something spiky

It's been a very long time since I posted here, and just as long since I shared a new tangle. Despite appearances I haven't fallen away from Zentangle, I still love it as much as ever, although life doesn't allow me to spend quite as many hours with tile and pen these days. Any tangle time and energy I have I use to make art, rather than writing about making art.

Over the years I've gathered lots of scraps of paper with ideas for potential tangles. Some I revisit, play with and put aside as something isn't quite working. Sometimes I return to them and discover what was missing. Last year a tangle originally conceived at the end of 2018 fully came to life – and that tangle was Blap.

I submitted Blap to Conzentric's Step-Out of the Month and they shared it with the world last November. You can sign up to their monthly mailing here – you will receive an exclusive new tangle on the first of every month. You can also see the list of previously featured tangles here.

As I said in the text accompanying my step-out –

"Blap began as a simple ribbon tangle... recently I noticed how Blap's potential could be extended if I considered one section and used it almost like a fragment. From there it's easy to adapt it to a grid tangle, or a circular design.

Drawn entirely using C curves it clearly shares DNA with tangles like Zenith, Goldhan and Double Double and no doubt others.

My top tip is to always draw the inset curved V shape first, as it's far easier to fit the next parallel V inside than it is to draw it outside!"

Each month Conzentric invites tanglers to share their explorations of the monthly tangle in a dedicated Facebook group. It's always an honour and a thrill to see people using a tangle you created, and it inspired me to work further with Blap.

Blap can take on a new look if you make the V shapes U's instead.  An orb to aim for might help.
My blue bijou with 4 Blap fragments was duplicated in collage software.

Recently I gave Blap a couple more outings, with some satisfying results. The first takes on a more ornate style - with detail lines, Beadlines, Mooka, and other bits and bobs.

Tangled in black on an ATC coloured with Eau de Nil ink by Diamine.

The second shows another way to use Blap in a circular design, but with a less spiky appearance than the one featured on the step-out image. The difference on this tan pastel tile is down to the orientation of the Blap fragment.

Before and after shading - proving once again how much it adds to your work!
There were different ways I could have shaded this,
but I opted for block shading to create a puffy appearance. 

 
I like a tangle with plenty of potential for variation and I certainly think Blap has that. I'm looking forward to seeing what more it has in store for me – and I'd love to see what you do with it too.