Happy Inktobertangles 2021 Part 3

 So many tangles passing by this month of October! And October was running fast this year! For me at least! But I want to display all tangles here in my blog since the variety of tangles is interesting! Some of these tangles are tangles that I wouldn´t have paid notice to if it wasn´t for the Inktober project and doing them gave such a pleasure!

11. Fengle from Zentangle.com is one of those tangles I don´t go to very often, and when I do it I just wonder why! It is such a great tangle!

12. This little one, Yumeni by Shie Naritomi make me think of Cherryblossom.

13. I have met Spynes (Heidi Kay) before and this was a happy reunion! I forgot that fountainpen bleeds if you are not careful! But in this case I liked the Ooops and didn´t do anything to hide it!

14. C-Knots (Valli Ganti)needed more attention! So Lunar Flux and Naaki did the job!

15. Ing from Zentangle, designed by Molly Hollibaugh. A true companion with so many possibilities!

16. Moonesque (Leslee Feiwus). I see this pattern as a fragment that can be used in many directions and ways. Making the frame around it gives me a feeling of Dingbatz. Love that.

17. Ecstatic (Jem Miller) is a fun tangleation of Static. 

18. Moonpie from Zentangle. com. I always like to connect it with Hollis as Maria Thomas did the first time I saw her draw it!

19. OOPSMI (Hanny Nura), doesn´t look easy but it is.  

20. Oysteroid (Judy Genovese). A tangle that can fill any shape and also appear in many shapes. Easy to learn and easy to draw and very effective!

21. OOFS (Zentangle). I had fun playing with this on a Bijou and then on a piece of paper ripped out of a book. Love to do such small collages and I think OOFS did so too! OOFS stands for: Out Of Focus!

22. Paradisum (Oswaldo Burbano). Whow this is a pattern that looks like a flower but acts like a Diva! It just wants to grow bigger and bigger as you draw!

23. Ple-a (Apple Lim) is another little flower in the Tanglebouqet of October.

24. Zigoli (Deb Bowyer). This tangle made me think of another tangle by Lynn Shelton Mead: Fassett. Zigoli is pretty and will be useful!

25. Round Square (Karin Guzetta). Oh this one was such a pleasure to meet! Simple and yet with so many possible ways to go!(Yes a little piece of collagepaper here).

26. Dex (Zentangle). A great geometrical tangle! I love it but very often it seems to stand back for another favourite of mine: Cubine. They are strongly related I think.

27. Trelina (Eni Oken). Another reunion! As I draw Trelina I realized that she takes over the stage which means she is a true Diva!

28. Effie (Anett Rümpler). A flower blowing in the wind of other tangles. A pretty one.

29. Tree Leaf (Debbi E. New). Looking at this first gave me a Poke Leaf feeling. Quite different to draw though. I like how it came out!

30. Tabs (Tomàs Padrós). On a background of ecodyed page from a book. Fun one!!

31. The last tangle of this Inktober: Eke (Zentangle). This tangle is one of those I can call my Mac 'n Cheese! So playful and willing to fit in every kind of tangle environment!

Thats all from Inktobertangles 2021. I loved this month´s challenges and reunions! It has indeed been a lot to explore! Thanks´to Stephanie Jennifer that has made this possible once again!

Happy Inktober Tangles Part 2.

These Inktober Tangles gives the opportunity to find out about tangles that are unknown to me! Several comes from Asian tanglers and they are rich and often floral and always lovely. 

Day 5.

Ayame (Emiko Kaneko)

Day 6.

Brrst (Kelly Barone)

This one was a happy reunion! As I first found this tangle a couple of years ago it became a favourite of mine. But what sometimes happens when there comes new tangles all the time, it landed in my pile of forgotten ones! Now I think I am going to use it more!

Day 8.

Zenith (Zt)

Day 9.

Xac (Susan Yeo)

Day 10.

Hirari (Midori Furuhashi)

Midori´s pattern is also found here. The link from the Inktober List Prompts goes to Instagram and there the step out is a little different. The one from Tanglepattern made my day since it was a guide to so many possibilities!! I love that. This pattern is very Asian in my opinion and though it looks complicated it is very easy to draw! 

Happy Inktober Tangles 2021! Part 1.

Here we go again. October is definitely in the Autumn season here in Sweden. I know that is not the case on the other side of the globe where it now must be spring. I wasn´t sure that I could make it this year as I am working on an exhibition to come but I decided to keep it simple because I do want to be a part of this worldwide tangling during this month! Stephanie Jennifer is doing such a great job planning this fun!

 I found a small journal in which I had done Arukas  for 30 days and half of this journal was still empty! I grabbed it and turned it upside down starting from the end of the little book and now I keep going. This is what I have done so far:

My new frontcover done with some Washitape
I made a while ago

I decided to use my fountain pens most of the time during this Inktober period, but also allow myself to use other supplies if I felt like it. Not many rules here!

First tangle: Lunar Flux  (Debbie E New)

Lovely first of Inktober with a tangle new to me: Lunar Flux deconstructed by Debbie New. I haven´t tried new tangles for a while since my priority has been to use the Zentanglemethod as a meditation. But this little one which starts with the pattern Flux was really fun to play with.

My first take on Nadine Roller´s Naaki for day 2.

Couldn´t resist making this tangle on a black Bijou! So easy and very meditative with only using 2 basic strokes. That´s my kind of pattern! Easy to learn and remember! I have done  more playing with this pattern after the first one:

I used pigma micron purple and blue.

Very quickly we moved into October the 3d:

 

Dewd (Zt). 

Dewd has become a go to tangle for me.  This time Iwas inspired by the PP15, which was such a wonderful Project Pack where Letters were in focus.

Today I made a mess at first, following the 4th prompt!Using my fountain pens getting into the tangling, I forgot that the ink was watersoluble. And that it took a while to dry. The area around my drawn square was smudged and first I tried to  use a broad yellow ocre acrylic pen to cover it up, but it looked even worse. Then I tried black gesso around my square and that made the trick! But there still is an Oops: I spelled Doris Bischop wrong on the page which I apologize for. I will fix this tomorrow in the journal but the picture came out like this and might not be changed here:

Whipdcreem (Doris Bisschop)

Yes you are right, Nadine Roller´s pattern wanted to make one more show, this time dressed up with a gem! Well well Naaki might come visiting again! This 4th day I also used one of the suggested strings for Inktober tangles.

If you want to follow the Inktober Tangles 2021, you find the official  list here in the blog 7 Forrsest 5 Rivers. Happy Tangling!

From N'Zeppel to a Journal Prompt

 It is hot outside. And very much humidity. We are not used to have this kind of climate in Sweden. How to handle it? We don´t have a lot of aircondition either. I close the doors on the sunny side of the house, I close the blinds and stay indoors a lot. Lucky for me my studio is the coolest place in the house! At this point I start my daily work tangling. some days it is mostly about tangling. Other days about other kind of artwork. But tangling is a meditation for me and that is a good way to dig deeper into other creative processes. 

Last week in the Fb-group Today´s tangles - Keeping it Classic Sandy Kelley Jones had made a special prompt how to make a grid using the Marcus Operandus designed for Zendalas in Project pack no. 9. Marcus Operandus is a tool designed by Zentangle.com and you can download it here for free. It is actually a tool made for tangling in a round and if you want to learn more about this you can watch the videos on YouTube  going with the PP09!

This Prompt in TTKIC was so fun and it was all about N´Zeppel as a monotangle. Monotangling is such a great way to learn about a tangle and this was no exception. And N´Zeppel is so addictive! 

Same tangle different shading and they appear quite different. I wanted to try it on black tiles too:

Is this the same tangle? Oh yes and now I had a mosaic:.

I could go on for days with this. It is so interesting how very small differences have such an impact on the outcome! I love that, since it really shows there are a lot more to explore! 

When I finally sat down with my OTL-journal for this year, (a junkjournal!!) I just had to go on with N´Zeppel and work it into the prompt from Judy Stevenson Voges. The prompt was about one to me unknown South African Artist, Glen Josselsohn, who was working with a syringe. I didn´t have a Syringe, but I used a tiny squeeze bottle and filled it with Sumi Ink (Japanese ink used for Calligraphy). 

I loved to do this and it gave me some ideas I want to try in my other artwork as well! A couple of other tangles joined: Onamato, Chartz and Purk from Zentangle and Cheesecloth from Suzanne McNeill.

That´s all for today! Happy Tangling!

 

The Zentangle Method and humble beginnings

Once again: Long time no posts in this blog. But I am here and I am still tangling.  So much is going on in the Zentangle community. So many new techniques. So much to learn and be excited of.Now there are a lot of tools, a lot of different tiles, a lot of color. To deal with all the new stuff is sometimes confusing, sometimes I admit, I also can find it a little stressful to keep up with everything. I have been thinking about this a lot the last six months. How do I find my way to keep my mind focused and find the relaxation in the method? The answer to all that was served on a silver tray recently! In the last  blogposts from Zentangle  it was all about the basics. Here is the first one : The 8 steps of Zentangle

This is all I need to tangle: A tile, a pencil, a tortillon and a black pen. And I love to keep it this simple. Because then I can have the supplies handy where ever I may be. And I don´t have to worry about a thing! Just follow the steps. It is NOT about the results. It is the process. How could I ever forget that? I needed to be reminded indeed. Social media can be a good place to be in, when you tangle. But sometimes I need a break  for several reasons. It is nice to find the Zentangle Groups on Fb f.ex. Publishing my tiles there or on Instagram means I get likes and that makes me feel good. If I get comments even better! But there is one side of the coin I have to be aware of: all these likes and nice words can  affect me in a way I don´t want: if I am not careful and aware of this I can easily fall into the trap! I start to think about the results, yes I am rushing for results, which make me loose the focus on the process. And that is harmful.

All this became so clear to me when I took an art-class online 7 months ago and even clearer as I joined a free art-class a couple of weeks ago. This was my problem when I was going to create what I love the most! I WAS rushing for results! What I did to change this was to bring the Zentangle method into my art. No, I don´t use much tangles in my other artwork. But I apply the method working with my colors, papers, glue, or anything. During these months I have not tangled every day. I thought I had got a little lost. But I had not. The every day tangling practice (since 2015) took some days off now and then ok, but only because I was working so hard to get the method going into my paintings! And I started to read the Zentangleblogposts more carefully. Coming to the latest posts I felt relieved and now I am tangling (not posting) every day again. I use the basic tools, I go for the dots in the corners and the string.

The next blogpost: Blog Zentangle made me watch the DVD from the Startkit again (i got that before going to the CZT Seminar 32 in november 2018). Now it is available on YouTube so it is very easy to go back and watch it over and over again. Which I have done for a couple of weeks now. When I first got the DVD I did watch it, but I didn´t explore it this way. I have done the tiles and I loved it as much as i did in the beginning of my Zentangle journey. To watch Maria Thomas tangle and tangle along with her is something I appreciate a lot:

Tile 1 with the basic Z-string

Tile 2 with another basic string

I was happy doing this, tangling with tangles I knew so well and with strings I had done so many times. Then I went on to the third part of the video. Maria Thomas made an elegant loopy string and filled it with a lot of tangles. I just couldn´t follow and tangle at the same time! I decided to first watch, write down the tangles in order and then tangle. My first try on this, I decided to make my own loopy string and find places for the tangles as I went:

Tile 3: my own loopy string

I had not used the spiraling little tangle Scoodle before and Chartz is one I might have done twice.

Tile 4: Trying to copy Marias string.

The last tile I made a little different. I watched Maria tangle again but stopped the video after each tangle and then tangled myself.

Both ways worked well, I had a good time doing this NOT rushing for results but find focus and relaxation.

The last blogpost, Humble beginnings was also such a wonderful reminder of the Zentangle journey. When I started tangling There were no CZT:s to be found nearby where I live in Sweden in 2015. My first guidance was a book by Bekah Krahula: One Zentangle A Day, and I found one of the tiles I did at that time: 

Tile 5: my humble beginnings

  It wasn´t my first tile because I didn´t think of keeping my first one at that time. I always tell my students to keep their first tile, because it is such a treasure to go back and realize what the journey has done! I can see it myself and that is the feedback I need and that makes me proud of myself. Note: I don´t say that I don´t want feedback from others if anyone got that in mind. I belive everyone needs feedback from others and I am no exception. I am grateful for all wonderful comments I have got on my journey and I sure will be further on. What i say is: I have learned a lesson, I am now aware of what it takes to loose focus on the process and be rushing for results! So till next time: Happy tangling! Stay focused on the process!    

 

Tangle lesson for free!

During this period when we are minimizing our social interactions in real life we start to find new ways to communicate. At least to many of us new ways!All over the world there are CZT:s giving free zentangle-lessons on Instagram and on Face Book. We are all missing to have our groups and workshops, to interact with our students in real life. So do I. I have made one session on Instagram and now today I tried FB. On instagram the videos can be watched for 24 hours, on FB they stay on my page as long as I want. So I think I will go on with doing it on FB. Here you find my first video on FB:  
https://www.facebook.com/AnitaWestinCZT/videos/265981127903694/

If you are following my official page on FB you will always find information here when I will make another broadcast. I will continue to make it in Swedish, but I think it doesn´t matter too much if you speak another language since Zentangle is a universal language. today´s video is all about Cubine and I wanted to do this when I watched Juliette Fiessinger´s instalive-lesson with Printemps.

Bitty BookZ!

Here is my first Bitty BookZ filled with Valentangle and Dingbatz!