New Tangle for Valentine's Day - Zen Bud

Since Valentine's Day is fast approaching I decided to do a tangle for a "Zen bud". I love drawing flowers and little rose buds or (Zen buds) are one of my favorites. The heart is the basis for the leaves so it seems totally appropriate for this holiday.

1. Draw a spiral, I like to put a dot at beginning and end, gives it style!
   Make sure your oval is long and narrow in depth, this is the top of your zen bud.
2. Next draw a heart, one side should be smaller than the other. Make the smaller side "kiss the beginning of your oval.
3. Next, draw a second heart around the first one. Make the inside heart look likes its wearing a cowl neck, you're giving your leaf a "collar", start the second heart close at the points and then exaggerate the line to form your collar and pull it back in close to the inside "heart" for the end. You may have to elongate the bottom point line of your heart to meet the bottom of you bud, just play with it.
4. Once you've completed your heart, outside and inside, then draw a "U" shape to form the curve of your bud base. It should start at one side of your heart, curve around the bottom, and then curve back up to meet the other side of your "heart" shape. You've now formed your outside leaves!
5. Next, draw a short line starting at the outside curve of your spiral and draw down to meet the area that your "U" shape intersects with the outside petal. Remember to stop your line before the outside "collar" edge. You've now formed the inside of your "bud".
6. Once your "Zen bud" is complete, draw a little "sepal", protection leaves, on the bottom. Just make a couple of pointed loops that begin from the same middle point and curve out.

Violá, you've created your "Zen Bud"! (After all French is zee language of Love, no?)

This takes practice but once you get the rhythm down you can fill large areas for your Valentine. Vary the sizes and orientations of these little buds and repeat, repeat, repeat. It's important to not concentrate on precision with this tangle but the flow and variation. Have fun! 

I've included variations below, I like to shade them and add some little prickery vines and leaves. The shading adds to the "depth" of the bud. I like to shade the areas where one leaf is overlapping another. I accented those areas with line work also. Of course, adding a little color would be loverrrly too.  Play with them and Happy Valentine's Day!

Feel free to contact me with questions.

Straight forward line art, varying size and orientation
I added a little jeweled "heart string" for sweetness

Zen buds with shading and some
prickery rose vines and leaves added
sort of a "Hollibaugh" effect

Fun with Lines

I was trying to use basic lines in this tangle. My intention was to give this tangle a little more structure, but then these swirls showed up out of no where. I just couldn't help myself! My tangling style is definitely more organic and free form lines. I find the more structured tangles a little more challenging. Does that speak to my personality? I think it does!

I am a free-form sort of gal in many aspects of life. I find it fascinating that the zentangle experience appeals to so many of us, whether we are "left-brainers" that enjoy the straight measured lines and grids patterns, or the free-form, outside the lines, right-brainers where I consider myself. Both methods work beautifully with the zentangle process. I find that amazing!

Last month I was up north with my sister and participated in a zentangle day with 6 wonderful women. We all brought different talents and mind sets to the process and the result was seven fabulous tangles. All different, but each one beautiful.