"It's a String Thing" #40 Tiles

This week's challenge was prompted by a comment from Ragged Ray in the results of "It's a String Thing" #39 - that of a tile within a tile.  Inspired by Zentangle co-founder Maria Thomas' elegant work, we gave it a try.  Here are the fabulous results...


The first tile arrived from Sal.  She wrote, "From the centre, mine are beez-wacks and berries (sounding like a perfumed candle), followed by beanstalk and beadlines. I really enjoyed the symmetry for this one!"

Can't you just smell that perfumed candle?!  Sal used a Zendala tile for her string line and her tangles are light and elegant.  Of note is her Beadlines used as a circular border - so pretty.

Lily Moon took a very different approach and left the inner space blank..

That is very dramatic!  Love those curled Beadline lines, too.

Cathy Cusson wrote, "Love the string! Love the tangles! Particularly love betweed! What great choices this week."

Cathy divided the inner space of the string line into thirds and ran a Beeline border - wonderful touches.

A very warm welcome to Betsy Huffman.  This is the first time she submitted a tile for a challenge - very exciting -

Betsy combined Beeline and Beelight beautifully and use Beadlines like tassels.  That is very clever.

Another very warm welcome to my fellow CZT, Caren Mlot.  She said that she has been "lurking in the background watching for a while..."

She added that "although my Betweed turned out to be a slight tangleation, purely by accident the first time and on purpose for the rest."  That was definitely creative!  You can also see Caren's pretty tile here on her blog.


Jocelyne Pigeon-Bernier returned with this beautiful tile ~

Of note are the varied widths of her lines in Beeline that give the tangle a surprising lightness.  Her shading makes Betweed float off the background of the other tangles.


Jane Glotzer wrote -

This one came together so quickly...and I was able to use all four suggested tangles...I think for the very first time. When I first saw the list, I wondered how all those very pattern heavy tangles would fit together, but, voila! It'll be very interesting to see what everyone else does...those triangular spaces were crying out for Betweed for me, and once I did that, it was clear the cool, 3d, optical illusion Beeline would have to take center stage. I then filled in the edges with a touch of Beelight and even an aura of Beadline (not the kind of tangle I'm normally drawn to.) The whole shading thing is starting to come together for me, so I'm having a blast playing with that. Not exactly the tile within a tile idea, but I tried to get my "tile" to float on the page of the sketchbook.

Her words say it best.  Just lovely work!

Manja alternated her tangle patterns ~

and she was very happy with result.  It is grand, especially with the way she shaded a shadowy Beadline.  You can view this tile and other wonderful work of Manja's here on her blog.

Joan Delony completed two similar tiles and observed, "...it is amazing how little tweaks make them look entirely different."

Amazing and FUN to see the differences - both with beautiful results.  Joan also varied the width of her lines in Beelight and added wonderful dimension.

Angela Carstensen wrote:

This week I had two big sources of inspiration. First of all your comments on how the string looked as if aksing for a "tile within a tile" and also a new method of drawing grinds that appear to spiral outwards. At first I wanted to make the 5 blackenen swirls going through the grid into Beadline, but then they were so heavy already that I left them alone and just dottet some beads around the circumference. I am quite pleased with the overall effect. Thank you for putting this brilliant idea into my head :)...
Thank you so much! Doing these challenges and meeting all these talented and warm hearted people and connecting with them over something so pleasant and beautiful as tangling is such a lovely gift!

Oh, this is so pretty!  A very brilliant idea that Angela can claim to be all her own :)


CZT Cheryl Rotnem said that "this was a really fun one to do." 

She added, "...I did metallic outline pen on my black tile. shading w/white charcoal pencil."  That made for a gorgeous, glowing tile.

Dorothy Allison submitted this colorful tile ~

With color and varied lines and perfs, Dorothy created quilt like feel to her lovely piece.


Sharyn Penna wrote ~

I had to let this prompt sit for a couple days before the approach came to me. In the end, all the tangles are present. Beelight and Beeline morphed into one with Beadlines accenting the auras of Beelight. 

That percolating of ideas yielded a fabulous tile.  See how she incorporated three tangles into one in her middle section?  That was brilliant.

Brenda Urbanik completed two wonderful tiles ~

She featured one Beelight in each of the outer corners, added sparkle and aura and look how amazing that is!

Then she used a Renaissance tile and made her tangles shine with white Gelly Roll pen and pretty details.  Brenda also posted them here on her beautiful blog.


Audrie Wiesenfelder said that this string is one of her "absolute favorites."  

She added, "In true Zentangle fashion, once I put pen to paper, it just about drew itself..."  That is a wonderful description of the Zentangle experience and the result speaks happily for itself.
You can also see Audrie's tile posted here on her pretty purple blog.


Annemarie wrote, "I LOVED your String Thing this week, Thank you for making me have some real 'zen' time."

The experience is catchy!  Annemarie's tangles flow and reflect her smooth experience tangling it.  That is so encouraging to the rest of us, isn't it?
She also posted her lovely work here on her blog.


Jenna Wheatman described her process and her tile this way ~

Here is this weeks challenge. It was my first go at using beeline and although I like the effect it gives I'm not sure its one I would use, it works well on its own but is very hard to make it flow with other tangles. We have had some nice warm weather here in the UK and the garden is full of colour so maybe that is why I have a flower design. I used beeline and beelight for the centre and betweed for the petals. Beadlines fitted well in the corners.

What loveliness...Betweed looks stunning in the petal shapes and the little Beelight/Beeline center is like the cherry on top of a delicious dish of ice cream!

Lucy Banta said that this was a "fun assortment of tangles..."

Lucy has three distinct sections to her tile and they compliment each other nicely.  Beelight in a small grid without the detail lines is a great variation of the tangle.


Victoria said that with this challenge, she "learned to draw 2 new zentangle pattern - BEELIGHT and BEELINE. Good geometric shapes and contrasting!"

This is a treat to behold - the angle, shading, sparkle, line detail - all anchored with Beadline.  It is just beautiful.  Victoria also posted her tile here on her blog - stop by and learn a bit of Russian.

Judy Wanner sent in her wonderful tile with a sentiment that we can all appreciate ~

During several busy and stress filled days this week, it was so great being able to take time to tangle. Now why did I not do that before digging into some junk food?! In addition to learning some neat tangles....thank you very much.....I learned one can not get a hand in a candy box while holding a Sakura!!

Zetangle® is associated with many personal benefits - weight management just may have to be added to the list, thanks to Judy :)
Note how her Beeline fades out at the top of her tile and how she added just a touch of Beelight to the tips of Betweed - so very well done.


Cheryl Anne Day-Swallow said ~

I call this tangle challenge The Little Zentangle Spider
Sunrays created using Beadlines
Corners of spider web created using Betweed
Inner web area created using Beeline and Beelite

That is colorful and creative and - speaking of creative - Cheryl again sent along a poem with her tile:

The Little Zentangle Spider, was traveling around the trees
He came to Florida, and made a web, so that everyone could see
The sun came up, and made the web shine
He made his home here, and left everything behind.

Another very warm welcome to first-timer and my fellow CZT, Kate Ahrens who sent in two tiles ~

The first is a monotangle with a beautiful array of Betweed.  She alternated the shading in the outer sections and the outline shading resulted in a dramatic layering effect.

This is just pure fun!  Kate alternated the tangles in her center section and 'strung' Beadline like Christmas lights on a tree - just lovely.
She also posted her tiles here on her tangled blog.


Ingrid Coventon said that two of the tangles were new to her and this "was fun to do."

She gave Betweed a star burst effect by tangling from the center and corners of the center section.  She added line detail along with shading to Beelight for a wonderful take on the tangle.

Annie Taylor wrote,"What a wonderful challenge it was this week! I really enjoyed it. Always love Betweed and get such a kick out of seeing Beeline suddenly turn 3D!"

Just like the 3D effect she described - this whole tile of Annie's packs that same kind of magic.  Look at the way she pegged the lines of Betweed into the tile - an idea we are indebted to her for - it is a wonderful detail.  Annie also posted her terrific tile here on her blog.

Juul said of this tile, "C'était un plaisir!"  And her tile is a pleasure to see!

She tangled a rich background of Beelight.  Juul also used a unique approach with Beadline.  She tangled three lines from each corner of the center section, added aura and fine detail lines - just brilliant!

Robin Grosland's note, in part, chronicles her process through the initial learning of Beelight to the using and appreciation of it are inspiring ~

I had ideas running through my mind on this one for days, but I didn't feel well enough to draw. I finally forced myself to do it last night at two in the morning, blurry vision and all.
When I first started Zentangle I copied patterns into my book for reference. I remember drawing Beelight into my book and then disregarding it. It felt too boring to me. I'm glad I gave it another try.
In the center square I used just one big Beelight. I purposely made the dark corner off-center and worked from there. That changed it up enough for me to enjoy it. Adding beads to the auras to make them Beadlines added some texture (which made it more interesting to me). And it was pure accident that the shape of the string meant I was using it in diamonds instead of squares. Again just enough difference to make it appealing to me.
I still have several other variations on the original Beelight floating around in my head. I don't find it boring anymore. Thanks for making me take a second look.

In addition to all of those good thoughts - Robin's use of Beadline for the detail lines of Beelight is a stellar idea!

CZT Sue Jocabs is just back after a busy time away ~

There are so many niceties in Sue's tile - Betweed corners of Beelight, deep shading, and Beadline string lines.

Eden Hunt has a really nice take on the string ~

She tangled her center section with the most delicate tangles varying the size of her beads and shading just so.  Eden also posted this here on her blog.


Deanna Spence has some delicious details in her tile ~

~ Beadline to anchor Between and a tiny grid to darken Beelight.  That is fabulous!

Rachel Godbee also used Beadline for her string lines ~

It sets her tangled spaces off just beautifully.


Jackie Becker asked, "Did you ever have a week where on the last day you are thinking simple sounds really good? That is how I felt when I did this one."

This does illustrate the beauty in simplicity.  Jackie's intersecting Beadlines are elegant.


Melissa Lemmons wrote, "I like the 3D effect I was able to achieve with Betweed center bursting out of the Beelines square."

That was perfectly described - and very 3D!  An idea we can all use with many thanks to Melissa.

Sue Agnew sent in two tiles ~

 She centered Beelight and along with her signature sparkle, she varied the orientation of the darkened corners of the grid spaces.

In this one, Sue cleverly tucked Beadline along Betweed and Beelight is darkened with lines - lovely!

And now, the tile set aside for honors this week was submitted by the tangler whose comments inspired this "It's a String Thing", the UK's 

Ragged Ray ~

Along with her masterpiece she wrote this note:

I kept it simple this week - and although it came out a little smaller than I intended I like it. I popped Beelite onto Beeline which worked well - although the shading magic is lost a little in the photo - why can't a lens work quite like our eyes?! And the other aspects just fell into place around it.
The finished tile reminds me of all those little ideas we have, the ones we only jot down on scraps of tatty paper - but how we must tuck them somewhere safe as they might just turn out to be our best ideas! I fill my notebook covers with a hearty feathering of post-it notes! They used to be just writing related - but now ones for tangle ideas creep in there too!

Ragged Ray's tile is magical - she included some very lovely details in her work, each glance brings out yet another.  Hightlights include the Beadline string that weaves her overlapping tiles together and Beelight bedecked with Beeline is ingenious.  Not only does it overlap, but Beeline wraps around the corners of Beelight.

Congratulations, I have a little something coming in the mail for you.

Many thanks to the talented tanglers who sent in their artwork for the rest of us to learn from and enjoy.

Special thanks to the creative minds behind the challenge this week -

Beth Snoderly for TanglePatterns String 043 

Beadlines by CZT Margaret Bremner
and three official Zentangle® patterns -
Beelight
Beeline and
Betweed 

Stop back tomorrow for "It's a String Thing" #41!