Monday, April 3, 2017

"It's a String Thing" #189 Tiles

Here are the fabulous results of "It's a String Thing" #189 ~

The first email arrived from Ann Gotowy (France) ~
hello from France
my participation for the new string with some mistakes in "patience"but much happiness.
thank you for ideas and patterns.
Tangled Tidbits -
*CO2 spills up and over Aura-Leah string lines
*pretty Patience filled loops


Talia Maynard (London, United Kingdom) ~
I really needed this challenge this week. I did the tile last night after the horrific events in London. I was upset, stressed and incredibly angry. And I didn't know how to relax and get past those feelings. And then I thought I'd try the challenge to switch off my brain and it really helped. I managed to just focus on each stroke of the pen and let the tile do itself. So I must thank you for bringing this little light to my life this week.
 Tangled Tidbits -
...and you in turn, brought even more light to the world in creating such a lovely piece.
My heart aches - as the repercussions of such tragedies touch us all.  Sending many prayers...
*thick aura around Patience is echoed in the weighted lines of the large Aura-Leah
*detailed shading


From Chris Leach, CZT 25 (California) ~
What fun patterns!
 Tangled Tidbits -
*shaded string loops surrounded by one large and many smaller CO2
*overlapping pretty Patience


From Lisette (Switzerland) ~
I'm in a hurry as I'm leaving for a business trip. But I managed to finish the tile in due time. Patience is a great new pattern, it reminds me of N'zeppl (one of my favourites). I've never tried CO2 (I thought it was too simple) but it's such a cool, sweet pattern. Therefore I'm grateful for your challenges which tempt us to try patterns we'd never have "touched" without them.
 Tangled Tidbits -
CO2 is one of those simply elegant tangles, I agree!
*varying line lengths of CO2
*swirls of Aura-Leah feature dark sparkled centers and shading at overlaps


From Ragged Ray (United Kingdom) ~
This week's string was Spring personified. And my tile seems to capture just how spring is here at the moment - Patience shows the weight of blooms just outside my window, the magnolia a solid mass of white and camellia laden with hot pink. And Aura-leah suggests the wind, it's been whipping all the tender news leaves into a frenzy. I think I've caught the moment better than a photo - without even intending to!
Tangled Tidbits -
...indeed you have.
*CO2 accented black perfs between Aura-Leah sections
*charming Patience detail mimics the Beadline border
*exquisite shading


From Lily Moon (Hungary) ~
...here is my tile for your weekly challenge.
Tangled Tidbits -
*spring-like bulbs of Aura-Leah, reveal Patience blooms
*dense concentrations of CO2 and a lightly filled backdrop of it


From Lori Byerly (Washington State) and here on her website ~
More Springtime fun! :) I just had to add a little Springtime color as well, especially as there are flowers.
Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderful roundness created with shading and rounding at intersecting lines - notice how that effect changes the look of CO2 and Aura-Leah.  That is yummy!
*one large Patience in each string loop


A very warm welcome to Renee W. (Austin, TX) and here on her blog ~
I am so excited to have found a new art challenge. It is my first time using a string and this surely will take some practice. Thank you for organizing so much fun.
Tangled Tidbits -
*lovely Patience includes fanned effect with an arced grid, smaller ones in the loop with larger ones surrounding it
*weighted lines of Aura-Leah
Welcome to our IAST community and to our tangled map, Renee ~



From Shirley Wholsen (Queensland, Australia) ~
Attached is my entry for ‘It’s A String Thing #189’
I enjoyed all the patterns.
‘Patience’ was quite a challenge, but very rewarding, it is so pretty.
Tangled Tidbits -
*beautiful Patience bulges from its grid, Aura-Leah and CO2 pop over the shaded border lines
*shading and pattern overlap add dimension


From Jutta Gladnigg (NRW, Germany) ~
O! O! - "Spring Breaking Through"
Thank you, Adele, for another cool string and pattern selection.

And thank you, Jody, for another beautiful pattern!
Adele, your pattern "O" wanted to be part of this celebration of spring...
The two orbs represent the infinity symbol ∞ and are to symbolize the never-ending recurrence of the seasons.
Tangled Tidbits -
*lovely blend of the tangles, white space, and shading (I love that shading of O!)
*detail lines repeat in all tangles


A very warm welcome to Cyndee Pelley (Oklahoma) and here on her blog ~
I'm so excited to have found your blog so I can join "it's a string thing"! I've been tangling for about a year and it's transformed my life and mental health. I've got a blog and I'd love to have a link!Thanks for the awesome challenge and all the work you do to keep it going!
Tangled Tidbits -
*Aura-Leah corner cluster
*small and very large grid for Patience highlighted with precious purple gems
Cyndee is officially on our map, welcome!


From Joke Leussenkamp (Eibergen, The Netherlands) ~
With nesting as a border, I feel I collected the spring feeling in this zentangle, it was great fun doing these patterns.
Thanks for this challenge,
Greetings from Eibergen, The Netherlands,
Tangled Tidbits -
Yes, you did!
*light and airy CO2 compliment darker Patience
*colorful Aura-Leah covered string lines


From Jody Genovese, CZT (New York), creator of the tangle Patience (among other delights!)~
Once again thank you so very much for selecting Patience as one of your patterns this week. I am having a lot of fun with it and it was such a pleasant surprise to see it here.
Aura-Leah was another one that was new to me and I really love how easy and beautiful that tangle is. CO2 has been a go to for me for a long time. It just adds that perfect touch where you need it.
Whenever I see round balloon shapes I have to add either purk or pepper so I embellished a little and included some purk too. Hope you don’t mind.
As always I wish you all the best from “can’t decide if we are going to be warm or cold this week NY”…gotta love the Northeast!!
Tangled Tidbits -
*picturesque Patience - notice the little ones in the larger black spaces
*flowing Aura-Leah and beautiful shading of Purk


From Mariam G. (Port Hueneme, California) ~
Love this one - Impatiens are one of our favorite blooms (and our Juncos love to nest in them). Had to add a pop of color; they wouldn't be Impatiens without it! Isn't Spring wonderful?!
Tangled Tidbits -
Yes, it is wonderful.
*highlighted CO2 glows - notice the touches of them in Patience
*alternating colors and weighted lines make for a beautiful Aura-Leah


From Trudi (Woodview, Ontario, Canada) ~
I've never been able to do Patience very well but it did come out better than I expected. Aura-Leah just didn't look right so I kept auraing (is that a word?) it and added some shading until I was happy with it. Again 3 Tangles I would not have chosen, you really work us out Adele!
Tangled Tidbits -
Isn't it good to stretch the tangle muscles?!
*light lined Patience variation
*Aura-Leah used as a filler - fabulous!


From Gesine (Germany) ~
after quite a long time, I finally managed to finish a tile for the challenge in time. I really liked the combination of patterns and had much fun with this one. Thanks for keeping up the challenge!
Tangled Tidbits -
*vibrantly colored tile brings out the highlighted tangles
*wispy Aura-Leah shares lines with a dainty Patience


From Lynn Gotham (Florida) ~
Fun challenge Adele, thank you.
Tangled Tidbits -
*sweet variation of Patience - dark centers, light shading, and surround left white
*cluster of CO2 lifts and lightens upward


From Ilse Lukken (The Netherlands) and here on her blog ~
My tile turned out to be pretty dark, but I like it anyway ;-) Thanks for the challenge!
Tangled Tidbits -
*dark and very elegant Patience
*one large Aura-Leah for each section of the string line


From Vonnie Schneider (Minnesota) ~
Ooooh ! What a challenge for me this week! I typically use tangling as a way to shut the mind chatter off, however, This week I had to wait for the chatter to quiet down first. Patience is a GOOD name for the flower tangle! I certainly needed a LOT of it! I am happy with the results!
Tangled Tidbits -
*sections of the string line are defined with color - very clever!
*detailed shading of Patience


From Tina Kirchhübel (Germany) and here on her blog ~
Here is my entry for this week`s challenge. I love this new tangle “Patience“. And CO2 is also great. It`s so light and airy. A wonderful challenge. Greetings from Germany
Tangled Tidbits -
*Aura-Leah filled string loops, accented with CO2 and curls tipped with Aura-Leah - yum!
*neat lines of a very pretty Patience


From Ria Matheussen (Belgium) ~
For my entry, I have chosen to use a wonderful Renaissance tile. They are my favorites, unfortunately I can't find them very easy in Belgium.
This challenge gave me real springfeelings and I enjoyed it very much. I have used braun, black, blue and white pens and finished wit colorpencils.
I wish you a great sunny weekend and thanks for this challenge.Greetings from Belgium,
Tangled Tidbits -
*heavenly CO2 - great color combinations
*Patience anchors the wispier Aura-Leah


From Susie (Thailand) and here on her blog ~
Here my tile for IAST 189. I seem to have a time management issue as once again – or shall I say as usual – push the date/time limit. 2hrs 50 to midnight Saturday.
Patience was a new pattern for me and I just love it. There are quite a few possibilities you can do with it. So thanks for the introduction, Adele, and – of course - this week’s challenge.
Tangled Tidbits -
*fabulous Patience filled string loops - wonderful perspective with changing sizes
*Aura-Leah lines finish with graceful curls



From Deb Jacob (Tichigan, Wisconsin) ~
It's been quite a while since I've taken a challenge & sent it to you. Here's my rise to #189. Happy spring and thanks, as always, for your challenge.
Tangled Tidbits -
Welcome back!
*dark middle string section of Patience provides contrast
*lovely loops of Aura-Leah


From Gudrun (Germany, BW) ~
Thank you for this wonderful challenge -
Aura Leah stands for for the young green of spring, patience for the flowers and CO2 for the bees, bumblebees and other insects in the flower bed.
Tangled Tidbits -
*string loops bursting with Patience
*flitting CO2


From Patricia (Switzerland) ~
Thank you for the new challenge. Patience is beautiful and requires the same to achieve the result shown online! I did practise it and will and will continue to do so! Aura Leah is lovely and I am glad to add it to my repertoire and CO2 as well.
Tangled Tidbits -
*one large Patience in each string loop
*soft background of dots and CO2


From Jennifer Moor (Switzerland) ~
Here's my tile for IAST #189. I loved learning Aura Leah, such a lovely flowing tangle. Thanks for the inspiration.
Tangled Tidbits -
*Aura-Leah delightful details repeat in Patience
*light touch of CO2 and a shaded border


From Sra (India) ~
Here's my entry- couldn't get my hand around Patience very well even though I seemed to get my head around it. I added it as an afterthought. Have a great week ahead!
Tangled Tidbits -
*Aura-Leah lined string
*CO2 clusters - very pretty


From Ingrid (The Netherlands) ~
Here is my IAST # 189 tile for this week...
Have a blessed week! Happy spring!
Tangled Tidbits -
*Aura-Leah string loops engulf shaded spaces filled with dots and CO2
*large, perky Patience, beautifully detailed and shaded


From Jane (Boulder, Colorado) ~
Finished my assignment on a Friday this week...no need to skip school--:)
Forgot last week to also mention your amazing Celtic knot project--wow!
Unfortunately, right after I commented about the unusually warm weather around here, there was a campfire caused fire in the close suburban mountains that burned over 70 acres last week. Incredibly and luckily, no lives or structures were lost, but it was another scary wake-up call and $700,000 spent fighting it!

On a happier note, #189 came together quickly and springily--:) I LOVE Patience...first because I do love Impatiens and secondly because I really do love Kuke and 'Nzeppel and it seems like a kind of mash-up of those (and some other floral-ly ones too, whose names I don't remember.) I used another one of my pre-watercolored papers and my purple micron...a bunch of Patience (don't we all need that?) a touch of Aura-Leah, and a little bubbly CO2...didn't add too much shading, since I loved the colors, but I should probably do some more experimenting with colored pencils for that. Next time...:)
Thanks for your constant inspiration!
Tangled Tidbits -
*striking colors and three variations of Patience
*a light touch of Aura-Leah and CO2


From Sabine (Germany) ~
as I saw the loopy string and the three beautiful tangles I thought first, what a beautiful idea to celebrate spring. I began to draw with Aura-Leah along the string and Patience down at the bottom right. Than I had no idea for going on and I was not satisfied. One day later I decided to continue with Patience on the left side, CO2 in both circle and between the string. At the end I wasn't really satisfied with the result. I thought the tile needs some colour for celebrate spring and here is the result. Now I enjoy it and I hope, that the spring in Germany will stay for longer time and not for only one day.
Tangled Tidbits - 
It is a good thing to set a tile aside for awhile as you demonstrated to us, thank you.
*graceful Aura-Leah string lines tipped with CO2
*colorful Patience varies in size


From Sharon Fite (California) ~
The weather is still pretty gloomy here in California's Central Valley, and it showed up in my work this week! Aura-Leah reminds me of vine leaves in the thick undergrowth with little sparkles of CO2. Working on dark olive paper was a good challenge for me because I rarely venture away from white tiles. I had Patience, but that tangle did not present herself. Waiting for better weather I suspect!
Tangled Tidbits -
*elegantly flowing Aura-Leah, curved and tear drop tipped
*glowing, highlighted centers of CO2


From Linda Goncalves (Pennsylvania) ~
I struggled with Patience but it was worth it. Loved the challenge. Happy Spring!
Tangled Tidbits -
*Patience clusters, weighted and dotted lines
*Aura-Leah lined string



From Denise (New Hampshire) and on her Instagram ~
...Here is my completed IAST #189. Excited to try Patience! I drew the beautiful string, then managed to ignore the string (which I consider to be a success). I sometimes rely too much on the boundaries to create my final tile--this time things just flowed!
Tangled Tidbits -
*exquisite Patience - light centers, deep shading, multiple angles...
*weighted lines of Aura-Leah
*rising CO2 diminishes in size



From Susie (St. Louis, Missouri) ~
Tangled Tidbits -
*open string loops and the tangles fill in around
*dark background highlights delicate Patience


From Lin H (Florida) ~
Thanks for another great challenge, Adele!
Tangled Tidbits -
*striped and sparkled Aura-Leah
*gold accents for all three tangles
...and a very nice frame :)


From Sue Agnew (Tucson, Arizona) ~
I ended up doing two tiles. The first one felt a little bit literal (Patience looking like impatiens, and Aura-Leah looking like the leaves ... and I just worked in CO2 as the centers of the flowers) so I tried another one. I'm sure I was not the only one playing with the new tangle Noom this week, and the "petals" seemed to call out for that ... and then Patience also kept reminding me of Margaret Bremner's Cockles and Mussels and Clams, which is one of my favorites that I haven't used in ages, so I did that ... and then I tried "Diva Dance-ing" Aura-Leah ... so for CO2 I thought I should throw in another tangle somehow so I added Aaaaah. I actually like the more literal one better because it seems more unified.Here you go — thanks for all your hard work!
 Tangled Tidbits -
...and thank you for yours!
*beautiful grouping of the tangles, crosshatching, detail lines, shading...
*CO2 centers of Patience
*creative morphing of the tangles
*Ahh/CO2 combination - how fun!



From Lovelygiraffe (Japan) and on Instagram ~
here is my tile for your weekly challenge.
Tangled Tidbits -
*plump, highlighted, beautiful Patience
*white CO2 and highlighted Aura-Leah



From Marla Mendenhall (Long Beach, California) ~
My first reaction to seeing this week's string and the patterns was ... hum. Patience is lovely on a straight, uniform grid, but did I want to cover the whole tile, or? And while CO2 is just too fun anywhere, anytime, I struggled with Aura-Leah. Odd, huh, but my "leaves" either ended up looking like weird eyes or lopsided hearts. Three days of contemplation and fruitless sketches, and by Friday afternoon I figured I'd just put pen to tile and see what happened. And I'm kinda pleased.
In Tile #1 I used three variations, if you will, of Aura-Leah and "ribboned" the string, and in Tile #2 used an aura-ed Aura-Leah version as the string, with a curved grid for Patience.
Aside from the worldwide shared creativity and imagination, the best part of IAST for me is the challenge to push myself outside the box and beyond the expected. Thank you Adele (for the hundredth time), for providing us with this forum.
 Tangled Tidbits -
Thank you for walking us through your creative process and how you mapped it out over week's span.
*ribbon like string lines (love the striped underside) spring from the base line, along with Aura-Leah stems
*two detail lines an dots in each Patience petal
*Aura-Leah pinwheel (now a Marla trademark :)
*shaded centers, weighted lines, and shading make Aura-Leah rise above the field of pretty Patience
*sparkling CO2


From Vicki Mitchell, CZT 25 (Moscow, Idaho) ~
Attached is my tile for this week's challenge.
Tangled Tidbits -
*colorful tangles change in each string section
*shining bursts of CO2


From Simone Menzel, CZT (Germany) and here on her blog ~
The string you presented is so loopy and I could not imagine to fulfil this challenge, but after first suspicions I was happy with the result. The tangles you chose this week are very lovely and the go together very well. The result Shows my actual feelings: happy, that the winter has gone. Happy that the bright season is beginning.
 Tangled Tidbits -
...beautifully expressed!
*striped, sparkled, and aura-ed Aura-Leah, along with a softer variation
*softly shaded CO2 and individual petal of Patience


From Felicity Strohfeldt (Veldriff, South Africa) and here on her blog ~
Hope you and your family are all well. This week’s challenge led me to apractising especially of Aura-Leah by Carla du Preez. I started out and seemed unable to stop because, somehow, the Aura-Leah seemed to challenge me and in the end, I’m still not sure I got it right. Then my impatient heart was tested by Patience by Jody Genovese and once more it was a challenge. Anyway, the challenging road was finally conquered and I finished off with happy C02. Satisfied in the end.
So, to you Adele and other participants have a lovely Spring week.
 Tangled Tidbits -
Perseverance paid off!
*weighted center line in each Aura-Leah creates a wonderful variation
*light, dark, and shaded versions of Patience



From Heidi (Utah) ~
Another really fun challenge! I enjoy these tangles, and have been playing with Aura Leah a lot recently. A good combination of patterns.
So, the coloring. I bought two new Faber Castell pencils yesterday. Couldn't help myself...I had a little bit of cash, and like a magnet...or a fishing line...the Blick Art Supply store drew me in, where I purchased two new additions to my growing Faber Castell pencil collection. And I started playing with my new colors...red violet and cobalt turquoise, layering them over each other. I was delighted! and when I burnished it all with yellow...WOW! Loving the texture!
I used a fine line sharpie for the lines, and then shaded with a yummy purple called Delft Blue, with some white gelly roller in the auras and the "centers" of the Patience. I also went over the Aura Leah leaves with the prismacolor blending pencil...that smoothed out wonderfully, leaving all that delicious texture everywhere else.
I titled it IAST In the Night Jungle. :)

Tangled Tidbits -
Thank you for walking us through your coloring steps in creating your striking layers of color.
*varying sizes of Patience
*light aura around Aura-Leah accents them beautifully



From Brenda Urbanik, CZT 13 (Western Cape, South Africa) and here on her blog ~
Yippee, I am getting to sending my tile before the deadline! I enjoyed this more organic feeling tile and left a lot of open space, I just needed to breathe, hence the space! Love those little CO2's, I've never used them before.
 Tangled Tidbits -
*lots of breathing room draws attention to the beautiful tangles
*Aura-Leah and Patience flow from the base upward and CO2 fills the loops as it floats away



From Sharyn Penna (Massachusetts) ~
Thank you again for last week's tile honor and to you for IAST. All the tiles last week just amazed me ... Tuesday's at IAST never fails to offer a lesson with every tile!
This week's prompt was a joyful promise that spring will eventually arrive, until then I'll keep practicing Patience! Cheers from chilly New England! Sharyn Penna
PS. You've reached 60 original strings at IAST!
Tangled Tidbits -
Thank you for keeping track, Sharyn - 60!  Congratulations to all of us!
*tangles float over a bold, simple version of Patience
*CO2 puff balls created in the string loops - that's awesome!



From Karin (Germany) ~
this is my entry to the newest challenge…
Greetings from sunny Germany!
Tangled Tidbits -
*bold lined, Aura-Leah covered strings wrap around a field of Patience
*light and bubbly CO2



A very warm welcome to Daniele O'Brien, CZT (Michigan)
...I did enjoy the process, it's great to revisit strings. When I'm working, I tend to let the tangles guide, me but this was a great reminder me of the beauty/importance of the string. Thanks for bringing me back to basics!
Tangled Tidbits -
*very pretty version of Aura-Leah, light and weighted lines along with soft shading
*penciled CO2 morphs into a version of Patience

Welcome to IAST and to our tangled map, Daniele ~


And now...

the tile for honors this week...

was sent in by...


Jonesy (St. Louis, Missouri) ~
This is my submission for this week's challenge. I know it's late, but with my kids on Spring break, there has been so little time for drawing. I literally just finished, at nearly 1:30 a.m. Even if u can't post it, I always love to share, so I'm sending u my take on it anyway. Have a great week!
Tangled Tidbits -
*silky smooth shading adds incredible dimension and curves - notice the effect on Aura-Leah
*varying sizes of Patience
*white dots break up the larger black spaces in Patience
*light CO2 with a few dark centered ones


Congratulations, Jonesy!

I have a little something coming in the mail for you.
Many thanks to everyone for sending in your precious tiles.  You inspire all of us and help build this wonderfully supportive IAST community.

Special thank yous to the creative minds behind the tangles used with my string this week ~

Patience by Jody Genovese, CZT

Aura-Leah  by Carla du Preez

CO2 by Antonine Megger

The results of "It's a String Thing" #190 will be posted on Thursday - I can't wait until you see them!
If you finished and haven't sent in your tile, please do.  I'll keep the deadline open until Wednesday evening.

Check back tomorrow for "It's a String Thing" #191!













3 comments:

  1. Oh,wow! Thank u so so much for these opportunities to challenge myself. We all grow a little more each week.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, that was a lot of eye candy! So much inspiration on one post, I loved looking at each one of these lovely creations!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the round-up! - Sra

    ReplyDelete