Weekly Challenge #243: "Just a tiny taste"

'The Diva' posted as our challenge for this week to "INTENTIONALLY LEAVE THE MAJORITY OF YOUR TILE EMPTY.... giving the tile just a tiny taste of tangle."

Like Laura, I like to fill my tiles with tangle pattern in every space available. So this weeks challenge really was a challenge for me. I did a little bit but then added more as it didn't look finished. Then I added some more & finally had to deliberately put my pen away so I wouldn't keep on adding more tangles.

So here is my tasty tit bit to feast your eyes on this week.

Patterns: cresent moon, flux, tipple, marasu

Looking for other great challenges, dares or focus patterns to explore Zentangle further? Or just wanting to enjoy looking at other people's creations? Click on the challenge/dare/focus tab at the top of this page, scroll down the page & click on the links to check out all the wonderful things people around the world are doing on their Zentangle journey. Or you can just click here. Join in the fun if you wish as well.

Muster Mixer #12 - n'zeppel & narwal

This months muster mixer by CZT Anya Lathrope, challenged us to mix the two patterns n'zeppel & narwal together. N'zeppel is one of my all time favourites that I like to use in many of my Zentangle® tiles. Narwal is a pattern I have not used before so this in itself was a challenge. Although I still don't feel very comfortable with narwal I am happy with the result of this tile.

For those of you who are not familiar with mixing patterns, the idea is to mix/merge/intertwine/blend two patterns together to create a new look. You can see in my narwal n'zeppel has been added to some of the sections.

Patterns: narwal, n'zeppel, bronx cheer

To check out how other people have mixed the patterns n'zeppel and narwal go to the Muster Mixer page. Although written in German, scroll down and click on the individual links.

Looking for other great challenges, dares or focus patterns to explore Zentangle further? Or just wanting to enjoy looking at other people's creations? Click on the tab at the top of this page, scroll down the page & click on the links to check out all the wonderful things people around the world are doing on their Zentangle journey. Or you can just click here. Join in the fun if you wish as well.

Enjoy the zen as you tangle.

Sakura Shadow Pen Play & Diva Weekly Challenge #239: "Munchin Play"

I recently purchased sets of the Sakura gold shadow and silver shadow gelly roll pens to play with. Each set comes in 5 different colours. They are quite amazing to use.  When using the pens, colour is laid on the drawing surface. As it dries the colour turns to either gold or silver, depending on whether you are using the gold or silver pens, but it leaves the colour you were using showing on the edges.

Here are a couple of examples I did to give you a visual of what I have tried to explain.

 

Using gold shadow pens

Using silver shadow pens

       

So after experimenting with the shadow pens on white tiles I decided I would try a silver shadow pen on a black tile for this weeks 'Diva Challenge'.

Patterns: munchin, spawn

Although I used a blue silver shadow pen you cannot see the blue edges of the silver, but the silver on black looks good. Shading with the zenstone caused the spots around the munchin pattern to fade into the background. To give them more definition I went over them with a white gel pen. Surprise! surprise! The blue showed up.  It was like magic. Although I did not know what to expect when using the shadow pen on black, I enjoyed the experimentation and the unexpected result.

Now, why not check out other people's submissions to the Diva Challenge here.

Or, looking for other great challenges, dares or focus patterns to explore Zentangle further? Or just want to enjoy looking at other people's creations? Click on the tab at the top of this page, scroll down the page & click on the links to check out all the wonderful things people around the world are doing on their Zentangle journey. Or you can just click here. Join in the fun if you wish as well.

Enjoy the zen as you tangle.

New Tangle Pattern - Cadentoo

Fun,!Fun! Fun!

Recently I had fun experimenting with the cadent tangle pattern. So much so that I think I have come up with a new pattern I call cadentoo. You could read this as "cadent also" or "cadent (number) 2".  Cadentoo starts off just like cadent, with  the orb and 's' line but then I have added an extra orb and three curved lines from the centre orb. From there my mind went on a journey of explorations trying many different variations. Just like cadent, cadentoo can be varied in so many ways.

My favourite way to draw cadentoo is freeform - starting with just three orbs, and adding the centre parts, then adding onto this with another orb to create another triangular section. Cadentoo can also be drawn using a square grid or triangular grid, just like cadent. I have included just some of the possibilities in my example below.

Individual Cadentoo

I believe this is different enough to be called a new tangle pattern & I have not seen it anywhere else. Please let me know if it is out there already. If not, do enjoy playing with cadentoo as I have done over the past month.

If you would like to share your inspirations of cadentoo for others, then leave a comment with a link to your art. 

Enjoy!

Muster Mixer #11 - Facade & Cresent Moon

Welcome to another pattern mixing challenge by Anya Lathrop. This month Anya challenged us to mix the two patterns facade and cresent moon. As always I enjoy the challenge of mixing two patterns together. The idea of the mixer is to mix/merge/intertwine two patterns to create a new look.

Here is my tile using a mixed 'facade' & 'cresent moon'.

Patterns: facade & cresent moon

To check out how other people have mixed the patterns facade and cresent moon go to the Muster Mixer page. Although written in German, scroll down and click on the individual links.

Looking for other great challenges, dares or focus patterns to explore Zentangle further? Or just wanting to enjoy looking at other people's creations? Click on the tab at the top of this page, scroll down the page & click on the links to check out all the wonderful things people around the world are doing on their Zentangle journey. Or you can just click here. Join in the fun if you wish as well.

Enjoy the zen as you tangle.

Weekly Challenge #236: "Tangle Unexpected"

An interesting challenge this week from Laura, 'The Diva'. She asked us to tangle on something unexpected. So for this week I decided to try out an idea I found on the internet ages ago, but I don't remember the source.

The idea is to take a page from a book and tangle on the page, leaving an inspiring message untangled. So, first decision was to choose a genre I like to read. I chose science fiction. Then I looked for books on public domain and quickly came up with the perfect book: A Modern Utopia by H.G. Wells. The Oxford Dictionaries defines 'Utopia' as "an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect." Ahh! Utopia, an apt description of Zentangle, when everything is just perfect. I randomly chose page 17. I could not believe how perfect this page was.
Take a look at what I found.

Who would have thought H.G. Wells & Zentangle had something in common.

I thoroughly enjoyed this whole challenge and I am going to have this page framed and placed in my room where I teach Zentangle classes.

Thank you Laura for challenging me to 'tangle something unexpected'. I can't wait to check out all the 'unexpected' tangles people have completed for this challenge. You may also like to check out the 'unexpected' at Laura's Blog.

Looking for other great challenges, dares or focus patterns to explore Zentangle further? Or just wanting to enjoy looking at other people's creations? Click on the challenge/dare/focus tab at the top of this page, scroll down the page & click on the links to check out all the wonderful things people around the world are doing on their Zentangle journey. Or you can just click here. Join in the fun if you wish as well.

Weekly Challenge #235: "String Theory: Stripes"

Recently I have been working on the black Zentangle tiles & exploring patterns that look good as white on black & then trying out various ways to shade. I was working with knightsbridge on black so decided to complete The Diva's challenge using knightsbridge tangleations and various shading techniques.

Stripes for the string is this weeks challenge from the Diva, Laura Harms. Here is my mono tangle of knightsbridge on black tile.

Knightsbridge

Looking for other great challenges, dares or focus patterns to explore Zentangle further? Or just wanting to enjoy looking at other people's creations? Click on the challenge/dare/focus tab at the top of this page, scroll down the page & click on the links to check out all the wonderful things people around the world are doing on their Zentangle journey. Or you can just click here. Join in the fun if you wish as well.

Weekly Challenge #234: UMT - CanT by Chris Titus, CZT

Here is a monotangle I created for this weeks Diva Challenge using the tangle pattern CanT by CZT Chris Titus. CanT is a wonderful pattern that has endless possibilities for creating tangleations.

Tangle pattern - CanT

Looking for other great challenges, dares or focus patterns to explore Zentangle further? Or just wanting to enjoy looking at other people's creations? Click on the challenge/dare/focus tab at the top of this page, scroll down the page & click on the links to check out all the wonderful things people around the world are doing on their Zentangle journey. Or you can just click here. Join in the fun if you wish as well.

Enjoy the zen as you tangle.

Tangle Muster #10 - dragonair & fandango

Two lovely simple patterns this month for the muster mixer by CZT, Anya Lathrop: dragon air and fandango. The idea of this challenge is to mix/merge/intertwine two patterns to create a new look.

This is Anya's 10th challenge. Congratulations on reaching number 10 Anya. I am looking forward to many more.

I have been working on black tiles recently so for a change I decided to use a tan tile for this challenge. I find these challenges have really helped me to become more creative.  

dragonair & fandango

Check out the other tiles using dragon air and fandango by clicking on the links for this months Muster Mixer.

Looking for other great challenges, dares or focus patterns to explore Zentangle further? Or just wanting to enjoy looking at other people's creations? Click on the challenge/dare/focus tab at the top of this page, scroll down the page & click on the links to check out all the wonderful things people around the world are doing on their Zentangle journey. Or you can just click here. Join in the fun if you wish as well.

Enjoy the zen as you tangle.

Muster Mixer #9: ixorus & tropicana

Tropicana and ixorus are the two patterns we were challenged with mixing together in the muster mixer by CZT Anya Lathrop. The idea of the mixer is to mix/merge/intertwine two patterns to create a new look.

 

My arches turned out looking more like petals but I liked the way the two patterns flowed together.

 

ixorus &tropicana

 

Check out the other tiles using Tropicana and ixorus by clicking on the links for this months Muster Mixer.

 

 

Enjoy the Zen as you tangle.

Weekly Challenge #233: "New Official Tangle - Zenith"

She's back! Laura Harms (The Diva) is back from her holiday with family and friends. This weeks challenge was to use the new Zentangle pattern 'zenith'. This pattern has so many possibilities. I have already played with zenith and some of its variations. So for the challenge I challenged myself to try it in a circular fashion, which I had not tried before. I am quite pleased with the results. I hope you like it also.

zenith

To check out how other people have used 'zenith' go to the Diva Challenge page, scroll down and click on the individual links. You will be amazed!

Looking for other great challenges, dares or focus patterns to explore Zentangle further? Or just wanting to enjoy looking at other people's creations? Click on the tab at the top of this page, scroll down the page & click on the links to check out all the wonderful things people around the world are doing on their Zentangle journey. Or you can just click here. Join in the fun if you wish as well.

Enjoy the zen as you tangle.

Tangleation Vocation #20: Opus

Congratulations to Daniel for reaching 20 challenges. Here is my Opus tangleation, with black pearls, for  The Tangleation Vocation challenge this week by Daniel Lamothe.

Opus tangleation

Looking for other great challenges, dares or focus patterns to explore Zentangle further? Or just wanting to enjoy looking at other people's creations? Click on the tab at the top of this page, scroll down the page & click on the links to check out all the wonderful things people around the world are doing on their Zentangle journey. Or you can just click here. Join in the fun if you wish as well.

Enjoy the zen as you tangle.

Tangleation Vocation #19: Crescent Moon

It's been a while since I last participated in the Tangleation Vocation by Daniel Lamothe. I have been very busy at work & life quickly flew by.

Finally I decided it was time to get back to some more tangling and was happy to see Daniels pattern this week was to create a tangleation of 'cresent moon'. Cresent moon is usually one of the first tangle patterns people are taught when they come to their first Zentangle class because it teaches the technique of using an aura.

For my tile I created a tangleation of cresent moon using an aura both inside the cresent shape and around the outside of the cresent shape. And with the shading added it just made the whole thing 'pop' off the tile.

I love how I can create such wonderful tiles with the easy to learn Zentangle method. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined I could achieve something like this.

Take a look at what others have done with cresent moon at Daniel's blog. If you want to see what others are doing with Zentangle go to the 'challenge, dare &/or focus tab at the top of this page & click on the links to other challenges like Daniels. You will be amazed.

Design with Zentangle Workshop

It is amazing to see what people are doing with Zentangle. Last week I held another successful Design with Zentangle workshop at the Sydney Jewellery School.

People are using the Zentangle method to develop and discover patterns, and then applying them to their preferred jewellery medium, such as polymer clay, etching on metal and wood burning, to create very individual looks.

We started the workshop learning all about the history, philosophy & process we follow when we tangle.

After learning the process and a few more tangles we moved on to how Zentangle can be used to create unlimited, individualised pieces of  jewellery. We explored the basic elements that made up the tangles we had learnt and how, through changing those elements, different looks to a pattern can be created.  The students were really into this part of the workshop and their creativity was apparent with some awesome tangleations being developed.

Towards the end of the workshop I introduced some "Little Jewels" (Bijou tiles) and asked the students to design a piece of jewellery based on the knowledge they had learnt during the workshop. The creativity flowed. One woman was so in the 'Zen' moment that when I asked her a question she didn't hear me. Ahh! So I moved on.

"It's a great way of meditation and it really works. Lianne was very motivating and encouraging. I would love to join advanced classes with Lianne. Thank you!"

"Stimulating class and involved classmates. Time went very quickly."

The interest in this workshop has been high, so another one has now been scheduled to run in November.

Tangleation Vocation # 15 - Cadent

Cadent is one of my favourite, go to tangles. Thanks Daniel, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Tangles used: cadent, cresent moon, printemps, paradox & ???

The pattern to the left of printemps is one I stumbled upon the other day & fell in love with. Although the step outs were on the web it had no name attached. If anyone reading this knows the name of this tangle pattern I would appreciate you letting me know.

Looking for other great challenges, dares or focus patterns to explore Zentangle further? Or just wanting to enjoy looking at other people's creations? Click on the tab at the top of this page, scroll down the page & click on the links to check out all the wonderful things people around the world are doing on their Zentangle journey. Or you can just click here. Join in the fun if you wish as well.

Enjoy the zen as you tangle.

Weekly Challenge #226 - Simplicity

This week the Diva is taking some well earned family time. So to keep those challenges coming Laura invited Katie Crommett (CZT) as guest blogger. Katie asked us to challenge ourselves to 'simplicity'. Think of the KISS approach (keep it simple silly).

Elegant Simplicity.

msst

To check out how other people have used the concept of 'simplicity' go to the Diva Challenge page, scroll down and click on the individual links. You will be amazed!

Looking for other great challenges, dares or focus patterns to explore Zentangle further? Or just wanting to enjoy looking at other people's creations? Click on the tab at the top of this page, scroll down the page & click on the links to check out all the wonderful things people around the world are doing on their Zentangle journey. Or you can just click here. Join in the fun if you wish as well.

Enjoy the zen as you tangle.

Muster Mixer #8 - Vano & Florez

This months Muster Mixer uses the patterns 'vano' & 'florez'. I do so enjoy participating in the monthly Muster Mixer by CZT, Anya Lathrop. The idea of the mixer is to mix/merge/intertwine two patterns to create a new look.

Here is my tile using a mixed 'vano' & 'florez'.

Check out the other tiles using vano & florez by clicking on the links for this months Muster Mixer.

Zentangle - The Fountain of Youth?

Age does not have to be a barrier to learning Zentangle.

The founders of the Zentangle method, Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, state "The Zentangle Method is enjoyed all over this world across a wide range of skills, interests and ages." (Zentangle.com)

The proof is in the pudding. I had the pleasure of teaching Zentangle to a wonderful lady yesterday. She is 93 years young & loves to tangle every day. The images you see here are her Zentangle tiles. 


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Zentangle has many physical, mental, emotional, and social benefits and age does not have to be a barrier. Some benefits of Zentangle include; better problem solving, creative out-of-the-box thinking, it boosts a persons sense of self-worth improves fine motor control. 



The list of benefits people are sharing with the world are growing.

When we follow the Zentangle process we are using our mind, talents and creativity.

Maybe Zentangle will prove to be 'the fountain of youth!'

As Sophia Loren once said, “There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love."

Infinitus - Tangle Pattern

I'm not sure where the inspiration for this pattern came from. I do however love the possibilities for this simple pattern. Since it has so many endless possibilities I decided it needed a name that meant endless. I finally came up with the latin word 'infinitus'.

To help you begin your own exploration of infinitus I have added a few tangleations as examples.

I hope you enjoy infinitus as much as I have when playing with and exploring the possibilities this pattern provides.

Please share your explorations of infinitus for other visitors to this page by adding a link to your creation in the comment section below.

I hope you enjoy gottago as much as I have when playing with and exploring what you can do with it.

If you would like to share your inspirations of gotta go for others, then leave a comment with a link to your art. 

Weekly Challenge #223: "Official Tangle - UMBLE"

I had fun with this weeks Diva Challenge, which was got use the tangle pattern 'umble'.
I love the idea of no preconceived ideas with Zentangle & the astonishing results you can achieve.

My first tile ended up looking like "Umble Pie".

Tangles used - umble, poke root, poke leaf & printemps

I had so much fun I decided to umble on a black tile.  This was achieved slightly differently. On the white tile it is the black inside of the umble pattern that is coloured. With the black tile it is the white outside edge that is coloured. It's very simple but I think it looks great.

To check out how other people have used 'umble' go to the Diva Challenge page, scroll down and click on the individual links. You will be amazed!

Looking for other great challenges, dares or focus patterns to explore Zentangle further? Or just wanting to enjoy looking at other people's creations? Click on the tab at the top of this page, scroll down the page & click on the links to check out all the wonderful things people around the world are doing on their Zentangle journey. Or you can just click here. Join in the fun if you wish as well.

Enjoy the zen as you tangle.

Muster Mixer Challenge #7 - cat-kin & jax

Anya Lathrop is a Certified Zentangle Teacher who lives in Germany. Once a month she adds a challenge to her blog called Muster Mixer. In this challenge Anya names two patterns and challenges us to mix these two patterns together. Anya states that "pattern mixing means to merge two tangles, to intertwine them or even create a new tangle from the combination".

This month Anya challenged us to use the patterns cat-kin and jax.

Both these patterns were new to me. Using some of the elements of both patterns I came up with this tile, and also using the pattern chillon.

To check out how other people have mixed the patterns cat-kin and jax go to the pattern mixer page. Although written in German, scroll down and click on the individual links.

Looking for other great challenges, dares or focus patterns to explore Zentangle further? Or just wanting to enjoy looking at other people's creations? Click on the tab at the top of this page, scroll down the page & click on the links to check out all the wonderful things people around the world are doing on their Zentangle journey. Or you can just click here. Join in the fun if you wish as well.

Enjoy the zen as you tangle.

Tangleation Vocation #14: Veezely by Sandy Hunter

Veezely, by Sandy Hunter, is the pattern Daniel from The Tangle Corner challenged us to use as a tangleation.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term tangleation, I have added the definition of a tangleation, as defined by Rick & Maria, the founders of Zentangle.

 A tangleation is 'A variation of a tangle by itself or in combination with one or more tangles. Basic tangles are like paint out of a tube. Tangleations are the result of altering a tangle, or mixing one or more basic tangles together in different proportions.'

Here is my tile using veezley.

Patterns: veezely, cresent moon, arukas, tipple

I'm really happy with the way this tile turned out.

Weekly Challenge #220: "UMT: All Boxed UP by Alice Hendon, CZT"

I had so much fun exploring the pattern all boxed up. This pattern, created by CZT Alice Hendon is the Diva's challenge this week. It is so simple, very repetitive but has many different looks. Thank you Alice for sharing your pattern. Thank you to Laura for providing such a wonderful, informative blog.

Here is my tile for using the pattern all boxed up.

pattern: all boxed up

Looking for other great challenges, dares or focus patterns to explore Zentangle further? Or just wanting to enjoy looking at other people's creations? Click on the tab at the top of this page, scroll down the page & click on the links to check out all the wonderful things people around the world are doing on their Zentangle journey. Or you can just click here. Join in the fun if you wish as well.

Happy tangling.

Weekly Challenge #219: "Straight Lines all the Tines...er, times"

Straight lines!

Think it would all look the same just using straight lines. Not so. There are soooo many possibilities!
This week The Diva challenged us to use only straight lines. Patterns, patterns. Many to choose from that only use straight lines. However to create interest I was looking for something other than 'paradox' to create that curvy look. I felt most people may use 'paradox'. It finally came to me. Take a look.

Patterns: athitzi, rain, ing, shattuck, flora, gottago

All the patterns use only straight lines. Athitzi is amazing, don't you think?

Looking for other great challenges, dares or focus patterns to explore Zentangle further? Click on the tab at the top of this page, scroll down the page & click on the links to check out all the wonderful things people around the world are doing on their Zentangle journey. Or you can just click here. Join in the fun if you wish as well.

Happy tangling.