Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Diva Challenge #225: Guest Blogger Jen Crutchfield, CZT - Using color

The Diva is having guest bloggers over the summer as she is taking some time off this summer to spend more time with her family. This is the first week of a guest blogger and it is a fellow Indiana CZT. There are, I think, double the number of CZTs in the state from when I got my certification. I think the only area that does not have at least one is the northeast part of the state. But I digress.

The basic Zentangle® format is using black pen and a graphite pencil for shading. that is probably how most start but then they do venture out a little to try something with color. Usually, myself included, if the person does not have much (read any) art background using color is one of those things that causes a little increase in their anxiety. After 4 years of tangling I am more comfortable using color but it is still not something I am totally comfortable with doing. For this challenge I went back and visited one the techniques I first used to add color. This is Maria Browning's embossing technique that she included in her book, Time to Tangle with Color,  and also taught at  Tangle U.  I was not able to attend Tangle U but did talk with some people who did and I also found the brief explanation in her book. before when I used it I used a black tile. I have wanted to try it on other tiles to see how it worked but just have not done it. It seemed to fit well for this challenge. Enough rambling, here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.



Tangles used : Opsess, Shattuck, Bales
The color is done with Irojiten pencils. The colors are Lettuce Green, Lilac, & Sunset Orange.There is about three layers of each color.
The tangles are done using a Signo Uni-ball 207 Micro pen. I use these at work and when they have run out of ink, I have saved some to use for this purpose. It gives a finer line than the typical embossing tool. 

I have not seen a lot of other things posted yet for this challenge. I plan on going to I am the Diva to see the other pieces submitted. Would strongly encourage you to visit the site also and give the challenge a try, even if you do not decide to post what you do.

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

Go Tangle !!

22 comments:

  1. Lovely colors, Donald. Very subtle.

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  2. Beautifully understated. Nicely done.

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  3. What a clever idea to save an empty pen. I just threw one out yesterday! Really lovely piece.

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  4. I know nothing about embossing, so I'm going to have to look that up to understand the technique. Perhaps it's the photo, but your tile almost has a textile sensibility about it. Nice.

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    1. I removed this comment because for some reason my comment posted twice.

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  6. Lovely colorful piece.
    I was wondering are there czt in Belgium? I'm going to google for that :)

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    1. I checked and there are 4 listed at zentangle.com. There is on in Brussels, Kalmthant Ravels, and Waregem. Go to zentangle.com and there are email addresses available for them.

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  7. your tile looks very nice, i like the color

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  8. Wow Donald, what a great embossing work, such fine lines to create the tangles. Did you 3 layers of the same color on top to get that bright color? You commented on my drawing about the pea-nuckle variation, actually I did your posted variation, and I love it, since the seminar in Providence where Molly guided us through Pea-nuckle I love this tangle so your tangleation/variation spoke to me right a way! You took me back to the wonderful Providence experience.

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  9. Wonderful result of this interesting technique! So delicate lines and lovely colours!

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  10. Hi Donald, this is a new method to me too, so I was really interested to see the effect. I've not seen such fine embossing before and can't wait to try using a defunct pen as a tool. Your choice of colours is lovely and using them in blocks like that means the patterns stand out well.

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  11. I'm not familiar with embossing, but I like the result!

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    1. It really is pretty simple. You use and embossing tool or a pen that has dried out to make the tangles. You then lightly rub the pencils over the tangles. You then layer it to get the depth and intensity that you want. I use the side of the pencil so as you rub over it, the color does not go down in to the grooves. Looks good on black tiles also.

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  12. What a fun idea! Talk about going with the flow! Embossing is even more demanding than just using a pen because every mistake (and your attempt to correct them) will be visible. Love it!

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  13. I think your embossing turned out really well. Such an interesting approach to the challenge :)

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  14. Thanks for explaining what you did to make this very pretty tile. Color can be intimidating and that's not really part of why many are drawn to Zentangle. It's good to play once in a while though to appreciate what others have done. Nice work!

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  15. Very clever idea! It works so well and the colours are wonderfully vibrant! Axxx

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  16. I will definitely have to give this a try. Great idea Don! I likde the idea of using it on black paper too.

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  17. Very neat idea Donald! I haven't tried embossing yet, but you've definitely inspired me to try it. And I love your choice of colours - very fresh and bright. Your tile has a summer feel.

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  18. Fun and happy colors, Donald, I love it!! I also saw that you used your new tangle. I must give it a try! It looks really great! Annette :0)

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Thanks for visiting. Comments are welcomed and appreciated.