Tangle Pattern of the Week - Knightsbridge

So I'll just go ahead and say it. At it's very basic, the pattern called Knightsbridge looks like a checkerboard. And if you wanted to draw a checkerboard, you get get there by using the steps to draw Knightsbridge. But Knightsbridge can be oh, so much more. 

Knightsbridge is a grid pattern that I regularly teach in beginner classes since it is a really great place to start. As you can see in the two tiles above, once you start using curved and wavy lines, the look of your drawing loses it's "checkerboard" appearance and can begin to become much more 

interesting.

Above is Knightsbridge as part of a beginning class tile. And below is a black tile with white Gelly Roll pen.

As always, there are so, so, so many ways to draw Knightsbridge, so here's your link to my Knightsbridge search on Pinterest.

One of the best things about drawing Knightsbridge is all of the coloring in you get to do! I'm telling you friends, coloring stuff in is one of God's gifts to anxious people. Any time you're having trouble quieting your mind, just draw some shapes and color them in. Take deep breaths, focus on the coloring, and allow your mind to quiet. I promise you. This works.

As far as tools go, I've been drawing my tangles recently using an 03 micron pen rather than the 01 micron because I prefer thicker lines in my drawings. Once it's time to color in spaces, I switch to an 05 micron to fill in a little more quickly and so that my 03 doesn't run out of ink as quickly. 

I really would love to see your drawings with Knightsbridge. Please share your links in the comments if you wish. Links can be to blog posts or instagram, flickr, etc. Also, it can be a new or older post. All's fair in pattern of the week sharing. 

Tangle Pattern of the Week - Bales

This week we're highlighting the tangle pattern known as Bales. It's really very simple to draw although it can look quite complex. As a matter of fact, it's one of the very first patterns I teach in every beginner class. The pattern at the bottom left of the tile pictured above is Bales at it's most basic.

Bales is a pattern that you begin by drawing a grid and therefore, how straight the grid is will determine the shape of your bales. In the tile above, you can see what happens to your shapes if you use curved lines to draw your grid. The shapes can become elongated and really change the resulting space within each "square."

Yes, this tile, too, is still variations on Bales. Instead of the curve shapes added to my initial grid, I've added some angled lines which end up creating diamond shapes. I personally really enjoy when a new pattern emerges. Thanks so much to by friend Sue who was drawing with me this morning and first started drawing these diamond shapes on her bales. 

Obviously, none of the above tiles have any shading added. Once I add that I'll come back and add the shaded tiles at the bottom of the post so you can check back in subsequent weeks, if you're interested to see them shaded.

As always, there are so very many fine examples of Bales on Pinterest, make sure to take a look there.

And remember, one of the best ways to learn and to get new ideas is to gather together to work with friends or a teacher. Find a Certified Zentangle Teacher in your area to find out about Zentangle gatherings near you. If you are in the South Bend, Indiana area, we meet every Tuesday morning at 10am at Granger Community Church in the cafe for an informal, free meetup. I'd love to see you there! 

Feel free to add your links in the comments to blog posts or images you've shared that show Bales as well. We would all love to see them.

If you have a suggestion or request for a pattern to cover in the Tangle Pattern of the Week series, I'd love to hear about it in the comments as well. Maybe one you have a hard time drawing, or one you can't quite figure out. Let me know and I'll put it on the list for a week coming up soon.

Tangle Pattern of the Week - Purk

Well it looks like I'm going to be highlighting all of my personal favorite Zentangle patterns in this series first. I'm only human. This week's tangle pattern of the week is Purk.

Tangle patterns Mirasu (top left), Well (bottom left), and Purk (right side).

The tile above is one that I made at the Certification Training in Providence, Rhode Island. It was a tile that I honestly could not believe I had drawn myself. It's bizarre that you can actually draw something yourself and then not really believe that you just did so. Actually, this is a situation that happens pretty regularly as I continue to try new tangle patterns and learn new ways to draw them and keep trying new things. It's really a lot of fun.

Of course there are many, many great examples of Purk on Pinterest. And you'll find another one of my tiles containing Purk on Instagram, and one more black and white version on Instagram.

Tangle Pattern of the Week - Huggins

Hey friends!

I want to begin a new series of posts to highlight a single tangle pattern. This way I'll have a central resource to direct people to when I want to show them a pattern. So, without further ado, let's begin with our first pattern in this series, "Huggins."

This is a tile that's been hanging out in my kit I take with me to classes. I started to show someone how to do this pattern but never finished the tile. I decided today would be a good day to do just that.

You can find instructions for drawing Huggins on the TanglePatterns site, along with a huge number of examples on Pinterest here. I would love to make a Pinterest page for each pattern but that seems just a little insane since there are literally thousands of Zentangle patterns.

I'm going to encourage everyone I know to start using the names of the tangles on Instagram and hopefully we'll start building up more of a base there as well. Right now there are people using the #Zentangle hashtag but not really using individual tangle names. Hopefully, that will grow with time. Help me out with that, will you?

If you have a blog post or other online account where you've gathered examples of Huggins, feel free to leave a link in the comments for all to see.

I'm going to do some more searching through my finished tiles to find some more examples of this really fun to draw pattern but in the mean time, take a look at Pinterest, and enjoy drawing Huggins!

As always, I'm available for classes. Drawing is always more fun with a friend!

Zentangle Meetups in December

Hey Friends, It's time for us to get together to work on our tangles. While I'm not scheduling any classes at the moment, I am going to be hosting a couple of regular Zentangle Meetups. Basically, I'll be there working on my own Zentangle practice, I hope that you'll show up and we can work on it together. I'll be happy to share the newest tangles, along with the steps to any other tangles you would like to learn. You'll need to bring your own supplies, just paper and pen/pencil. Who: You and a friend! Where: Granger Commons (The Eatery Cafe) 630 E. University Drive, Granger, IN 46530 When: Tuesday, December 2, 10am and Sunday, December 7, 3pm

The Tuesday meeting will be weekly form the very beginning (we'll skip December 23). I'll be happy to schedule more Sundays if there is interest. Now is the time to order your Zentangle items for holiday gift giving. You can order directly from Zentangle Headquarters if you like or you can order through me. If there are items you would like me to deliver to you at a Meetup, just let me know at least a week before the Meetup date. I highly recommend the Zentangle Kit as a great place to begin for anyone who wants to learn a relaxing, fun way to create beautiful art all their own. I sincerely hope I'll see you at one of the Meetup events in December. If you can let me know you'll be there that would be great, otherwise just show up!

Zentangle Gallery

Imitation

Austin Kleon says that we should Steal Like an Artist. That's just what I've been doing this week as I've been a little bit stuck for inspiration but really wanting to keep my regular Zentangle practice going strong.

I've sought out inspiration from fellow Certified Zentangle Teachers and mimicked tiles that they've shared. Just by taking a look at what they've done, it's possible to decide what the border and string must have been, at least approximately. Those elements are always just suggestions anyway.

Next I take a look at the tangle patterns they've used and decide if I'm going to use them. Usually, I will because that's one primary reason I choose a tile to copy; because I need to practice some tangles that I might not normally choose to practice regularly. Of course, I do tend to deviate if there's one that I just really don't want to draw at the moment or I think it just doesn't fit my tile. And of course, there's always the moment when you just need to draw your favorite tangle. This is a meditative practice, after all.

The first tile I copied was by Kathe Berthold. Hers first, then mine.

And the second was by Kierstan Betancourt. Kierstan's below, then mine.

I like this exercise because it's just another example of how everyone's tile will be unique, even after being given the same instructions. And it reminds me of my favorite part of every Zentangle class, when everyone's tiles are put together to form an amazing mosaic.

Thanks so much ladies, for sharing your tiles and for your inspiration! Hopefully I can do the same!

Diva Challenge #174

The Diva Challenge #174 was to use superimposing strings. Here's my tile with strings only.

And after about 28 minutes (I decided to time myself to see how long it really takes me to make a completed tile), here is the tile without shading.

After about 5 minutes of shading, below. I'm really trying to be more aggressive with my shading because I just haven't yet felt that it was "right" when it was finished. Since there is no right/wrong that's not quite the right word but you get the point.

I decided it needed something more at the top so added some Hollibaugh, below.

For a completely totally finished tile in approximately 40 minutes. So there you have it.

Today is also the day I began the Zentangle tile gallery in the dining room, with tiles by everyone in my family and one by Maria Thomas for good measure.

ZenFriday

I'm not sure what I want to share this week. There's just so much. I went to Seminar in Providence, Rhode Island at the beginning of this week to be certified as a Zentangle Teacher. I really did not know exactly what to expect since I didn't know anyone personally who has gone through the experience, nor did I already know anyone who would be there.

One conclusion is that this was the most generous conference/seminar experience I have ever had. (Yes, of course I paid for the experience, yet) The hotel accommodations were exceptional (well done  Hotel Providence!), the food was fantastic at every single meal, and the tools, supplies, and resources that were shared with us were well beyond what I would normally expect to receive.

Even beyond that, by the second day it was clear that not only were Rick and Maria there to teach us to draw in a Zentangle way, and to teach us how to teach, but it truly felt like they were welcoming each one of us into their family. That's the only way I can explain the level of generosity and kindness with which they share.

I've spent the two days since arriving home in a bit of a bubble, not sharing too much all at once with Jon because I felt like if I shared too much all at once, the bubble would pop, and the experience would vanish. Now that I've started sharing I realize that the bubble won't vanish but it will grow to encompass everyone with whom I'm able to share Zentangle.

I think that's going to be enough sharing for now. I'm better for having gone and I'm looking forward to sharing what I've learned with others and learning more about Zentangle along the way. Classes coming soon!

(click on the images to see them larger)

#ZenFriday

It's your weekly #ZenFriday post along with the Diva Challenge #164 this week. The challenge was to take inspiration from the earth for Earth Day. This tile started out roundish with some latitude-ish and longitude-ish lines and went completely awry from there. Isn't that just always the way.

I've also found this week that I really wanted to fill up that entire tile. Not sure what that was about but there you have it.

Please feel free to leave your own link in the comments for ZenFriday. I'll look forward to visiting.

#ZenFriday

This week I've discovered (or perhaps remembered) that I really enjoy doing "slow" things. Or more correctly, doing things slowly. 

I really like to spend big chunks of time tangling. I really like to take walks through our neighborhood slowly. I actually like to cook and serve dinner, when I can do it calmly and slowly. 

My new goal is to do more of the things that I have to do and want to do in a "slow" way. 

I hope that you'll join in on the ZenFriday fun by leaving a comment and/or a link in the comments to your own ZenFriday post. It can be a blog post, or a picture on Flickr or Instagram. Whatever. Just share with us all how you approach ZenFriday. 

Here's my Zentangle tile for this ZenFriday.  Have a great weekend everyone and please share your link! 

Because YOU'RE AWESOME

Hey Friends. I have a gift to send to you. 

Anyone who donates to TEAM TARA for the 2014 MS Walk in South Bend, IN will receive one of my Zentangle art tiles. They're small, just 3.5" x 3.5", but they're beautiful, if I do say so myself. You can put it on your bulletin board at work and when someone asks about it you can say you got it because you're awesome.

And you can tell them you got it because you donated to important research that helps people live with Multiple Sclerosis.

Just make a donation of any amount between now and Saturday, May 3rd (race day), and I'll send a tile right out to you. If I don't know you personally, you'll have to send me your mailing address (jencrutch at gmail dot com). Or use any of the contact methods in the right sidebar (twitter and Facebook both work great).

Click here to donate and/or join our team. If you're local, I hope to see you on race day!

Diva Challenge - Rixty

I honestly find that I usually don't have much to say about what I've drawn. I guess I'll just leave that up to others. The only thing about this one is that it took me FOR EVER. I'm not sure why except that I couldn't decide which tangles to use. The more tangles I'm aware of the more I think that there must be a better one to use than the one I'm about to choose. Gonna have to get over that.

Check out the weekly challenge here.

Diva Challenge - Initials

The Diva Challenge this week is to use your initials for your string. If you look closely you'll see my lower case jc in there. Above is without shading. Below is with shading. 

ZenFriday - Quandry

Today's ZenFriday entry is my attempt at working on the tangle called "quandry." I like to share in process drawings and sewing projects because I think that too often we compare our "still working on it" attempts at art/whatever, with other people's finished projects. So, you get to see my mistakes and works in progress as well as the finished work.

Anyway, I don't think I've ever used this tangle before so it was interesting to see how it worked. One of my biggest challenges in drawing anything is that I have a really hard time keeping the spacing even. So much so that most of the time I don't even try to keep it consistent. I started this one at the top of the page and moved downward, quite obviously drawing more and more tightly as I worked my way down the page.

Jason thought the loose pieces at the top right looked like petals that were breaking off and flying away.

This post is linked up to the weekly Diva Challenge. You should go take a look at everyone's work over there.

#ZenFriday

I really needed this today. 

This winter is kicking my butt. I needed to focus on something not related to school closing or snow. Also not related to getting food for anything else for someone other than myself.

If you're wondering, the tangles I used are called Hollibaugh, Florz, and Striping.

I'm thinking #ZenFriday is going to be a good habit to get into.

Zentangle Practice

Turns out that Friday night is pretty much my favorite crafting/drawing time. Tonight was a little Zentangle practice. No shading on any of them, just straight drawing. A few of them are really, really bad but overall, I think a decent effort. 

Zendala Dare #5

This week's template from The Bright Owl and TangleHarmony:

And my finished page:

I found this one a little dizzying at times. When I reached this point with the white space in the middle, I decided it was quite enough. I think I'm reaching that point in learning a new craft when you start to get frustrated with yourself because you're approaching the hard part. The part where I have to actually buckle down and practice to get better. I need to learn to get better at shading. It's my current nemesis. Usually, I just ignore it. I know when I decide to take the time to practice, I'll be pleased with the results.

I also received my first zen in the mail this week. Awfully fitting that it came from Rick and Maria, the inventors of the art form. I won a previous week's giveaway at the Zentangle Blog.

It's kind of amazing. The lines are so gentle and soft. It honestly looks kind of unreal. I'm excited to have it as I continue to learn how to improve my own drawings.

Zendala Dare #4

This week's template from The Bright Owl:

And my finished project:

Again, click on it to see it larger.

And, here's Sarah's version.

Zendala Dare #3

There's really not much for me to say about these any more really. Except that I'm becoming a tad bit obsessed. 

If the smaller tangles are difficult to see on your monitor you should be able to see the image larger if you try clicking on it. 

Be sure to visit The Bright Owl to see this week's template and everyone's drawings throughout the week. I've also been working through some of the previous week's dares and I'll post them at some other point.