Fluxzeppel

"If everyone would look for that uniqueness then we would have a very colorful world."     Michael Schenker

I haven't participated in the Diva's challenge in a long time. But this week the challenge is to create a duotangle - a tile using just two tangles - with Flux and N'zeppel. Two of my favorite patterns. So I just HAD to do it. 

I decided to tangle on a tile that I had created using alcohol inks for a background. Just to show you my process, here is the piece of yupo that I inked...

Then I scanned it, chose the section of that design that I liked the most, cropped it into a 4x4 inch size, and printed it on Bristol vellum paper for tangling. This is what it looked like...

Then I tangled...with just N'zeppel and Flux. I decided to shade the large Flux shapes using graphite, and the small Flux shapes using pastel pencils. I really love the way this one turned out...

I hope to do another duotangle for this week's challenge... I'll see if time permits.

Off the Beaten Path

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."    Ralph Waldo Emerson

I'm back... with more Zendala pre-strung colored tiles. I had such a great response to the square pre-strung tiles I made, that I decided to create the same tiles as Zendalas. Just very briefly, in case you haven't seen them yet, these are created with alcohol inks on yupo paper and then printed on Bristol vellum, a great surface for tangling. If you missed it, you can read more about the process in my blog from a few months ago.

I will warn you that this is going to be a long post, with lots of photos. Please stick with me to the end.... I don't think you'll be disappointed. I am so excited today to include art work here by my friend, CZT Sonya Yencer. Her tangled pieces are always beautiful, so I asked if she would tangle some of my new Zendala tiles to give you a different perspective on what can be done with them. And she said yes! But first, take a look at some of the Zendalas that I just completed (all include before and after photos, but the befores may not all be turned in the same direction as the afters.)

The first is a multi-colored tile tangled using black micron, stardust gelly rolls, and white gelly roll pen. The patterns used are Antidots, D'rua, Verdigogh, and Tipple. I chose, for the most part, to ignore the pathways and just go for it. I love the coloring in this tile.

The next tile was created in a more monochromatic color scheme. I tangled the pathways using Cadent, but didn't fill in all the paths. Less is very often more, and I have to keep telling myself that. Then I filled in some of the background spaces with Printemps using a white gelly roll pen and a touch of stardust gelly rolls. I kept telling myself, "Don't do it all...don't do it all!"

 

 

Next up is a tile with more earthy tones. So I decided to use a brown micron on this one, with touches of stardust and white gelly roll pens again. At first I wasn't sure that I liked the combination of Munchin and Sand Swirl that I used, but by the time I was done I had changed my mind.

Jumping from earth tones to much brighter pink, purple and blue... on this one I filled some of the background areas with the light and airy patterns N'zeppel and Frost Flower. I added a touch of white highlights using a white pastel pencil, and I ended up liking this one more than I thought I would when I began it.

The last one of my tiles that I have to share with you... for now... is one of the tiles from my gray collection. Just shades of gray in these, no color. That is, until I started tangling. I tangled all the pathways in this one (with variations of the pattern Emingle), using black and red microns, adding shading with graphite and a red pastel pencil. I have grown to love this bristol vellum paper for shading because the pencil smudges so easily with a tortillion.

I've saved the best for last, so please DON'T GO ANYWHERE YET!!!!  Here are three tiles that the very talented Sonya completed, along with a brief description of each, in her own words.

"I was immediately drawn to this one because warm
analogous colors make me so happy! In this instance, I chose to ignore the background shapes and create my image on top. The fall weather appears to have revealed a sunflower-y shape! Materials: black .01 Micron, white Gellyroll, Silver Slicci, and InkTense watercolor pencils."

 

"Love the blend of warm and cool tones on one Zendala! On this one, I wanted to do something bold so I chose a mix of Striping and Pepper to fill a handful of the larger shapes. Sometimes it's hard to know when to stop to achieve the "right" balance of tangled/untangled space. Materials: black .01 Micron, white Gellyroll, InkTense watercolor pencils."

And for Sonya's last Zendala:
 
"This Zendala's bold colors intimidated me at first because I didn't want to "ruin" the background - it was so striking on its own! So I chose a more classic way to approach it, allowing the shapes to be the strings and working inside. I added in tangles breaking free of the strings to add visual interest. The background is filled with Tipple and Printemps. Materials: white Gellyroll, clear Glaze Gellyroll, InkTense watercolor pencils."

Sonya mentioned the Tipple/Printemps background in this one. It's so subtle that you can barely see it in the photo, so here's a closeup. 

I hope that you've been inspired by some of Sonya's and my tiles. Thank you Sonya for allowing me to share your amazing work in my blog! The good news is that these tiles are now available in my Etsy shop here, just in case you'd like to try some for yourself. If you do, I'd love to see what you create with them, so feel free to send me pictures of your art work.... or post them in a Facebook group.... or post them in your own blog... or just keep them to yourself, if you'd rather. Thanks for taking a peek!

The Path to Nowhere

Forget about trying to compete with someone else. Create your own pathway. Create your own new vision.       Herbie Hancock

Who loves Zendalas? (Most of you, I hope!) Who's seen my colored pre-strung tiles? (Again, most of you, I hope!) If not, you can read all about them here.

Today I'm here to share some of those pre-strung tiles that I've made into Zendalas. I love working on round tiles, but not always drawing the typical, symmetrical designs found on many Zendalas. As you will see below, these are anything but typical! I am showing the 'before' and 'after' tiles. Note that in the first one, the before is not exactly the same as the after tile, as I forgot to take a picture before tangling, but the tile has the same coloring as the after.

Patterns used: Flowtus and Indyrella

Shaded with pastel pencils

On the first tile I tangled between the pathways, but on the next one I tiled inside the pathways.

Pattern used: Garlic Cloves

I expect to have the tiles in my Etsy shop in a couple of weeks. Now it's time to get back to work... there are lots more Zendala tiles awaiting me.