How to Draw the Zentangle® Tangle 'Munchin'

I thought I would share this video. Munchin is one of my favorite tangles.

Diva Challenge 228

This week's challenge is by guest blogger Cari Sultanik, CZT. ( http://iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com/)
She has challenged fellow tanglers to create a tile using organic patterns. Organic patterns are my very favorite, so I was happy to join in this week.  I used Verdigogh, Poke Root, Flux, a little Mooka, Pendrills, Locar, Cadent in a flower form, a little Poke Leaf, Fescue, and some odd-and-end fillers in leaf and flower forms.

Weekly Challenge 225

Laura Harms is on vacation, so this week's challenge is by guest blogger, Jen Crutchfield, CZT. Her challenge was to use only 2 or 3 colors.

 She did not say whether the tangles should be drawn with colored ink, or if the colors could be added to tangles drawn with black ink. She drew her own with colored inks. I did not like the effect of drawing the tangles with colored inks, so I drew mine with black ink, and added color with colored pencils. I used pink, blue and yellow for a tropical look.My tangles are out-of-the-grid Cadent, and one of my own creation, Topsy-TV. The other is one I have been working on since I got back from Charleston that was inspired from a palmetto tree trunk, so for now I will just call it "Palmetto". I drew it tiny on one side, and large on the other.

Off to Charleston

As I prepare to head out to Charleston for the 4th of July weekend tomorrow, I am thinking about the things I might see as inspiration for  Zentangle tiles...the buildings, structures, windows, fences, baskets...what will I see? The last time I was in Charleston, I was not aware of Zentangle, and now that my eyes are open to Zentangle,  I am excited about the possibilities!  Not only am I excited about the inspiration I may find in the city, but also at the seashore.  I will be packing my pens, pencils, sketchbook and camera...well, my LG phone-camera. ( My "real" camera has a malfunctioning lens motor which would cost $100+ to fix. I have not decided if I want to get it repaired or not as it is 6+ years old.)

Here are a couple of older tangled tiles that I did, influenced by things aquatic:

This one is called "The Beach"

This one is called "Fish Out of Water"
I actually sold both of these at an art show...people love beach/ fishing themes here in South Carolina!  I did not intend for the "Fish...." to look like the letter "E", but it does, and I have often told myself that I should try to develop an alphabet using these types of organic lines and forms. Maybe my trip to Charleston will reveal things to me to get me busy on this idea!

When I get back, I will write another post and let you know what I discovered! Stay tuned...

Beautiful and Note Worthy CZT Work

As a CZT, I belong to Face Book group for CZT's, and I am astounded, blown away, and inspired by all the amazing things these CZT's are creating and doing.  Recently, I became aware of the work of Brinn Mar McFetridge. She is working in a style that looks so different from other things I have seen. Her new pieces look like bundles of string and fiber and ribbon and yarn, all beautifully rendered.  I find myself staring at them, mesmerized. With her permission, I am posting a picture of one of her tiles:

I think the solid black "Umble" tangles make this piece. You imagine that this must be a black and white drawing of something made with golden threads. I wonder how this would come out if she were to try this on a black tile with gold ink?  I encourage you check out her blog, Brinnmar.com.

Topsy TV Tangle Design

It has been too long since my last post! I went to Texas to visit my father for his 85th birthday celebration in July, and in August, learned that he had stage 3 lung cancer. In September he suffered a couple of strokes, and, two months to the day after his birthday, passed away September 17 from complications of the stroke and cancer. I then traveled back to Texas for his memorial service, all the while dealing with my return to work at the beginning of the new school year.

It has been difficult to get back into the swing of things, but I think I am finally able to get moving again!

I had been working on a new tangle design of my own for several months now, and finally drew up a step-out that works the best for it. The name is Topsy-TV.

The conical shapes look kind of like tops, and the spaces in between make me think of little TV screens!  They line up more easily if you work in horizontal rows rather than vertical columns.
In the bottom example, the smaller group of Topsy-TV is jumbled up more because I did not draw consistently in a side by side manner. I had not figured it out yet. By the time I got to the large shapes in the top area of the tile, I had my "Ah-ha!" moment, and drew them row by row instead of column by column.

I created a border of linked "top" shapes in the first image, and played around with variations in the second image. There are a lot of things you can do with this tangle. It does have a retro look to it. I also morphed into a flag, as you can see in the first photo.

OH La-La! It's Bijou!

 Please Don't Eat This Petit Escargot!

The newest member of the Zentangle family is Bijou, a French snail that hitched a ride on Maria's suitcase!  Bijou has his own tile, a 2-inch square, with his name and likeness on the back!

Bijou was introduced at the CZT 14 & 15 seminars this June. These little tiles are great for monotangles  (see "Zentangle Glossary" page ).

Here are a few that I have done:

CZT Cherryl Moote has offered a free mini-e-book with directions on how to make a folder for Bijou tiles out of folded paper. Her link: http://www.mootepoints.com/ebooks.html

Here is a photo of the one I made:

The tiles fit in the side pockets, and it folds in half. I used double-sided scrap-book paper for mine, but any good paper will work. It was very easy to do! Thanks so much to Cherryl Moote!

Other CZTs have reported finding 2" square mini photo frames, and one even found a wooden multi-frame at Walmart. I am going to do some checking around town and see what I can find.

To purchase Bijou tiles, ask your local CZT, or find them online at Zentangle.com.