Patterns Patterns Everywhere

"Life forms illogical patterns. It is haphazard and full of beauties which I try to catch as they fly by, for who knows whether any of them will ever return?" Margot Fonteyn

Since beginning my journey with Zentangle I have become very aware of patterns in the world around me. I notice the patterns in fabric and linens, in architecture and nature, in rugs and clothes. In EVERYTHING! Why do you think I chose this background for my blog? I have even programmed my husband to notice patterns. So between the two of us we have taken many photos on our phones of patterns we see while out and about. The idea is that I will study these patterns and be inspired to create the steps for drawing them.

In reality, I often forget about the pictures we've taken. And when I do remember them...well, I'm impatient. So when I sit down to work on the steps, if those steps don't come quickly I give up easily. I figure that I'm wasting valuable time when I could be tangling instead. But a few days ago I was inspired by a picture in, of all places, a coloring book. The pattern was very simple, so I was able create it before I got impatient and gave up. As a matter of fact, the basic pattern is so simple that I can't believe it hasn't already been published as a Zentangle pattern. If anyone has seen this somewhere else, please let me know.

Here are the steps for the pattern, which I am calling Navaho because it reminds me of a Navajo woven blanket. Spelling it with an "h" is an alternate, rarely used spelling for the Native American tribe. I have also included several variations on the basic pattern. 

For the basic pattern, I drew a diagonal line in each box, and then added 2 lines on each side of that diagonal. Do the same thing in reverse, and there you have the pattern with a checkerboard in the center. Variation 1 has the little squares that were formed by the diagonals blackened in, but before doing that I added another line on each side of both diagonals so the resulting squares would be slightly smaller. 

For variation 2, I drew the first set of diagonals in alternating directions from square to square. Then the diagonals crossing those went under, in hollibaugh fashion.

For  variation 3, I drew the first set of diagonals all going in the same direction and the second set of diagonals went under again. 

3a is the same as 3, but I blackened in a line, following it up and down across the rows. This took a lot of concentration to make sure I was following the line the way I wanted to.  

I am including two Zentangles that I created using Navaho. In this first one I used variation 3a on the bottom right side, and another variation of the basic pattern with parts of the little squares blackened.

In this next Zentangle I used variation 2. I outlined the little squares that were formed using the Sakura black glaze pen which leaves a raised shiny line, but it's hard to see that in the picture. The black glaze pen is my newly discovered treasure and lots of fun to use for accents. If you haven't tried it yet, you really should. 

I'm not sure that either of these zentangles are my favorites, but I did get a lot of practice with my new pattern. I hope you enjoy putting Navaho to the test, and I'd love to see what you do with it.