Square One: Ready " Auraknot"

The most recent prompt from the Square One Facebook page is the tangle Auraknot. This is one that has a lot of interesting possibilities. People tend to either like it or they struggle with it. I have not had a particular difficulty with it. I did look at the video from zentangle.com just a refresher since it has been a little while since I had used this tangle. You can view the video here. The problem after looking at it was deciding how I wanted to use it. So I decided to incorporate a number of different possibilities.  Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used. Auraknot, C-scape, Flux, Zinger, Tipple

While this may look complicated, it is like a lot of other tangles. You just have to keep track of the sequence. They are not easy to find, but there was one section where I did  not. I started with the 3 pointed clover like figure. I did 2 auras of this and then did the triangle. I did 2 auras of this and then did the curved lines that went through out the whole pattern. This I only did 1 aura before I went back and began auraing the different figures. Then you  just have to decide when you are going to stop.

If you are on Facebook go to the Square One: Purely Zentangle page and you can see other great pieces that people have created.

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Go Tangle !!

Diva Challenge #182: "Stripes"

This week's Diva Challenge is to use stripes as a string. This was fun. It wasn't quite as easy I thought as I had to stop and think about a few tangles to use. Did not spend a lot of time but just browsed different tangles. I mostly used favorites for this. Not thrilled with the end result but it is okay. Is mostly the transitions between the different tangles. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Chainlea, Copada, Betweed, Shattuck, 'Nzeppel, Arckles, and Bales.

As I said above was not thrilled with it. Thought about a couple of things to try, including just shading between the different stripes. If I have time, may make copies and then experiment with a couple of things. 

Hopefully I will have some time to view all the different things that others have posted. I have only seen a few that have shown up in my reader. Would encourage you to visit I am the Diva to look at all the great works of art. 

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated. 

Go Tangle !!

Square One: Bronx Cheer - It's a Focus not a Fix

As if I do not have enough to do, I joined another FB group that puts out a prompt for the week. Is not really a challenge, but has some similar elements. The group is focused on doing Zentangle® in its basic form. This means white tiles, black Micron and a pencil. No color, no figure strings, I think. I decided to do this as Erin has decided to put the Zendala Dare on hold at least until January. It also gives me a chance to really practice the basics more. I am enjoying using color more, but think I need to keep some focus on the basic b/w and the shading.  As you can guess from the title of this post, the prompt is to use Bronx Cheer as a main tangle and not to cover a mistake, which is probably the way that most people, at least early in seminars, tend to view it. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Bronx Cheer, Poke leaf, and Chillon

This was fun to do and did not take long at all. It also gave me a chance to not just focus on using the basic tools, but also tried to be focused on each stroke.  I have to admit, I did think a little about what I wanted to do with this tangle. Since the idea was to make it a main focus, I did not want to do something in the background that would make it look like it was covering something. I narrowed it down to Chillon and Batch. Either one would have worked, but Chillon is much simpler. 

I think anyone can view the FB page, but you do have to be a member to post. If you are interested, and on Facebook, type in Square One: Purely Zentangle® and the page should show up in your options. Click on it and look at what others have done.

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Go Tangle !!

Diva Challenge #181: "Water"

For those who visit my blog regularly, you may have noticed a change. This was not intentional. I went into Blogger and was looking at some things. I clicked on something which I though was just going to show me what it looked like. Unfortunately it applied it to my blog. I had not backed up the settings and I did not see a restore button. I had to try to begin to reconstruct it from memory. I at least got some basic things back. You will probably see other things change as I try to adjust things.

Now on the the Diva Challenge. This week she based the challenge on her recent activities. She, along with her family, spent some time enjoying different activities on the water.  We were suppose to use "water" to inspire us in creating our tile. Well I went to one of my earliest resources. One of the first books that I purchased about Zentangle® was Sandy Bartholomew's Totally Tangled. She has a page in her book that shows a number of Japanese images that represent water. I chose one of them. I have not looked at others, except a few that showed up on my blog reader. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Swell, Squid, Sanibelle

This is quite different from what I usually do. I have been using a little more color but not like this. I used a combination of Irojiten and Derwent pencils. The water is a layering of Irojiten Horizon Blue, Hyacinth Blue and Derwent Sea blue. The last is the darker color. Sanabelle is a layering of Irojiten Straw Yellow, Bamboo, and Maple Sugar. On Squid I used Pigeon Gray for the orbs and Cameo Pink for the tentacle. 

I now hope to be able to spend some time viewing what others have done. As usual, I encourage you to go to I am the Diva and look at all the great art. Take the time to comment, as most people appreciate this. If so inspired, take the challenge yourself. 

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Go Tangle !! 

Diva Challenge #180: "UMT - MacDee by Anneke Van Dam"

Busy week so this will be a short post. The Diva did another UMT challenge this week. It is a tartan like pattern called MacDee. You can see the step out and some variations here. It reminds me of a blanket or table cloth so that is what my ZIA ended up looking like. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: MacDee, Sprigs, Pea-Nuckle

I used a Red Micron and a woodless pencil for shading. 

I hope I have time to look at the other postings. Would encourage you to do so and also to try your own tile whether you post it or not. Go to I am the Diva to look at what others have done.

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged and appreciated.

Go Tangle !! 

Diva Challenge #179: "Be like Bijou"

The Diva changes things up and instead of the usual UMT challenge on the first Monday of the month, she chose to use the recently released Bijou tiles from Zentangle®. I did not have any of the official tiles so I cut some 2"x 2" squares on some vellum paper.  To be honest, I am not sure about these. They are easy to work with and I think they are great for monotangles. I am a little surprised as I usually like things that are small. I guess that I should clarify as it is not that I do not like them, I am just not as excited as some others have been about them. Here is what I came up with. I did two of them. I hope you enjoy them.

Tangles used: Left - Meer, Cubine, Right - Mumsy, Ribbon petals, Zinger

The one in the upper left on the left tile does not have a name. It is one that was the result of experimenting with one of the basic strokes. 

The shading on Cubine was done with a graphite pencil and a Fabrico grey marker.  All other shading was with a graphite pencil.

I have not looked at many on the Diva's site, but I did see that there are all ready a lot things posted. Would encourage you to go and visit by clicking here. It may also encourage you to give it a try or participate yourself. If you are unsure, or have questions, feel free to ask. 

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated. 

Go Tangle !!