Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Challenge 15

This week's challenge was the exact opposite of last week's. Use no straight lines.



(edited to add)

After seeing some other blogs, I like the practice of adding the pattern names and materials to the post. So, this was drawn on a 4x6 piece of acid free cardstock using Micron pigma pens, and cool grey prismacolor pencils for shading. The tangles used were: Opus (added aura), Ixorus, Pais, Betweed, Ahh, Blooming-Butter, Feathers, Printemps, Mulhouse Blooms, and Bubbles

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

What is this? I have no idea

I'm not going to enter this for this week's challenge, even though it *started* from a curved line that was going to be a string for this week's challenge.

Started that way, but then it got a little odd.

Apparently, this is what happens when you combine fatigue, watching too much Fraggle Rock (yay netflix!), late night, and Ambien with doodling...


Challenge 14

Laura posts a weekly Zentangle challenge on her blog "I am the Diva" (should be a link somewhere on here...) and last week's was to draw using only straight lines. I ended up with two entries.



This first one came about purely from the desire to do a compass rose, and to create the impression of curves using only straight lines. And to use my new colored pens. They're Staedtler pens, this was done on a 4x6 cardstock, and the tangles used were (no idea if there's an official name for the stars and stripes I used radiating from the globe), bucky, nightsbridge (though I didn't know that when I did it.... it is a checkerboard), Hurry, hibred, chard, triangles, and I really have no idea if the last is an official / named pattern anywhere. Again, it's just a grid I've drawn in the past. :)

The second one is just what happened when I started drawing, wanting to use the celtic tri-knot for the string.




This one uses ixorus, chard, nzeppal, and facets. Of the last three, I'm not sure if the center one is a named one or not. I think it's a variation on arrowheads. He honeycomb I don't recall seeing like that before (again, the hexagonal pattern like that is one I've drawn for ages), and I know the last one does have a name, but I didn't write it down.

Friday, March 25, 2011

My first 'zentangle inspired art'

Technically, those who coined the phrase 'zentangle' define it as filling a 3.5" square with patterns they call tangles. Anything that doesn't fit into that description but still uses the tangles has been coined 'zentangle inspired art'.

I jumped right in to one of those. In exploring what zentangles are, I found the zentangle gallery on flickr. While on there, someone had done one ZIA that really resembled a topographic map. I love geology, so it really stuck with me, and I made my first ZIA in that style.




This was done on a sheet of 8.5x11 cardstock (acid free) with a Staedtler pen using the tangles tipple, hibred, cadent, zingiber, and hurry

Welcome message

So, I've discovered the art of zentangling. Or, perhaps better stated, rediscovered it. I used to do something very much like this back in high school, but haven't done pattern doodles in a while. Now that I'm unable to work (chronic fatigue syndrome), I keep looking for things to do that are both relaxing, easy (for me, anyway), and yet enough of a challenge to keep my mind from degrading. This is perfect. :D As someone who loves geometric patterns and used to do cross stitch (before the cats told me I wasn't allowed to any more...), I've jumped in feet first. :)