Art of the Tangle ~ A Zentangle Studio ~ Blog

Its so nice to see spring coming along! The forsythia in Massachusetts are in full bloom, and little green things are poking up everywhere!

I ordered a batch of the new Zendala tiles from Zentangle, and just had to try them out! A rainy day was a good day to do some tangling.

I turned the process into a little slide show. Not exactly a very “zen” experience, but pretty fun anyway.

Zentangle (r) Zendala ~ Welcome Spring! from Jean Theurkauf on Vimeo.

While image use without regard to copyright and proper attribution has been a problem for a long time, the sudden popularity of Pinterest seems to have brought the issue to the fore recently.

I have been using a great little tool.. Light Image Resizer… to resize images before uploading them, and to add watermarks.

You can download it here .

I’ve also created a video tutorial using Light Image Resizer to help get you started.

One of my recent students shared these beautiful Zentangle Inspired Valentines with me.  I’m constantly amazed at the talents that people discover that they have and that they share

Thank you Connie! Your work is so beautiful

I am always blown away by beginning students’ Zentangles.  Such a variety in drawing style!  Each one so different from the next, and each one so beautiful..

A recent “Taste of Zentangle” beginning Zentangle class really reminded me of how a group of people, each hearing the same instructions, can interpret them in such different ways.

This mosaic shows such diversity of style in a beginning Zentangle Class

A closer view shows the beauty of each student's work

Its always fun to see how blown away the students are by their own work!

The group admires the artworks of each other

Another class at Western Ave Studios consisted of two students who were  mathematically/engineering inclined, one a mechanical engineer, the other a systems engineer turned professional weaver.  You can see how meticulous their pieces are.

Some brand new Zentangle artists create beautiful, meticulous Zentangles

Other students, like these at a class a few months ago in Worcester, approach Zentangle in a more freeflowing way.

Other approach Zentangle in a really freeflowing way

Just reminds me again, that there is no “right” way and no “wrong” way… just fun!

I’ve been doing a lot of messing around with my watercolor pencils and Zentangles® lately. Would like to share a few discoveries.

A Zentangle that's been colored in with Caran d'Ache Watercolor pencils

Limiting a pallette to just a few colors that work well together

Sometimes less is more.  A limited number of colors were added to this tangle (don’t forget, white and black are colors too!).  This keeps the thing from getting out of hand.

Also, only the “ribbon” and the part inside the “ribbon” were colored. This creates a nice focus.

A dark background was added around the circumference of the tangle.

Adding a dark border to make the tangle pop.

A dark background was added around the edges of the tangle.

The color of the background snuck in aroundsome of the tangles to create a sort of transparent effect, adding to the depth.

The water color pencils have been washed over with a litttle water

Adding water to really bring out the colors.

A little light water washed and mushed over the colors really brightens them!

A little watercolory texture is possible by letting the wetness dry and going back in and smearing around some more.

See the difference on the left side, where the water hasn’t been applied yet?

Because I am who I am, I always want to put as much into each class as will possibly fit into the alloted time frame.  We get going and going, and going, and sometimes we get a little overwhelmed, and sometimes it feels like a race to the finish line.

So I’m changing the way I’m approaching advanced Zentangle classes to make things a little more focused, structured and relaxing.  I’ll be redesigning old classes, and adding new classes that will really explore the “Art of the Tangle” , over the next couple of weeks.

Example of an Ensemble Created in "All Tangled Up", and Advanced Zentangle Class

In the advanced Zentangle class  … “All Tangled Up in Tangles” scheduled in Sterling, Lowell and Worcester in August, we’ll be creating ensembles and focusing on ways to add zing and focus to our pieces with more shading techniques, and embellishments such as “perfs”, “rain”, “carbonation” etc…..

We’ll learn new and more complicated tangles, and some great ways to do things to and with… strings!  The String’s the thing… in this class.

Please visit the ArtoftheTangle.com website to learn more and register.

Trying to come up with little graphic for my split personality… Zentangle / Fiber Art Studio….

Here’s a thought….