Square One: Purely Zentangle – A Tangler's Mind

TransluZENce

I’ve been wanting to share the technique of TransluZENce and this week’s Square One Purely Zentangle focus, Membranart by Tomas Padros (step-outs found here), has given me the chance to do so. TransluZENce is a cousin to TranZENding, a technique recently introduced in a Kitchen Table Tangles (KTT) video by Rick and Maria on the Zentangle Mosaic app. While TranZENding is based on drawing one tangle on top of another and then using white to highlight and graphite to shade, TransluZENce is based on drawing behind and then using graphite to make it look like you are viewing the background through a translucent media like tissue paper or frosted glass.

I decided to create an example using Membranart and Hollibaugh as everyone is familiar with the draw behind aspect of Hollibaugh. Instead of Membranart appearing opaque it appears translucent, giving a glimps of what lays behind.

Here is how this illusion is created…

With your pen, start Membranart as normal.

Again with your pen and using the principle of drawing behind add Hollibaugh in the background.

Using a pencil on top of Membranart, connect up the lines of Hollibaugh that would normally be hidden.

Using your pen, fill black in the areas between the Hollibaugh lines in the background.

NOTE: this technique will be more effective if you use high contrast tangles in the background.

Now, to make Membranart look translucent, use your pencil to lightly and evenly add graphite to the spaces between Hollibaugh on top of Membranart. Smooth out the graphite using a tortillon or paper stump.

Finish the tile with shading to create 3D and layering effects.

Here is another example using Membranart (makes me think of something spilled on the kitchen floor.

And another example I did using Puffin and Showgirl back in June, 2017.

As is usual, if you would like to try anything in this post in your own work please feel free to do so. If you post your work, please use the hashtags #transluzence or #transluzent where they are allowed and let people know about this post. Many thanks.

Blessings,

Lynn

haKrall and Friends – Building Bridges

I recently created this tile for the Square One Purely Zentangle Facebook page. The focus tangle was haKrall (deconstructed by Holly Atwater, stepouts here) and I paired it with Stoic (Zentangle®, AKA Twile, stepouts here) and B’Twined (deconstructed by Pegi Schargel, stepouts here). This tile was a real meditation for me and it turned out to be a sort of square zendala with a maze-like feel to it.

I had several people ask if I had work-in-progress photos of this tile so they could see how the tile developed. I have to admit, I was so absorbed in the zen of this tile that I did not even think to stop and take photos as it developed. However, thanks to some digital magic I have created some graphics that will help to explain the process.

This tile was started with a simple pencil string grid, 6 squares by 6 squares, recreated here in red.

This layout can be broken down into three rings (for lack of a better word, square rings? oh well) starting from the outside perimeter and working toward the center. One for each of the three tangles I’d chosen.

Stoic on the outside ring

haKrall on the middle ring

and B’Twined in the center

As you can see from these graphics each tangle is simply drawn on one of these three concentric rings. The magic happens for this tile because there is a relationship between these tangles. Both Stoic and haKrall have the center square with arms radiating around in slightly different ways. All three are really fragments that when put together on a grid have an over and under woven appearance.

These tangles work so well together on this tile because connections or as I like to call them BRIDGES are created between the tangles. To create the bridges I was mindful of two things as I was drawing, proportion and orientation.

The parts of each tangle that connect with the tangle in the adjacent sections need to be roughly the same dimension.

The tangles in each section needed to be oriented correctly to align with the tangles in the other sections.

This is not as difficult as it may look or sound. You just start with one tangle. I started with stoic around the outside. When you start the next tangle in the next section it will be obvious how to orient it to match up with the adjacent section and the proportion it needs to be so that a bridge is created. Visualize extending lines from the first tangle into the next tangle. Just work slowly and mindfully.

The point here is that nothing special was done to these tangles to get them to flow together, it is simply a matter of being mindful of their similarities and how they can form connections. In fact there’s a good chance you have already done this on some of your own tiles.

I also feel this is a good life lesson too. We would all be better off if we were more mindful of our similarities and used them to forge connections. Something to think about anyway.

As always if there is anything in this post that you would like to try in your own work please feel free to do so.

Blessings,

Lynn

Showgirl and a new Tangle – Fluxecho

It’s been a while since I’ve posted to this blog. First I was getting ready to teach a class at Tangle U (a continuing education conference for CZTs) and then on the way back from that I caught that horrible cold that was going around and was out of it for around 6 weeks. Since then I’ve been trying to get caught up on things. I’m glad to be able to post again.

This week I’m getting back to posting my Square One: Purely Zentangle focus tile. This week’s focus is Showgirl by Vicki Bassett. Step-outs for this tangle can be found here.

I actually drew three tiles for this focus, each one with something to share with you. In the first tile I used Showgirl along with a Tangle called Fluxecho that I introduced at Tangle U.

Fluxecho got it’s name from the fact that it looks a bit like Flux with additional lines that echo the original shape. It starts out with an orb and two opposing “S” curves so that it looks like an exclamation point! It grows very organically and tucks together nicely to form a grouping. Here are the step-outs and some variations.

The next tile I did I decided to make some of Showgirl’s “feathers” have transparent centers by drawing an inner aura so the feather behind showed through. This came out looking a lot like Lupe by CZT Christina Vandervlist. While the end result looks very similar to Lupe the process for drawing is slightly different. Step Outs for Lupe can be found here if you’d like to compare the two methods.

Here’s how I created this look. First start out with a completed Showgirl figure.

Then Draw an inner aura around the central “feather”. This is the top layer.

Then, draw an inner aura around the “feather” that is the next layer behind,
making sure to continue it’s lines behind the first layer so that it shows through.

Continue this process of drawing inner auras, continuing the lines of each petal
behind the lines of the “feather” that is on top of it.

The final result will look like this.

Finally, I wanted to draw a tile using Showgirl and last weeks Square One focus tangle, Puffin.

It turned out looking like Puffin had been appliqued on top of Showgirl out of some translucent material so that Showgirl partly showed through. To achieve this effect I just continued the lines of showgirl and filled them in with pencil, then continued the lines in pen when they emerged from behind Puffin. The perf lines around the edges of Puffin added to the applique effect.

I didn’t start out to draw three tiles that demonstrated different things but I like them all so I’m glad I could share them with you. You just never know where Zentangle is going to take you. As always if you see something in this post that you would like to try in your own work, please feel free to do so.

Blessings,

Lynn

Hearts to You

This week’s focus tangle for Square One Purely Zentangle is Flowerly (stepouts can be found here). It is a simple floral pattern made up of hearts. Also this week Rick and Maria have released the stepouts to Waybop on the Zentangle Mosaic app and will be sending out a Newsletter with the stepouts for a version with hearts. All this in time for Valentines Day, February 14th, a time to celebrate love.

I have to be honest, I was not excited about Flowerly. My mind needs a little more challenge. Then I saw how I could do a version of Waybop with hearts and include Flowerly in the center. Here are the work in progress photos.

I love that Waybop starts out by drawing what turn out to be spaces.

The next step is to start connecting these shapes. The lines I’ve added will be the tops of half of the interconnecting hearts of the finished tangle.

Then I added the tops of the other half of the hearts. Notice that they alternate directions.

Then I went in and added the bottom half of all the hearts.

Here all the interconnected hearts are completed and Flowerly is added in the center.

I also belong to a journaling group and the prompt this week is about wondering. On this tile I wondered what it would look like with some kind of vine interwoven through the hearts.

This is the stage where I sometimes wonder how things are really going to turn out. It can be hard to see where to go next. I pushed on and started adding shading.

Better but not quite finished, so I added a little weighting to the lines and flourishes.

There’s a lot going on here but I like the way it turned out. So, here’s my Valentine to YOU!

As always if you see anything in this post that you would like to try in your own work please feel free to do so.

Blessings and Happy Valentines Day,

Lynn

Also, as my valentine gift, I’m offering $14% off Tangle Deck 1, Tangle Deck 2 and Tiny Tangle Deck through the end of February. You can purchase Tangle Decks 1 & 2 for $30.10 each and Tiny Tangle Deck for $15.48. Get both decks 1 & 2 for $60.20 and all three decks (1, 2 and Tiny) for $75.68. (Tax and shipping are not included in the prices stated here.)

Use coupon code: heart at checkout. Please feel free to share this Sale information. Thanks!

Note: Discount does not apply to the Bundle, Family or Sampler.

Reticula and Fragments

Reticula and Fragments were introduced by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas (founders of Zentangle) in their book Zentangle Primer Volume 1. Reticula are simply frameworks in which to place pattern fragments. Fragments are little chunks of patterns that when rotated or mirrored and placed together in a reticulum (framework) create a larger pattern. Think ceramic tiles. Each tile is a unit and when put together, the elements of each tile work together to create a larger pattern. Depending on the tile’s pattern and how the tiles are put together a number of different variations are possible.

Recently, as I was looking at the photos on my phone I came across several photos of a tile rotated in different positions.

This is the tile

I saw that the tile itself could be considered a fragment of a larger design and immediately went to my computer and started rotating and flipping and combining. The results were very interesting and I wanted to share them here.

Of course then I wanted to experiment with other tiles. Here are a few of the designs I came up with. Note: none of the tiles were drawn with the idea that they would be rotated, mirrored and combined, so it was interesting to see how things lined up.

Hope you enjoy the results of my experimenting, I know I did. Reticula and Fragments are really quite fun. You should try them yourself although maybe on a smaller, simpler scale to start with.

It also made me realize that we are all just part of a larger pattern.

Blessings,

Lynn

Icanthis – Square One Focus

January 4, 2017

The Square One (TM) focus tangle for this week is one that was released by Zentangle HQ in December 2016, called Icanthis. The stepouts can be found here.

Icanthis was inspired by the Acanthus Leaf motif found in art and architecture from the time of the Greeks in the 5th century forward. My tile was inspired by the Acanthus wall paper designed by William Morris.

It is basically the Icanthis tangle drawn in layers in a Hollibaugh manner. That is, start by drawing one layer and then add additional layers by drawing behind.

Since this is a black and white tile, I began to differentiate the different layers by adding shading where they overlap.

before blending the pencil shading

after blending the pencil shading

I then added in the black background color which further defined the shapes.

I then refined the shading to add some additional detail.

Finally I added a little more shading to the leaves further back to give them more depth and enhance the leaves in the front.

I like the way this tile turned out. It reminded me how adding detail in layers can really add depth and emphasis to a drawing. As always if you see something in this blog that you would like to try in your own work, please feel free to do so.

Blessings,

Lynn

Stella – Square One Focus

This week’s Square One (TM) Purely Zentangle focus tangle is Stella by Jana Pharmer (formerly Jana Roberts). Stepouts for Stella can be found here.

I started out this week drawing Stella in my sketchbook. Here is my first attempt. Stella is a fairly straight forward tangle that uses the elemental C stroke. It’s the same shape around the figure but every other one alternates direction.

As I drew this first version I began to see that one could expand it out through several rings like this:

Here, I’ve indicated the Stella in red so you can see it better. the Stella shape changes orientation as it’s drawn on each ring, sometimes up, sometimes down, sometimes on it’s side. The key is to align it to the shapes in the previous ring.

I then added some enhancements (tanglenhancers).

I finally added shading. I intended to do the background all black but got half way through and it seemed like I should stop.

It didn’t seem quite finished though so I added a little more shading around the edge on the light side of the tile. That provided the finishing touch for me.

Next I thought about trying Stella as a six armed figure instead of eight. When I tried it I realized that by making it a six armed figure I could turn it into a tesselated Reticulum (that’s a fancy name for a framework). Each shape was exactly the same so I could fit them together like a puzzle. The next pictures show the six armed figure I started with in red and then the finished tile.

Rick and Maria introduced “Reticula and Fragments” in their Zentangle Primer – Volume 1. Check here for more information about the book.

This weeks tangle really stimulated my tangler’s mind. I hope my examples stimulated yours.

As always if you see something in this post you’d like to try in your own work please feel free to do so.

Blessings,

Lynn

Moowa – Square One Focus

This week’s Square One focus Tangle is Moowa by CZT, Anya Ipsen. Step-outs can be found here.

While my tile this week does use Moowa (it is the tangle in the middle) this post is more about finishing a tile than about the tangle itself.

As you can see from the first photo I took, sometimes the tangle only drawing is just too busy. It really needs contrast and shading to differentiate the different tangles. From the center out I’ve used Moowa, Joki, Drawing, and Sandswirl.

You can see how just adding the black background is starting to give shape to things.

On this tile I worked from the background forward. Adding extra lines to the sand swirl darkened its tone a little and pushed it behind Drawings. I’ve also gone over Moowa and Drawings with a thicker pen.

Adding shading further defines the tangles.

And finally, I shaded the central section.

I love how this came out. It reminds me of Madeline L’Engle’s book “A Wrinkle in Time”. The middle is like a window into another world.

As always, If you see anything in this post that you’d like to try in your own work, please feel free to do so.

Blessings,

Lynn

Rainking – Square One Focus

The square one focus for the week of Nov 11-17 is Rainking by Leona Shih. Stepouts can be found here.

Rainking can be considered a fragment tangle. Fragment tangles are the elements that fill the spaces of a grid. Fragments can be rotated or mirrored to create variations. Rainking reminded me of another tangle, Cornerz by Didier Gervy, that can be rotated and mirrored to create either a very ordered pattern or a more organic meandering pattern. Here’s an example of Cornerz. I drew the same fragment on 16 Biju tiles then laid them out in different ways, all the same orientation in one example and rotated randomly in the other example.

For my Rainking tile I decided to create a more random meandering version.

First I drew a grid with wavy lines to show some movement, and started adding the Rainking fragment randomly.

Here it is with the Rainking covering the tile.

I then drew an aura around the spaces that formed between the Rainking fragments and began filling them in with black. I wanted to cover up some of the grid lines and make the fragments stand out more.

After I got the spaces between filled with black I wondered what it would look like if I shaded each “petal” of Rainking in the opposite direction of the one next to it. I started by adding graphite alternately to the top or bottom of each “petal”. ( I remembered to take photos of the shading in progress for this tile.)

Here is the tile before the final blending.

And here is the finished tile. After blending I went back in and added more shading to the darkest areas.

The final result reminds me of fallen petals after a spring bloom. This was an interesting experiment.

As always if you see something in this post that you’d like to try in your own work please feel free to do so.

Blessings,

Lynn

Florez – Square One Focus

This week’s (Sept 30 – Oct 6) Square One focus tangle is Florez introduced by Andrea Shuman, aka Cookie. This is a tangle I have not used before but is a close relative of N’Zeppel one of the tangles introduced by Zentangle HQ.

If you follow my blog you will know that I usually start out the Square One focus by just playing around with the tangle to get to know it better, especially if it’s one I’ve not drawn before. This has been a very hectic week so I thought I’d pick up a tile and just draw without intending it to be a Square One tile. Before I realized it I had drawn a Florez shape string so decided to go with it. Unfortunately I was swept up in the creation of this tile and did not take any work-in-progress pictures, but I can share a lot about this tile anyway.

First off I should reveal that it started in a completely different direction than what you see as the finished tile. I started drawing patterns in the shapes that are now black, then was inspired to draw the sections that contain Rixty. I loved where that took me but it didn’t really go with the sections I started with. Those sections had to go, so that is how they came to be black (my own take on the Bronx Cheer). This literally set the tone for the rest of the tile. From that point on, drawing and shading decisions were made in order to balance out these black spaces.

The second thing I wanted to point out was the use of Convergent Shading in this tile. I introduced this concept in Tangle Deck 2 but have not addressed it here in my blog. It is used in the sections containing Rixty. In convergent shading two adjacent shapes are shaded from dark to light in opposite directions. Here is an example using stripes so it is easier to see.

In this tile the area around Rixty is shaded dark to light toward the center while the pie shapes are shaded dark to light from the center out. Here is a detail showing what I mean. This helps to define edges in an interesting way.

The third thing I wanted to share about this tile is the way the black shapes float on top. Usually darker shapes recede into the background. I did not do this intentionally, it just happened as a result of the way Rixty is drawn seemingly on top of the pie shapes pushing them to the back. Further supporting this illusion you can imagine that those pie shapes continue behind the two black sections to form a circle. As one person commented “It looks like the moon is hiding in the back!” Take another look at the tile and see if you can see what I mean.

This tile had secrets to reveal and I admit I was an accomplice.

As always, If you see something in this post you’d like to try in your own work, please do.

If you are on FaceBook and you’d like to try the Square One focus sometime, or just follow the page for inspiration you will find it here.

Blessings,

Lynn