"It's a String Thing" #140 Tiles

Happy Monday!

The tiles sent in this week will certainly make your Monday happy - if it isn't already.

We used a straight lined string and some classic tangles.  Just three tangles, yet the variations on the theme are so diverse...Let's take a look ~

The first tile arrived from Joke Leussenkamp (The Netherlands) ~

This really was a challenge for me. Copada give me a hard time to transfer it in string nr. 140.
I hope you like the end result.
Tangle greeting from The Netherlands

 Tangled Tidbits -
*grand variation of Copada
*rich black background accents the beautiful tangles


From Sabine (Germany) and here on her blog ~

a straight lined string filled with curved tangles was a little bit difficult challenge to me. I have used a light-grey paper. Marnie was new to me and I have draw it as string border. It's an interesting and variation tangle. Thank you for an other great challenge.
Greetings from Germany
Sabine

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Hollibaugh weaves its way into Copada and Pokeleaf

*pleasing balance of small and large tangles, light and dark spaces

From Susan Theron (Velddrif, South Africa) and here on her blog - 

This tile is dedicated to you, because it is done on my first real Zentangle tile and was sent to me by you. I've saved it, but decided that it was sent to be used! I loved this challenge and looking forward to what my fellow tanglers did.

Thank you, Susan :)

Tangled Tidbits - 

*three lovely variations of Copada

*Copada detailed Hollibaugh intertwines with Pokeleaf

From Sarah (Michigan) and here on her blog - 

Here is my entry for the week. I kind of got carried away by Hollibaugh and managed to fuse a few pieces of Copada in there. It was a great string to work with and I enjoyed doing this tile a lot. Thanks for another great week!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Hollibaugh changes size in each string section

*Copada overlay

From Joanne Faherty (Bedforshire, United Kingdom) ~

Here's my crazy tile for the week. I'm calling it opposites' attract . I did the copada ( which I've never used but have meant to glad I did I like it) and holibaugh and had the idea of it going through the 2 string sections, while doing that I thought hey it would be cool to have one side white and one side black.
After doing that I was looking at the little sections of string I had left and though umm pokeroot will look strange in there, until I realised copada looks like the top of pokeroot ta-da pokeroot diguised nearly. However I didn't like the patterns on the lower pokeroot so coloured them black.
I really like how this has come out

Funny...I never realized that until you wrote, but Pokeleaf does mimic the shape of Copada - great find!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*rich contrasts along with sparkle and shading

*Copada and Pokeleaf morph 

From Michele Wynne (California) and here on her blog ~

Thanks for another great challenge. I had a lot of fun with this one. I used a previously hand painted watercolor tile in the vein of Renaissance tan tiles. I started this about11:30 last night after I got home from work. I'd only meant to gather up some tools so I'd be ready to hit the cafe this morning to draw. Then I thought "Maybe I'll just position the string"...Well...and hour+ later I finally crawled into bed;-)

Time well spent!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*grand sense of depth with the layering of Hollibaugh

*wonderful variations of Copada

*aura-ed and shaded Pokeleaf

From smgg (Taiwan) and on her Instagram ~

Have a nice day!!!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Hollibaugh 'highways'

*Copada filled string lines

From Hilary Merola (Rome, Italy) ~

I have just finished admiring your beautiful, flowery Wednesday Words of Wisdom. I always enjoy seeing them, but this week's was especially lovely.
I really enjoyed this week's string thing. When I first look at your chosen patterns, it always seems to me that it's going to be impossible to put them together. Once again that's what I thought, they're just too different, they won't work in the same string! But I am actually happy with my solution. I used the string for Hollibaugh, then decided to put my Copada variation inside the Hollibaugh. Then I filled in the rest with Pokeleaf and its cousin Pokeroot.
Thanks again for providing so many creative opportunities!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*delightfully detailed vines of Pokeroot and Pokeleaf

*four sizes of Copdada filled Hollibaugh add a sense of depth

A very warm welcome to  Aloya (Elena) Pakhomova (Toronto, Canada) ~

I am very new to Zentangle, only discovered it a few week ago. And this is my first try of your Challenge. Hope I did everything right.
Couldn't choose one zentanle of few drawn, so I am sending two of them I like best.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*single Copada caps morph into Hollibaugh and Pokeleaf

*Copada filled string lines

*graceful flow to Pokeleaf

From Tina Kirchhübel  ~

today I really enjoyed drawing the challenge tile. The children went to their grandma with dad and I had time to tangle. It was very relaxing and I really love the result.
Greetings from Germany

Isn't time to tangle a wonderful gift?
Tangled Tidbits -
*Hollibaugh divides the tile into checkerboard spaces
*Tipple filled Copada
*black and white Pokeroot


From Cheryl Stocks (Arizona) and here on her blog ~

Thanks for this challenge. It gave me a chance to add more drama than I usually do.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*large, lovely Copada - sparkled black perfs and detail lines

*doubled string lines kept white accent the tangles

From Jean Beckstrom (Alabama) ~

I have so enjoyed all the challenges and I especially love to see the diversity of design placement and interpretation from other tanglers.. It is wonderful. Thank you for all the time you spend with us each week.

 

Tangled Tidbits -
*jewel-like look of Copada
*shaded Hollibaugh with a smattering of darkened spaces


From Karen - The Creative Miss L - (Canberra, Australia) and here on her blog ~

Here’s my tile. I made it in a bit of a rush. I really appreciate the comments you make on my tiles. Helps my confidence grow a little more each time.

I do believe that tangling itself instills confidence - happy to help, too!

Tangled Tidbits -

*Hollibaugh flows into Copada

*single row of Pokeleaf seems to tuck under and re-emerge into a cluster

From Jenny Hopkins (Australia) ~

A lot less loopy this week and still good fun. Hollibaugh is the tangle that I would love to hate, yet somehow I keep getting drawn to using it (no pun intended). It was hard to figure out how Pokeleaf was going to fit into something as angular as this string, but in the end I thought the tangles worked well together. Thank you for another week of fun and inspiration.

I love a good pun :)

Tangled Tidbits - 

*tree-like Hollibaugh branches of Pokeleaf - great touch with the dotted line aura and shading down one side of each leaf

*one main string line of Copada

From Gesine (Germany) ~

Tangled Tidbits - 

*fabulous angles of Copada filled, Pokeleaf tipped, Hollibaugh - note the perspective achieved

*Tipple filled opposing corners

From Jennifer (Kansas City, Missouri) ~

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Pokeleaf branches out from Copada

*lovely light and dark version of Copada repeats in different directions through the string lines

From Ilse Lukken (The Netherlands) and here on her blog ~

Thanks for your continuing challenges! Here's my entry for this week...

 Tangled Tidbits -
*various line width of Hollibaugh adds even more depth
*rounded lines, ovals, and petal shapes in Copada variations



From Karen Aiken (Alberta, Canada) and here on her blog ~

Another fun string this week, and a new-to-me tangle too (Copada). I’m trying to embrace using the string as a suggestion, rather than areas that need to be completely filled in. That's hard for me! If you look closely though, you can see that I did use your string #140. :-)

 Tangled Tidbits -
*Hollibaugh and Copada gracefully flow into Pokeleaf
*shadowed Pokeleaf


From Annie Taylor (Spain) ~

Copada is one of my all time favourites and I used it in a fairly minimal way with a nod to Hollibaugh. And Pokeroot is also a long time favourite - so nothing not to like this week! Many thanks.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*curved and shaded Copada appears rounded

*Pokeleaf flows from Hollibaugh lines

From Kate (United Kingdom) ~

My contribution to this week's challenge - I did enjoy it!
A lot of black areas but I think it has a bit of an 'art deco' look to
it which appeals to me!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*the black makes the tangles pop
*Pokeleaf flows into Copada and from Hollibaugh


From Beth Gaughan (North Carolina) ~

Here is my tile for IAST 140. Thanks for continuing to post the weekly challenges!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*multiple aura for Pokeleaf

*Hollibaugh string lines

*curves and rounded details for Copada

From Heidi (Salt Lake City, Utah) and here on her blog ~

The patterns are loads of fun, but overall, this tile was a tough one to love, until I got the shading in there.
Pokeleaf caught my imagination to start, and I like how it ended up "on top" of the hollibaugh, though it would have been cool to really load the piece with leaves. Anyway...it just blew my mind what a difference it made with the shading. It sort of reminds me of a garden trellis in Morocco.
thanks for yet another lovely, fun challenge

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Pokeleaf 'grows' through the other tangles and across the tile

*elegantly simple variations of Copada

From Susan (United Kingdom) ~

I tried to keep it simple this week and leave lots of white. I usually like to fill all the available space so it was quite a challenge. Thanks for all of your work on these challenges.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*morphing of Hollibaugh and Pokeleaf - again the sense of depth with angled stems

*light, medium, and dark spaces repeat the divides of the dotted string lines

From Yvette (France) ~

Bonjour Adèle merci pour ce défi. J'ai eu grand plaisir à l' emmêler. J'ai fait un tonneau avec hollibaugh (dans le rectangle). Sur lequel repose une plume qui signe mon nom et prends le rebord du petit triangle. Hollibaugh, s'envole autour d'une corne d'abondance d'où sort un bouquet de pokeleaf en blanc et noir (façon le ying et le yang). Bordure avec copada. J'adore emmêler. Sa fait travailler l esprit ,c'est formidable un travail mental de recherche de réflexion de concentration. Merci pour ce défi.
Je vous souhaite à tous une merveilleuse semaine.

Even with the translation google provides, my English doesn't do Yvette's description justice, but her beautiful work does...

Tangled Tidbits - 

*sparkled Hollibaugh twirls and swirls into a Pokeleaf cornucopia - notice how it is woven and shadowed

*beautiful Copada variation

From Christiane (Germany) ~

My tangle is colorful this time. It gives me much pleasure to use color.
Greetings from Germany

Tangled Tidbits - 

*one large Copada cap

*Hollibaugh in alternating spaces as the lines match up with Copada

From sra (India) ~

Somehow, the designs didn't come together but I didn't give up. Then this morning (Saturday) I decided I would put the Pokeleaf and the Copada inside the Hollibaugh spaces. I had imagined the Hollibaugh as a trellis and the Pokeleaf as a vine that went through it and around it but the Copada really took some doing! So when I thought of filling the Hollibaugh with the Copada it felt like a brainwave.
All three tangles are new to me as I'm a beginner. Would you understand if I say I am pleased with my imagination and visualisation but not with the final result? It became a bit too chaotic and I had to black over one spot because the Pokeleaf didn't turn out well.
What I do like about the tile is the black parts. My Copadas turned out better than I imagined. I like that I treated them and the spaces between and around differently, with fillers, auras and left some alone to give a bit of white space and contrast.

Isn't it interesting that the black spaces became your favorite?  "One stroke at a time" and the tile unfolds beautifully.
Tangled Tidbits -
*Hollibaugh divides the tile into spaces filled with pretty variations of the tangles
*Copada lines, corners, and stacked in rows


From midori, CZT (Florida) ~

i've been playing with sakura calligraphy pens all over my notebook.
when i realized, i had 'hollibaughed' along your strings with gentle sweeping strokes. i tangled poke leaf with tipples,accented with a brown pen (since it, too, was close by.) in my notebook...

 Tangled Tidbits -
*"gentle sweeping strokes" can be felt - sparkle adds the Hollibaugh effect
*Pokeleaf springs from single branches
*elegant shading, Tipple, and a touch of brown


From Ingrid (The Netherlands) ~

It was very nice working with this string you made. Nice tangles too, to meet again.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*alternating light and dark, white and lines spaces of Copada
*aura-ed Hollibaugh



From Adri (South Africa) ~

 Tangled Tidbits -
*multiple sizes of Pokeleaf - and Pokeleaf filled Hollibaugh
*dashes and perfs alternate in Copada variations

Tangled Tidbits -
*stems of Pokeleaf appear to weave in and out of the tile - notice how shading adds to that look
*clusters of Pokeleaf and lovely Copada


From Jane (Colorado) ~

It's a very springy string thing! And here in Colorado we are having a major blizzard! Pretty typical spring weather...March and April are actually our snowiest months! But it is definitely hard to pull out the coats and boots when last week's temps were in the mid 70s and trees and flowers have been blooming away...I'm worried about my apples and peonies--:(
Anyway, I took the opportunity to use some watercolor pencils with a water brush to "spring" up my entry this week. I started with the Pokeleaf (one of my go-to favorites) following along the string line and then added just a teeny touch of Hollibaugh. I suddenly had a vine growing around a garden trellis, so although I absolutely love Margaret's work (as you know she has wonderful tutorial/explorations for lots of patterns...what she does with Cubine, Tipple, Echoism and more is so amazing!) I decided there was no room for Copada. I added the dashes on the trellis, a bit of shading, a few little curlicues and some Zingers and then colored my little spring garden scene--(oh well, a bit overworked, but fun, nonetheless!)
Thanks for all your time and energy, but mostly your love for all things Zentangle, which is always apparent! 

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Pokeleaf string lines (wonderful colors)

*dotted, deeply shaded  Hollibaugh

From Allison Durno (Richmond Hill, Ontario) ~

Fun tangles to work with this week. I liked exploring Pokeleaf and using it to fill space and as a border and also to add a bit of colour. Liked the dimension in the Hollibaugh. Copada was new to me, too, and since it seemed a natural to use it as a border I tried something different by coiling it up into a single section.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*a Copada coil - fabulous idea!

*Pokeleaf filled string spaces, string lines, and sprinkling along the border

From Val Brandon (United Kingdom) ~

I haven't participated for ages. Thanks for taking the time to share all our entries.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*stems of Pokeleaf cleverly emerge from Copada

*Hollibuagh melds into both tangles 

From Lucy Banta, CZT 16 (New Jersey) ~

Here's my tile this week. Congrats on your art show. Very exciting And well deserved!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Hollibaugh and Copada are interwoven

*darkened aura and centers of Copada emphasize the tangle and contrast with Hollibaugh's white space

From Sharyn Penna (Massachusetts) ~

Congratulations on your upcoming art show. Can't wait to hear more about it!
I loved everything about this prompt. I kept a simple approach to Pokeleaf and Copada ... I was going to go back to them after working with Hollibaugh but I got entranced, then decided Tipple and shading was all that was needed. Cheers to spring!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Hollibaugh emerges as part of the border

*Copada fills Hollibaugh and spills into Pokeleaf

*Tipple, soft shading, and similar sized tangles create an even look as the patterns flow from one to the next

From Sue Agnew (Arizona) ~

I ran out of time (a long-time friend called to chat while I was partway through) so this isn't as "perfected" as I might like ... (and yes I understand that perfection isn't the goal of Zentangle ... try telling that to a perfectionist). I've always liked Copada because I like the way it looks cylindrical when you use radiating lines. A few years ago during my "try to sparkle everything" phase I tried sparkling this one and I can't remember if I thought it worked or didn't work so well, but I do think it contributes to the cylindrical effect. I have always wanted to be "good" at Pokeleaf and never thought I was ... and same with Hollibaugh ... I always make it too symmetrical therefore boring, or get frustrated that it isn't symmetrical. I drew the leaves first and then joined them up by their stems without prior planning. This is probably the most I've ever liked my rendition of either Hollibaugh or Pokeleaf.
Keep 'em coming! So appreciate all that you do!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*a beautiful triangular melding of Pokeleaf and Hollibaugh

*splendid rows of sparkled Copada

From Jessie Plouffe (Connecticut) ~

I have had so little time to tangle the last few weeks, but I managed
to complete this challenge, and I'm glad I did! I decided to try
something different with the Pokeleaf, so I tried it stemless and with
the stem going all the way through the leaf.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*aura and shading of wonderful Pokeleaf variations lend great depth

*stunning Copada with Tipple

From Becky Welty (North Carolina) ~

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Copada shaded along the points

*singular vines of Pokeleaf 

From Anna Houston, CZT (British Columbia, Canada) ~

It was fun as those are all comfortable but fun tangles!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Copada string lines

*beautifully dark background for the tangles 

*detailed shading

From Talia Maynard (London, United Kingdom) ~

Here's my tile for this week's challenge. I was surprised how organic it ended up, considering the linear string we were given. Pokeleaf is such a nice tangle to draw, it really does flow naturally.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*elongated, elegant Copada

*prettey Pokeleaf flows into shaded and black spaces of  Hollibaugh

And now...

the tiles for honors this week...

were sent in by...

Ragged Ray (Jem) from The United Kingdom and 

Henrike Bratz from Germany!

From Ragged Ray (United Kingdom) ~

I once wrote an essay for a literature course about a book I loved. When I got feedback from the tutor, she said that while I'd written a good essay it had suffered because of my evident passion for the book - because I had tried to include absolutely everything I knew and thought and felt about the book.
And so it was with this week's tile, and that wonderful Copada. I played with it for so long and came up with so many variations, and I think I included too many in one tile. But still - I had a great time and I hope that shows! I added an extra line to the string for symmetry's sake and added some balance of light and dark care of Hollibaugh and Pokeleaf!
And now to find places to scatter all the rest of the Copadas I didn't use!

Your passion for Copada does indeed show through, but you will only find praise here for your creative genius!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Hollibaugh is an extension of the border

*little white perfs add charm to Hollibaugh's deep, black background

*stunning variations of Copada, sparkled and shaded

And from Henrike Bratz (Germany) ~

When I sat down yesterday evening to tangle my tile for your “It’s a string thing #140” with hollibaugh, capoda and pokeleaf, I first didn’t know how to start. I don’t like pokeleaf much. It always came out a bit awkward in the past. THAT moment I remembered my “opus-feeling” and got back to it. I just began with a single leaf of pokeleaf, which I draw bigger than I had ever done before. Just this single leaf! The next leaf and everything else just followed and it really felt like “one stroke at a time”. Great experience!!!

Isn't it a treat to tangle?

Tangled Tidbits - 

*wonderful, sparkled, detail lines in Copada and note the weighted line spiral

*splendid variations of Copada layered in Hollibaugh fashion

*Pokeleaf branches off from Hollibaugh

Congratulations, Jem and Henrike!

I have a little some thing coming in the mail for you.

Many thanks to the creative minds behind the tangles we used with my string this week ~

Hollibaugh by Molly Hollibaugh, CZT

Copada by Margaret Bremner, CZT

Pokeleaf by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts, Zentangle® founders

Stop back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #141!