"It's a String Thing" #109 Tiles

It is a bright sunny morning here in Central Florida, weather befitting sentiments that the pattern Footlites elicited from tanglers this week.

Along with two other happy patterns and a string that invited itself to be turned in any direction, it made for tiles just bursting with energy.

Let's take a look ~

The first tile arrived from Lily (Hungary) with a big "Zenhug" ~

Tangled Tidbits -

*white on black and black on white Footlites with pretty details
*colorful Morf center
*Tour shaded from the center squares

From Juul (France) ~

Very difficult one but so good to do!

Tangled Tidbits -
*curved grid for Tour
*aura-ed rays of Footlites
*nice touch of black contrast

From Sarah at hungrycorgistudio!

I used all three tangles and let Morf morph its way out into another portion. Footlites is a favorite as always and Tour was good too. Very interesting string! But the tangles fit into it well.

Tangled Tidbits -
*Footlites in two directions
*even square grid for Tour
*Morf 'melting' from one section to another


From Cheryl Rotnem, CZT ~

This was a great challenge this week! I love my tile and that has been hard to do as of late! I took you advise and turned my tile also~ Here is my blog also...

Tangled Tidbits -
*pretty gradation of color
*slanted grid for Tour
*rays of Footlites blend lightly together



From Ragged Ray (UK) ~

I found myself with a little more time on my hands this week, and what better way to use them than to grab a pen and tile and get tangling!
Something clicked with my and your challenge this week. The string and the tangles just gelled. It was pure joy to draw. Footlights was one of those tangles I'm always seeing but had never used - and now I have I'm saying, 'Footlights, where have you been all my life?'. I've played with Morf a lot lately, but kept it simple here. The same with Tour. Footlights clearly wanted to be the star of the show - and who am I to argue!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*the joy shines through, especially in Footlites
*shadow lines in Tour
*sparkle and shading and Tour peeking through Morf


From Joanne Faherty (England) ~

Oh how much fun I had on this weeks one. I resisted the urge to turn it into a sunset although look closely you might still see it. I only carried on with the tour over one string line.
At first look I didn't think id like tour.i don't seem to do grid based patterns so well but this turned out ok and looks fairly straight which is always my problem when things need to match up to make it work. Then I got out my inktense pencils and had another play with them deciding that the morfs would be fun brightly coloured . I really like this one and think I might frame it.

Tangled Tidbits -
*bright and cheerful ZIA
*nice contrast between black and white Tour and colorful Morf and Footlites
*a few pops of white in Morf along with sparkle

From Ilse Lukken (The Netherlands) ~

Nice idea, to turn the string around! This is what my hands did with this challenge:
It's on my blog as well...

Tangled Tidbits -
*each string section teems with tangles
*deeply shaded arcs of Footlites
*wonderful black spaces and shading accentuate the patterns


From Simone Menzel (Germany) ~

...Like so often, the tangles are new to me. When I saw the string and the tangles I had immediately the idea how to draw the tile.
While I was not very successful with "Morf", I am pleased with "Footlite" and "Tour".
Thank you, Adele, for this suggestions..
This is my contribution to the "String Thing #109": see also my blog...

Tangled Tidbits -
*colorful string lines
*curved grids for Tour with wonderful alternating black and white spaces
*multiple lines of Footlites shaded to add depth


From Carolyn Russell, CZT (Florida) ~

I've tried drawing Morf previously, with much difficulty. I set the pattern aside thinking I would not use it again. When I saw this week's challenge I thought I'd give it another try. This time it came together easily and I enjoyed drawing it so much I just couldn't stop at the string line. It just called to me! Completed, it reminds me of a Chrysanthemum which just happens to be my favorite fall flower. I'm so glad you chose Morf this week. [on my blog]  

Tangled Tidbits - 

*a marvelous 'Mumsy' Morf
*Tour shaded on one side of each inner 'x'
*fabulous Footlites

From Lori Byerly ~

I love your challenges, Adele. You always make me reach for new ideas and perspectives. Thanks for all your hard work.
You may see my tile here also.

Tangled Tidbits -
*varying sizes of Footlite arcs
*curved detail lines of Footlites
*stylized Tour with a gorgeous geometric center


From Portia (Michigan) ~

Hope everyone had a sunny week.

Tangled Tidbits -
*two pretty versions of Tour
*Morph center string section
*nicely detailed Footlites


From Rose O Keeffe (Ireland) ~

I had so much fun with this weeks challenge! I am sending two tiles this week only one of which uses the string but the other was too fun not to send :-) The first one is called 'inter-dimensional Party' and the second is called 'The Road Home Afterwards' lol :-)
Thanks for the giggles I had with this. Hope you have a really wonderful week.

 

Tangled Tidbits - 

*now that is Fun!...so much life in the tangles and thoughts :)
*sparkled stripes to base Footlites as well as Primtemps centers
*superb shading


From Talia Maynard (UK) ~

I found this week's challenge very interesting. I actually found that the tile kind of drew itself. I didn't think too much about it. I just concentrated on the steps of each tangle and let it grow. So I guess I reached the zen state with this one!!

Tangled Tidbits -
*the 'zen' shows in this beautifully tangled piece
*shaded diamonds of Tour
*overlapping Footlites


From Jennifer Sparrow (North Carolina) ~

Here's my response to your challenge this week. I think it needs weeding. (See myblog for an explanation!) I really enjoyed working with Morf and Tour, which were new to me. Thanks for expanding my Zentangle world!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*a wonderful reference to a summer garden :)
*nice blend of brown and black Microns
*fabulous fields of Morf


From Cheryl Stocks (Arizona) ~

Thanks for the challenge this week, as always.
This one ended up looking like a big bug to me.
On my blog

Tangled Tidbits -
* two 'bug eyes' of Footlites - great imagery!
*large grid for Tour
*dotted Morf


From Kath Gretitis, CZT (New Jersey) ~

Well, now that the beach days are behind us, I have found some time to accept your challenge!
This tile brings to mind a sunrise...or sunset, depending on your world location.

Tangled Tidbits -
*Tippled Morf
*an arc of Footlites
*large center squares for Tour


From Tina Kirchhübel (Germany) ~

I like the string for this week´s challenge. The three patterns were all new to me and Footlites could become a new favorite pattern for me.
So thank you for this great challenge again.
I wanted to use all three patterns on the tile but I don´t know if it is the best solution. I´m not perfectly satisfied with the result but I want to show it to you. And you can find the tile also on my blog
Greetings from Germany

Tangled Tidbits -
*super shading, especially where Footlites overlaps
*double arcs of Footlites
*black and white centers of Morf


From Jane Glotzer (Arizona) ~

It was an interesting zentangle-y experience because I began by flipping the string upside down, as you suggested, because I too liked the way the shapes looked better that way--sort of like a sun and hills--well, that's what I saw...
I started out with the Morf in the middle section and decided to give it all kinds of fill-in variations...then the opposite version of Morf in the small triangle...Did the Tour variation with the Knightsbridge centers and then the single large Tour...Footlites filled the middle, and by then I was thinking, boy this is pretty busy...with what do I fill the remaining sections? I flipped it again and all of a sudden I had a volcano spewing lava with beautiful gardens and plantings below--Hawaii, maybe? :) Decided to leave the last spaces empty, just shaded a ton! (am really getting into that!!) and even left the border blank to offset all the patterns. Love how it came out!
Also, congrats on beautiful work, Midori--last week's winning entry was truly amazing!
Wishes for a great week to you and all the tanglers!

Click here to visit Jane's website. 

Tangled Tidbits -
*plentiful variations to fill in Morf
*two pretty Tours
*great angles of Footlites


From Mariam Giafone (California) ~

Am so glad you 'flipped the string' for inspiration. I immediately starting humming 'Tomorrow' from Annie, and that's just where I wound up - the sun rising from behind the hills and up through the clouds. (just had to give it some color!)
Thank you for all the sunshine you give to us!

Tangled Tidbits -
*great visual and song reference (now I'm humming!)
*Morf meandering around the border
*curved grid for Tour


From Sally Sheldon (Massachusetts) ~

Saw so many sunrises and sunsets this vacation that this just created itself.

Tangled Tidbits -
*dainty Footlites
*Footlites shaded just up from the arcs - really adds a glow
*overlapping arcs of Tour


From Susan Theron (South Africa) ~

This time I followed the not so official rules by using only part of the string. Footlites wanted to be in the limelight. Also on my blog

Tangled Tidbits - 

*fabulous black spaces against the lighter lines of Footlites
*two pretty versions of Tour
*spakled Morf

From Joy (Pennsylvania) ~

This week's string felt full of light and purpose. It was fun to try to work in this sense of openness and possibilities.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*wonderful words to describe the string - "light and purpose"
*layers of light and Footlites
*light touch of Morf


From Ingrid (The Netherlands) ~

First I want to say that I enjoyed so much looking at last week's tiles. There were so many tiles and all so beautiful. Every week I'm so impressed to see many beautiful and versatile interpretations of one challenge.
This week's challenge was fun and adventurous again. Tour and Morf were new to me. First I did not feel so attracted to Tour. But after your tips for tangling it became a new friend. So thank you.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*striking black of Floodlites against the center white space
*two very pretty Tour variations
*black background for Morf compliments Footlites

From Becky Welty (North Carolina) ~

Tangled Tidbits - 

*light and airy tangles
*wide rays of Footlites
*Tour shaded around the center black dots

From Sue Agnew (Arizona) ~

Here's #109. I love Footlites and haven't used it in a long time, so that was a treat. The other two I hadn't tried before, and I enjoyed getting to know them. As you say, Tour has a lot of possibilities. As I was coloring in my big Morf loops I found myself wondering what if I'd continued the loops so you could see them through the other Morf loops (if that makes sense)(a la Hollibaugh) ... so I played with that just briefly on a separate tile.
Thank you for another week of fun!

Tangled Tidbits -
*black sparkled Morf with Tour poking through
*Footlites on the aura of Morf
*great idea on the overlapping Morfs


From Beth Gaughan (NC) ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*three angles of Footlites
*two variations of Tour
*dark centers of Morf


Linda Goncalves (Pennsylvania) ~

I really enjoyed doing this one, the string and the tangles. I was
thinking butterfly garden. I only had time to do one but I felt there
were many many possibilities. I am eagerly waiting to see the others.

Tangled Tidbits -
*a Morf border
*elongated grid of Tour
*pleasing light and dark balance
and beautifully featured one of my frames - thank you Linda!


From Sidney Kapinos (Virginia) ~

My entry for this week's challenge is attached. Looking forward to seeing the results as always!
This was a fun challenge. I was familiar with Footlites, but had not yet drawn Tour or Morf until this week! It is always great to learn to draw new patterns and to try out new strings.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*bold center section of Footlites
*detailed Tour with lighter edges
*shaded Morf


From Jenny Hopkins (Australia) ~

Maybe it's because I spent the morning looking at pictures of art quilts but this week's string reminded me of a plan for a quilted landscape and I notice that I have managed to end up with a "quilted" Tour in the centre of this week's challenge.
Thanks again for a great challenge. I'm looking forward to seeing what others have made of it.

Tangled Tidbits -
*quilted look for Tour
*layers of Morf with shaded background
*intersecting sections of fabulous Floodlites

From Linda Hoyt (Arizona) ~

Try as I might, this week’s Challenge didn’t ever flow for me. Tour and Morf were both new tangles for me and I had a hard time finding a way to use them in concert with Footlites. So, this is where I ended up. Morf grew on me as I played with different potential shapes to use—ending up with two on my tile. And I was greatly helped by your tangling tips for Tour. Being pretty new to the Zentangle world, it is my bent to “learn” a pattern and use it as is. The idea of "playing with a pattern” and making up my own variations is new to me. Today I used several of your variations. Maybe next time I will have the time and feel the freedom to come up with some variations of my own. Have fun with all the submissions. I look forward to seeing everybody’s tiles on Monday night!
Thanks for doing all the leg work on this!! You have such a generous spirit!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*three great variations of Tour
*nesting Morfs
*sparkled Footlites


From Nancy (Virginia) ~

The more I worked with the new Tangle "Tours",
it became like stained glass windows. I just
love it and there are so many different ways
to "decorate" it! I liked this challenge so
much, I did two of them. 

Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderful ZIA of color and pattern
*stippled sprays of Footlites
*touches of Tour in between lovely ribbons

From Jacqueline Becker (Washington) ~

Here you have an example of a grid tangle gone terribly wrong. I almost gave up and put it away, but thought I'd keep on going just for fun. Hopefully, I can get better at this soon.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*the grid of Tour is just right...it looks like it went where it pleased and that is a true tangle :)
*dots on the tips of Footlites carry through around the border
*great depth from shading in Footlites

From Midori, CZT (Florida) ~

i had just recently acquired some grey markers.
i decided to try using them for shading. well, i will use them more often to get a better feel for them.
i notice that 'footlites' had morphed into another entity and so has 'tour'...there are no mistakes, right?

Tangled Tidbits - 

* no mistakes what-so-ever, you are correct :)
*Betweed centers of Tour
*spectacular take on the tangles


From Rhonda Roy (British Columbia) ~

Thanks for a fun challenge! I loved learning footlites, and it was great fun to use all three in an intriguing string.

Tangled Tidbits -
*Morf morphed into Floodlites
*curved grid of Tour and curved Floodlites, too
*shading adds depth


From Marla Mendenhall (California) ~

What a tangled week.
The first tile I drew - no mistakes, huh? - was beyond a disaster. The second tile - well, with nearly a week of triple digit temps, my graphite smudged, my ink blurred, and my Morf looked a lot like Dali's melting clocks. But today it was cooler and overcast so I persevered. But where to put the patterns, what a puzzle ... ah ha. Thus in tile #1 Morf took the shape of puzzle pieces, and in tile #2, well, they "morphed".

Lots of fun, as always, learning new patterns ... when I'm not dripping sweat all over my tiles ...

Tangled Tidbits - 

*the fruits of perseverance are a treat to behold
*five variations of Tour
*overlapping Footlites - some tucked behind, others crossed over and under


From Felicity Strohfeldt (South Africa) ~

... Such a versatile string by David Rae. I’ve used Footlites by Carol Ohl before, lovely Tangle pattern and suited the string so well. Tour by Nancy Domnauer and Morf by Susie Achter were of course new. Tour, in a grid was the challenge for me, but thanks for your tips, they really helped. I enjoyed this tile and the time to do it. I’m happy with how it turned out. Also on my blog:
Have a splendid week

Tangled Tidbits -
*lovely layers of Footlites
*fanned grid for Tour
*weighted lines of Morf


From Susie F (Missouri) ~

I used footlites and 4 variations of tour. I couldn't figure out a place to put morf. Thanks for showing the various tour stepouts.

Tangled Tidbits -
*four variations of Tour with different sized grids
*middle white space
*lovely shading


From Pat F (Ohio) ~

These were very "busy" patterns and it was hard to envision them together, but it worked! I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, and I learned new patterns--always a good thing.

Tangled Tidbits -
*alternating black and white filled Morf
*shaded spaces between Floodlites
*Tour grid carries across the tile


From Cathy Cusson ~

I just could not get past the sunrise/sunset aspect of this string, especially if you flipped it as you did. Beautiful string and tangles!!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*beautifully colored ZIA
*curved grid of Tour
*layered Morf


From Anita Aspfors Westin (Sweden) ~

...here comes my entry for string 109. I had much fun doing this. All the patterns I enjoyed working with! And the string is challenging, but I liked it a lot. Thank you Adele!

Tangled Tidbits - 

 *doubled Footlites with sparkle and wide black spaces
*super shading
*neat grid of Tour

From Liza Buckley, CZT (Florida) ~

I am getting ready to teach my first Renaissance class in 2 weeks, so enjoyed using a Renaissance tile for this week's challenge. I have always loved footlites, and now love it even more with it's many variations in this medium.
Thanks for continuing to challenge me!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*lovely Renaissance rendition

*highlighted centers of Morf 

*terrific look for Tour with shading, highlights, black and brown Microns

From Elisa (France) ~

Here is my tile for IAST 109.
I really enjoyed the patterns you chose for this challenge.
As I live in Paris, I enjoyed learning about the history behind the creation of the Tour pattern :-)
I had fun exploring variations of Tour and Footlites. I decided to keep the central section of the string empty, to bring some light and "breathing".

Tangled Tidbits - 

*crisp lines, shadows and shading

*complimentary white space

*varied line thickness throughout

And now, the tile for honors this week was sent in by

Jessie Plouffe from Connecticut ~

She wrote:

Here is my tile for this week. I really enjoyed this one. I normally

don't like grid based patterns but the Tour worked out well. Also, I

forced myself to leave some white space, which I also think was

successful.

Tangled Tidbits -
*elegantly shaded tangles and white spaces
*weighted lines of Morf
*Tour grids follow the sting orientations
*sparkled lines of Footlites and dark perfs of Tour

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


Thank you to all of the talented tanglers for the treats this week.

Many thanks as well to the creative minds behind the string and tangles:

TanglePatterns String 109 by David Rae

Footlites by Carol Ohl, CZT
Morf by Susie Achter
Tour by Nancy Domnauer, CZT

Check back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #110!