Tiptoe Through the Garden

I think my tanglers are in for a special treat today for the "My Tangled Garden" class.  I've added several new patterns and a Zendala with a watercolor background for them to try out.  Here's a sample I made for the class.  I can't decide if it looks like a garden or a beach, but I love it!  It was fun to work with the watercolor wash, but it does a number on the Micron.  Make sure to keep some scrap paper or paper towel nearby to clean off the nib.

Let's tangle!

Fun for All Ages

One of the many things I love about the Zentangle® Method is that it's great for all ages.  Tangling with kids is exciting because they're often eager to try something new and are less afraid of making mistakes.  Why is it that we lose some of that enthusiasm and replace it with nervousness as we get older?  Does the world give us too many messages that squash our creativity or our ability to take chances?  Sure, I'm less likely to jump on a crazy roller coaster than when I was a teen, but I understand gravity and pain more now and can weigh the benefits vs. risks of doing something.

Do adults see the whole world as a big roller coaster that might be scary or might have danger associated with it?  Where is the risk in trying something new?  Where is the risk in playing?  As I've asked before, what's the worst that can happen?

I taught a Basics lesson at a home party last night with ten participants.  Most of the new tanglers were 7-17 along with a few adults.  It was fantastic to have five boys in the mix too!

I always love watching how each person approaches a pattern or learning how to tangle, but this class was even more exciting to watch.  Of course adults and tanglers with art backgrounds can bring other experiences into their Zentangle practice.  What I didn't expect, however, was what interesting experiences the young boys would bring to their new practice.  They enjoyed the logic and puzzle-like aspect of tangling.  As I started to describe a pattern we were about to cover, they enjoyed looking for the end result on the sample art I had on the table.  It became a fun game to discover the pattern before I drew it.

Fearlessly, the kids also jumped ahead of me and kept exploring their own designs, which adults are sometimes a little hesitant to do.  The enthusiasm was infectious!

I think everyone had a great time, and several of the boys made a point of coming up to me after to thank me and to tell me they had fun.  I'm sure the chocolate didn't hurt either.  :-)

This was a very memorable and wonderful class for me!  I hope I've inspired the group to continue tangling.  I always think this is a wonderful parent/child activity to share!

Check out the beautiful tiles they created:

Through the Keyhole

I'm getting ready to teach the next "My Tangled Garden" ZIA class this weekend and thought I'd practice with a garden.  I started with a pencil keyhole border then tangled my organic patterns inside.  After highlighting, shading, and coloring a bit, I added some wood like texture to the outer area to suggest looking through a wooden gate or door.

High Five!

My daughter loves to give high fives, or as she says, "high fibes."  After watching a very cool video of an easy technique of "drawing" a 3D hand, I knew I had to make one!  This was very easy and fun to do.  I used my Microns for the lines and Prismacolor pencils to fill in the areas.  I may try tangling the next one with wider gaps between the lines, but I wanted to get the trick down first.

Here is one of my hands and one of my daughter's.  I had to tangle her initials too.  :-)  This could be a great family activity.  Father's Day is coming up!

Birds on a Wire

This week's Diva challenge was a lot of fun!  As per the Diva's UMT, Use My Tangle, challenges, we were asked to experiment with a pattern submitted by a fellow tangler.  I had never seen the pattern Birds on a Wire by Mary Kissel, and I don't know how I lived without it!  The pattern is reminiscent of Fescue and Mooka yet has a lot of variety.  Fill the base with small patterns, or embellish the "birds" for a different look.

My challenge piece this week is another watercolor resist bookmark in the making (laminating and pretty ribbons coming soon).  I used Birds on a Wire in several sections, playing with different embellishment.  What fun!

Even my daughter likes this pattern!  In our rubber stamping, or "arts and crafts" session as she called it, we played with an ocean set that had a wave stamp that looks very similar to these "birds."  Then again, I may just be seeing patterns again everywhere.  It's funny how that happens now.  :-)

Pattern Peeping: Keeko

Patterns are all around us.  Once you get hooked on the Zentangle Method®, you're likely to see the world in pattern-filled new ways.  It becomes fun to see which tangle patterns you can find in textiles, architecture, and nature.

I'm going to start a new blog segment called "Pattern Peeping" featuring different patterns I find in everyday items.  Feel free to share photos of the patterns you find too!

This week's pattern was found in a tank top at Kohl's featuring the official Zentangle pattern, Keeko.

Here are some past examples of my art using the pattern Keeko:

Simply Resistible

I have discovered a new favorite way to play with my Zentangle Inspired Art or ZIA!  Watercolor with a resist.

Here is a piece I created with glue, Twinkling H2O watercolors, and Micron for tangling.  I used a little white Gelly Roll pen for highlights and to enhance the glued areas.  I had so much fun with this piece, I hated waiting for the drying time in between.  When it was time to tangle, I couldn't put it down!

I see many more of these in my future.  Want to learn some ways to do this?  I also see a new class in my listing soon.  :-)


I've also made several bookmarks with watercolor paint.  These are part of an annual creative pay-it-forward gesture.  I give a creative item to five different people, and they pledge to make the same offer to five people.

Let's share the creativity!

Here are a few base bookmarks waiting to be tangled.  On the right is one of the almost finished pieces.

I have to laminate and embellish a bit for the final product.  I hope the recipients will like these!

They were so fun to create!