This week we saluted the XXXI Olympiad with a string inspired by the Rio 2016 logo.
We also used our own 'Gold Medal' patterns along with Lily Moon's new tangle Drogon which garnered many compliments from our contributors. Let's take a look ~
The first tile arrived from none other than Lily Moon herself (Hungary) with a ZenHug ~
First of all Thank you for have chosen mine Drogon, I'm honored. And now here is my response for your weekly challenge:
*string line of Drogon - notice how Lily tucked one line under another
*weighted down strokes of Printemps
*shadowed Florz
From Joan Delony, CZT (Florida) ~
I have been tangling every morning for the past 2 weeks and have been enjoying it. I got new glasses and now I can see. :)
*besides being able to see ;) - there is no substitute for daily practice (below Henrike and others echo the similar sentiments)
*multiple shading techniques - shadow, perimeter, along a tangle's lines...
*sparkled Bunzo
From Lori Byerly (Washington State) and here on her blog ~
Thanks so much for introducing us to new patterns in your weekly challenges. It's always good to try something new and stretch my tangling muscles. It also adds to my collection of patterns and that gives me more to work with any time I tangle. A double gift.
*large and lovely Drogon
*center of Amoeba ties in with Drogon
*shading adds wonderful depth
From Traci Frogely (Missouri) ~
In addition to Drogon (which I really like!) I used my new tangle 'Thongle" and the step out can be found here: https://flic.kr/p/Jwhh4iI also liked this week's string. Thanks so much for the challenge!
*delightful pattern in Thongle
*weighted lines of Keeko
*sparkle and shading of Drogon's black perfs
From Karen Aiken (Alberta, Canada) and here on her blog ~
Here is my tile for this week’s challenge. I’m afraid I don’t have any ‘go to’ tangles other than FLUX but I expect with experience and time that will come. I enjoyed the string and Lily’s DROGON, and just added tangles I enjoy drawing for the rest. (There is a big OOPS on the DROGON but I’m ignoring it. Ha!)
DROGON - Lily Moon
ABEKO - Lynn Mead
REVOLUTION - Sandra Chatelain
FLUX
HUGGINS BLACK PEARLS
*'Go to' tangles do come with time and practice - and with both, they also change. I do think that the tangles we choose can be influenced by examples we've seen, feelings they evoke when we draw them, if curves or straight lines speak to use at any given time, etc.
*beautiful black spaces accent Flux
*curved fill lines of Drogon
*fine lines repeat in all patterns
From Juul (France) ~
*a happy combination of tangles
*doubled string line filled with sparkled black perfs
*good balance of light and dark
From Hilary Merola (Chicago) ~
In keeping with the Olympic theme, I decided to use the colors of the Olympic flag: green, yellow, red, blue, and black on a field of white. In addition to Drogon, I used Ona and Bala because I wanted tangles with similar elements. I also tried to keep them very simple. I was concerned that with the color, it might get too chaotic!
*great approach to the tangles, simple and colorful makes for a lovely ZIA
*tangles change with each string section
From Trudi (Woodview, Ontario) ~
Well this was a fun one! When I initially did it I tried to represent the Brazilian Flag with white stars in the blue Huggins. Thing is when you color every other Huggins all blue it now looks like squares! So plan 2, leave the stars out and just draw Huggins in blue. Unfortunately I don't know the names of the other Tangles as I didn't record the names of Tangles when I first started. Now as I learn a new Tangle I write down who made it and the name. Drogon is of course in green. The 6 might just be a sparkling stripe and the interior is a jewel I think.
*pretty green Drogon
*striped and sparkled string line really shines, especially with a golden gem inside
From Amy Barnickel (Florida) ~
I started this on Wednesday and got so frustrated because it was looking really ugly to me, but I tried to use the "mistakes" as inspirations and I didn't end up throwing it away or starting over. I just kept with it and now I actually kind of like how it turned out, even though my drogons are not perfect and my African Artist NEVER comes out right. I am really challenged by those wavy line patterns. Anyway...here is my #158. Happy tangling!
*Thank you for that lesson in tangling, Amy. Good things happen when you persevere "one stroke at a time"
*alternating up and down Drogon
*beautiful Ann
From Val Steele (Johannesburg, South Africa) ~
I was so excited to do String 158. At the end if the month this 1958 baby will be 58.
I found a lovely string idea by Margaret Bremner on "I am the Diva's" 2010 Blog. The idea is to hold 2 pencils together when drawing the String.
Well I happily started Tangling and just love how my tile turned out.
Imagine my dismay when I realized that I had used ABEKO as the feature tangle instead of DROGON!
It just showed how I was in a tangling zone at the time. Zedbra and Onamato join in too.
*Happy Birthday to you Val! Don't you just love when numbers line up that way?
*doubled string line, complete with twists
*beautiful Abeko border
Here is my 2nd contribution for this weeks challenge - I've used Drogon this time instead of ABEKO like my first attempt. Other patterns are Zedbra, Onamato and Zinger.
*bright border of Drogon
*super shading and sparkle
From Ragged Ray (United Kingdom) ~
I didn't used to think I had a 'go to' tangle - but now increasingly I think I do - but it's a type of tangle - it's that alternating black and white thing on a flowing tangle. Ones like Bunzo and Antidots and sometimes Barber Pole. They all morph and blend for me and can crop up anywhere that they like on my tiles. And so that's what happened along the string line - and then I painted in gold paint (which doesn't shine as much in the photo as it does in real life). And as for Drogon - can you have too much of a good thing - too many lines and tiny orbs? I don't think so - I just couldn't stop drawing it!
*your comments remind me of a Mae West quote: "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful."
*wonderful, wonderful repeats of lines, perfs, stripes...
*sublime shading
From Julie Holland (North Carolina) ~
I got some tiles finally and here is my IAST tile for 158.
I had fun doing this one. I am still new to zentangle, so I really enjoyed finding new tangles to use.I used Dragon Air by Norma Burnell inside the loop with "ahh" as the center. I also really like the Angel Fish tangle, sorry do not know who that one is by, I think the other is cadent and also not sure what the one in the left corner is, but I have been using it alot!! I have a notebook that I have been putting my favorites in, but have not been putting the names of who they are by, I will from now on! Thanks again for the challenges, they are teaching me so much.
Tangled Tidbits -
*both light and dark perfs for Drogon
*dotted centers of Cadent
*Angel Fish twists
From Renee (Tennessee) ~
Tangled Tidbits -
*glowing, shaded and sparkled perfs of Drogon
*Purk filled string loop pops against the deep black
*weighted lines give Flux a layered look
From Anita A Westin (Dalarna, Sweden) and here on her blog ~
Hi Adele! Thank´s for another great challenge! I love Drogon! And the string is whow! Comments in my blog...
*shadowed Beadline string lines
*light and airy Drogon aura-ed to the border lines
*striped Huggins
From Karen - The Creative Miss L - (Caberra, Australia) and here on her blog ~
It’s been quite a while since I’ve participated in an IAST challenge. I’m participating this week because you have featured a tangle by Lily Moon. I have long admired her work, so thought I’ld like to use her tangle.The first tile is simply Drogon with some swirls, or could it be Paushalov?, in the middle. The second uses Drogon plus Cadent, Bales, Huggins and Nzeppel.
*soft white highlights
*shading and highlights of Drogon border add depth
From Jutta Gladnigg (Germany) ~
"A Tribute to 'The Albatross‘ "
Such a cool string! I drew the 16-string, turned the tile 90 to the right and suddenly there he was - in my imagination - Michael Phelps, „The Albatross“ in all his grandeur…
I was drawing for hours with a grin on my face, sometimes even chuckling, whenever I looked at his goggles, his long arms and legs, his huge feet grabbing the starting block, his swimming trunks… And stroke by stroke he came to life with drogon, chemystery, knightsbridge and jonqal…This is a tribute to the greatest swimmer of all times, winner of 5 gold medals and 1 silver medal in the Rio 2016 Olympics. Congratulations!
*What a fabulous tribute!
*dark perfs of Drogon repeat in Chemystery
*super shading
From Denise Fairbank (New Hampshire) ~
As usual, I enjoyed this week's string challenge! It's been fun watching the Olympics this summer and it was fitting to tie the challenge in with the Rio 2016 theme. I used the suggested tangle of Drogon, which is amazing! I will definitely be using that one again. The other three tangles I used start with the letters R - I - O, in keeping with the Rio theme. I used Retro, Iza, and O. I am happy with the way the tile turned out. The tangles really worked well with the string--I love it when it all comes together!!
*Using R-I-O tangles was very clever and they blend beautifully together
(I appreciate the use of Iza and O )
*a touch of black around Iza anchors the center
*long, rounded arcs of Drogon
From Montse (Madrid, Spain) ~
I've been traveling, so I haven't sent any tiles... Here's my tile this week. I used drogon (Lily's patterns and her tiles are beautiful!) and shattuck (I love it: I paint it a lot), indy-rella (I've learned it recently) and joyce block (I think are a pretty star, indy + joyce).
*elongated line of Drogon, with arua and shading - a beautiful focal point
*softly shaded Shattuck
*Yes, a very pretty combination of Indy and Joyce
From Cheryl Stocks (Arizona) ~
Thank you for the opportunity to settle down, relax and create. Seems like all of a sudden there isn't quite the time available for all that.
Wasn't quite sure what was going to develop with this new tangle as it looked quite formal. But all of a sudden all I saw were butterflies, hiding in plain sight. Thus, the title.
Your efforts for all us tangly people richly deserves a medal.
on my flickr feedand on my blog next week
*"settle down, relax, and create" - that is a marvelous mantra
*Drogon butterflies, of course! Thank you for finding them, Cheryl
*wonderful use of white space
From Ingrid (The Netherlands) ~
A very nice challenge with a new tangle. The other tangles I used are Citrus by Adele Bruno CZT, Sanibelle by Tricia Faraone CZT, Knight's Bridge by Zentangle and Amoebe by Linda Dawson. Nice how this tile turned out.
*gorgeous group of tangles
(I love the Citrus!)
*curved Knightsbridge
*lager and softly shaded Drogon
From Michele Wynne (California) and here on her blog ~
Thank you for a very inspiring challenge this week. I've been wanting to use "Drogon" since first seeing it last week. It's such a relaxing pattern to draw. The added comfort zone of my "Mac 'n Cheese" faves made this a real joy to draw. I started it very late one night, just intending to lay down the string on one of my pre-made watercolor tiles and before I knew it, I was done;-)
*awesome arc of Drogon
*Drogon's curves repeat in neighboring tangles
*highlights and shading make this ZIA shine
From Hilary (Spain) ~
I struggled with all the colours but decided that the Olympics and Brazil etc. are a celebration. The colours of the Brazilian flag therefore joined the party!
Drogon reminded me of feather headdresses and fans from Rio carnivals so I used Vicki Bassett's Showgirl as my 'go to'.
A lot of tiles seem to being sent around in a postal relay at the moment so I thought Carole Ohl's Baton was an idea that fitted.
Tangled Tidbits -
*clever tie-ins with the Olympics and the tangles' names
*baseline of Drogon with repeating perfs above
*a peek at the rings
From Annie Taylor (Spain) ~
,,,I'm happy to take part again this week with the Rio 2016 string. First time of trying Drogon, and it won't be the last. Just enjoying the last of the Olympics today.
Tangled Tidbits -
*white centers of Dorgon and deep shading
*black perfs of Drogon slip away and onto the string's circle
*detailed shading throughout
From Jane Glotzer (Boulder, Colorado) ~
Here's my #158...I played around a little with Drogon...I hope I did it some justice--:) Lily Moon's work is so amazingly beautiful! After I had done those two sections, I was left with three open areas in the string...what to fill them with? I thought my usual "go-to" tangles like Pokeleaf or Bunzo or Antidots would make it too busy and conflict with the Drogon...so then I thought about a grid background type pattern...Bales? Florz? Cadent? Surprise! Another opportunity to practice my 'Nzeppel--:) Some simple shading and I was done: another light and airy piece. It doesn't really say "Olympics" but I still like it!
Tangled Tibits -
*multiple sizes of Drogon - with one lovely large one in the string's circle
*grand use of N'Zeppel for a grid based background
From Jonsey (St. Louis, Missouri) ~
Tangled Tidbits -
*super shading and highlights - wonderful dimension
*large, overlapping Crescent Moon
*touch of color, lovely ZIA
From Kate (United Kingdom) ~
My contribution to this week's IAST. I've added your tangle 'Sand'. It's
a lovely grid pattern that allows itself to be stretched and squashed
into some very unforgiving spaces!
Tangled Tidbits -
*tangles compliment each other, share black perfs
*beautiful Sand
(I like your your description of Sand and will quote you :) Thank you!)
*Dragon aura-ed inward with a black perf center
From Julie Bazuzi (Washington State) and here on her blog ~
I've been using group challenges to push me out of my comfort zone for the last several months, learning a couple of new-to-me tangles like Drogon every week. So I had to flip back through my sketchbooks and older tiles to recall my go-to patterns!
Classic Zentangle patterns Mooka, Poke Leaf, Flux, and Zinger were shoo-ins. Nebel is a newer addition I've come to appreciate, and Niuroda is another new-to-me tangle I have been itching to try out. Oh, and I sprinkled a tiny bit of Cruffle in there as well.
You can also see pics of before and after shading on my blog: Cheers!
Tangled Tidbits -
*an elegant blend of tangles
*tile within a tile
*double Drogon diamond
*soft shading
From Aloyna Pakhomova (Toronto, Canada) ~
I liked the string, but Drogon tangle was a real challenge. Couldn't make it monotangle, add two other tangles, one of which is my own "design" (upper left corner) - yellow gem.
*one circular Drogon in the string's loop
*black perfs of Drogon along the string lines
*original tangle - inspiration is pictured below...
From Henrike Bratz (Germany) ~
I’m happy about my latest tile because I tangled it in a special place:
You know about my walk. And while walking I kept thinking about my Zentangle “practice”. I did not find enough time or space for tangling during the last few months. And I find the longer I didn’t tangle the harder it gets to sit down and start again. It’s never really about the time. So wouldn't it be good to do just a little bit every day? Just a small bijou with a single pattern to keep hand and mind familiar with the feeling and the process of tangling? And then I had a brilliant idea. Back home I made some changes in my bedroom. Two chairs I never sat in went out. And I bought a tiny little table and placed it just in front of the window looking in my neighbor' garden. I had always wanted in desk in front of the window! A lamp, some decoration for the windowsill .... It’s only for tangling and writing letters or diary. No work allowed.
So my tile #158 is the first one tangled in this new and special place!
Tangled Tidbits -
*Thank you for taking us through your decision to create a dedicated space for tangling, Henrike.
I am confident your resolve will inspire many other tanglers.
*clean, crisp lines
*Tripoli with Olympic ring background
*wonderful details - sparkle, weighted lines, highlights, and shading
From Gesine (Germany) ~
here is my Olympic contribution!
Besides Drogon, which I wanted to try since I first saw it, but never did so far, I used mostly original Tangles that are introduced in the book “One Zentangle a day” by Beckah Krahula, which was my first contact with Zentangle when I got it for Christmas in 2015. The tangles are: Tipple, Purk, Fescu, Finery and Florz. I also used Sand Swirls by Karry Heun, which was one of the first Tangles I got from the internet when I started looking there (and stumbled across this blog…). And the last one is Diva Dance, a rather new acquaintance of mine (also an original Tangle), which I used frequently since then. So this tile really features some of my “Gold Medal” tangles -looks a bit like a congregation of sea monsters to me
*"sea monsters"...must be the field of blue and ripples of Diva Dance :)
*It is a treat to know how you were introduced to Zentangle
*pretty arc of Drogon
*pleasing blend of brown, black, shading, and highlights
From Marla Mendenhall (California) ~
Ah, the Olympics. Whatever did we do in the years before video streaming? Just missed most of the fun stuff, I guess, or ended up buying the VHS tapes, right? Well, at least one of my three favorite events was covered extensively via network. For this challenge I've given a nod out to them all, and the patterns I've chosen? Quoth Billy Joel, "Don't ask me why."
Tile #1 Floor Exercise Gymnastics. Graceful, fluid, energetic movements, but powerful and edgy too. Patterns: Drogon, ING, Y-Not and M-Pel (my pattern).
Tile #2 Synchronized Swimming. All of the above adjectives, multiplied, and in water!Patterns: Drogon, Meringue (sort of), Dansk and Msst.
Tile #3 Rhythmic Gymnastics. Ribbons and hoops and balls and clubs, whirly and twirlydancing. Patterns: Drogon, Paradox, Mooka, Ribbonz, and Folds.
P.S. I LOVE Lilly Moon, and I fear I have done less justice to her beautiful pattern than it deserves, but I'm adding it to my go-to faves and I'll practice, practice, practice!
*Billy Joel, or no Billy Joel, I am still curious as this is all so inspiring!
*M-Pel has so much energy
*Drogon black perf repeat
*marvelous Mooka, Ribbonz, and Folds burst from the string's '6'
From Lin H. (Florida) ~
The tangle Drogon was new to me and it was a fun one to learn. Along with that pattern, I included Dragonaire (Norma Burnell, CZT), Frost Flower (Karry Huen), and Echoism (Zentangle original). Thanks for the challenge, Adele!
Tangled Tidbits -
*sparkled Dragonaire
*striped Drogon - great idea and it ties right into the thick lines of Dragonaire
*and beautifully presented on a TTT frame!
From Susan Theron (Velddrif, South Africa) ~
Florz is one of my "mac and cheese" tangles and I like to use it when I need a simple background.
Tangled Tidbits -
*an echo of Lily's choice for a background - how fun!
*Drogon filled string lines
*shaded white space of the string's loop
From Felicity Strohfeldt (South Africa) and here on her blog ~
The Olympics challenge was a lovely idea and a definite zentangle challenge too. Lily Moon’s beautiful new pattern Drogon needed some practice to master. Then the real challenge was, which favourite tangles do I choose to add? Golly in the end I seem to have gone totally overboard. I settled for first ever tangles patterns learnt. Printemps by Maria Thomas and Hollibaugh by Molly Hollibaugh. I love Flux, so I used both Rick Robert and Maria Thomas’s versions adding some tipple too. I also enjoy Cadent by them. I decided to try Rio by Carli Sultanik to celebrate the successes of the Olympics.
Tangled Tidbits -
*large sparkles for plump, pretty Drogon
*Flux filled string line
*perf filled Hollibaugh
From Sharyn Penna (Massachusetts) ~
Drogon is a tangle I'm going to be using often ... It reminds me of a tufted comforter.
With the Rio games closing, I'll remember those who demonstrated good will and those who broke barriers. I loved the selfie taken by the two athletes from North and South Korea. Two runners who tripped and fell and then helped each other rise and run ... one lives just a few miles from me ... Local girl (who lives just a few towns away from me) made the world smile!Cheers to a week that brought out the best of most.
*...very well said, Sharyn
*double string line with Olympic ring filled loop
*fabulous field of Dragon
*photographed on a TTT frame!
From Jenny Hopkins (Australia) ~
It was great to try out a new tangle and combine it with familiar ones that felt right.
Thank you again for providing such inspiration.
Tangled Tidbits -
*large and smaller Drogon, complete with sparkle
*pleasing use of light and dark
*aura-ed Drogon
From Susan (United Kingdom) ~
Hi, One of my go-to tangles is Ballenchain by Sandy Steen Bartholomew. I couldn’t resist using it for our Olympic theme.
*tangle morphs into Olympic rings
*string's shape appears in bottom corners
*single sided Drogon
From Lynn Gotham (Palm Coast, Florida) ~
The tangles I used are:
Drogon by Lilly Moon
Phicops by Brad Harms
4 fun by Mina Hsiao
C-chain by Emily Perkins
Links it by Suzanne McNeill
Rio by Carl Sultanik
and Enyshou an original zentangle
Tangled Tidbits -
*colors of the Olympics, complete with the torch and rings, create a festive ZIA
*dark and light perfs of Drogon
From Sabine (Germany) and here on her blog ~
thank you for using the new pattern Drogon from Lily M. It's a charming tangle and I'll use it more. Here is my contribution for this week: Drogon with my "Goldmedal-Tangles": Snaylz Trail (Andrea Shuman), Eddy (Suzanne McNeill), Knot Rickz (Cheryl Cianci), Garlic Cloves (?), Echoism (Zentangle) with O (Adele Bruno).
With greetings from Germany
*striped centers of Drogon, aura and shading
*pleasing contrast of black and white spaces accent the tangles
*O filled Echoism (I love that!)
From Jessie Plouffe (Connecticut) ~
Here is my tile for this week! In addition to the Drogon, I used three of my favorite official tangles: Purk, 'Nzeppel, and Mooka.
*plumply topped Mooka
*Purk filled string loop - great depth created with overlap and shading
*large open center loop of Drogon
From Becky Welty (North Carolina) ~
I'm home from vacation and excited to be back to entering the challenges again. I did tangle while I was away. It's one of the best ways to relax, and it just starts to become a part of who you are. Besides, going away to new places are great ways to find new patterns and inspirations! Here is my tangle for this week. In the spirit of the Olympics I decided to add the tangle Rio to mine. It was a little bit of a challenge, just like the games for all the athletes. It's great to be back!
*That is very well said, Cheryl. In the daily practice of Zentangle it "becomes part of who you are..."
*bold Rio back ground
*graceful arc of Drogon
From Debbie (Ohio) ~
Cadet, baton and drogon.
Tangled Tidbits -
*doubled string line with ribbon like twists
*full, rounded arcs of Drogon
*delightfully detailed and shaded Cadent
And now...
the tile for honors this week...
was sent in by...
Sue Agnew (Arizona)
Sue's note was so entertaining and her choice of tangles tied in thoughtfully with the Olympic theme. She wrote ~
I've decided that if I were to have an Olympic sport it would be sitting quietly in one place for several hours completely absorbed in making tiny marks on nice paper with a fine-pointed pen. I wonder what kind of costumes we would have to wear ... hopefully not like the women's beach volleyball!
When I saw that we could use our favorite "gold-medal" tangles and that the string was loopy, I first thought "goody, I'm going to outline it" (which I used to love to do but it seems to be sorta frowned upon) and then second that I could put Bucky inside the loop (I love drawing Bucky but I don't like the way the edges look so I like to use it in a bounded space). I was afraid you'd said we could choose ONE gold-medal tangle so I carefully didn't re-read your instructions till I was done. So anyway, here's my Olympics tile. I'm not sure that the tangle outlining the loop is actually a tangle; just something I like to draw; but anyway it reminds me of medals on ribbons. Bucky (official tangle) is named after Buckminster Fuller, who was a "20th century inventor and visionary who dedicated his life to making the world work for all of humanity, working to solve global problems surrounding housing, shelter, transportation, education, energy, ecological destruction, and poverty", and that fits with the "stewardship of earth" theme of the opening ceremonies. In the upper right is Cubine (official tangle), which reminds me of the athletes' rooms in the Olympic Village (although I'm sure theirs were roomier). Bottom right is Flukes (official tangle), which reminds me of overlapping flags. Upper left is Cadent (official tangle), which looks to me like terra cotta tile roofs that I'm sure are abundant in Rio. While I was drawing Drogon (Lily Moon, diagonally) I started seeing someone in a flowing butterfly costume, which if they weren't in the opening ceremonies they should have been. In the bottom left is Footlites (Carole Ohl), representing that the games have been in the world spotlight.
I give you ... a perfect 10 for bringing this community together (and for not taking a hop on the landing).
Tangled Tidbits -
*absolutely entertaining commentary - Thank you for the uplifted spirits, Sue.
*all the tangles share the same grid points
*signature "Sue sparkle"
*Footlites morphs easily with Drogon
Congratulations, Sue!
I have a little some thing coming in the mail for you.
Special thanks to Lily Moon for her beautiful new pattern Drogon and many thanks to all of you for you beautiful "Gold Medal" tiles.
To the Olympic spirit that brings out the best in all of us, CHEERS!
Check back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #159!
Henrike's tile is lovely. And I love the colours in Gesine's tile. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you again Adele for chosen my Drogon. Congratulation for everyone to beautiful tiles and thank you for us my Drogon!
ReplyDeleteYour pattern is lovely and everyone enjoyed it so much.
DeleteI just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed everyone's tiles again this week. Such amazing variety and inspiration!
ReplyDeleteSo very true - and the notes were as inspirational.
Delete