1,000 page views!

I'm so excited! I checked the stats for this blog and discovered it has received  1,000 page views. I'm thrilled that so many people have enjoyed it. I decided that this week I'll put up some really special stuff. A NEW TANGLE! It looks really complicated but just like zentangles, when you do it one stroke at a time, it's very doable. Come back tomorrow. (I'm such a tease)

eye tangle

This is a project I did for Sandy - a fellow artist who had recent eye surgery. This tile is about the same size as the standard 3 1/2" tile but obviously I cut it into an oval. It was interesting finding tangles that would incorporate the realism of the eye with patterns that fit in the zentangle world. I hope Sandy enjoys it!

When I showed it to my husband, he found it unnerving and eerie . What do you think?

Zen through a stencil

When you do a zentangle you normally draw a sting and then use that to guide you as to where to draw your patterns. Occasionally I have string block - or I may just look at something sitting in my studio and wonder what would happen if ...

On this occasion I found a stencil in my studio and while the stencil was meant to show a leafy vine work design, I saw something I could use for my zentangles.  by the way, you may notice my signature is on the left side - well, in true zentangle tradition - there is no right side up, you can look at from any side and enjoy it.

Zhostovo border

This decorative tangle was inspired by the Russian style of Zhostovo painting. It is the type of border you might see around the metal trays of hand painted florals.   --- You can see that I used parts of this tangle on one of the balls in 'the party's over'.

I've been doing decorative painting for quite a while and I was lucky enough to take a class with a Russian master when he came to the US. His name is Slava - and I can't spell his last name. He demonstrated the techniques to us and we followed along. He didn't speak much English so it was mostly watch and do. We did find out that on the trays the floral area is done by the masters and the borders are done by the apprentices. They have actual factories that create these trays. Mostly they are done for tourists but the masters do some special pieces and receive special awards for them. They are considered national treasures and these artists are limited as to how many they can take out of the country to sell themselves. I bought one and admire it frequently.

the party's over

It's cold here! The snow won't quit and the skies are gray. The decorations are all down and I'm kind of reliving them. When we took the tree down the floor was full of ornaments waiting to go in their box. Of course I saw tangles.

Then too, our football fans are sad to see their team eliminated from the playoffs, thus the title.

By the way, note the ball in the middle on the far right. It uses a Zhostova inspired tangle that I'll post tomorrow.

The King's Speech

This past weekend I took my 17 year old son to see 'The King's Speech'. It is a very well done movie. I expect it to be getting more awards at the Oscars. It was also a movie that my son could enjoy with me. There were no sex scenes or violence. It recieved an 'R' only because of some language (appropriate for the scene in my opinion). It also was interesting because of the history that it portrayed. I enjoy understanding history in a new way.

Of special interest to me as an artist, was the architecture.  Many scenes were shot in the palaces and historic buildings. (And if they weren't, they were amazing sets.) I was constantly looking at the intricately carved woodwork that was everywhere. I kept seeing tangle patterns!

twisted sisters

I called this piece 'twisted sisters'. - No real reason, I have a good relationship with my sister. I think I just like the way the name sounds. (And I think there was a band with that name.)

Anyway, I liked putting 'coil' in here. And I put in some of my favorite tangles. I love doing tangles that give me good opportunities for shading and shadows.

Coil

Coil is a tangle pattern that I developed after seeing the design in a Dover book about Architectural Elements.

I thought it was pretty easy to break down the steps so it can be easily done by hand.. I added the detail lines and shading so you can see what you can do with it. At the bottom I've shown a variation.

Tomorrow I'll add a piece that features 'coil'.

This tile was fun to do. I love the rounded shapes and the freedom to just play with my patterns. Can you find the 'Octonet' pattern? It's in the lower right corner.

Octonet tangle pattern

Tangle patterns. When you are into zentangles you are constantly looking for ideas to create into a tangle pattern for your newest project. I saw this pattern in an ornament I painted a long time ago. I'm working on a tile right now where this makes an appearance. Come back tomorrow and see if you can spot it!

Bear Down!

My husband is a huge football fan. Ever since he was a little boy, he has always followed the Chicago Bears. Yesterday the TV was on all afternoon and he was very excited to see the bears win. Me, well, I'm happy he was happy.

He doesn't always get excited about my zentangles but he appreciated this one. Zentangle artwork is finding new ways into my life.

name tangle challenge

Linda Farmer at http://tanglepatterns.com/ posted a challenge. She asked us to draw a basic zentangle and using patterns that start with the first letter of our name, create our own personal zentangle. I tried two versions, posted here.

Tangles, tangles everywhere

I've started seeing tangle patterns everywhere. About a month ago I was watching 'CBS Sunday morning'. They have several segments in more of a magazine format. At the end of each segment they close with an image of the sun. The images vary from artifacts to artwork.

 I found this one intriguing. I put the show on pause and grabbed my camera. Unfortunately I don't know who to credit as the show doesn't list that info on its web site. But I thank CBS for showing it to us!

leaf tangle

This is another piece of zentangle inspired art that I did early on in my zentangle adventure. I added a new tangle of my own design with the leaf pattern. Next step is to create a step by step instruction for the pattern.

traditional zentangle

A tradional zentangle is done on a 3 1/2" tile. (Tile meaning heavy paper)

I'm working my way through the basic tiles and basic patterns. The strings and tangles have so many variations. It's addictive. It's relaxing.

Beginning Zentangles

I've discovered Zentangles on the web. For the past few months I've been creating every type imaginable. Some are true Zentangles and others are Zentangle inspired art. Whichever, I'm having fun. I hope you will join me.