With Zentangle-inspired art, inspiration can strike anywhere, anytime on any surface! Latest projects:
If you have watched the www.zentangle.com web site, you know by now that no surface is safe or immune from being tangled! If you haven't checked out the original Zentangle site and their blog (www.zentangle.com and zentangle.blogspot.com ), please do so. It is amazing what is being done!

These are some charms I made to attach to a key chain, key ring or cell phone. I made these for my grandkids to use on their backpacks, laptop bags, cell phones, etc. to identify them--you have to admit, there won't be any others like them! The left photo shows the fronts of the charms and right photo shows the back of the charms. Strangely enough, the bright purple was a silver with purple miniscule outline until I put the protective coating/sealant over it--the silver disappeared! The tangles were done on some Strathmore Bristol vellum finish cardstock from Dick Blick art supply website; the charms are part of the "Fragments" collection at Blockhead Stamps Fragment Charms and the adhesive/coating/sealant is "Glossy Accents" at Blockhead Stamps Inkssentials Glossy Accents. Not including the bright purple GLM, the other places I added color, I used the Sakura Stardust line of Gelly Roll pens. I have made keychains using these supplies and have always been pleased with the results after experimenting with a variety of materials. Now I think I am going to make a set of luggage tags to use on my trip to the Zentangle Masters class!




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Gilding the Lily... or whatever
While drawing out how to do the "Shattuck" tangle, I drew a sample with variations and realized two things I do that you may not have thought about...

1. When filling in black beads, when I am done, I often fill in a couple of the highlights (the white spots) with my gold metallic pen. I actually began this by accident... I have filled in all of a bead when I wasn't paying attention and it just looked "dead" to me. I couldn't take the black ink out and my white gel pen had just died so I grabbed my gold metallic pen--it will go over black ink (covers it if you go over the line so make sure to know whether you go over a line or just inside it!) and you would never know it was a mistake... sure enough, I liked it so I do it sometimes now for a different look.
2. 1b actually)... try doing the highlights with the "clear star" pen---WOW!
3. sometimes when I do a divider line(s) within a tangle, I like to fill in the lines with my gold pen. I've learned to always do this after doing my shading or else it can dull the gold more than I want it to (but it's a great way to "antique" or "distress" a gold line). Be careful--this ink dries slower so be sure to give it time before stacking, turning it over oR putting your hand on it (and yes, that is experience talking).

More ideas for dealing with "string block" or just for trying something new:
A couple of other ideas that you can try for new strings (picking up where I left off last time):
7: Use your computer: Yeah, I'm serious. A couple of my kids wanted to do the letter to their last name (the infamous "M") but what I drew wasn't good enough--turned out what she really wanted was an Old English/Victorian version. I discovered quite by accident that if you blow up a font (figuratively) to the size of your 8.5" x 11" piece of paper, most of the fonts printed out in an outline form (I was just going to take the black version and hope I could trace it--no problem that work was done for me!). Well, we really had fun after that--I got a HUGE collection for fonts including all kinds of "ornamentals" (squiggles, tangles, doodles, etc.), angles, birthday cakes, butterflies (and things for various other hobbies over the years) plus the webdings/dingbats/wingdings and other such things. If that does not work with the font you want to use or you don't want it to print out that large, do what you want to use for your string in MS Word, select it and then open the font dialog box (if you have questions about this, just ask) and 99% of my fonts have "outline" available as a formatting option. Try printing it in gray---looks more and more like a pencil line <happy dance>.... remember, you are not required to use every one of their lines and there are no font police who would keep you from adding lines (something to break the space up for more tangles).

8: Change the scale of your work: This can have tremendous impact and the first time may really be a challenge to your comfort zone. Go ahead... you can do it!
a) If you usually work very fine, do larger tangles and vice versa;
b) change the stock you are tangling on. Go for a nice large piece of good quality stock (I like to work on Bristol, either smooth or vellum finish or on watercolor stock). I also like to work on 6"x6" card stock [I like Strathmore's Bristol 6x6 pads--sometimes I can find them at Hobby Lobby or Michael's but usually I order a dozen of them online; the pads are really nice to carry, the cover protects the paper and the backing makes a good support].
c) make some ATC's [artist trading cards--not many rules except that they are 2.5" x 3.5" always--going from a square shape to the rectangle feels surprisingly different to work on!
d) You can tangle things besides paper... try going 3 dimensions--a papier mache box is a good place to start (get a 4" square one, tangle it... voila! a place to keep your tiles!)
e) Start a journal of your tangles. It's surprising to see the way your style evolves. It's a good way to practice and test out new ideas for your own tangles
f) Desperate? try what we did in grade school...swirl a string on paper and then use that to draw your string [how about dipping it in glue and making a dimensional project?]

Getting the idea(s)? Do not impose limits on yourself... that's what we did when we were telling ourselves all the reasons we couldn't be/weren't an artists. Zentangle has "rules" but in actuality they are guidelines to learn the concept... once you know them, then you can break them.

What to do when you hit a "string block"
What is a "string block"--it's a Tangler's version of writer's block! Periodically I find that my strings begin to look the same, especially if I did one that turned out particularly well. So here are some of the things that I do when I start to feel stale--strings the same (or almost) and using the same tangles again and again. Today, I'm going to talk about the strings...

1: Use a letter for a string: One of the first things I do is to chose a letter and write it on my tile then expand on it... some letters are better than others but doing someone's initial also makes a unique gift to them. I often do "M"--it's my last initial but also for so many in the family that it gets used a lot. I like variety on that so I go to the fonts in my computer and look at different styles for the letter I've chosen. That should begin to expand your horizons.

2: Do a monogram: Sometimes I do a monogram for someone--then I have a tendency to make sure that they can see the letters. Other times, I use the outlines created and start filling the spaces (sometimes I ignore some of the lines created by the letters especially if they are very small spaces). You can also do a combination where you fill all the space with tangles but still make the letters visible (not always easily though). Using that same idea, you can also zentangle a name.

3: Do a name: I usually use all caps when I do this and then join them to create background space to tangle.

4: Select a shape and repeat it then tangle the shapes: In the example, I selected the shape of one of the tangles... each of the shapes is tangled differently... try skewing or warping the shape too. If you do that it's interesting to see what happens with you use the same tangle and warp it too.

5: Use a pre-strung Zentangle tile: I don't use these a lot but find that they help me break out of my comfort zone and try new things.

6: If you have a ZT partner, have them draw a string for you and you draw one for them: this sounds so simple, but you will be surprised what a difference it will make.
THOUGHT:... we could create a "string exchange"

Here are some examples of these ideas:

This is the original string for GLM (I copied it as closely as I could for all of them just to show the different things with the same string)	This is taking the GLM string and tangling each letter to create a monogram I do the letters in reverse order so that the final letter done is on top/in front of the first ones	This the the GLM string "mixed". I tangled the letters and then filled in the surrounding spaces with tangles--almost "lost" the GLM but not quite	The is GLM when I used the letters for the outside shape and ignored many of the smaller lines in the letters--this if for the shape not the letters
This is just a single letter--it gives you more space to do more with the tangles	This is my granddaughter Anna--this has as much variety as she does--I love it!	I took one shape, overlapped it a little in the middle and then filled each of the spaces with a different tangle--the ones across from each other were usually similar--not always	This is one of the Zentangle pre-strung tiles. Almost all of them are shapes I would not normally draw so it breaks me out of a rut.

My selection for the CZT Tile Collection
This is my final selection for my submission to the CZT Tile Collection. At the moment it is my favorite (although that has a tendency to change rather quickly as I do a new Zentangle), but I chose it for what it represents for me [if you want to skip the story/dissertation, go to the last paragraph of this section].

I had become stale in my strings--they all seemed to end up looking alike for a while so I decided to give a try to some of the pre-strung tiles that I had picked up earlier. It seemed to break that "string block" and also seemed to give me more freedom in what I used for tangles. Then I picked up this tile... it was a spiral without a break with a circle around it... what on earth was I going to do with that?!?!? I think I studied the tile for two days and couldn't find anything that worked right for it--this was definitely not in my comfort zone.

I finally ended up creating a border tangle... Kandysnake (above) for the spiral. The last tangle that I drew during CZT class was Linked and I always liked it but had not used it; I decided on that for the "frame" for the spiral. The background tangle ended up looking like it was a scroll to me... then I added my Zendylyon with some grass and vines. In the end it was OK and I liked it but it didn't "do anything" for me.

So I set it aside for a few days. On Day 2, I decided to fill in the Linked to make a black chaing. Better but still not grabbing me.

I kept coming back to it but nothing. Then it finally dawned on me--I had not done any shading. This is my challenge... before I took the CZT class I was only using an 005 pen with crosshatching because I could not seem to do it with a pencil and look right to me--and I can't stand it when it smudges! During class I decided that I needed to follow the master's... learn how to play by "the rules" before I was breaking them. I'm getting better about the shading but it remains my challenge. So I shaded it---WOW--that was what was missing! Now I love it

So all this story boils down to my lessons:
1) try something new if your work is feeling stale to you;
2) don't be afraid to just play to fill a space with the right tangle--it might even be a new one;
3) step back--a tile does not have to be completed in one day; and most of all,
#4) step out of your comfort zone!
This may not be the best in the collection [ "may not"??? no kidding!] but it was one of the best lessons I've had so far in my 'tangling.



Tuesday, April 13, 2010: CZT Tiles
Hello, everyone. I have been requested to send one tile as an example of my work to add to the soon-to-be-created CZT tile collection (one from each CZT--this will become part of the class "fee"). Each one is my favorite as I am working on them so now I am having trouble deciding which one to send. I posted some of my most current tiles in a new album in the PHOTOS tab. Hope to hear from all of you!

Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010: Happy Easter to Everyone!

This one began so simply... I just couldn't seem to figure out when to quit—and I'm not sure if I'm done yet or not. With each "layer" of detail/added tangle, I kept thinking, "OK, this is the last layer. Anything more is going to be too much." And then I'd think of something else I wanted to add and it just seemed to become a compulsion. This is the center of a postcard (about 5" x 7") and I don't have any idea what I'm going to do with the rest of it.

I posted some more of my greeting cards and postcards in the Photo Gallery in case you would like to see them. I think I'll try to scan some of my ATC (Artist Trading Cards) and coasters next time just to put in a little variety.

I pray that each of you have a wonderful Easter today and that your lives are filled with God's blessings.

Thursday, April 1, 2010: Please tell me what you think of my 1st draft Christmas Card


Well, this didn't scan quite as well as I had hoped but it's a draft after all, right? It's my trial for this year's Christmas cards. I'm thinking of using the basic "picture" and then fill with different tangles for each of the cards. I might even try a couple with my colored pens... maybe some done with the metallic pens and some with the gelly roll colored pens. I don't think I'll use the colored "starburst" pens for anything except the star and maybe halos. I'm thinking that I'll use my "clear star" pen for rays out from the star and maybe to create a halo effect around Christ's head... what do you think?


sidenote: I had to laugh when I thought about it... am I working before ahead or really behind??? Here I am posting a Christmas card on the eve of Good Friday.... so who's the April Fool?




I received a suggestion for my new flower tangle name... Zen-dyLion. I really like that especially for the ones for the flower is more "open." Any other suggestions?





















NOTE: in answer to a question I received... a number of the photos were scanned after I had packaged my cards and postcards so they are showing some of my labels.

Thursday, March 18, 2010:

I picked up some lucious metallic cardstock (pretty heavy) with rich dark chocolate color and did some tangles using the gold pen in Sakura's Metallic line of pens. This scan does not show how rich it looks together, but I'm very pleased with it. I have some pearl envelopes to go with it and I am very happy with this combination.

Generally, my personal love is still white or off-white stock and black ink (my favorite medium has always been pen and ink) but I do like this combination.

I ran into Expedex and had some fun with some of their speciallty papers and cardstock (big surprise... I spent more than I expected or planned too!). I'll be posting some other paper and pens that I've been working with and other materials that I've tried putting zentangles on.


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