nine on the ninth

For the past couple of weeks I've been largely absent from the usual places I lurk in the tangling world - but that doesn't mean my pen has been idle!

I wanted to tangle over the Christmas and New Year break from normality, but wanted to do things a bit differently.  I wanted a change from the circuit of challenges and groups, not because I don't enjoy them, but just to see what would happen.  I wanted to scale down my horizons - not be spoiled for choice in terms of tools, colours, and techniques.  I also wanted to simplify - to get back to drawing a tile quite quickly, with no looking-up of tangles - just lines on paper to catch that little patch of time, that little period of sunlight or shade.

I allowed myself three shades of paper for my tiles -
two were pastel paper, the other a tricky to work on Khadi paper.
Pens in black, brown, grey and white gel - white and grapite pencils.

I didn't tangle at the table as I normally do - but leaning on a notebook on my lap.  This made things a bit wobblier than usual, but I quite like the looseness that appeared.

My completed tiles - in the order they happened. 
Including an unexpected black rabbit in honour of the death of Richard Adams.

I really enjoyed working within self imposed limits.  I like the finished look of this collected group of tiles - it's made me think this might be an interesting way to work at other times.  And I think I might have finally found a way to draw Mooka that I'm happy with (top right)!

a seasonal sign off

A festive thank you to all those who have visited my blog over the last year.  You've made it a warmer and more wonderful place to be. 

Betwinkle and Barrel Roll - ink, white pencil, gold pen and graphite on pastel paper

I'll be going quiet for a bit now, but will be back in the new year.

I wish you well for your Christmas time - I hope it's just as you want it to be.  And I hope the year ahead brings you peace and smiles and miles of pristine paper and fresh pens!

not long now

I've long hand made cards for my nearest and dearest, and since discovering Zentangle they've tended to feature tangling.

I can never share my makings at the time, for fear of the recipients seeing the cards before they open them.  But I've collected up a few photos from recent Christmases to share now.

From the minimal to the caked with glitter - perhaps they'll inspire a few new ideas, or at least show how much I like using Baton to embellish holly!!!

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.

one for the wall

This week the Diva has invited us to play with our fragments and reticula.  I don't have the official Zentangle Primer yet.  I was lucky to find a second hand copy of The Book of Zentangle on Amazon so avoided hefty shipping charges, and was happy to give it a home!  Maybe the same will happen one day with the Primer (it feels a bit like Wonka's Golden Tickets - which is fine by me) but until then I can still enjoy the concept of grids and seeds under their new names without the official rule book right?

I designed a fragment based on my Sati tangle - pictured above.  I drew a basic reticula - a 4 x4 grid - on paper coloured with very bright yellow streaks.  Then I started to add in the fragments, turning it this way and that to make the pattern fit together.  This is one of those places where in-progress images tell the story better than I can.

As I've seen a few others observe, this is a different type of tangling that the more freeform string filling thing.  This feel more planned, more methodical, controlled.  But no less pleasurable for that.  It's more akin to working on a Zendala, with repetition and symmetry.  I can see this really being what I crave sometimes, but not always. 

Back to the tile.  For the final stage it's time to fiddle about - this is the bit that makes it come to life for me.  The shading, the blobs of gold paint (I had it out anyway and couldn't resist), making some of the black dots larger (as they looked lost), dotting those with white gel ink.  And then the dreaming.  If I were a ceramic artist - think of the tiles I could design and paint... but then again no!

a woven window

Laura the Diva and I are worlds apart - in terms of geography and life and many other things I'm sure.  While she might find cheer in Earth, Wind and Fire, I find comfort in polishing small poems about the moon.  But what unites us is this thing we do, this place we come to - these little tiles of paper that welcome us.  Her challenge this week - to use Keeko - was perfect.

I grabbed a tile from the Leftovers pile.  I coloured this one a long, long time ago.  Back when I always used a string.  Back when I left one deckle edge uncut on my tiles.  Back when I didn't have quite so many colours to choose from.  And I dived straight it. 

Knowing Keeko so well - because it's so simple, not because I use it often - meant I didn't have to look up the step out.  I used other tangles that I knew from memory too - those beloved basics like Crescent Moon and Fescu.  It was a delight to get lost in the tangling, the shading.  The feel of pen on paper.  The no up nor down but somehow a pleasing symmetry arises.  Sometimes that's the best we can hope for. 

Whether it's the act of drawing that loosens up my writing brain or the images themselves I often find forgotten memories returning to me when I tangle.  Today, clearly provoked by my tile, I recall that when I was a child my mother had a small collection of corn dollies that hung on the wall above the kitchen window.  In ancient times these were hollow shapes woven from the last ear of corn harvested.  The spirit of the corn would spend winter within them before the dolly was ploughed back into the earth in spring.  As the days grow shorter I might just put this tile in a frame to see us all through winter.