"It's a String Thing" #36 Tiles

A heartfelt "Thank You" to everyone for the lovely Easter greetings sent in with your beautiful artwork.

This week we used a curvy string line that - so fitting for the season - was created by Bunny Wright.  The tangle patterns were favorites of the tanglers, with the exception of Bucky which proved to elicit a love/hate relationship with its users!  Let's take a look...


Lucy Banta said that this was a "perfect project for a rainy day!" and the string reminded her of a "flowing river and water lilies."

She said it was a "stretch" - and a pretty one at that.  Her river is very bubbly and Buttercup makes a lovely lily.

Colette Horsburg sent in this next tile -

She spotted Bunzo through the spaces between her string lines giving it lighter feel.  You can see her tile here on her blog as well.

Sal from the UK said that she is a "noob" to tangling and this is her first submission - 

That's a great word - noob - although Sal looks like a seasoned tangler with this tile.  Of note is the way she pulled her petals from Buttercup in a "He loves me, he loves me not..." fashion - a wonderful idea.

Sal also posted her piece here on her blog.

Rachel Godbee sends Happy Easter greetings from Sydney, Australia - 

She said that she found doing this challenge "a challenge in  itself" because all of the tangles were new to her.
She learned them well and the result is just beautiful!


Claudia Egli wrote:

 Bucky, I think, will never be one of my favourite tangles and somewhere between the lines I lost hopelessly control. Thanks to the shading you can not easily see it. But therefore this challenge is so interesting, because we had to use patterns we will never have used then.
Thank you very much and I wish you a happy Easter

Yes, that is so true - and one of the purposes of the challenge.  It does introduce patterns that may not be used often, or at all.  Sometimes these patterns become favorites, and sometimes they don't :)
The tangles show up so nicely on this Renaissance tile, especially with the white highlights and look at the little Bubbles floating throughout.
Claudia posted this tile here on her blog as well.


Sherrill Herron sent a few words with her work - "A little challenging...but fun"

That made me smile - mission accomplished!  Sherrill's Bonzo sparkles and shines.

Now, if I may, my proud mother comments are about to flow -
My daughter Sarah sent this in.  It is only the second tile she has ever completed - and just look at it!

It's just amazing.  She began Bucky with a very tiny grid and to her credit, tangled each little space.  Bunzo oozes and twists and her shading is sublime.
Not only is she my daughter, but she and her wonderful husband have given us darling grandchildren - my inspirations for the patterns Pauline's Pigtail and Xav.

Thank you for indulging me with a motherly interlude  ...

Cathy Cusson wrote -

I loved this challenge! I love all the tangles you chose - well, except maybe bucky. But the others are so much fun. Bunzo has become a favorite of mine - it just keeps growing and growing.

It does grow beautifully.  Buttercup grids dotted here and there - marvelous idea!

Kylie Vitnell said she really liked the string line and she loves using Bunzo -

and it shows!  Her Buttercup makes a wonderful center tangle too.  Kylie also posted her tile here on her blog.

Robin Grosland said that in the midst of a very busy time -

This week's challenge was just what I needed. Bunzo is one of my favorite patterns, and I had lots of fun playing with Buttercup. I found string 042 enchanting. This challenge was soothing and wonderfully distracting. Thanks for motivating me to draw again!

And that is just what Zentangle affords all of us - some quiet down time.   What Robin has to show for it is fascinating.  Her tangles curve and move, sparkle and shine!

Lily Moon submitted this happy tile -

She blended the patterns beautifully and the touch of colors is so very pretty.  Note her shading, especially of Bubbles - really gives them a layered feel.

Lily alsot posted her tile here on her blog.

Christine Murphy said that she finds "It's A String Thing" Challenges to be the ones she finds most challenging.  (I take that as a compliment :)  She wrote:

This week, I'm using "Buttercup" and "Bunzo" for the very first time. I love the pshychadelic feeling of "Bunzo"! "Bubbles" is a favourite tangle pattern of mine, I use it often, but in this week's challenge, I felt the tile only needed a couple of "Bubbles", just bursting from the top of the tile.

What a welcoming tile - the Buttercup lined white space invites you to take a stroll, doesn't it?  Chrisse also posted her tile here on her blog.

Sindy P of Real Life Strings sent in this tile -

She has a great take on Bunzo - so many lines and she darkened them in to give the tangle her signature touch.  Sindy's shading is wonderful too.

Angela Carstensen wrote -

Here is my submission for the week. The string you chose was really nice and wavy. I sometimes seem to get lost in all those strings and patterns available and it helps immensely to have someone else make the choice for me. This way, I get to play with patterns I have never given any thought to, like Bucky. I had never considered to include it in any tile before, but now I really see the charm in it. I am still working on not following the string all the way :)

There are so many beautiful details here - the way Bunzo grows across the tile, the corner lines on Buttercup, the lovely line work and shading of Bucky - just to name a few!  It's a gorgeous piece.

Ragged Ray wrote:

All the tangles were new to me this week. Unfortunately I didn't get on at all well with Bucky, in fact we're still not speaking! And Bubbles wasn't that endearing. But I loved spending time with Bunzo and Buttercup. I decided to free Buttercup from her grid and let her roam across the page. And once I started with Bunzo I just couldn't stop. I even tried a bit of that blocky sparkle for the first time!
All in all I love the finished effect. It reminds me of a sixties summer of love scene - strings of flowers, the shining vinyl of records and a few scattered beads, or pills or bulging eyeballs - or any combination of the three!

What a crisp and clean look she achieved.  Buttercup is lovely on a line and Bubbles gains a whole new look with her details.
And Ragged Ray echoes about half of today's tanglers comments about not "getting along with" Bucky - but only as she could - with the words, "in fact, we are still not speaking!"
Do visit her blog - link is listed on the right side of my blog page - for more endearing stories and comments about tangling.

A very warm welcome to Jenni Summers.  She wrote:

This is the first time I have submitted to this challenge. I found this a fun tile but it ended up being a bit busier than I had intended. Bunzo and Bubbles are tangles that I use often just never on the same tile. I had originally left the area between those two blank but at the last minute added the Buttercup path. The shading behind buttercup helps define the path.

This is lovely!  Bubbles oozes from the center and is especially dimensional with the spaces darkened in. With Bunzo flowing from either side, Buttercup turned out to be just the anchor for both.  It was a nice touch to shade around the tangle instead of darkening in the space - well done!

Cheryl Anne Day-Swallow titled her tile - On the Bucky Trail to the Buttercups

She added -

Flowers of course are made using Buttercup
Worm body was made using Bunzo
Worm eyes/glasses made using Bubbles
Trail made using Bucky

So much tangled happiness here and her colors are so bright and Springy - just beautiful!

Ingrid Coventon

This week I liked the string and the tangle patterns, but for some reason I did not succeed to bring some balance in the tile. I tried to bring in the blue for more harmony and make buttercup more pop because bunzo is very dominant which made a little difference. I drew buttercup freehand without a grid. I like it this way better than with the grid.

Bunzo in very dominant, but in a very pleasing way.  The blue adds such a heavenly touch as a background, especially behind Bubbles.  This is a gentle reminder that 'balance' is in the eye of the beholder!

Sue Agnew wrote -

Fortunately for me, this week's challenge included my very favorite tangle, Bucky, which I absolutely love to draw. I think I've said it before, it takes so much concentration that it really "zens me out." I wish I had done the shading on Buttercup with pencil, but once I'd started I was committed, so went ahead with the Pitt pen. I wasn't sure that I would find a place to put sparkle, but finally added it to the Buttercup centers (played with using it on Bubble and didn't like it). 

Sue loves Bucky and it shows - can just imagine the 'Zen' it brings to her.  It is fabulous across the whole of the background with a trail of Bubbles and Buttercup. And, yes, the sparkle in the center of Buttercup add just the right touch!

Celeste Hickey added some humor with her tile as she wrote,"I finally sat down to tangle. I like to call this one "headache" because I gave me one while drawing bunzo lol I think it looks cool though a little hypnotizing."

That is a lot hypnotizing - and wonderful too.  When her Bunzo is added to Bubbles with darkened centers and the other very dark spaces the result is very dramatic.

Melanie R returns with another delicately detailed tile she calls "Buttercup Road"

-and what an inviting road it is.  The orientation of her grid lines make the tangles flow and gives them a feeling of depth and distance.  Melanie's line work is oh so delicate and she must be in the group of tanglers that is very partial to Bucky because she illustrates it beautifully here - even tucking it into Buttercup.  Note how she varied Bunzo with sparkle and with areas where she chose not to add darkened spaces.  So much lovliness in one space - whew!  Melanie also posted her tile here on her blog.

Jane Glotzer wrote:

For #36 I used bubbles, buttercup and bunzo (one of my favorites)...Bucky was just too too many lines for me to consider, but what a cool effect when done well!
I've only just started attempting some shading, and I do like how it gives the designs so much depth.

Jane's darker Bunzo and the dark background for her airy Bubbles wrap nicely around Buttercup.  Jane used little lines behind Buttercup - a really nice touch!



Cheryl Rotnem  CZT wrote -

Adele, I was excited to start this one. Such a different string! I love it. Well, after saying that, there are no mistakes in zentangle® ! I started off w/ Crescent Moon, and after doing the first 3 rounds of it, I remembered that wasn't part of this zentangle! Oh well, I just went with the flow and finished up with Bunzo, Bubbles, and Buttercup, w/c is a favorite of mine. I used some tan c/s I had and used Microns 01, 05 black and 01 Brown. highlighted with a jelly roll pen in white.

Yes, there are no mistakes - just "creative opportunities" - and Cheryl capitalized on this one.  The Crescent Moon really looks nice with these tangles and her added white highlights are so pretty.

Joan Delony was visiting in North Carolina when she created this tile.  She wrote:

The scenery is gorgeous. The woods are filled with blooming Dogwood trees that have blooms similar to the pattern Buttercup. It was raining today (Bubbles) as we were out looking. There are rolling hills everywhere (the string as outlined with Bubbles) and depicted with Bunzo. This was great fun to draw, especially in these circumstances.

Her imagery is reflected in her tile and can't you almost smell the rain?  That is a very happy tile.


Samantha Wunderlich, CZT is another Bucky fan -

She used the tangle in the center of her pretty tile.  She also gave Bunzo - with added sparkle - a spiraled look and added variation to Bubbles with shading - very nice!  She also posted her tile here on her blog.

Audrie Wiesenfelder sent in two tiles this week.  She wrote -

I immediately knew that I wanted to start with Bunzo in the 2 larger parts of the center section, and have Bubbles spring from Bunzo. Once I finished that part, it felt like it was done:

But I felt like I should try to use more of the string, and/or more of the patterns. So I played around and realized that it didn't need the other patterns. But I did try one using the rest of the string. And I kind of like that, too.

It is wonderful to be treated to the thought process behind her creations - and both are beautiful.  Her darkened edges of Bubbles make the tangle appear to rise from the neighboring white space.  She also posted her work here on her pretty purple blog.


Peggy Kohrmann wrote:

This week was a time challenge and three new tangles too. At first I thought the string was too much movement when looking at the specific lines and bulbous structures. Buttercup was first placement and then my hubby suggested a background tangle to offset the opposing curving sections. Bucky was not the easiest to grid and fill and it wasn't until the end that I realized that not one hexagon shape is complete! Bubbles completes the upper curves and I will save Bunzo for another day.

Her hubby is a good art director!  Bucky does provide a wonderful back drop to all of the curves happening above it.  Peggy's shading finishes off this wonderful tile just beautifully.  And speaking of beautiful things, Peggy also sent in this photo - 

Of this she wrote -

Easter tangles on eggs are quite the challenge as well and by next year hopefully I will have a collection.
This plastic egg is from Walmart of all places. Sold by the dozen. Grab some for next year. I did Asian fan, Chillon, and Crescent moon with one Bubble at the tip top. They are dyeable to pastels so yellow is my next one.

Thank you for passing that along, Peggy.

Sharyn Penna sent in her tile with this note -

I've never used Bucky...I thought it would be tedious. But when I played with it in my sketch book I had too much fun...so many ways to shade. Somehow you always manage to find tangles that surprise us all in the ways they work so well together. 

Alas, another Bucky fan - and what a fan at that!  Sharyn managed to make the tangle look billowy, quite quilt-like and the little Buttercups tucked here and there are another nice touch as is sparkle on her fabulous Bunzo.  It's a wonderful tile.

A N D now, the tile selected for honors this week was created by Germany's
LonettA!

Despite her busy schedule in Easter week, she like the rest of this week's tanglers, took time to tangle and submit to the challenge.  She said she was happy that she did - and now, so are we!

LonettA added so many little touches to her tangles that her tile stands out among the entries.  The swatch of Bucky through the center, the larger floating Buttercup, the bend in her line of the same pattern along with the switch from a dark background to a shaded one, the pop of red in just a few of the Bubbles...and so on and so on!

CONGRATULATIONS LonettA!  I have a little something coming in the mail for you.

Many thanks to all of the talented tanglers for sending in your treasured pieces this week.

Thank you, too, to the creative minds behind the string line and patterns for this week's challenge:
Bucky and 
Bunzo - official Zentangle® patterns
Bubbles by CZT Suzanne McNeill
Buttercup by CZT Sandy Bartholomew
and Bunny Wright via Linda Farmer at TanglePatterns for String 042

Check back tomorrow for "It's a String Thing" #37!