"It's a String Thing" #148 Tiles

It is a somber day here in the Orlando area.  As challenging as it is to move forward, I am reminded of the encouraging words of IAST contributor, Elisa P, following the terrorist attack on her beloved Paris last November:

From an oddity, November 13, 2015 turned out to be a tragedy, here in Paris where I live.
At first, I thought I would send you a black tile, as drawing anything did not seem adequate.
But then, I told myself: "No, this is what terrorists are seeking: frighten us to a point where we can't find joy and peace in our lives anymore." So, as an answer to barbarity, I finally decided to take your challenge and use it as a way to share my hope and trust in peace.

I wrote to offer my prayers and support and this (in part) was her response  ~

Thank you so much for your e-mail. Your words have brought warmth to my heart.
I am still amazed to see the power of internet, of how it can bring people who live miles apart and will probably never meet in person to share their hope and faith.
And I can confirm that tangling did help me fight the stress created by the situation. It also provided me a non-violent way to react to those awful attacks and indeed find some peace.

Armed with Elisa's encouraging words, let us continue to tangle as we pray for peace...





The first tile arrived from Sandra (Germany) and here on her blog ~

I just want to thank you for this wonderful challenge, because I always wanted to try Fengle but I never did before... I liked the idea of using this pattern as a string and I had a lot of fun with my tile. My Fengle looks as a big sea star ;-)
In addition to Fengle I added a bit Tipple and just stripes and dots ;-)

Tangled Tidbits -
*bold black and white spaces
*elegant shading


From Sabine (Germany) and here on her blog ~

here is my Fengle-Tile. I added a variation of Knot Rickz (Triangle) and around Queens Crown as border, coloured with a little bit gold.
With greet from Germany

Tangled Tidbits -
*curved Paradox swirls along
*dark filled inner aura


From Lily Moon (Hungary) with a "zenhug" and here on her blog ~

...here is my tile for your weekly challenge. Fengle combined Ellish, and a some Tipple, Flux and Stripes.

Tangled Tidbits -
*bubbling Tipple filled corners and crevices
*stunning sparkled stripes


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

Here's my Fengle play :-)

Tangled Tidbits - 

*aura-ed Crescent Moon

*Zinger tipped Fengle

From Sarah (Michigan) ~

Pick a Fengle any Fengle.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*colorful variations

*shaded aura

From Tina Kirchhübel and here on her blog ~

because of having other projects to finish (especially crocheting projects) I had had a short break from Zentangle. But now I'm back :-) and don't want to miss this week's challenge. I wanted to use Fengle as my string and decided to use a Zendala tile because of having more space on it.
For the empty areas I used the tangles Tropicana, Tipple, Shattuck, Crescent Moon, Hollibaugh and Printemps.
I'm really happy with the result.
Greetings from Germany

Tangled Tidbits - 

*lovely tangle combinations

*tangled aura on one side of each Fengle arm

From Rebecca I. (Stamford, Connecticut) ~

Fabulous fun with Fengle! (I just couldn't resist.) I played with a couple different Fengle variations, and it really was fun. I'll definitely be coming back to this tangle. And I added just a little bit of Flux and Pokeroot, just because. ;-)

Tangled Tidbits - 

*four fabulous Fengle variations

*thick dark center plays well with thin lined Fengle

From Cheryl Stocks (Arizona) ~

Attached are two in response to your challenge this week. One, a more traditional choice with Rick's Paradox, the other was born on a new sketch pad and measures 6 x 6 inches. As I was doing that one, trying to let it grow organically, the shapes all looked like quail. The result looks more like chickens, but what can I say?
Thanks for the fun,

 Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderful Paradox filled Fengle
*how fun to find fowl in Fengle ;)

From Joyce Evans (Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada) and here on her blog ~

I started with a drop wash with acrylic inks. I used Fengle, Printemps and a grid. The blue Printemps are drawn with a Sakura Pigma Micron pen.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*layers of color and tangles

*Printemps tipped Fengle

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

What a fun challenge! I see Fengle all the time but I've never used it before. It really is very versatile. I went a little OCD making color tiles last night;-)

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Mooka finish for Fengle

*pretty shades and highlights

From Allison Durno (Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada) ~

Trying out a new camera, so still working on lighting in my photos! I had to practice Fengle a few times, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. I decided to keep it fairly simple- just putting one large Fengle on the page and then adding some smaller patterns and shading. I used some gray parchment paper, which added some interesting texture, too.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*bold triangular details

*Perf lined Fengle

From Audrie Weisenfelder (Tucson, Arizona) and here on her blog ~

I used a 6 pointed Fengle as the string, and filled it with alternating Paradox and B'tweed. I used a variation of Onamato
and a pattern that I don't know the name of (or even if it actually is a pattern) to outline the individual sections. It's funny,; I've been using this pattern since I first started tangling, and always thought it was a regular pattern. But when I tried to find its name, I couldn't find a trace of it anywhere. Perhaps I made it up. If anyone has a record of it, I'd be happy to know what it is.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*lovely alternating patterns along the lines

*detailed shading

From smgg (Taiwan) and on her Instagram ~

Have a nice day!!!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*aura-ed Fengle

*Fengle framed with tangles

From Susan (United Kingdom) ~

Just a simple tile this week, but I wanted to send it in to show how I try to use an idea from one challenge in the next. This time I was inspired by the use of Zinger to add rotation and I thought that would work well with Fengle. I also liked the ones that turned into bees so added a couple of those!

Tangled Tidbits -

*wonderful example of learning "from one challenge to the next"

*great movement achieved with Zinger

From Ragged Ray (United Kingdom) ~

Ah, Fengle! What a beautiful tangle - so relaxing to draw, I could easily get carried away and draw them off the paper and onto the table and across the floor!
But here, I've restrained myself. The tile seemed to want to be round, so who was I to argue - but this is small round, regular tile rounded, not Zendala sized. One Fengle filled with Mr E. the other with those little auraed roundings that are nameless but sing Zentangle to me!
Pure joy! And I can't wait to see what other people do with theirs!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*beautiful balance of light and dark spaces

*very tips of Fengle touch (and seem to dance ;)

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

 … I’m happy to be able to play along this week! Fengle is a new to me Tangle, and I quite like it. I decided to do one large one and use it as my string, as you suggested. Fun!
Tangles used: Fengle, Ruutz, Flux, Mooka, Printemps and Stripes

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Mooka aura

*striped, sparkled lines of Fengle

From Karin (Germany) ~

this is my entry to no. 148.
I filled “Fengle” with “Printemps” and “Paradox” and added “Florz” to the background.
So it really became a “Maria-Thomas-Tile”
Greetings from Germany!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Florz curved grid adds depth

*dark Fengle lines feature Printemps

From Jenna Black (North Carolina) ~

I bought myself a set of Tombow markers this week, and I thought Fengle (filled with One Two Three) would be a good pattern to use while playing with as many colors as I could manage. There's certainly a learning curve with markers, and I'd never drawn Fengle before, but I'm reasonably happy with the results. More importantly, I had fun. Thanks for the challenge!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*lovely large Fengle

*vibrant colors

From sra (India) ~

...Here's my tile for IAST. Can't wait to see the round-up!
About the tile
I kept thinking about 'fang' when Fengle was announced and it acquired a Far Eastern association in my mind even though it looks like a very pretty flower and a motif that I see on a lot of crafts in India and elsewhere. I also kept thinking about the green flowers I used to see in the Nintendo Super Mario games that pop up from pipes to reveal their sharp and menacing teeth. The Far East association also got me thinking about dragons!
I looked at a lot of very pretty tiles with Fengle on the Internet. I loved some which seemed to flow into several tangles in and around the Fengle. I seem to be developing a soft corner for tiles that have some deep brown in them (though my own brown pen never seems to yield such a rich colour) and wanted to do a flowy design myself.
I looked for some patterns and came across Ruffles, which I've tried to use here. I also wanted to get better at shading and have the design stand out and just tried the circles - I wasn't even thinking of Tipple - in pencil. I must say this tile is an advancement of my skills, by my own standards. I wish the circles had been a little more aesthetic and not so close, though, but all in all I'm pretty pleased with myself.
And yes, the finished tile looks like an exotic fire-breathing dragon to me, even though it's only in graphite!
Thanks, Adele, for hosting!

PS: I forgot to say, the graphite circles also remind me of the seeds inside a pomegranate!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderful imagery to accompany a Ruffle tipped Fengle
*light Tipple background


From Kathrin Bendel, CZT (Wuerzburg, Germany) and here on her blog ~

oh... how I love this Tangle <3
This Challenge inspired me to a new Blog post about Fengle and all my results since the CZT Seminar #19.
First I warmed up with a classic version of Fengle and then I tried to dance a tango with Fengle and Ellish.

So we have a Fengl-E-llish ;)
I just love both results...
In the first version I've used to fill in the free spaces: Knightsbridge, Mooka, Shattuck, Paradox, Finery & Crescent Moon
And here is my Tango - Fengl - E - llish
I also used Printemps and Shattuck.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*gorgeous use of black, white, and brown with the tangle selections
*striking double black stripes in each arm of Fengle



From Hilary (Chicago) ~

I needed to do a few practice sheets with this and could only see a starfish. The patterns I used are : Crescent Moon, Waltz, Shard, Beelight, and Warble. I tried to choose patterns that go well together.
As always thanks for the challenges and the wonderful Wednesday posts. That frame is gorgeous!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*Crescent Moon accented Fengle
*delightfully detailed tangles


From Kate (United Kingdom) ~

I love Fengle, the only problem is knowing when to stop!
I've also used Nzeppel, Balloya,Echoism and some 'flattened circles' -
not sure if they actually have a name!!

Tangled Tidbits -
*wispy lines of Fengle
*even weight to the inner tangles


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

Greetings from the beautiful sunny North Okanagan Valley of BC. Canada. I managed to squeeze in some Fengle time, [adding Tipple and Florz]. I find this tangle challenging as I never make it the same shape. It seems to have a mind of its own like a shape shifter of sorts. Thanks,Adele, for all the work you put into this challenge.

Tangled Tidbits -
*shadowed Florz - so yummy!
*Tipple had dimension as each orb is shaded just so



From Anita A Westin (Dalarna, Sweden)  and here on her blog ~

Here is my entry for the Fengle-challenge! First I made it on a black tile. Yes Fengle is a string there but it disappeared! So I send you two this time!

Tangled Tidbits -
*delightfully detailed Zendalas
*highlights and use of black make the tangles shine



From Linda Goncalves (Pennsylvania) ~

I had fun putting this one together. I used: Fengle-Zentangle, Featherfall- Carole Ohl, Garland-Simone Bischoff, Friliee - Livia Chua, Jax-Vera Giesbrecht

Tangled Tidbits -
*dark centered Fengle arms
*Fengle spins off into the other tangles
NICE frame :)


From Gesine (Germany) ~

Another great challenge I had lots of fun with!
I filled my Fengle with some „old friends” I didn’t use for a while, and which are mostly original tangles: Striping, Flukes, Isochor, ‘Nzeppel, Crescent Moon, Knights Bridge, Fife and Tipple.
And I added some Pearly (by Sandra) around it, just for the fun of it.

Tangled Tidbits -
*elegant arms of Fengle filled with pretty patterns
*shadowed lines of Pearly


From Jenny Hopkins (Australia) ~

Thank you for another great challenge and what a lovely tangle.
I decided to make sure that I stayed focused this week, so I drew the entire thing right handed (I'm left handed!). I could probably have done better left handed but I think that I proved that "Anything is possible, one stroke at a time" although it helps if you hold your tongue in the right position.

Tangled Tidbits -
*kudos for using your non-dominant hand - can imagine the tongue position is key :)
*Tipple catches to one side of each arm


From Sharyn Penna (Massachusetts) ~

I loved your map-making post ... What a wonderful and meaningful gift!
And this week's challenge captured me ... I love Fengle ... Ellish reminds me of Fengle ... Mashed them together ... sprinkled a little shading and I'm a happy tangler. Early in May Eni Oken posted a mini tutorial on shading Ellish http//enioken.com/blog/Ellish I used her post as reference to shade my tile.
Thanks a fun-filled prompt and thank you, Eni Oken for the insights to shading!! Cheers, 

 Tangled Tidbits -
*stunning combination of the tangles
*superb shading, darkened center spaces, and weighted lines


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

A wonderful, fun challenge this week. I used the Zentangle App to get ideas for tangles to use with Fengle and how to compose my tile. The tangles I used inside the Finagles include: Printemps crossed with Tipple, Fescue, Aquafleur, Mooks, Paizel and very simple ‘Nzeppel. Tangles used to link the Fengles include Printemps, Rixty and Flux. I used an Opus tile for the first time in a long, long time.

Tangled Tidbits -
*Opus masterpiece features six variations of Fengle
*pleasing balance of white, black, and brown - and tangles




From Felicity Strohfeldt (South Africa) and here on her blog ~

... to tile 148. Great idea! Fengle by Maria Thomas as string and pattern. Had to practise some Fengle variations, enjoyed the exercise.
I’m happy with what I came up with. Only after completing the tile, I realized that my take on it looks something like your Pauline’s Pigtail! Also reminds me of the colourful windmills on a stick that I had as a child. Use good old favourite Tipple in some of the whirring mills and adding white space in the others created a reverse fengle effect. Creating zentangles never ceases to amaze one.

Tangled Tidbits -
*graceful swirls of Fengle spawn smaller ones - I see Pauline's Pigtail as well as the pinwheel reference :)
*shading and shadowing, along with the size and placement of Fengle add wonderful dimension



From Adri van Wyk (South Africa) ~

My Version of fengle with a bit of Tripoli, Bales, stripes and O.

Tangled Tidbits -
*gorgeous deep shading, black, and browns
*center jewel shines


From Sindy P, CZT ~

Guess what Adele , I DIDN'T put this thru Procreate , a digital app that I often use for 'post production'!
I didn't know how much I loved this pattern, until now.

Tangled Tidbits -
*tremendous twists and turns, sparkle, and shading
*Fengle begets Fengle, begets Fengle, and so on...fabulous!


From Marla Mendenhall (California) ~

Fengle is fun! The example I drew in my notebook when first starting out on my tangle travels doesn't do justice to Maria's charming pattern, nor its tangleation possibilities which she so wonderfully illustrated. So I played with my own sample possibilities in Tile 1. Tile 2, I think I should have made the Fengle stems thicker, but -phew- after finishing the other background pattern (don't know it's name), I didn't have the wherewithal to do it over. Tile 3 is the next generation of the Mucha-like pattern on Tile 1. How the snails got on there... My fault I guess for tangling in the garden!
Happy week to all.

 Tangled Tidbits-
*five creative tangleations of Fengle

 *thinly lined, graceful Fengle
*background of Facets (by Nancy Pinke, CZT) shaded for depth

*playful Fengle, home to sweet snails
*shaded Pearlz
*fine lined aura adds depth


And now...
the tile for honors this week...
was sent in by...
Julie Bazuzi  from Washington State (and here on her blog) ~

I was really inspired by Maria's example where she left the Fengle "arms" open and then used the draw behind technique. Then I used what would have been an inner aura as the string for my Narwhal. Finally, I capped the ends of my Fengle with Snailz. Three different kinds of spirals!
Thanks for the challenge!
p.s. On my blog I have posted my before and after shading pics and also a link to a video on the connection between creativity and happiness.

Tangled Tidbits -
*Printemps tipped Fengle
*wonderful layering of Fengle lines
*superb shading
*finely lined aura

Congratulations, Julie!  I have a little some thing coming in the mail for you.

Many thanks to everyone who shared their creative work with us this week.  You inspire and encourage all of us.

Check back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #149!