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