Challenge #145 - New Official Tangle: Quib

For each CZT training Rick and Maria come up with a new tangle. The tangle for CZT Training CZT Seminar XII is called Quib a great versatile organic little beauty. View the the step outs for the new tangle in the latest Zentangle newsletter and the fabulous examples tiles creating using this new tangle!

This is such a fun tangle and I chose to create some little bejeweled crown fasteners, baubles, and add some wonky wire with danglies and beads. I added a little purple and blue which seamed to go perfectly with the majestic caps. I used my Sakura micron, black and purple, and my Derwent Inktense pencils for the color wash and blends.

I modified my tile after seeing it on line; adding the dark starry night background behind the main Quib, I also intensified the shading. It seemed a little floaty without that added touch.

Thanks Laura for another great challenge. Check out the other wonderful entries for this week.

Version Two - In the round (sort of)
Looping Quib with Mooka

Original tile with lighter background

Challenge #144 - A Bug's Life

Pea pods, lily pads, Tipple, and Dragonflies
lot's of Auras and embellishments

This weeks Diva Challenge #144: A Bug's Life asks us to use color iand add a bug to the tile. How fun! Laura debutes the video created by Sakura with Samantha Taylor, CZT on her web site, check it out. Great video and lot's of inspirational solutions.

I chose to feature my bug (dragonfly) and embellish it with Sakura metallic gold and white gel pens. My color was added with Derwent Inktense pencils and of course my trusty Sakura micron pens. This was so much fun to create and add lot's of embellishments is my thing. Woo-hoo!

I've been playing around with pea pods; a tangleation of Carol Ohl's Inapod. Love the shape and the wonderful little orbs created by each pod. I have my dragon fly floating above water with lot's of lily pads and ripples. The combination of these elements may only work in my head, but that's okay!

I ran across some amazing Amazon river lily pads online. I couldn't duse them as my reference, but they are amazing. Check out this youtube video. I want some of THOSE lily pads in my garden!

Frank's Banana Spider with Betweed, Shattuck,
Sanibelle, Purk beads, and Bales

I took this opportunity to create a tile for my brother-in-law. He and my sister live in Florida and he has a fondness for the Banana spiders that live in his barn. He was sharing how beautiful they were, he likes to scratch their little backs as they sit on their webs. This one's for you Frankie!

Challenge #143 - UMT - Cruze by Caren Mlot

This weeks Diva challenge is #143, it's a first Monday of the month Use My Tangle challenge. Cruze by CZT Caren Mlot was chosen, check out her tangle. It's easy to recreate and has a great rhythm. There are many possibilities and variations which makes it a fun tangle. My version definitely isn't perfect... but that's the Zentangle way, right? Just doing it one stroke at a time. I will play with this tangle in the future.

My solution is light and airy solution with just a touch of color. I used a purple micron and the color definitely doesn't pop.

I used Cruze, Printemp swirls, Crescent tangleations, Flux, Betweed, Zinger with lots of Beadz, Auras, and shading.

Zendala Dare #79 - A Zendala Thanks to Rick and Maria

Thanks to Rick and Maria
Mooka, Purk embellishments, Paradox, Betweed,
and Swirls in Ibex fashion

High Contrast Zendala
Flying Geese, Tipple, Umble, Pressed Wood,
and BTL Jooz, and Printemps

So this weeks challenge is to create a Zendala using the template #79 as a tribute to Rick and Maria to say thanks for their contribution.  I chose to use official tangles and mimic Maria's style. Her work is so inspirational and it's fun to really examine some of her wonderful tiles on the zentangle.com site. She and Rick have enhanced my life and certainly instilled or should I say relit the creative flame that can be dampened so easily once life and work gets in the way.

Meeting them and getting into the Zentangle process has enriched my life beyond measure. I can't thank them enough. I was able to attend the last CZT seminar in Whittinsville, MA because my sister's and my niece made that my gift in 2010. It was one of the best gifts and the most wonderful experience I've ever had!

I used Paradox, Betweed, Mooka, Purk embellishments, and swirls in the Ibex Maria fashion. I painted on black ink and them embellished the edges with Sakura white jelly roll. I love it. It turned out just the way I hoped and I had a blast doing it. Thanks to Maria, Rick, Erin, and of course Zentangle.

I did the second Zendala this weekend after seeing CZT, Sue Clark's tribute to the new Book of Zentangle cover for the Diva challenge. Her tile was inspired by Maria's fantastic cover design on the recently released Zentangle book. She did a fabulous job and made me want to try Umble again. I went for high contrast, and while my Umble beats to it's own drum (I tried) but the results pleased me. I feel more comfortable with this tangle, I will keep working on it. I really enjoy the sumptous little pods in the center. Fun to do!

I created the Zendala template using a plate and ruler to divide and create the pie shaped string design. It was a great exercise for my upcoming Zendala class this week!

Check out the other submissions for this challenge at The Bright Owl.

Challenge #142 - Outside my comfort zone

Grid-based sort of tangles Zendala (sort of)
Reverse white on black with white gel pen,
and soapstone for shading

Grid-based tangles Zendala - not perfect!
Reverse white on black with white gel pen, metallic gel pens,
and soapstone for shading

The Diva's challenge for week #142 asks us to step out of our comfort zone, stick our toe in the water or do a full jump free-fall. My comfort zone is organic swirly, curvy, non-grid based tangles. Black on white with grey shading is my preference so this week I pushed all the above. Check out all the great solutions for this week's challenge.

I first loosened up my white gel pen on black paper with a free-form Zendala (style) tile, it's wonky and has a few grid-based tangles but then I also incorporated free form fall tangles. I used the new Zentangle soap stone for shading - Love it! If you haven't tried it you should! It's so neat to work with this beautiful stone tool.

Next I drew a circle (using my trusty sip cup) and then divided it up to create sections. I used all grid-based tangles in this Zendala design, they morphed a bit but the end result was pleasing. I also pulled out some fun color Sakura Gel pens to enhance my work. The white was a little overpowering and the metallic elements of color helped break it up. This was a totally different tangling process. I needed to concentrate, take my time and really address each aspect of the grid tangle process. Uncomfortable and unfamiliar but still a great process. I so love the beauty and precision of some grid-based tangles. That's not my typical methodology so I just tried to remember there are no mistakes in Zentangle.

I can't even name the tangles I used fairly because they morphed into other things. I used Dragonair as a ruffle, C-Bun (sort of), Ciceron, Archer (tangelation).

My final version was totally free form using Zenplosion Folds and Flukes. Some of my faves (especially since Zenplosion Folds is mine). It fell free and easy and brought me back to the flow I love in my tangling process. Putting this into reverse was out of my comfort zone. White gel pen, touches of gel metallic gold for accents, and shading with soapstone and the white chalk pencil.

I need to work on this process much more to feel comfortable but that's the name of the game, right? Thanks for another chance to stretch my creative muscles Diva.

I found these images difficult to scan. I couldn't get the essence of the shading and the metallic without lighting my images quite a bit. This made the black paper a little more grey. Ahhh, another learning experience to continue...

Free form - Zenplosion Folds and Flux
Reverse white on black with white gel pen, gold metallic gel pen,
soapstone, and white pencil

Challenge #141 - Duotangle - Fengle & Quandry

Duotangle; Fengle & Quandry
A little line work, pointillism and it's done!

Weekly Challenge #139 and 140 - UMT 8's and Pointillism with a Tangle Viewer

Pointellism with Crescent Moon, Hollibaugh.
Zinger, Flux, and some leaves

Challenge #140 - Pointellism:  I often use dots and lines for shading on my tiles so I thought this Challenge would be no big deal. Making the entire tile with dots really makes me think in a whole new way, the way to get from point A to point B is... many dots. I used a variety of size pens which helps give a little depth and graduation in greys, What a lot of dots to create this tile and boy were my hands screaming.

It's always fun to look at techniques and challenge ourselves as creative individuals. I used Crescent Moon, that reached out into Hollibaugh, added some Flux, Zingers and Leaves. I found that doubling up on my dotted lines gave the feel of shadows. This was a great exercise, thanks for a another fun challenge Diva.

Tangle Viewers:
I created some Tangle Viewers using the paint chip samplers I got at Lowes. They have an interesting finish and smooth coating that takes the micron pen strokes beautifully, because of the coating the pen strokes will smear if not affixed with  workable spray fixative. Once sprayed, its stable and no movement or smearing of micron lines!

The "Tangle Viewer" is a great way to focus in on details in my tile. The little window is a very effective tool to zero in on small details and areas in a tile. The Zentangle process talks about looking at the big picture and viewing your tile from all directions, no ups or downs but being able to isolate sections to study details is a good thing. I'm going to use these in my classes to give students a closer look at section details.

Tangle Viewers, one black and white,
one color with little leaves berries and little"windows"

I'm also including my Challenge #139 tiles from last weeks' UMT challenge of 8s Parte Dos" by Jane Eileen. I completed these last week but never got around to posting them.

This was not a tangle I would have attempted without this challenge to spurn me on. This tangle was hard to get into, finding the rhythm and flow of this tangle was difficult for me. There was more thought and concentration than I look for in a tangle. But once I tried it a few times it did grow on me.

The way I found the rythm and flow was by looking for the shapes rather than trying to figure out the diagonal line portion. It's much easier for me to see shapes.

My first version went a little wonky but I combined it with some fun tangles and it seemed to flow well. Allium, Betweed, and Mooka added and the final was pleasing.

I felt more comfortable with 8s on my second version, there was the ease and flow I look for when working the Zentangle process. Once I got through my initial frustation I was able to really look at the tangle and find it's flow.
  

Version on - 8's gone a little wonky, added Betweed,
Mooka, Allium, and Shattuck

Version two - 8's in the rythm, added some Knightsbridge,
Mooka, Tipple, Fescue and black!