a pocket full of pretty green

Sometimes I have a clear focus and momentum to my tangling - I have certain projects or themes to work on and they spur me on to the next tile.  Then there are times when I feel like I'm drifting.  I have enthusiasm and desire to tangle, but no clear aim as to what to tangle.  Similar to writer's block - it's simply fear of the blank page or tile.  But then I remember that with Zentangle the 'why' is far more important than the 'what'.  I tangle for how it makes me feel, the focus and the calm and the pleasure of creation - those things are far more important than the finished results.  Which isn't to say that a pleasing tile isn't a thing of joy too!

The first time I tried Dreamdex I got in a mess,
and rapidly abandoned the tangle.  Recently I tried
it again and things went much better.
The fresh green of this tile clearly influenced me and
as I tangled a distinctly apple atmosphere developed! 

I felt that way this past week.  I floated around, fiddling with ideas, preparing backgrounds, looking at lots of other people's tangle art, but not settling to much of my own.  I soon realised that I wasn't going to find what I was looking for until I started putting ink to tile.  Soon after grabbing a tile, a pen and a tangle things started to fall back into their rightful place.

I magnified a couple of my Ahhs until they resembled giant seed heads
or possibly the copper crown of Lady Liberty herself!  Tweak takes
concentration for me - but is well worth the effort.  The final tile
looks a little like a printed circuit board garden -
a nightmarish concept if you ask me!

I haven't joined in challenges much this year.  I still love seeing what others do with the prompts but I've been so driven by my own themes this year I've felt less need for the gentle guidance of a challenge prompt.  But prompts are a great fix for tangler's block and so I thought I'd join in my oldest challenge friend - It's a String Thing #296.  I  finished my tile too late to play with the others, but you can still see them gathered together on Adele's blog.

I haven't used Vano in such a long time, and I think
I've underestimated this tangle.  It's simple and
calming to tangle and really welcomes a bit of shading.
Anyone fancy a slice from a square lime?

By the time I completed this last tile all vestiges of tangler's block were long gone and I'm feeling fired up for the next tile and the one after that.  Sometimes the only theme you need is pen, pencil and paper.