Weekly Tiles 10/24/2016 – 10/30/2016

Diva Challenge 290 – ’Nzeppel & Flux Duotangle

A duotangle is a *tile or design with two and only two tangles (duh). This week the Diva's challenge was to do a duotangle of 'Nzeppel and Flux. Both are tangles I use overuse frequently, though rarely together. 

Flux is an interesting tangle because unlike most, it has two “official” forms with two *stepouts. Before I did the tiles, I drew and shaded both versions of Flux in my sketchbook.

Two versions of Flux with different shading

 My first attempt was in another sketchbook on tan paper, which unfortunately doesn’t photograph well. I’m sure there’s a way to restore the lovely tan hue of the paper, but I’ll leave that for another day. The idea was to explore layers and shading and introduce a little color. 'Nzeppel is the wire-like tangle at top and bottom.

Diva Challenge 290, Tile #1 

 Not entirely happy with that one. ‘Nzeppel is a grid-based tangle, and I thought, “what if I take one of the repeating units in ‘Nzeppel and use it as a *string, then filled the squashed balloon segments with both versions of Flux?"

Diva challenge 290 - 'Nzeppel and Flux, attempt #2

Ahh, that’s better. I know Zentangle says that there are no mistakes, and that you shouldn't be critical of your own work, but there are always going to be tiles that you think turn out better than others.

It was a relatively busy and stressful week, so I finished two more tiles that I started in Hilton Head, just to relax. The first one kind of captures what my week was like!

Mr. E, Crescent Moon, Hollibaugh,Tipple, Black Pearl, Florz, Tripoli, Mooka

Garlic Cloves, Binda, 1/2 Orbs, Ruutz

That's it for this week. Thought I would start defining my terms (not everybody tangles!)

*tile – from Linda Farmer’s blog: “A 3 1/2-inch x 3 1/2-inch (89 mm x 89 mm) square card of high quality paper. The format of a Zentangle®. So named because completed tiles can be arranged together to create a beautiful mosaic.”

*string – from Linda Farmer’s blog: “One or several random free-form pencil lines drawn within the tile’s border, creating sections within which one adds tangle patterns to create a Zentangle®.”

*stepout – A series of steps used to create a tangle.

Weekly tiles (plus tempus fugit)

Been gone for a while. Been busy, been covered up, but mostly just lost in the day-to-day. I think it’s time to get back on here again, even if this becomes an “action item” in my BuJo (ask me – I dare you).  I guess that’s the Rational in me coming out.

Anyway. One of my favorite Zentangle Artists is Lily Moon. Her work inspires me. Her productivity inspires me. Her blog inspires me. It’s not chatty, not full of technique, rationale, daily life. Though she often posts themes (“color”) or thoughts, usually what she does is regularly post what she creates each week or two. Often with no comment, just pictures. And I spend hours studying what she posts.

So I think I’m going to try that. I have been posting my work occasionally on Facebook, but since only a handful of my FB friends really give a damn about my art, I feel like I’m showing off a little to the others. Makes me uncomfortable. Plus, I can only post finished work.

I’m going to try and post once a week, Sunday, for now. I can post my art, my tiles, my sketchbook, knowing that only friends who are interested will seek me out.

Like Lily, I do have thoughts/opinions, I do have progressions, I do have themes and tutorials. But mostly I want to have a place to put my “stuff.” Comments will always be welcome as will silence.

Work from October 15 - 22 (more or less):

Facebook Square One Challenge: Tagh (with Antique, Shattuck and A tiny Tipple)

Diva Challenge #289

The Diva challenge for last week was "Leafy Goodness." Looking at her blog now, I realize that I did something very similar to the Diva's example. Oh, well. Sincerest form of flattery, blah, blah, blah.

Then, of course, the Election. Zentangle relaxes one, requires focus, takes one away from day-to-day inanity. So of course, having watched Debate #1 and #2, I decided in favor of sanity to draw instead of watch.
 So here is what I did when I wasn't obsessing over CNN or watching the Debate:

Zendala, unshaded

Zendala, shaded

Plus, I shaded a couple of tiles from Hilton Head that I had not finished:

Anyway, thanks for listening. 'Til next week!

Diva Challenge #239 - "Munchin Play"

This week the Diva's Challenge is to use Munchin.  an official Zentangle® tangle.  The stepout can be found here, and on the Diva's blog there is a Sakura video showing Molly Hollibaugh drawing the basic version on a black tile.

 I started by going to my journal, and tried drawing it various ways. I tried following the instructions for transforming tangles out lined in Helen Williams' new book, Tangle Transformation. By the way, I am delighted with this book, and recommend it without reservation!

The last variation I tried stayed with the basic construction, but instead of having evenly spaced lines originating at the apex of the triangles, I varied the width between the lines, trying to make each resulting section smaller than the one before it.

I found this more interesting than regular divisions

I settled on the last option. I tried to follow a basic rule: That each line would divide the remaining available space in half. 

Munchin divided with 4 lines into 5 sections, with Flux in the largest section

The rule worked, but I found the large sections too roomy.  I tried adding a tangle inside the largest section of the triangle. That section was created with the first line (line 1 above) that bisected the baseline of the triangle.

I was ready to do a tile.

Munchin with graduated divisions in each triangle. Triangles filled with (spiraling clockwise from upper right) Celtic Triskele, Amaze, Flux, Shattuck, ????, Extracto, Tipple, Bunzo, Drip Drop, ????, Diva Dance Foxtrot, Tripoli, Zenplosion Folds, Mooka

That was OK, but I felt like I could do more. I thought I could divide the tile diagonally into a section filled with a smaller Munchins (still graduated sections) and a single large Munchin triangle  (lower left) with each section filled with another tangle. I even sneaked in a few awkward Paradoxes. Can you spot them? 

Munchin with Mooka, Flux, Snail Tangleation, Shattuck, and Tipple.

Still not happy, not sure why....So I returned to the sketchbook and looked at the versions of Munchin that I drew with curved lines.

Munchin with simple C-curve lines (H.W. refers to Helen Williams, "A Little Lime")

Better.

Munchin with S-Curve lines (mostly)

Still Better! Time to try another tile...

Munchin Monotangle with S-Curves

I don't know if I will ever really like Munchin. I wish I had more time to play with it. I reminds me a little of Aquafleur - beautiful as an object, but challenging to work into a design with other tangles.

Still, it was a good challenge and motivated me to study and to practice a single tangle and try some possibilities. As usual, critiques are welcome!

Diva Challenge #236, or when to know you're finished

This week's Diva Challenge was to Tangle Something Unexpected. For me, it also turned into an unexpected challenge to stop tangling.

We are on vacation this week, on Hilton Head Island. We have a lot of friends here, almost all chefs and servers at fine restaurants. Some of them, like Chef Chaun Bescos, we've known for years. We've watched his progress from sous-chef at Alexander's Restaurant to Executive Chef at Redfish Hilton Head. Anyway, we have several restaurants that we try to visit a couple of times each while on the Island. Since we have our favorite server[s] at each, we have to juggle reservations so that we hit the restaurant on the nights they are working. Plus in the case of Redfish, we have to schedule for nights when both our favorite server Whitney, and Chaun are there.

So we have a calendar that I print off before leaving home where we can write in reservations - both planned and made. That's is what I chose to be my Something Unexpected.

First, I divided the areas on the calendar that we wouldn't need into Strings. Forgive the awful photography - light poor and most of the pictures taken with my Kindle...

September calendar page with reservations and strings

Then I started tangling.

'NZeppel, one of my "go-to" tangles

Kept tangling...

Opus in the center and Fife to the right

Kept tangling.

Enhanced Opus a la Eni Oken and added Lap and Crescent Moon

Kept tangling

How could I not use Mooka?

A reasonable person would have finished with a little Rick's Paradox in the remaining triangle, but I just couldn't stop adding stuff...

Rashell with auras, Msst, Zinger, Bronx Cheer, Ahh, Dragonair, Arukas. Oh, and of course Rick's Paradox

Somebody stop me before I hurt myself.

The final step, a little shading.

Whew. So, what do you think? Where should I have stopped?

On not caring, and Diva Challenges #232 and #233

 "…do not depend on the hope of results. …you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results, but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself." – Thomas Merton

This seems like a good place to remember why I’m tangling. I tell myself that I only care about the journey, that what I produce doesn’t matter..But then I share my work with my sister, (also a tangler and an artist), and when she compliments what I’ve done, I start criticizing it. So somewhere in a dark corner of my mind, I do care about what I produce.

I don’t want to be that way.

So I’m going to start doing at least one challenge a week (contrary to what I said here) and post it.

Last week on the Diva’s website, Holly Atwater challenged us to do one or more Zentangle meditations, or do a tile using Betweed. I love, love love the meditations, and hope Holly produces more of them. I only did #1 and #2, then went on to do a Betweed tile. 

Here are last week’s Challenge results:

Tripoli - Zentangle meditation #1 

Nipa - Zentangle Meditation #2

Betweed, with Rain, Bales tangleation, and Bilt

This weeks challenge (#233) was to use the latest official tangle, Zenith. This tangle was released at the recent Can Tangle. Stepout can be found here.

Zenith, with Tipple, Black Pearl, and Diva Dance

Diva Challenge #226

Guest Blogger Katie Crommett's theme for the Diva's Weekly Challenge #226 was "simplicity."

 Fun - did this one with my Iced Venti No-Fat Latte at the Starbuck's in our local Super Kroger.

Rashell and O-Cee Tangleations