Tangled Butterfly

As promised, here's the first Design Team sample, which is posting on the Chocolate Baroque Design Team Blog today. I have also posted the details on my main blog, so won't bore you with them here.

I don't have much time for tangling, so it's been lovely to have an excuse to get my pens out and do something. I'll be back in a few days with another sample, thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

A quick catch up

My poor neglected blog hasn't seen much activity lately, I'm sorry to say. I have been beavering away with some tangling, but it has been for Design Team purposes, so I have been unable to show anything on here. There are some new stamps available at Chocolate Baroque which are called Tangled Garden. These stamps are great for those who like to tangle, as they are large stamps, some with large open areas, just crying out to be filled with zentangle patterns. There are other stamps in the set that already have patterns included. So, if you want to create a design in a hurry, or are less confident in your abilities, these are just great.

Over the coming days, I will be showing some designs on my <a href="http://poppycottage.blogspot.com>main blog</a> but, I'll try to include a link on here as well for those of you who do not follow that blog. I've made something today, using the stamps, just for fun, which is on my other blog:

Finally, another colour explosion, that one or two of you will have seen already, but I'd like to add it here for my other followers. One of the challenges set recently on the CB Zentangle Ning Group was to tangle your 'Favourite?........' I chose to use Cadent as my favourite tangle pattern supersized, and then went with a Rennie Mackintosh inspired theme as it is a style that I really love. I used Trentwith in the circles, Pokerleaf in the squares, and Knightsbridge as a suggestion of the block elements that the designer used in so may of his designs.

I hope to be back soon, and would like to say thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

All About Zentangles, Online Course

Hi Folks, sorry it's been a little while since my last post. If you follow my main blog, you will have see that I have been gadding about all over the place. Unfortunately, I am due to set off again at the end of the week for another round of travels, but then hopefully, I will be home again for a bit.

I have recently started the All About Zentangles class run by Marie Browning for MCC. I like their classes, they are reasonably priced, easy to access, and available 24 hours a day, so you can dip into them whenever you have the time. I actually have three on the go at the moment! I am a glutton for punishment with my busy schedule, but I am enjoying the variety of them all.

Marie's class is great, starting at the beginning, and it is so inspirational. I have her book, 'Time to Tangle with Colors', which is amazing, so I knew that I had to take this class. The artwork that is being posted by the other students is fabulous as well, a real treat.

Anyway, this first week, we were encouraged to draw a tile with a basic string, and some tangles within the string, incorporating some shading. Here is my tile:

Now, I had never drawn Nekton before, and I made a mistake at the start. I had been really happy with how the rest of the tile had gone, so I decided to just finish the tile with the error in place. I can live with it.

My second tile is dealing with drawing within shapes, using circles. I just drew around whatever craft supplies I had sitting on my desk. I then used some of my favourite tangles to fill the spaces; Cadent, Keeko, Nzeppel, Knightsbridge and Yincut.

My last sample for today uses linking hearts to tangle. I used a couple of Paper Artsy die cuts to draw around, then drew the smallest heart freehand. This design took ages, as I take forever to choose my patterns. I need to be a bit less selective I think!

I am really looking forward to the next lesson of the class, to see what Marie has in store for us this week.

Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

A challenge completed

Recently over on the Chocolate Baroque Zentangle Group, we decided to set ourselves the challenge of using this string:

This is taken from the Tanglepatterns.com website, a great source of inspiration for those of you looking for Zentangle information.

I chose to draw two designs, the first, using some new designs that I hadn't used before, but that had caught my eye. My focal image is Mooka, I'd seen it around, and really like it. So, I decided to give it a go. It's not that easy in a triangle format, but I hooked one of the three designs under the other two, and then the pattern worked. I've used Printemps, but in a larger format than I do normally, Knightsbridge, Paradox, Buttercup, Heartline, and Oof, (Out of Focus).

My second design is a nod to the Olympics. I couldn't let it pass without some kind of tribute. I have really enjoyed watching the events that I have managed to catch. I've spent a lot of evenings with my OH marvelling at the brilliance of the past few weeks, and the outstanding endeavours of our athletes, and those of our neighbours as well. There have been some memories that will stay with me for a long time, and I think that the whole thing was staged brilliantly. The crowds were uplifting, and it was simply memorable. I remember watching the Olympics growing up when there was less choice on TV, sat with my family. I loved the athletics and the gymnastics then, not much has changed. I enjoyed watching some of the Olympics with my Dad this time around, that was priceless for me, as he lives so far away.

I have drawn this piece of ZIA in colour, and used a piece of poetic licence, as my Olympic rings are not a Zentangle pattern. However, I wanted to get them in my design. They are a bit wobbly, as they are quite intricate to draw, and I'm still new to this mullarkey! I have used Intersection for the British flag,(what else!), Pokerleaf to represent the flames, Dandelion Seed to represent the fireworks, and Tufted Leaves to represent the crowds.

This is purely a bit of fun, but I really enjoyed finding patterns to fulfill my brief, and to tangle in colour was very refreshing. I used some Stabilo Fineliner pens left over from my Art Club days. They are 0.4mm nibs.I've used the official Zentangle tiles for the first time, and I've found that they bleed a bit in comparison to my usual watercolour paper which is a very good one. I used Sakura Micron pens and they bled as well, so once I've used these tiles up, I think that I'll go back to my watercolour paper, as I prefer the finish.

I have another work in progress, so hopefully, I'll be back before too long. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

More Tangles!

Hi folks, I have a couple of pieces to show you today. I was watching a video on the Zentangle Blog yesterday, learning how to draw the Aura Knot. I love this design, and the technique looked achievable. I followed the instructions, and this is what I managed to come up with:

I took my time, and found this so relaxing to draw. I can see myself drawing these all of the time!

I was working on another project earlier in the week, using a Peacock stamped image, and parts of it reminded me of Zentangle patterns. I decided to use it as a focal point for a piece of Zentangle Inspired Art. I looked through some of my books for patterns that appealed to me, and learnt how to draw them, as most of them are still new to me! A couple of designs reminded me of peacock's feathers, so they had to be included in the finished project.

Clockwise from the top, I have used Cadent, Peacock Tail, Crescent Moon, Flux, Jester and Nzeppel.
It's a bit busy, but it's the first time that I have tried something like this. It was fun, and I will certainly try mixing stamps and tangles again. I am certainly enjoying this tangling process!

Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

My first proper Zentangle!

Hi folks, I' thought I'd give you an update as to how I'm getting on with my tangling. I've been practising a bit more, working through the set of Zentangle books by Suzanne McNeill. I am moving through Book 3 now, and so felt that it ws probably time to try a Zentangle of my own rather than just copying what is in the books.

Over on the Chocolate Baroque Ning group, we have a Zentangle group. We have set ourselves the challenge over a couple of weeks, of drawing a Zentangle with a 'Z' string. We are a newly formed group, so we decided to start ourselves off gently. I decided to use patterns in my design that I really liked, so I chose Pokeroot to use for the string itself; this is a leaf design which you can draw in a cluster, or as a winding length. I used Trentwith, an Art Nouveau design with a Rennie Macintosh rose in the pattern. I also chose Facets, as I love to add the shading to this one, and Yincut because it is so relaxing to draw. Finally, I added Swirls for its free flowing nature.

I took my time drawing this design, it was meant to be my practice piece, as it is still in my drawing book, not on a piece of watercolour paper. However, it turned out better than I expected. It's not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but hey, that's what I aspire to. I love looking at some of the fabulous artwork out there and I am inspired. I'll just keep practising in the meantime.

Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Getting started

Hi Folks, I've decided to set a seperate blog up to deal with my Zentangle bits and pieces. I can't promise to keep it well maintained, goodness knows, I have enough trouble keeping my other blog up to date! However, here I am, making a start.

I have become increasingly interested in the whole business of Zentangle inspired Art over the past few months, seeing artwork on other peoples' blogs. It is fascinating to look at, and some of the designs are beautiful. I have read that tangling is meant to help with your concentration and memory. Well, mine can do with lots of help! It is meant to help you relax and to relieve stress, and I can do with lots of help with that as well. So it seems to me, that tangling has to be a very good thing all round.

I have armed myself with a couple of Zentangle books, and have been practising some of the basic designs.

I decided that I needed to walk before I could run, and it has been quite relaxing to draw these in front of the TV over a few evenings when I've had a spare few minutes.

I've treated myself to a lovely kit from America which contains a DVD, some tiles to draw designs on, a couple of pens, a pencil and a die. This is to throw to randomly assign which patterns to use in your design if you wish.

The website, Tanglepatterns.com is full of great resources, and has great tutorials for drawing the Zentangle designs.


Well, that's all for now, hopefully I'll have a little bit more to show you in my next post. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx