Diva Challenge #226: Guest Blogger - Katie Crommett - Simplicity

This week's Diva Challenge guest blogger is, I think, one of the more recent CZTs Katie Crommett. I guess by newer, she was after my CZT training. I remember seeing her post things though before she went to the training. Any way, her challenge to us is Simplicity. Not sure what things I will see as that can mean different things to different people. She also indicated to use only 2 - 3 tangles at the most. I think I was successful in this challenge. I only used 3 tangles and none of them are particularly complicated. I tried to keep the shading simple also. Here is what I came up with. I hope yolu enjoy it.

Tangles used: Abundies (which mine looks a lot like Narwal), Springkle, & Florz

Shading done with 4B & 2B pencils. 

 I have not looked at many of the things posted so far. A few have shown up in my blog reader. Hoping to get to look at as many of possible over the rest of the week. Would encourage you to check out I am the Diva. Take a risk and try it yourself and post your results on the Diva's blog.

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

Go Tangle !!

Zendala Dare #101: She's Baaaaack !!!

Guess who's baaaaaack? That's right, it is The Bright Owl with Zendala Dare #101. I remember seeing the previous one, but not sure how long ago it was or if I even participated. For a couple years it was one that I participated in regularly and I do enjoy Zendalas. I have to admit that it took a little getting use to. I have not done a lot of Zendalas lately and those that I did were more free hand so I was not dealing with a template. Some would think that having a template would make it easier but there is a little decision making about how you want to use the template. I put the whole template on the tile and just took a little at a time. I started on the outside, then the center and then the middle part and the shading. It really was easier once I decided on the center. Before that I was not sure exactly what I was going to do with the majority of the template. Well enough gabbing. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used : Verve, Betweed,  Gneiss

Shading done with 4 B pencil

The last I looked there were not a lot of other zendalas posted at The Bright Owl. Hoping that a few more will do something. It is always interesting to see what people do with the templates. Would encourage you to take a look by clicking on the link above. Why not give it a try yourself, even if you do not post it.

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

Go Tangle !! 

Square One Focus Tangle : Munchin

The focus tangle in the Square One, Purely Zentangle® FB page is Munchin. I have used this tangle before, but I have to admit that I have not used it a lot. Not sure why. Probably because there are a couple of other tangles that I use in triangular areas. I also am not sure about using this in a definitive area. I know that strings are suppose to be guidelines but I am more likely to follow them. This is one that I think works better as a free form tangle. Enough said. Here is what I came up with. I hope hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used : Munchin, Flora, Henna Drum

Shading done with 4B pencil.

Have to work on not making my triangles so similar in size. Have seen a number of creative tiles with this tangle. Looking forward to seeing more. 

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

Go Tangle !!

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 !!

If It Doesn't Move, Tangle It: River Rocks

Had seen a number of posts of people doing this. One was Annette Carlo at Call it What You Quill. She used a stylus and ink to do hers. I have seen some that I think that were done with paint and a paint brush. It is a special brush as what I have read it is made to do small dots of paint. Not using a lot of other mediums, am not sure what they are called. Looked interesting and thought I would give it a try. Learned a couple of things. The stylus is not easy to use. You also have to be patient and let things dry. If you don't, you smudge or wipe off what you just did. Rocks are not easy to hang on to. I'll add a little more after the picture. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy them.

Materials used: The ink is an acrylic artist's ink that I got at Hobby Lobby. The colors are done with paint pens. Most are extra fine DecoColor paint pens. 

Not sure how many more of them I will do. Will have to wait and see. There are a few other projects that I want to work on. This was an interesting endeavor. 

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

Go Tangle !! 

Diva Challenge #224: "Monotangle - Tipple"

This week's Diva Challenge is an interesting one. It is interesting not only because it is a monotangle but also because of the tangle that is used. She chose Tipple. Normally, will use this tangle to fill or augment a tile or other tangles. Trying to do a whole tile with it reminds me of the stippling challenge that was done a while back. You are creating something else with this tangle. I am looking forward to seeing a lot of really unique and interesting things that people have done.

There was something else that was unique about this challenge. I have no other art training other than Zentangle®. Before that it was only the mandatory classes that I took through elementary school. I have known people that who can form an image in their mind and they translate it to paper. That does not describe me. Over the almost 4 years I have been tangling there have been times when I was doing a challenge or just working on a tile that before I started, I would have some of idea of what I hoped/wanted it to look like. Was not really pre-planned, just a concept of what I wanted at the end. I know that seems a little contrary to the whole Zentangle process but not really. I learned to enjoy what the result was. I also learned to not make any judgments about a tile until it was done. It was not always what I envisioned but it did not mean I did not like it. Sometimes, I liked it better than what I had envisioned before I started. Well, this tile was the only one that I can remember that the end result really was like what I envisioned.  I will say more about it after the picture.  Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Shading is always a challenge for me even when I like the result. It is particularly a challenge when I am trying to shade any color or in this case the brown micron. I have tried a number of things but never was all that pleased with the result. This was done with a layering of Prismacolor pencils. I probably tried about 15 different combinations before I came up with this. This is probably the best one that I have come up with. It is first a layer of Goldenrod, then White and lastly Burnt Ochre. I then used the blending pencil to smooth and burnish it. As I said, I was pleased with the result. 

I have only seen things that have shown up on my blog reader and that is not many. Looking forward to seeing a number of great tiles. If you have not done so, go to I am the Diva and check them out. Try it your self even if you do not post it.

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

Go Tangle !!                                               

Square One Focus Tangle: Meer

This week's focus tangle on Square One is Meer. I have not used it a lot but it does have some interesting possibilities. I have to admit, I was not feeling particularly creative when doing this. I decided to keep it simple. I have seen some really creative uses of this tangle posted in the FB page. That being said, I am not disappointed with the way that this turned out. Probably one  of the biggest challenges was trying to decide what orientation I would use to photograph it. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Cubine, Meer, Jonqal 

Shading done with #2 pencil.

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

Go Tangle !!

Pea-nuckle Tangleation

Came up with this when exploring different things to do with the "S" stroke. Was a conscious effort to see what it would look like using the same finish as Pea-nuckle. The concept of tangleations is one that is still somewhat unclear to me. This time it was a little clearer as I was deliberately trying to change the look of the tangle. However, does that mean that all ways of finishing this are also tangleations? When do they become different tangles?  If you use the same basic structure but the finished tangle is entirely different is it still a tangleation. If you are looking for an answer, sorry but will not get it here.

I think I have stated in an earlier post about now there are many tangles that start from the same basic structure. A lot are squares or combination of squares and lines. Bales is a good example as well as Dex and Florz.  These are the ones that come to mind quickly. Is it a separate tangle because it looks different? Or is it a different tangle because it was not an intentional attempt to change the tangle? Is it a tangleation because it starts with the same basic structure no matter what it looks like at the end? Again, wish I had some answers. Here is the definition of tangleation from the Zentangle® website.  

A variation of a tangle by itself or in combination with one or more tangles. Basic tangles are like paint out of a tube. Tangleations are the result of altering a tangle, or mixing one or more basic tangles together in different proportions. 

Not sure that helps a lot. Oh well. Just more grist for the discussions on the FB pages. Here is the step out. 

Here is a picture of something from my journal and a bookmark. Are these tangleations or new tangles.  Would be interested in your thoughts.

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

Go Tangle !!

Diva Challenge #223:"Official Tangle - UMBLE"

This week's Diva Challenge uses  one of the tangles that is in the Zenthology, Umble. It was also the focus recently in the Zentangle® newsletter. I have not used it a lot. I think I first saw it in Sandy Steen Bartholomew's Alpha Tangle book. It is interesting as it uses the hollibaugh effect but the rest is pretty basic. This being the case I did want to change it up a little. Also did it on a Renaissance tile. Have been using mostly the original tiles as most of what I have been doing and posting has been on the Square One FB page and that is all you can use. I did remind me though that each tile takes pencils differently. The Renaissance tiles are a little thinner and do not necessarily do layering of colored pencils that well. Had some difficulties with the paper flaking. Did not cause major problems, but just had to be careful. This is what I ended up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Intwine, Umble, 

Inside are Dew Drops. The shading/highlighting is done with lays of Irojiten colored pencils. The bottom layer is Lightning Yellow, the next is Bamboo, and the last is Maple Sugar. If I felt the paper would take another layer I would have tried a red tint to get closer to the brown micron but did not want to chance it. 

Have not looked at many of the other posts, only seen those that showed up on my blog reader. I had all ready started mine when I saw them so was all ready set on what I was going to do. If you have not all ready been to I am the Diva, would strongly recommend you do so and look at the great art submitted by all the other participants. Try it yourself and take a real plunge and post your own.

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

Go Tangle !!

Square One Focus Tangle: Arukas

I am posting this with a little trepidation. Just recently checked out a site that is stealing peoples' images and then selling them on posters. This really makes me angry as some of the images were posted within the last couple of weeks. Do not really know how many of mine are on their site, but saw probably about 10 before it stopped letting me look at images. Do not know if they have sold any posters using my images. I would post a message to them in this blog but I am sure they do not read the blog they just steal the images. The information that I read indicates that it somewhere out of the US. Probably makes it impossible to do anything about it. Have to come up with some easy way to watermark my images so it will make it hard for them to use.  Enough venting, on to the Focus Tangle.

Arukas is a fun tangle to do. Not always sure how to get it to "play well" with other tangles. Just started and let it go where it wanted. Not sure what I think of this one. Do  not hate it but to me is a little disconnected. Did have a chance to try a new tangle which if I can remember it, will use in other pieces. The new tangle is Intwine.  Here is what I came up with. Hope you enjoy it,(except you Wallpart!!!)

Tangles Used: Arukas, Shattuck, Meer, Cruze, & Intwine

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

Go Tangle !! 

Square One Focus Tangle: Flux

This week's focus tangle is Flux. I have not done a focus tangle for a while. Have too many other things demanding my time. When I saw that it was Flux figured that I could get something done before I need to focus on prepping for my class on Saturday. I enjoy doing this tangle. I also use it regularly in my Basic class as it is a good tangle to demonstrate the flexibility of Zentangle®, and that there are no mistakes and no hard and fast rules. Rick and Maria have very different ways of doing this tangle. I liken it to the different fonts on a computer. Commas, apostrophes and quotation marks look different in different fonts but we still see them as the same thing. Both ways of doing this are recognized as the same tangle. Here is what I came up with I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Flux- both versions, Scroll Feather, Ahh, Antidots, & Featherfall. I do not know if the vine with Antidot has a name or not.

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

Go Tangle !!  

Bookmarks : Easy and fun

Has been awhile since I did any bookmarks. They are usually easy to do and do not take a lot of time. Had been working on a number of other things so wanted to do something just for fun. Other than the Knightsbridge at the bottom, none of the patterns have names as for as I know. They are the result of something a did a while back that I called S-plorations. I basically started with the basic element of an S and just tried to come up with different things to do. Can see these and some other examples by clicking on My Tangles tab on the top of the page and scroll down to the S-ploration  entry. There are some basic shapes and then some embellishments added. Here is what I did. I hope you enjoy it.

Have not really decided if I am going to add anything to the top. When I got done with the last one, noticed that it had gotten a little wonky. Not sure what to do to finish it off. May do some Tipple or maybe even Jetties.

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

Go Tangle !! 

Diva Challenge #221: " Beads of Courage"

This week's Diva Challenge is one that occurs yearly. It is to bring attention to the Beads of Courage program. I think that it originally started around kids with cancer but has been expanded to include any child that has a condition that necessitates numerous and ongoing medical evaluations and procedures. The Diva's youngest son has Moebius Syndrome, a neurological disorder that impacts facial muscles. Some things that we take for granted, can be difficult to do, like sucking. It also results in his system being prone to infections. Anyone that has read her blog knows the strain that this puts on her family as well as others.

The Beads of Courage gives these kids a glass bead for every medical procedure that they go through. These kids can have yards of beads. I have participated in this challenge a couple of times. I was not sure that I was going to get anything done this year. I happened to have some time at work today because of no show/cancelled appointments so I decided to start something. I did not plan on using a black zendala tile but when I opened my tote that I use to carry my pens and tiles, this was the only one unused tile I had. Luckily I also had my container that had my metallic gel pens in it. Kept it simple. Not sure if I will do another one or not. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

I forgot how you have to be careful with the gel pens as the ink does not dry as quickly as the Microns. Resulted in a few smudges until I finally was aware enough. In keeping with my practice of using the first tile I complete, I did not start over. Did not really use a lot of tangles. Did a few Cruffle and Printemp circles. Threw in a few Indy-rella for variety. The rest is just line work.

Will be interesting to see what others do. This usually results in some pretty cool tiles. I have not looked at any of them yet, and hope I have time to see them all. Not sure how much time I will have to comment on peoples' tiles. If you have not visited the Diva's blog click here so look at all the other great pieces of art.

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

Go Tangle !!

Diva Challenge #220: "All Boxed Up by Alice Hedon, CZT"

This being the first of the month, the Diva Challenge is a UMT, use my tangle, challenge. This time it is a tangle by Alice Hendon, CZT called All Boxed Up. The uniqueness of this tangle comes out with the shading. This is true even though what it was based on did not have any shading it was wall art. There is a picture, along with the step outs and some great tiles using the tangle on her blog, The Creator's Leaf. I did not get to this as early as I had wished. It is late Thursday night and I am just getting it posted. Correction it is early Friday morning. The only reason I am still up is that I do not have to go into the office tomorrow.

Was not really sure what I wanted to do with this tangle. I decided to go with true Zentangle® method and just start with no planning and let this build on its own. Maybe that is why it took me longer to do. One thing that was a little more purposeful is that I wanted to try Narwal, a tangle that I had not tried yet. Enough rambling about things. This is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: All Boxed Up, Cadent, Florz(variation), Narwal, and Genoa.

There was a discussion on one of the groups about what the definition of a tangle is. Someone suggested that Narwal was not a tangle because it used a pencil string and tangles are not suppose to use grids or things to complete them. Not sure about that but wanted to see if I could do Narwal without the pencil string. I was able to accomplish it. I have to admit I did have to watch the video as I was doing it. I do not think it turned out too bad for a first attempt.

If you have not done so all ready, would strongly encourage you check out the tiles and ZIAs posted on I am the Diva. I have not had a chance to look at very many. Usually just ones that show up in my reader or when people have also posted them in one of the FB groups. 

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

Go Tangle !! 

Diva Challenge #219: :Straight Lines all the Tines...er, Times"

Interesting challenge from the Diva this week. Think the only reason I was able to get to it this quickly is that our office was closed today in honor of Memorial Day. Others from Europe have mentioned similar days in their countries. It is the day set aside in the US to honor those who died during wars/conflicts or while serving in the military. Could not really think of a theme for this to include in the tile.

Now back to the challenge. It is to use only straight lines. Did not think that it would be that hard and it really wasn't but I did have to deal with my wanting to put in some organic tangles. Was not so much that I do not like the line tangles, I realized that I usually put in a couple of organic tangles to balance it. In this tile it probably would have been where the Hollibaugh is used. also could not imagine doing only straight lines without using Paradox. I am sure that others will use it also. Other thing that I noticed after I had taken the picture is that I did not fill spaces quite as well as I thought I had. Oh well, was not a big enough issue to go back and redo and take another picture. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used : Paradox, Cubine, Hollibaugh, & Basquals

Shading done with HB pencil

Not even sure how many things have been posted yet on I am the Diva. Hope to have time throughout the week to look at the great pieces posted there. I would encourage you to go there often as well.

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

Go Tangle !!

Square One : Focus Tangle - Purk, Photo

When I originally posted this tile I mentioned that I did not  have access to my camera. The scan really made everything "white-out" did not really show much of the shading. Did take a picture of it and this is what it looks like. Like the picture much  better.

 Tangles used: Purk, Quib (variation), Flux, Tripoli, and Zinger,

I know that Zinger was last week's focus tangle but I included it in this tile also. Kind of went along with the Flux.

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

Go Tangle

Square One: Focus Tangle - Purk

Got to the focus tangle early this week. Purk is the focus tangle this week at Square One. I have used it in the past. It is one that I enjoy but have not used it lately. I enjoy connecting it to other tangles. That is what I did in this tile. I threw in a couple of my other favorite tangles as well. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Purk, Quib(variation), Tripoli, Flux, and Zinger

Shading was done with an HB and 4B pencil

I usually take pictures of my tiles but I do not have my camera so I had to scan this. Even though I took off the "remove dust" setting, it did not scan that well. When I have access to my camera, I may take another picture and post that.  If you are on FB, there are a lot of great tiles on the Square One site.

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

Go Tangle !!

Square One: Focus Tangle - Zinger

This week's focus tangle for Square One is Zinger. While I like this tangle, I tend to see it as an embellishment and not a main tangle. I think that came out in this tile. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used; Zinger, Pendrils

Shading done with HB and 4B pencils.

 This was an relaxing tile to do. Nice long lines and repetitive stokes. Not sure about the shading on this one.  Did not come out quite the way that I had envisioned but that is okay. Think maybe I tried to do too much with the shading. I need some work on this. It is not something I practice much.

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

Diva Challenge #218: "White on Black on Found"

This week's Diva Challenge is a choice. Can do white on black or tangle on something found.  I have some rocks that I want to get to but they were not found, they were bought. I ended up using a Zendala tile as that is the black tile that I had in my bag that I carry. It worked out well. I did not use a template for this and just started. I did the dividing tangle and then just added others. Cadent is a favorite so I wanted to include that and I wanted to include some organic tiles. I did try a new tangle/pattern from Helen Williams. Guess I have to add to the challenge. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Cadent, Heartrope, Zander, Flux, Zinger,Tumbleweed, and Ahh

Shading done with Prismacolor White pencil with a blender.
I used both a Sakura White Gelly Roll pen and a Signo Uni-ball Angelic White pen for the tangles. Can you tell which tangles I used which pen on?

The new pattern that I tried is Tumbleweed by Helen Williams. It is okay for the first attempt, but not as flowing as I would like or even close to what Helen accomplishes. I will keep trying. 

I have not had a chance to look at many of the other posts but hope to do so during the rest of the week. Would encourage you to go to I am the Diva and look at the great art that is posted.

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

Go Tangle !!

Square One: Focus tangle - Cubine

Getting this done just under the wire. I know it is not a challenge, but I do like to get them during the week that they are listed as a focus. I have used Cubine a lot. Most of the time it is a consistent grid. Wanted to do something a little different. Had been thinking about for a while but just never got around to trying anything. I am pleased with the way this turned out. Had not used cross hatching as a way to shade before. I was pleased with the way this went for a first try. If there is anything that I would change it would be the Flux/ Poke Root combination. Did not really turn out the way it did in my head. That is okay though. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Cubine, Flux, Poke Root

Shading done with 4B and 2B pencils

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

Go Tangle !!