a whole lotta love

For the past two weeks my tangling has been wholly heart-shaped as I've been joining in with Margurite Samama's ValenTangle – now in its fifth year. I took part for the first time last year in an effort to overcome my aversion to heart-based tangles. It worked – as I can now see them as just another geometric shape, ripe and ready for tangling.

ValenTangle 2020 - pencil and paper and ink and love

Last year I worked in blue, this year I decided to warm things up, but just a little. I'm still enjoying working on grey tiles, so as well as grey papers I coloured some of my own tiles using a simple watercolour technique. Take a grey water-based marker (I used Tombow on these), scribble it on to a plastic sheet, spritz with water and plonk your tile onto it. A little trial and error to find the right amount of water, but when you do it works a treat, and the tiles almost look like marble.

As well as black ink and graphite I chose a Signo metallic gel pen in bronze and a
Derwent Metallic pencil in Copper. I have no idea why I didn't buy a matching
bronze pencil – but there you go, and I think the mismatch actually works quite well!

I shared my tiles each day in the dedicated Facebook group, but for those of you who weren't there, or would like to see all my tiles in one place, let me lead you by the hand through a fortnight of love.

Day 1 - playing with V & A, a new border tangle by Marguerite

Day 2 - Trinity variation with hearty versions of Beadline and Sandswirl

Day 3 - Exploring Minstrels (a variation of Demi)

Day 4 - exploring Marguerite's DoubleHeartZ fragment

Day 5 - having fun with Starsky, hidden in a Phroz-type
framework! With added Tipple, hearts and black ribbons.

Day 6 - Marguerite offered a mosaic-friendly string
and invited us to explore it on Bijou tiles. 

Day 7 - the suggested tangle was Jackstripes - which I used as a
frameworkto fill with lots of organic tangles.

Day 8 - one idea for today was to adapt existing tangles in a hearty
way - I chose to do that with my Divi tangle and Marguerite's Madama

Day 9 - playing with the tangles of Tomàs Padrós in a hearty way.
I used BlindMembranart, B-Leaf and Fortuna.

Day 10 - tangle the 4 corners of your tile and enjoy the space.
Trenthwith hearts joined by Melting Mooka.

Day 11 - organic tangles and the contrast between a dark pen and a light.
Marasu frames and then lots of pale grey botanical tangles.

Day 12 - tangle a Khala knot (I used a pencil, I admit it!) and then
glorify with hearts.  Arukas hearts made another appearance!

Day 13 - revisit the ValenTangle string but on in a larger space. 
This is 4 inches and mostly filled with a Bunzo variation and Heartline.

Day 14 - Marguerite asked us to decorate an envelope and write
a note to ourselves to put inside.
A hearty Zenith, Cubine and embellishments on my black envelope.

I've mentioned before that committing to a tangling event that invites daily pieces (not insists of course, but it was hard to resist such good prompts!) takes time, energy and commitment. It's not something I do often, but sometimes it's worth that extra push. I like to see a cohesive collection at the end of the journey. I like the days where I'm in my comfort zone - Days 1 and 10. The days I struggle with are quickly left behind - Day 3! And I especially like the days that take me by surprise, when I initially feel uninspired by the prompt or tangle, but then find the process and my result one of the most satisfying - Days 5, 6, 7 and 8.

It's been a journey taking in bends and dips and corners, a steady stroll about the perimetre of a heart. Now we've reached the end I feel gently warmed and not just by the copper and bronze.

the patience of a leaf

Autumn strikes me as a season that won't be hurried.  In its own time it carries the natural world from the warmth of summer through to winter's cold.  Leaves steadily change colour, setting their own pace, deepening and darkening until they eventually drop.  Each leaf will only fall when it's ready - and I like to imagine it's that waiting that allows those leaves to paint themselves in such stunning colours. 

I like to time my time over the things I enjoy - and so it was with this two tile piece.  The tangling and shading took me a couple of hours.  Steady progress - adding ink, then stopping at look at my tile, then adding a little more.  The same with the shading and the highlights.  Pausing often to look and ponder my tile helps me to appreciate the process as well as tweaking my tangling here and there to make it look the best it can.  My tangling won't be rushed any more that the littlest leaf!

Rich and warming - Ginili, Yuma and a Pokeleaf variation.
Pigment ink, graphite, white pencil and Ivory Posca paint pen highlights.
Three shades of Brusho powders created the background - Sandstone, Terracotta and Burnt Sienna.

I've made Persian Mosaics for Winter, Spring and Summer as well as exploring them in the original colours schemes suggested by Marguerite Samama.  Every time I work on these connecting triangles they take me somewhere new and remind me that there is endless variety and pleasure (not to mention value for money) to be had from Marguerite's carefully crafted kits.

taming the leaf

I usually begin by telling you about how a tile started, before eventually revealing the finished piece - but this week I'm going to reverse that.

Here is a two tile Persian Mosaic (I've blogged about these at length before) - my summer version of Marguerite's Samama's tangled triangular adventures.

Summer Mosaic - tangled with the hypnotic Doodah, rounded Paradox and a rough version of Decoo

These rich greens and golds didn't start off looking quite so good!  I started with two square tiles that I'd coloured using a new Brusho powder that claimed to be Leaf Green, but which turned out to be little different to their Lime Green.  These two tiles were far too zingy for my mid-summer mood so I set about calming them down a bit.

After pencilling in the unique string, using the template that comes with the Persian Mosaic kit, I tangled with my Olive Green Copic fineliner.  When it came to shading I used a Teal Blue Irojiten to shade along with graphite.  I added only a small pop of white chalk as I wanted this tile to calm down, not wake up. 

Work in progress - I started to shade a section of the first 3Z before I'd finished tangling 
because I wanted to check that what I was trying for might work before committing myself!

As a final finishing touch I used some gold watercolour to add a few dots and some little rings, made my dipping a pen cap into the paint and stamping it on the tile. 

Playing with the light - two tiles at rest of the arm of our garden bench.

I then cut the triangles free from the square tiles and placed the two together to make a whole. 

Sometimes days, like tiles, don't start how we'd like them to, but with a little patience and perseverance, some might end up better than we feared.

the taste of springtime

I was in my mid-twenties when I first tasted kiwi fruit.  A fussy eater when young, I continued to eye anything green with great caution for many years.  Imagine my pleasant surprise at the indescribably sherberty sweetness of those little furry fruits!  A similar thing happened with water chestnuts.  I tried one a long time ago and didn't enjoy the icy crunch, but accidentally ended up with a slice in my mouth just last year and found that I loved it.

Tastes change, and sometimes we wait a while before we realise what we've been missing.  And so it goes with Zen Buttons.  I first discovered them around this time last year and spent a pleasing Easter weekend tangling Bijou sized ones and then later moved onto larger ones.  But a couple of weeks ago I saw a triangular button, and then a square button, and realised I'd never drawn anything but round ones.  Time to revisit the button scene and rectify that absence.

No particular tangles to name on this pink button - I just made shapes, roughly repeating a sort of fragment and filling bits here and there.  A gem in the middle, a touch of pink watercolour and ink.  That moment where it doesn't look too good, and then the transformation that comes about when you add the graphite and the white chalk.

Things didn't seem to go quite as well with my green button. Sometimes that just happens.  I took longer with it, thought about it more, and perhaps that's the downfall.  I used similar corner tangles to the pink to help them be more of a pair, and the same Knightbridge style edging.  Then I used a LitBee fragment and some Diva Dance.  All okay at that stage, but the shading didn't seem to do the trick this time.  And I didn't know why.  Perhaps I hadn't smoothed the white chalk quite as well, or perhaps the shape didn't work the same, or the tangles didn't lend themselves to that three dimensional look that the Button relies on.  I left the tile overnight, sat dejectedly on my bookcase, and I looked at it now and then.  This morning I gave it a makeover - I softened some of the white, and then darkened the shadows using a black Polychromos.  And while it still doesn't sing to me quite like the pink, I'm happy to call it done!

The long Easter weekend is almost here.  I don't know what I'll be tangling, but I know I'll be reading books, and dozing and gazing out of the windows at the leaves that have suddenly dressed the trees.  There's rumours of sunshine so maybe I'll even go outside among those leaves.  But in case I don't, or in case you don't either, you can get a taste of spring from Annette's latest Mosaik Project results which she just shared today!

It started with a leaf - Sand Swirl, Ginili, Snail

A number of times a year Annette provides a string and asks us to send her tangled tiles which she brings together into incredibly beautiful mosaics.  This time we were each invited to fill our leaf shape with green colour and tangle the rest in black and white.  I sent her this tile in response.  And this is what she did with my tile alone -

As if by magic - one becomes sixteen - becomes something wonderful

But the truly incredible thing is when she brings all of our leaves together.  36 tanglers, 36 green leaves in various shades - a hearty dose of imagination and a young forest unfurls itself and flutters in the breeze!  Please take a deep breath, take a look and enjoy the spectacle.  And think about joining in when the next one begins in July!

as the song says

There's a lyric in a song I've long loved that says 'All the things I detest I will almost like' (Somebody - Depeche Mode).

Some months ago I'd have found it inconceivable that I'd be contentedly working in shades of pink and yellow for the past six weeks!  I actively dislike pink, unless it's a very hot cerise, and while yellow is okay, and quite beautiful in natural settings, it's a bit too bright and lively for the way I like to work.  But the more time I spend with these colours, the more I get to know them, understand them, refine what works well with them and what doesn't.

Marguerite Samama's Persian Mosaic original concept invites us to tangle with a cobalt pen, but is infinitely variable too.  Earlier this year I gave it the winter look and now these two 3Z tiles are showing off their spring style!

In bloom - Dayzee-Mae, Auraleah and Flux
Watercoloured tiles, shaded with pink pencil and graphite

A rare work in progress image -
most of the line work is done,
and I'm starting to colour and shade

Quite a few of the backgrounds I've used recently have been made using the hefty hack technique.  Whereby you lay down some watercolour from a pen, spritz it with some water and then pick it up using your tile.  The interesting thing is the results differ every time, and not only because of the random spread and mix of the colour but because the paper you use seems to influence the spread and absorption.  On the 3Z above - I used the same pens, two yellows and one pink, but the colours mostly blended to a peachy yellow.  On the Zendala tile below the colours stayed more differentiated and created a wonderful design reminiscent of raspberry ripple icecream!

I used this tasty looking tile for the background to my piece for Annette's Zendala Moments #3 prompt.  I've not tangled many Zendalas over the years - in fact this tile bring my grand total to only 11!  I've no idea why really, perhaps just because their extra size makes them more of a commitment, or perhaps because I'm naturally drawn to the straight sides of the square tiles.  But every time I tangle one I love the process and the result.  The pleasure of picking a few favourite tangles and methodically working my way around the tile, the rhythm and repetition are mesmerising.

A whirling dervish -
Diva Dance, Bunzo, Kaboom plus tassles!

I love how this Zendala turned out.  I went darker and darker with the shading, without ever muting that lively background.  I also added some tassles to further enhance that sense of movement.  It makes me think of genies escaping from confinement in bottles and lamps, magic cushions and hats spinning their way across deserts in Scheherazade's tales.

I'll be moving on soon, adding another shade to my spring palette, and while pink and yellow will never become my favourite colours I'm far less afraid of them than I used to be.

farewell, my frosty friend

At the start of this year I set myself the challenge of tangling in line with the changing seasons - picking appropriate colours and tangles and styles - and working only with those. I defined winter as December, January and February. On this, the first day of March, I therefore declare winter over!

The only colour I've picked up in the last two months is a couple of cool blue pens, which mostly featured in my ValenTangle adventure. However I haven't missed colour in the least, and in fact I'm a little wary about having to reconnect with it again. My last tiles for my Winter Inklings theme really stripped back to the basics. Black and white and graphite, and a little grey watercolour on one or two.

Giving a PersianMosaic the winter treatment -

straight Shattuck over grey and white coloured 3Z tiles

Baton and 4Fun with holes cut out -

a sense of winter breaking up ready to melt

The recent Square One focus tangle was Ipso -

here getting a winter fix with Cat-Kin and more Baton

I end close to where I began the year -

strong diagonals of Diva Dance, Basketweave

over deep grey, and Edie with fragments of Baton

I love living in a country with changing seasons, it feels natural and right to me. Each season has its own character and things to love about it - but usually by the end of winter I'm willing to let it go. But this year I'm letting it go with a little more sadness than usual. I might just miss those bare branches and frosty mornings, that cool blue ink and grey watercolour. It might take me a week or two to get used to the idea of spring.

a pleasing shade of discomfort

Sometimes the wisdoms that I learn from my Zentangle practice mirror those I hold true and close in the rest of my life. But sometimes they lead me in entirely different directions. In my day-to-day life I am not a risk taker - it doesn't suit me. I know my comfort zone - I nurture it, protect it from threat and cherish time spent there. But on the blank page in writing, or on a tile that's a place I'm willing to take the odd risk. There I'll chance trying something a little out of the comfortable. Because what's to lose really - only a little time and ink?

Ratoon - in black and blue - with aura, orbs and something like Fescu

So this week I'm taking some risks. The Diva invites us to play with new ZTHQ tangle Ratoon. It's been circulating for a while but the official stepout was only just released. Every time I've seen it I've loved it, and every time I thought about trying to tangle it I've talked myself out of it. These kind of knotted tangles often prove tricky for me. But I did it - not even practising in my sketchbook first! Just straight to the beautiful Fabriano paper. And while there are a few wobbles and a couple of moments where I thought I was losing control, I'm pleased with my first attempt, and even more that I've broken my fear of Ratoon.

If you're similarly wary I'd offer a few tips. Firstly allow plenty of space, at least when you're starting out, and make sure that the outer 'seeds' are placed a good distance from your inner ones. Slow down, breathe often, and turn the tile to whatever way feels most comfortable as you draw each line - I learned this the hard way when for much of the tile I couldn't see where I was aiming for with my lines!

Blue Molygon - with added hearts!

I'm also warming up in preparation for joining in with my first ever ValenTangle. Some of you may know that I have an aversion to drawing hearts - but this year seems the prime time to overcome that. It's just another shape after all! ValenTangle, now in its fourth year, is a two-week opportunity to tangle on the theme of hearts and love in all its guises. It's the brainchild of Dutch tangler extraordinaire Marguerite Samama. Yet again she's written a PDF filled with illustrated prompts sure to tickle your tangling tastebuds - and I was honoured to be invited to write a prompt for one of the days! There is no obligation to join in everyday, or to stick with any particular colour scheme (I'll be working in muted blues to tie in with my Winter Inklings project1). ValenTangle begins on February 1st, and continues through to the 14th. Come and join the dedicated Facebook group where people will be sharing their art, you can also find the prompt book there. If you're not a Facebook user but would like to join in drop me an email (theraggedray@gmail.com) and I'll send a PDF back to you!

ValenTangle 2019 on Facebook

 

fitting it all together

I'll start with a confession.  I rarely buy books, lessons, or kits relating to Zentangle.  In part this is because I have a relatively limited budget, and also a desire not to accumulate more stuff than I need, and also to avoid shipping too much of said stuff half way round our planet and back.  But it's also because I sometimes feel like I don't really want or need the kit, because I can pretty much see what I need to do (roughly speaking) to get the desired result or look.  I don't mean that to sound as smug as it probably does.

I consider buying some lessons and kits and when weighing up my choices I try to pick ones that I know will give me the most value.  Not just in their immediate content, but in how I might use what I learn from them in my ongoing Zentangle practice.  I want the teaching to be adaptable and open to my own interpretation.  I want to be able to expand beyond the basics.  I want to be able to put my own stamp on the results.

Having had a taster of the scope of the kits designed by Marguerite Samama thanks to working with her Zen Buttons early this year, I knew I would find all of the the things I was looking for in her latest Persian Mosaic™ kit.  The kit is available to buy from Etsy via this link.  If you are in Europe you might prefer to buy directly from Marguerite - who you can contact through Facebook.

Toward the end of September my kit arrived and I dived in.  The instructions guide you skillfully through a number of projects to help you understand and appreciate the concept.  An invaluable component of the kit is a special stencil that divides up a 3Z tile.  You then fill the 3 sections with tangles of your choice.  A Cobalt colour pen is also included and further feeds into the Persian design scheme. 

This was the first one I drew, on tan paper I cut myself.

Attractive enough in itself, but the magic starts to happen when you draw more and lay them alongside each other.  

Next up Marguerite invites us to work with the Cobalt pen alone, and also add coloured shading using an included matching watercolour pencil.  I love the fact that each tile looks good alone, but bought together a new level of wonder appears!

As if that wasn't enough fun Marguerite adds bonus projects using a Zentangle Fragment she calls Shiraz.  Here it is repeated 3 times on a 3Z tile.

And here it's used to form a hexagon.  Both example use the Cobalt pen, alongside my own Sanguine pen.

This gives a taste of the basic projects included in the kit.  I followed the instructions closely, allowing myself only the occasional irresistible deviation!  I've been thrilled with the results, which I've shared in a small but thoroughly supportive and inspiring private Facebook group.  But the real excitement for me is seeing where I go next.  Because this kit isn't done and dusted for me now that I've got the hang of it.  What unexplored Persian pathways await me?  What shining cobalt treasures can I find there?  I think it's fair to say that this post is to be continued...

a little of what you fancy

I don't think I have too many art supplies.  If gathered together in one place they would fit in two drawers of my old bureau.  I've seen people with far more, and equally people who create magic with a ballpoint pen on scrap paper.  I resist the urge to buy every new pen that catches my eye.  I read copious reviews before trialing a new paper.  And often I come back to my old favourites again and again.  But sometimes I think perhaps I have more than enough - in the literal sense of the phrase.  I have more than I can hold in mind.  More than I can choose from.  Things get forgotten, which of course also allows for the thrill of rediscovery.  

And so it was this week.  The Diva challenged us to tangle with straight lines only.  I knew I wanted to draw bands of Shard, a tangle I rarely use despite it being a close cousin to Baton which is one of my favourites.  I almost grabbed a square tile, then I remembered my 3Zs!  A little box of precious triangles I treated myself to earlier this year!

Diva #368 - Shard / 3Z tile / pigment ink / graphite

I recently took myself a week long holiday at home.  Time spent with loved ones, away from normal activities, chores, hours spent on this computer.  We talked, we read, we ate cakes, we laughed, loved, listened to starlings singing from the fir tree, we slept late and long, and walked out on a grey day to a beautiful little churchyard.  And of course I wanted to tangle, but didn't want to be rooting through options.  So before I 'left' I packed up a little set.  3 tiles cut down from Zentangle Apprentice tiles, to something postcard shaped (roughly measuring 11 x 8 cm).  My trusty black Uni Pin 01, a turquoise Copic SP I very rarely reach for, a Zig Clean Color Brush in Haze blue and a pencil and stump.  And these are the tiles that came from that. 

Bran and Printemps / Shattuck, Bunzo, Clob, Beadlines, Printemps / Huggins, Antidots, Clob

To summarise - I like having choices, but not too many.  I like limitations too, but only if I know I can break free!

in the shadow of the sun

It's getting hot here in the UK, and while blue skies and sunshine hold a certain appeal I find myself growing sluggish.  I have limited focus and energy, but at the same time I find many ideas flitting through my mind.  I have inklings - to start some kind of larger project, maybe just for myself, maybe including others - maybe both.  The idea keeps shifting and evolving.  Who knows if it will see the light of day, but if it does it won't be today.  For today I'll share a few recent tiles I've completed in those rare moments where inspiration and execution met.    

I drew this black tile a couple of weeks ago.  I'm determined to keep working on black tiles, as I love the look, but need to fully embrace the differences from tangling on white.  I used to think black tile work was quicker than white.  But now I know that's not the case.  I need to work just as slowly, and carefully consider the tile at each stage, turning and working out where more is needed, so as to build up something pleasing.  On this one I used Mooka in a Paradox kind of way and then filled it with Printemps.

This next tile was my contribution to Adele Bruno's recent challenge (#248), where she invited us to work with the lovely Drupe.  I started with every intention of sending it to her, but it took me too long.  Here she shares the tiles she did receive - and what a wonderful bunch they are!  I tangled on a tile I'd made a long time ago when I first got my Distress Inks - complete with a strange stain!  I tangled in dark red and popped an extra bump into each Drupe section - which made the shading extra fun.  My tangling completely ignored the string, but I popped it back in afterwards!  The finish tiles reminds me of laying under parasols on sunny days, or perhaps the big top tent at the circus.

 

 

I recently bought myself a whole box of 3Z tiles to play with and I started this week by grabbing one and tangling this.  I had no plan and just used whatever tangles came to mind and fit the space - Mooka, Nik, Arukas and Hollibaugh all appear in small amounts.  I love the way these tiles encourage a 3 sided symmetry, and I'm excited to see where playing with them will take me.

And lastly this tile, which I tangled yesterday.  I grabbed a tile from my stash that I had coloured with Brusho powder - I'm experimenting to find ways to tame these powders so that they show what they're made of without being so overpowering that the tangling has to fight to compete.  It was an increasingly hot day and my tangling seems to reflect that - 2 bands of Sling-Slang, and a middle section using the Lisbon fragment - which was all the rage last summer and is demonstrated to admirable effect by Margaret Bremner.  It was slow work, but absolutely what I needed.

merry equilaterals

I've managed to keep up with the official Zentangle countdown to Christmas - even if I haven't blogged the results (since I shared my first three with you).

One of the charms of the new 3Z tiles - or in my case a pencilled outline of one - is that they are small - and you can complete one a fair bit quicker and still have something beautiful to show for it.  A great thing when tangle time is limited.

(from left to right) Day #6 - Molygon / Day #5 - Tipple / Day #4 - Marasu

Although the 'rules' allow us to use any tangle from the previous days I started by just doing monotangles, and so I had to stick with that, despite it being quite a challenge when some of the more simple or stark tangles appeared.  But the challenge has been worth it - I've never done so many monotangles, and it's made me realise that they bring a new aspect of invention to the art.

(from left to right) Day #7 - Knightsbridge / Day #8 - Pokeleaf / Day #9 - Auraknot

Towards the end of the countdown Zentangle headquarters released two new tangles - they seem at least vaguely related to each other, and work well on festive looking tiles, but have huge potential for year round beauty too.  It's rare that I shared a piece using a new tangle until I've worked with it a lot and have got to feel I 'know' it.  But needs must!

(from left to right) Day #10 - Drawings / Day #11 - Icanthis / Day #12 - Crazy Huggins

Of course one of the downsides of the monotangle approach is that I've been lusting after all those lovely tiles others have made with lots of the different Christmas tangles on them.  But still - this clean and simple approach suited me this year.  And there's always more tiles, more ink, more tangles...

and so this is Christmas

Continuing their annual tradition The Zentangle Team are showering us with ornate wonderment over on the blog - counting down the 12 Days of Christmas this year by showing off the new triangular tile.

Day #1 - Tripoli  /  Day #2 - Diva Dance  /  Day #3 - Shattuck

I was lucky enough to receive one of the new tiles in a Travelling Tangle swap mailing from the ever-inspirational Margaret Bremner.  I was able to use this to pinpoint the corners in my sketchbook and thereby join in the fun, by drawing along with many others each day.

It's a pleasure to make myself spend time with pen and pencil at this hectic time of year.  I'm loving the back to basics approach.  No colour, no planning, just lines and shadows and a welcome sense of calm.