Friday, November 30, 2012

AEDM 30: out with a bang! Ganesha

I've seen a few Ganesha zentangle posts recently and wondered what was going on. It turns out that Dilip Patel, on his blog, has asked for contributions to a collection of 100 Zentangle tiles with images of Ganesha, the Hindu elephant-head god and Remover of Obstacles.

I searched the net for "Ganesha line drawings" and came across a round one. Just had to do that on a round tile. I read that the color associated with Ganesha is red, for the sacral chakra. I also wanted to include the 'OM' symbol because it, too, is Hindu; then I discovered that Om is associated with Ganesha! He's supposed to have four arms but this image only had two and I wasn't about to try to change it. I used the occasion to indulge in glitter ink and gems!

I'm not sure if the round tile will work in Dilip's project, but here it is.
Tangles: Copada, Emingle, Florez, Florz, Knightsbridge, Marasu, Zewm
and elements of Tripoli and Finery

Thursday, November 29, 2012

No strings attached

The challenge from the Diva this week is to abandon the string and just start drawing patterns. I felt rather uncomfortable. What, no guidelines? None at all?!?

I thought of using Auraknot to begin, but that seemed like giving myself 'guidelines'. Bunzo has been a recent favorite, so Bunzo it was. At one point I had some Zingers in there but they looked too fragile and delicate with all the strong blacks and whites so I took them out (read: covered them with black). I also used Lara William's LinQ, which is a tangle I wanted to try again during Art Every Day Month. After Bunzo, I just did what I thought would look good, which is what I do anyway. Good-bye discomfort!

I wonder if, in the end, the choice of a round tile gave me the 'guideline' I felt I needed?
Tangles: Black Pearlz, Bunzo, Flux, Knightsbridge Aura, KrliQs, LinQ, Pearlz

No string. There's an idea to try again sometime. Thanks Laura, you've always got something interesting up your sleeve!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

AEDM 28 - Warangaie

Warangaie is a tangle from Sandra Strait. It's simple, and I've had it around for a while but never used it before. I had a tile with a bit of yellow in two corners (I was cleaning the tip of a brush tip pen) and decided to use it today.
I thought that a little more yellow would unify the parts better so I added some with a colored pencil.
Tangles: Black Pearlz, Cack, Khirkee, Koryl, Paizel, Sand Swirl, Tipple, Warangaie
Wow. Art Every Day Month is almost over!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Cookie tin string

Inspiration can come from anywhere. Some Chinese friends came to visit and brought a box of cookies. Well, much as I do like cookies, what really caught my interest was the design on the lid.

What a good string that would make! I stretched it a bit here and there to better fit in a square.

Then I tangled. In this first tile the string is upside down to what's shown above. (I ignored parts of it!)
Tangles: Golven, Knase, Munchin, Paradox, stripes with highlights
I just loved those spinny fan-type things! Solid black beside some of them helps with the effect. I wanted to see if I could do it again. In the next tile the string is tipped over onto it's right side. You can read about the Paradox variation I used here.
Tangles: Black Pearlz, Bunzo, Paradox, Munchin, Pearlz, Tidings, Tripoli

Sunday, November 25, 2012

AEDM 25 - Golven

Golven is a tangle from Mariƫt Lustenhouwer, a Dutch calligrapher. I may have done it last year during Art Every Day Month; if so, I had almost forgotten about it. I also haven't used a two-pencil string in quite some time so I did that too.
Tangles: Black Pearlz, Golven, Zewm, a spiral and a zigzag thing
Tangles: Black Pearlz, Golven, stripes.
 You can read and see more about two-pencil strings by clicking that topic in the blog labels list at the left.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Tangle all the things!

I've been wanting to do this for quite some time.

If you're unfamiliar with the somewhat viral "all the things" meme check out this post on the Hyperbole and a Half blog. Why it became so all 'round popular, I'm not sure, but it is. The original version is "Clean all the things" but people have done a lot with this simple phrase and drawing. By the way, a meme, according to dictionary.com, is "a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes".

And while you're at it, if you're a grammar and spelling nerd like yours truly you might like this post about Alot.

Friday, November 23, 2012

AEDM 23 - a mandala

Zendala Dare number 29. In fact, this is it, twice. It's an irregular design, so I copied the template, then turned it 90 degrees and copied it again to make it the same all around. I've been feeling a need for color, and this design reminded me of Tibetan mandalas so I chose some of those colors. I had fun using a lot of different pens: glitter, metallic, glaze as well as the usual 01s in color. I also added a few tiny 'gems' to give it even more sparkle.
Tangles: Black Pearlz, Bunzo, Flux, Knightsbridge, Tortuca, Tripoli
and something I haven't named yet; must do that soon!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

AEDM 22 - Zinger

Zinger is a lovely little embellishment that Maria Thomas has been using for years, but it didn't have a name until last week. Zinger is also this week's challenge from the Diva.

Swoopy, organic, unpredictible... not my comfort zone. Good thing to try once in a while. Thanks Laura! I disliked my first tile so much that it joined the dozen or so I've actually ripped up and thrown out in my almost three years of tangling. So you can't see it. Here's my second try.
Tangles: Beadlines, Zewm, Zinger, Zuan Shi, and stripes with highlights

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

AEDM 21 - Windspinners

Windspinners is a tangle from Paula in Great Britain. I found it just as easy (perhaps easier) to begin with a large-ish square grid and put a dot in the center of each square. The name made me think of other 'spin' tangles so I used those too!
Tangles: Koril, Paizel, Spinners, Spinning, Windspinners

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

AEDM 20 - Puffle

My goodness, dear me. Golly and gosh. When I started Art Every Day Month last year I had a list of tangles that I wanted to try and pretty much did one every day. (Sometimes I cheated and worked ahead.)

This year I didn't have time to make a list, but I had a stack of tangle print-outs to begin with and I've done many of them. I also wanted to revisit some from last year that haven't stuck in my brain very well yet. But!!! There are so many new tangles arriving on the scene that I can barely keep up with new ones, let alone get back to some that have retreated to the shadows!

One of the new tangles is Puffle, from CZT Sandy Hunter. In that same post from Sandy you can also see some really wonderful tangle combinations! A feast for the tangler's eyes.
Tangles: Fife with Rounding, Florz, Puffle, Socc, Waft

Monday, November 19, 2012

AEDM 19 - still life day

I was recently juried in to the Artists Workshop group in town. Every Monday we meet and work together, and once a year there is a still life day. Everyone brings interesting Things and we arrange them into appealing combinations.
The gang at work

What might Margaret do with a selection of still life set-ups, you may well ask. I asked myself the same question. A few times.

Well, one person brought a pair of round little birds. I've always liked those puffy-looking, cosy-for-winter, little birds. I drew an outline of one on a zendala tile and tangled all over.
Tangles: Black Pearlz, Copada, Finery, Flez, Fohbraid, Hurly Burly, Khirkee

Many brought fabric for drapery. One piece had interesting paisley-type and other little patterns. I sketched one...
... then used it on another zendala tile. (Complete with a large booboo that I decided not to do anything about.)
Tangles: Aura, Beadlines, Knightsbridge, Pearlz, stripes

Sunday, November 18, 2012

AEDM 18 - Sand Swirl (and some philosophizing)

When I first saw Sand Swirl, my immediate thought was, "That's Dansk!"

But not quite. It is very similar to Dansk (and less so to Verve) yet different. There’s a circle instead of a droplet shape and the Auras run into the stem instead of all the way around.

Amy in Tennessee wrote me about the similarities. She noted the "subtle differences between Sand Swirl and Dansk ... something that the Zentangle world celebrates - subtle differences and variations. My understanding and appreciation of tangles is deeply enhanced by the awareness of subtle differences." I have to agree. I think that noticing subtleties in tangles helps us notice subtleties in other things, making us less prone to generalizations and even prejudice.
Tangles: Black Pearlz, BouclƩ, Khirkee, Paizel, Sand Swirl, Tripoli

Sometimes a variation is sufficiently different to warrant a new name. This question arose when I posted my tangle St. John's Cross. To me it was a variation of Florz but people said, no, it's really quite different, so I decided to consider it a new tangle and give it a name.

In my tangle reference binder - which has just passed 400 tangles - I have two tangles called Sunflower, one from Anne Marks and the other from Suzanne McNeill, each quite different. Suzanne McNeill's Sunflower bears a remarkable resemblance to Cathy Clifford's Wirly Bird! Eden Hunt's Groovy and Suzanne McNeill's Cuddles (in Zentangle 7) are almost identical, but one has slanted lines and the other's lines go straight across. Cindy Angiel's Waverly has lines going both ways! Echoism and Wishbones are essentially the same; it can be 'filled' in many ways.

I find that as Zentangle becomes more and more popular, and more and more people come up with more and more tangles, I'm seeing many very similar tangles, but very rarely identical. Occasionally the same name is given to different tangles. It's quickly become all but impossible to keep track of everyone's creativity and the names they've used.

There. That's enough links to keep you busy for a day or two!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

AEDM 17 - Waft

Bessamy Snoderly's tangle Waft was today's project in Art Every Day Month. This is another tangle that beckons all sorts of variations.
Tangles: Black Pearlz, Caviar, Knightsbridge, Starburst, Waft

For some reason I had the idea to do Crescent Moon in some of the larger sections, so I tried it. Unfortunately I didn't do Waft nearly big enough for that, but I like the result anyway! I did more Crescent Moon in another section.
Tangles: Black Pearlz, Caviar, Drupe, Knightsbridge, Tipple, Waft

Friday, November 16, 2012

AEDM 16 - Khirkee

Khirkee is a recent tangle from Claire Warner. I liked doing this tangle more than I expected, and can see the possibility for many variations. For this tile I used string idea  #12 from tanglepatterns.com.
Tangles: Combs, Firecracker, Khirkee (in four different forms)

I have a growing stack of Erin Olsen's Zendala Dare templates so I decided to use one and do more Khirkee. This is Zendala Dare #30 but I just used the template and didn't do the dare.
Tangles: Jalousie, Khirkee, Pearlz, Perfs, Phuds

Thursday, November 15, 2012

AEDM 15 - Cack

Cack is an interesting tangle of intersecting circles from Adele Bruno. I need a little more practice.
I also need to remind myself not to put my initials on things until after I've done the shading. A lot can change with a little gray.
I used string idea #9 from tanglepatterns.
Tangles: Cack, Koryl, Paizel, Wud
I think this tile should be called "Primordial Soup" or "Life in an Aquarium". :)

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

AEDM 14 - Blooms

Blooms is a new tangle from Helen Williams in Australia. It has resemblances to a number of other tangles: Bales, Socc and Puf, to name a few, but it's based on hexagons and diamonds rather than squares. For the string I used tanglepatterns string idea #7. I really like all the curvy lines in it!
Tangles: Bloom, Knase, KĆ¼nstler, Zedbra

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

AEDM 13 - Koryl

Koryl is a tangle from Lara Williams, CZT. Here it is with a looped border string.
Tangles: Firecracker, Knase, Koryl, stripes with highlights,
and a Black Pearl and spiral

Koryl begins with double-line circles and that reminded me of my own tangle Lotus Pods. The stippling in the center reminded me of Donna Hornsby's Keenees. So I used both those tangles in the next tile with Koryl. This one uses the 'R' (Radisson) string I discovered over the weekend; this time the R is upside down and has an extra swoop through it.
Tangles: Firecracker, Flez, Keenees, Koryl, Lotus Pods, Phuds

AEDM 9-12

I was out of town at a conference all weekend. The conference was at a Radisson Hotel and I was looking at the speakers' podium a lot. Finally it sank in: the 'R' in Radisson would make an interesting zentangle string!!!

Here's the string I used:

In my first tile I used a few tangles I know and like, but haven't used recently. Here the R is right-side up.
Tangles: Bilt, Fohbraid, Marasu, Phuds, Snaylz Trayl variation

Next I used Fife, a lovely tangle from Molly Hollibaugh and Sue Olsen's C-scape, both of which... it's been a while. Starburst is a new tangle from Suzanne McNeill and can be found in the new book Zentangle 7. Here the 'R' is lying on its back.
Tangles: Caviar, Coaster, C-scape, Fife, Flux, Starburst
In fact, the 's' makes an interesting string too. Here it's upside down.
Tangles: Black Pearlz, Paradox variation, Prestwood, Tripoli

Thursday, November 8, 2012

AEDM 8 - Adeline

Today I tried Adeline, a tangle from Sue Jacobs, CZT. I wasn't very happy with my first effort, so I'm sharing my second tile. :)
Tangles: Adeline, Gingham, Knightsbridge, Paizel, Strircles

Very early Friday morning I'm off to Winnipeg for the weekend. I intend to keep up with Art Every Day, but not with the blog posting. With any luck, come Monday or Tuesday, I'll have an eyeful of drawings to share from the weekend.

Back in a flash!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

AEDM day 7 - Seljuk

Seljuk is one of my own tangles. One thing I like about it is that it can have a rather random-looking dark/light aspect, even though the pattern is not at all random. A while ago I had started one of Erin Olsen's zendala dares (#25) and then got stuck. Seljuk unstuck me.
Tangles: Auraknot, Black Pearlz, Caviar, Pearlz, Seljuk

I'm particularly pleased with how the next tile turned out. The shading did a lot.
Tangles: Bunzo, Florz, Knase, Knightsbridge Aura, Printemps, Seljuk, Tipple

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

AEDM day 6 - BouclƩ

BouclƩ, from Sandra Strait, is a tangle I enjoy, but I'd forgotten about it until I was looking through some earlier Zentangle tiles this morning.
Tangles: BouclƩ, Finery, Shattuck, Tipple and the
ubiquitous wide stripes with highlights :)

Monday, November 5, 2012

AEDM day 5 - Socc

Socc is this week's challenge from the Diva, Laura. On her blog she wrote, "I was really excited to see that this month's tangle was Socc, created by Erin Olson, CZT.  I llllllove this tangle, and i had used it quite a bit for a while, then as you do, i forgot about it... so when it came up in the random number generator i was like: Oh! YEAH!!!  Sweet." I know exactly how she feels. Socc fits perfectly with my intention to use new or less familiar tangles during Art Every Day Month. Thus far, there are 254 people participating!
Tangles: Black Pearlz, Crescent Moon, Firecracker, Socc, Tipple and stripes.

I tried doing some diagonal dividing lines in Socc, but found that I prefer it with just horizontal and vertical lines. The next tile uses the looped border string I wrote about recently.
Tangles: Bales, Black Pearlz, Crescent Moon, Socc, stripes and spirals.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

AEDM day 4 - Snood

Snood is a new tangle from Suzanne McNeill. It appears in Zentangle 8, a recently published book focusing on zentangle-inspired monograms. You can see the "M" I did for the book on Suzanne's blog post here. Today I used Snood in a couple of tiles, as well as another of Suzanne's new tangles, Spaghetti and Meatballs.

As you can see, Snood is nice with either a black or white background. I love how Paradox flies through the middle of the first tile, with Snood on either side.
Tangles: Drobbles, Paradox, Snood, Spaghetti and Meatballs (variation)
Tangles: Bateek, Cubine variation, Paradox (and variation), Snood,
Spaghetti and Meatballs, Warble





Here's the cover of Zentangle 8. My copy is on its way!


Saturday, November 3, 2012

AEDM day 3 - Paizel

Paizel from Angie Vangalis, that's the new tangle I tried today for Art Every Day Month. Angie is a CZT and was at the same training seminar I was, back in May 2010. As I was drawing Paizel it reminded me of two other tangles I haven't done for a while, Sandy Steen Bartholomew's Miranda and my own tangle Dansk.
Tangles: Caviar, Dansk, Miranda, Paizel and elements of Cubine

Friday, November 2, 2012

Art Every Day Month 2012, Day 2

I'm participating in Art Every Day Month again this year and hope to do a Zentangle tile every day and to use at least one tangle that's unfamiliar.  

However, I'm still on a Bunzo roll from this week's Zentangle challenge. I used a round tile and a template from the Zendala Dare (#7) and more Bunzo.
Tangles: Black Pearlz, Bunzo, Printemps, stripes and spirals

I have the odd feeling that this year's Art Every Day Month isn't going to happen as planned. We'll see. I hope I at least do something arty every day!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Banzai! Bunzo!

The challenge this week from the Diva is to use the new tangle Bunzo, from Maria Thomas. I love the look of Bunzo and I find it fun and easy to do. I usually can't resist adding highlights!

Bunzo is also my first effort for Art Every Day Month. I'm participating again this year, and again I plan to do a Zentangle tile every day and to use at least one tangle that's unfamiliar.  AEDM was started a decade ago by Leah Pinken Kolidas who writes,
"I encourage people to make something every day, but my goal is to foster more creativity, so if you make just one piece of art per week or just one for the whole month, that's fine with me. The idea is to bring more creativity into your life, not to make you feel overwhelmed, pressured or guilt-stricken." 
You can read more about AEDM here, and sign up to join in this year. (It doesn't matter if you've stumbled on this after November 1).
Tangles: Black Pearlz, Bunzo, Tidings, and spirals

On the one below, I also used white ink and it's one of the few times I've been happy with the results!
Tangles: Bunzo, Caviar, Crescent Moon, Printemps, and spirals