennies in a spiral over the black and the white sections. For some reason, I did these on different pages.

Tangles: Black Pearlz, Morse, Pearlz

Tangles: Black Pearlz, Ennies, Sprouts

Stay tuned over the next little while for more of my journal pages. 

Running 'round in circles

I often feel that way.

"I need to do this!"
"I forgot to call so-and-so!"
"I need to do that, too!"
"I'm late with... something!"
"I'm supposed to plan this thing!"
"I also need to plan that thing!"

Thus felt the DivaCZT on her recent wonderful, but whirlwind, family vacation. Thus her challenge this week: use circles. Any way. Any how.

I've always loved circles. For more than a decade I focused on mandala artwork, drawn, painted, and mixed media. So this challenge was right up my alley, and as often happens in that situation, I move from one idea to the next fairly quickly. I had the notion that we were to do concentric circles, so that's what I began with, often using a blind string.

My first tile was three circles in classic black on white.

Tangles: Black Pearlz, Paisley Boa, Pearlz, Prestwood, and
Tortuca, plus stripes, lines and Auras

Next I tried four circles in color.

Tangles: Black Pearlz, Diva Dance, Knase, Niuroda, Perfs,
Paisley Boa, Pearlz, and Wud plus lines and spirals

Third tile, a tan tile. I love working in browns on these tiles even though brown in definitely not my favorite color.

Tangles: Ennies, Paisley Boa, Pearlz, Snaylz, Tipple and more

I had really wanted to try Tina-Akua Hunziker's recent tangle Niuroda so I got out a zendala tile and went to town.

Back to black and white. I was quite taken with a pattern I'd seen earlier today of interlocking circles with Rounding at the intersections. It turns out it's Bublz from Lori Byerly.

Tangles: Black Pearlz, Bublz, Drupe, Ogen, Tipple
and circles with Rounding.

The broken apart Drupe in that previous tile gave me an idea: use tangles that are circular in format (or could be) and use only parts of them. Here's the result.

Tangles: Arukas, Cirqital, Daggerly, Drupe, Tipple, and Zonked

Surprise, surprise!

I often begin work with a random colored or gray wash, let it dry, and then look at it various ways trying to see what's in there. Sometimes I do a wash that could develop into a house or a tree, other times I leave it more open. That's when the surprises come!

Here are some recent "Oh, that's what it is!" pieces.

"Koi Pond"
(c) 2015 Margaret Bremner
3.5" square zentangle tile
Acrylic wash, colored ink, colored pencils
Tangles: Floo, Seljuk, Tipple

"Distant Dragon"
(c) 2015 Margaret Bremner
3.5" square zentangle tile
Acrylic wash, colored ink, colored pencils
Tangles: Chebucto, Croon, Dex, Flukes, Narwal,
'Nzeppel, Romanancy, Tagh

"Among the Ruins"

(c) 2015 Margaret Bremner
3.5" square zentangle tile

Acrylic wash, colored ink, colored pencils
Tangles: Crescent Moon, Emingle, Featherfall, Narwal,'Nzeppel

"Baobab"

(c) 2015 Margaret Bremner
3.5" square zentangle tile

Acrylic wash, black and colored ink, colored pencils
Tangles: Diva Dance, Knightsbridge, Pearlz, Seljuk

These will be mounted on canvas, painted around, and able to hang on a wall.

Tangle Patterns string 003

The Tangle Patterns website has a good - and growing - resource of string ideas. Take a look if that's something you find challenging, or even if you just want a new idea. This week's challenge from Diva Laura is to use string number 3. I drew the string on three tiles and went at it.

It looked like an excellent string for my new tangle Yoga. It's almost a monotangle.

Tangles: Beadlines, Pearlz, Yoga

I've been attempting the use of white ink on black tiles, usually not very pleased with the results. This string reminded me of  a tangle I saw recently called Star Map, from Suzanne McNeill and I thought it would be more interesting in white on black. I think I'm improving!

Tangles: Daggerly, Gneiss, Hurakán, Munchin, Star Map

 
When I looked at the next stringed tile, it made me think of all the zigzag tangles that I like so much.

Tangles: Black Pearlz, Chartz, Hibred with Rounding,
Knase, Tipple, Triral, Zedbra, Zewm

You can see another tile I did using string #3 here.