"It's a String Thing" #190 Tiles

"It's a String Thing" #190 was all about straight lines - from the string to the tangles.

It proved to be a relaxing and enjoyable time for all who participated.

Read below to find the new country and artist added to our Tangled Map, a similar variation of Nouvart from tanglers around the world, and two tiles featured on Tickled to Tangle frames - so much goodness in one small space!

Let's take a look ~

The first tile arrived from Henrike Bratz (Germany) - and soon-to-be CZT!

I liked the straight lines!!! I like curves as well but I must say I really do enjoy drawing parallel lines like in wind park. That must be the reason, why I really like patterns like meer and lots of grid based patterns. So this was fun!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*fanciful connections between Windfarm
*Windfarm lines flow into Nouvart like bent light rays


From Tina Kirchhübel (Germany) and here on her blog ~

Great challenge with all new-to-me tangles. I love Box Spirals and Windfarm. With Nouvart I had some problems at the beginning. I didn`t know if it will fit in the tile. But now I think it`s a good tile - in the middle the straight tangles and curvy Nouvart in the corner. So there is a good balance between the tangles and on the whole tile.
Thank you for this very challenging challenge.
Greetings from Germany

Tangled Tidbits -
*beautiful balance of light, dark, and tangled spaces (featuring Ria's tangle Horti)
*Nouvart string line


From Trudi (Woodview, Ontario, Canada) ~

Wow your last child will be going off to college. I remember when mine did that..But they kept coming back. We finally moved 500 kilometers away then they just came to visit :)
An interesting mix of Tangles this week other than Ria's new one I'd actually done these ones. One of my new pens wasn't working well and it finally dawned on me another book I use and had last used the pen on isn't smooth paper and it's killing my pens. A 'tooth' is nice if you are going to use watercolours but unfortunately hard on Microns.Thanks for your hard work Adele.

Tangled Tidbits -
Trudi, you made me laugh when I read your note.  Maybe a move is in our future!
*jewel-like Nouvart
*corner clusters of multi-layered Box Spirals

A NOTE about the Microns on 'toothy' paper.  The nibs on the pens do change shape with use, especially with the amount of pressure used.  I was reminded last fall at zenAgain that this is not an entirely bad thing.  Maria Thomas drew beautiful tangles for us with new and with used Microns.  With the latter, when lines skipped or shifted weight, she incorporated them right into her glorious tangles.


From Renee Womack (Austin, TX) and here on her blog ~

Really enjoying the challenges!!

Tangled Tidbits -
*rounded corners of Windfarm, softened even more with shading
*weighted lines of Nouvart against the lighter Box Spirals


From Shirley Wholsen (Queensland, Australia) ~ 

Attached is my ‘It’s A string Thing # 190 ‘
Two of these tangles being new to me but I enjoyed drawing all three.
Thanks Adele.

Tangled Tidbits -
*Nouvart clusters - pretty windowpane centers
*flow of light to dark tangles made even more pleasing as the patterns are evenly sized



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

Another week, another challenge. Nice!

Tangled Tidbits -
*full, rounded corners of Windfarm
*black sections of Nouvart mirrored in Windfarm



From Ann Gotowy (France) ~

hello from France
here is my entry for this week's challenge.
i think the nouvart looks here like angels who hel[d] your hands
what do you think about it?
nice week for everyone!

Tangled Tidbits -
Yes, I see that! - a chorus line of Angels
*white, shaded, and black filled Windfarm
*weighted Tipple sprinkled throughout Box Spirals


From Cyndee Pelley (Oklahoma) and here on her blog ~

Hello again! here is my entry for IAST #190. I found this challenge to be really challenging. I struggle with straight lines as my hands shake quite a bit but I was determined to get it finished! It is not a tile I would normally publish but I worked hard on it so I'm sending it anyway. I"m working hard to not be so critical of my art. :) I'm a work in progress!I used all 3 tangles plus tipple because I just had to have one without the straight lines! so for better or worse....

Tangled Tidbits -

Cyndee, you speak for all of us, I would dare to say - we are all a "work in progress".  Kudos to you!
*white on black Box Spirals tucked behind Windfarm
*curved top lines of Nouvart all softly shaded

From Lori Byerly (Washington State) and here on her website ~

Another fun challenge. I really enjoyed playing with nouvart. I look forward to experimenting with it more and seeing how others used it in their tiles.

Tangled Tidbits -

*one large and lovely Nouvart anchored with three weighted, round tipped lines
*lovely layers and layers of Box Spirals



From Juul (France) ~

Bonjour adele
Here is my tile....
Kisses from juul

Tangled Tidbits - 

It's so good to see you tangling again, Juul, welcome back!
*gorgeous burst of Windfarm
*deep, black background for all tangles

From Hilary (Rome, Italy) ~

Greetings from sunny Italy! Our weather this week has been delightful, sunny and temps in the low 70's. Of course you're coming from Florida, so you'll be shivering!
I'm not sure what I think of my efforts for this week's assignment, other than it's kind of strange. I started out with no plan at all and just let it develop. Oh well, my husband says it's nice!
Thanks again for all your hard work, and, as always, I look forward to seeing everyone's creations.

Tangled Tidbits -
Yes, I will be traveling to Rome very soon and cannot wait! I'll post more details later in the week...

*wonderful shading is an element of the tangles all by itself

*Box Spirals flows up and over Windfarm

From Vonnie Schneider (St. Paul, Minnesota) ~

Thank you for another great challenge this week. I was excited to do the Box Spirals because I had just finished IAST #107 and learned how to layer Pixioze. I am also seeing improvements on my Hollibaugh technique and keeping my lines parallel. It's fun going through the first 111 (on Year 3 already) and see new skills and where I struggled. Thanks for the opportunities to grow!

Tangled Tidbits -
What amazing accomplishments!  I am heartened to know that IAST continues to inspire.
*weighted string lines and deep, black backgrounds
*shaded spaces between Box Spirals


From Joke Leussenkamp (The Netherlands) ~

Hello Adele and fellow tanglers,
This was really FUN!! I hope I'm not to late.
Greetings from The Netherlands, Eibergen

Tangled Tidbits -
*fanned accent lines surround Nouvart clusters - shaded for depth
*rounded Windfarm corners with sparkled black perfs



From Talia Maynard (London, United Kingdom) ~

Here's my tile for this week. I love Windfarm. It's so similar to my favourite tangle, Hollibaugh, it was bound to make me happy.

Tangled Tidbits -
*shading adds depth to multi-layered Windfarm
*happy variations of Horti


From Lisette (Switzerland) ~

First I didn’t want to participate in this challenge as I don’t like straight lines… Then an inner voice nudged me: Give it a try, you can always throw the tile away if you don’t like it… And here is the outcome. I’m proud that I tackled the task and happy as I really do like the tangle. I tried “Graphite the new Black”, a technique which offers new possibilities and which I’m very fond of. And Gold becomes Art Deco.

Tangled Tidbits -
Congratulations for following through!
*penned Nouvart flows into penciled Nouvart
*Nouvart stretches over alternating white and black string spaces


From Sabine (Germany) ~

here is my contribution for this week. All tangles are new to me and in combination with this string it was a challenge for me. But I'm satisfy and like the result.
With sunny greetings from Germany

Tangled Tidbits -
*gorgeous green surround for delightfully detailed Nouvart
*Box Spirals tipped Windfarm


From Susie (Thailand) and here on her blog ~

I love this IAST challenge – from the string to all 3 patterns with Nouvart being my big favorite. Glad I – once again – was able to squeeze it in in time.
A bouquet of thanks to you.

Tangled Tidbits -
*textured and weighted lines, beautiful coloring, and shading
*just a few tips of the tangles poke passed the border


From Karin (Germany) ~

I really liked the challenge for this week (straight lines)! So I was very happy to have a free evening for tangling.

Tangled Tidbits -
*Box Spirals centers of Nouvart - each Nouvart in a shaded triangle
*black backgrounds unite Box Spirals and Windfarm


From Sharyn Penna (Massachusetts) ~

When my daughter looked at my tile, she asked if the theme was Easter ... she sees the Trinity ... she has a good eye.
Nouvart is a lovely tangle and takes shading like a gem! You'd think having a Y in my name that Windfarm would be an easy-peasy tangle for me ... I'll practice it some more ... wider stems maybe.
Spring is around the corner ... but today we expect 8 inches of snow.
Sending chilly cheers!

Tangled Tidbits -
She does have a good eye!
*interlaced lines of Windfarm add even more depth
*Box Spirals centers for Nouvart - like Karin above (I love when that happens, especially half way 'round the world.)


From Ria Matheussen, CZT (Belgium), Nouvart's creator!~

What a nice surprise to see that you suggested us to use Nouvart, together with those two wonderful tangles of Margaret Bremner.
I'm really honoured and thank you very much.
I'm used to draw a lot of organic patterns, because many of them are my favorites. Nouvart (also my other patterns) were made accidentely. As you wrote, the string and the tangles are straighter and it was a real challenge for me to combine them. However I enjoyed this challenge and I'm very grateful. I'm looking forward to see the results of the other tanglers. There are always amazing tiles on your side and by this way I wanna thank you also for all that work you do, every week again...
My entry is made on a apprentice tile and I worked with thicker pens (0,2, 0,3 and 0,8 mm) I finished with ordinary colourpencils.
Kind regards from Belgium,

Tangled Tidbits -
*Nouvart worked along string lines - wavy, sparkled line created with Nouvart detail
*Box Spirals details in all three tangles
Thank you for your Nouvart ♡


From Jutta Gladnigg, CZT (NRW, Germany) -

Thank you, Adele, for another great challenge!
Greetings from Germany !!!

Tangled Tidbits -
*deliciously deep shading
*Nouvart filled Windfarm


From Sra (India) ~

At first I photographed it the other way round, as I had drawn it and it looked a little blah to me, but I was about to send it off to you. Then I happened to see it from the other side when I went round the table for something and it was transformed. At first it reminded me of a lighthouse but then it began to look like a bride/ with her arms akimbo, and her long dress.

Tangled Tidbits -
...and a beautiful bride at that!
*soft shading along all sides of Windfarm
*smaller Box Spirals accent the larger ones


From Linda Goncalves (Pennsylvania) ~

It was fun to have straight lines instead of curves. It took several tries to find a way to fit the tangles into the string. Then I didn't have time to do it as precisely as I would like. There is no way, either, that I could do it without a straight edge, which, I think, is not the tangle method. I wish my eye/hand coordination was better, but, what is, is. Anyway, I am happy with the result and , as usual, had fun doing it.

Tangled Tidbits -
*Windfarm filled centers of Nouvart
*alternating white and Box Spirals filled string spaces


From Barbara (Germany) ~

this week a can follow again your beautiful challenge. All pattern are totally new to me and so I needed a bit of exercises first.
Here is my attempt:
Have a wonderful weekend everyone and everywhere

Tangled Tidbits -
*Box Spirals string lines and centers of Nouvart (that's three!)
*tremendous sense of depth created in the layering of the tangles



From Ingrid (The Netherlands) ~

In the attachment my IAST # 190 tile for this week.
It was really a challenge this one. I started with 2 compartments of the string with Windfarm and then it went away with me. I let it happen. So this is a very free interpretation of the challenge. Not happy with the result.

Tangled Tidbits -
Goodness!  I was with you until that last sentence.  It's a very happy tile!
*long arms of Windfarm stretch the length of the tile
*Box Spirals takes on unique shapes of each space


From Michele Wynne (California) ~

Many thanks for another challenging challenge I had a couple of false starts getting these patterns to play nice with the string. but I'm glad I stuck with it and went completely out of my comfort zone with the Renaissance tile. These were all new-to-me patterns and it's because I liked them all so much, I was determined to make this work!
Thank you for all you do.

Tangled Tidbits -
*marvelously mirrored tangles - Box Spirals fill in behind Windfarm
*shading and highlights glow


From Gabriela Garcia (Alberta, Canada) and here on her blog ~

Thank you Adele for this challenge, to my surprise I had a lot of fun drawing this tile even when normally I prefer wavy soft patterns and lines. It is nice to use patterns and lines that normally I would not choose and then find that I actually liked and enjoyed them. Thank you Adele for your weekly challenges without them I would probably miss a lot of great patterns and opportunities to grow :-)
Greetings from Canada!

Tangled Tidbits -
Pretty parallels to Michele's tile above - yet another treat!
*jewel-like Nouvart - doubled lines and elegant shading
*Box Spirals accented Windfarm tucks under Nouvart



From Jody Genovese, CZT (New York) ~

Every week I get so excited waiting to see the string and tangles you choose. And then I think, oh dear Lord what am I going to do with these? Sometimes it jumps right out at me, but often I stew on it for at least a day before I just say, oh whatever, and start drawing.
I love your challenge for many reasons. Mostly because I love that you take the time to say something about everyone’s entry. I also love it because it always really stretches my tangling muscles. You always manage to choose at least one tangle I am not familiar with, and usually more than one. But since I have been doing this, (it’s been 7 months now) I have always stuck to the string exactly as it is. Some weeks this has really stressed me out. I couldn’t think of how to make things fit..not very zen.
This week as I was going through that same, oh boy how am I going to make this work dance in my head, I very clearly heard Rick saying from seminar how the string was there to guide. It was a suggestion, but you could leap over it, or combine sections, or ignore it altogether. So, for the first time I threw caution to the wind and am not sure if you can tell I used your string at all in this tile. It’s there, but it is hiding under pieces of windfarm and Nouvart.. Wow, it was very freeing! And just in time since I am teaching a class on String Theory in a week…
Wishing you well getting your baby ready for college, and as always a big thank you!

 Tangled Tidbits -
Thank you for the kind words and the the good reminder of the string's function in tangling.
*morphing of all three tangles:  Box Spirals centered Nouvart (that's four!) flows into Windfarm - just fabulous.
*white, black, and grey sections - and even some white Box Spirals


From Susie (St. Louis, Missouri) ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*perf lined Nouvart diamonds
*Box Spirals travel over and under Windfarm



From Tonia Croce (Rhode Island) ~

I had fun learning these three tangles: #box spirals, #windfarm, & #nouvart (which is my favorite). I used gel pens, micron .01 black, and Identi-pens for filling in color black and green. I think these tangles would look nice done in white on a black tile. Thanks for the challenge!

Tangled Tidbits -
*two large, multi-colored Nouvart
*cascading Box Spirals



From Sharon Fite (California) ~

I [am] not usually fond of straight lines strings, but I loved this string! When I first saw it, Arukas popped into my head. I've found it best to go with those impulses, so here we are.

Tangled Tidbits -
*creative combination of tangles
*Windfarm flows from Arukas and Box Spirals gets its start from there too


From Marla Mendenhall (California) ~

Oh goodie. Three new patterns, at least for me, and all geometric, along with the string. Just my cup of tea! I'm not sure I even believe it, looking at the outcome of these three tiles (three out of - hum - six, I think; these patterns fired my imagination) but I started with the string in each one. Really, truly. Perfectly warm and breezy days filled with sunshine and birdsong, and this tangle challenge made my week all the more zen-licious. Thanks, Adele.

 Tangled Tidbits -
Oh, so gloriously Art Nouveau!
*Mooka -like flourishes and perfs add softness
*Box Spirals shaded in 'X' fashion

*overlapping and interwoven Windfarm - notice the lines that morph into Box Spirals
*four connecting Nouvart - two share one center diamond

*flowering Windfarm
*small to large Box Spirals
*perf lined, curved variation of Nouvart


From Robin (Nevada) ~

It’s been quite a while since I have participated. I’m happy to be back! I had a vision of this tile with the Box Spiral squares tumbling about and I wanted the whole thing to look like it was about to burst out of the frame as if, perhaps somebody shook the tile and set everything in motion. I’m not sure if I succeeded in that, but it sure was fun to create!

Tangled Tidbits -
Welcome back!
*a kaleidoscope of tangles - marvelous movement
*tangles vary in size and orientation, notice the large Nouvart through the middle


From Lovelygiraffe (Japan) and on Instagram ~

here is my tile for your weekly challenge.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*elegant lines and narrow diamonds in Nouvart
*dark shading adds dimension to all of the tangles, especially where they overlap



A very warm welcome to our very first participant from Malaysia, Joanne Lee ~

Hi this is my first time taking part in your challenges...
Thanks for a great challenge. I loved doing it. Loved incorporating the tangles in different ways, sometimes even in a subtle camouflage. I love drawing lines so I thoroughly enjoyed it this week.Thanks.

Tangled Tidbits -
*white on black and black on white Box Spirals take on lovely shapes in the spaces they are tangled
*weighted mid lines of Windfarm variation
Welcome, Joanne, you are officially on our map.

That adds a new country to our Tangled Map, making that a total of  32 - Horray!


From Jennifer Moor (Switzerland) ~

Here's my tile for IAST #190. I hugely enjoyed these tangles, especially the spirals! The final shading helped unite the darker and lighter areas to a more harmonious whole. Thanks for the inspiration.

Tangled Tidbits -
*dark centered Nouvart in each space created by Windfarm
*white on black Box Spirals in triangular from



From Patricia (Switzerland) ~

Nouveau art and art deco are favourites of mine so I love this new tangle by Ria Matheussen.
Margaret Bremner's box spirals are fun and Windfarm is an interesting tangle too. Thank you for sharing them with us!I decided to do less of windfarm so as to have more space for Nouvart!!

Tangled Tidbits -
*a Nouvart border - how fun!
*large Windfarm frames the tangles


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

You have managed to make my jaw drop when I opened your Words of Wisdom on Wednesday afternoon. After a double take, to my astonishment and (sorry) unimaginable pride, I find my late tile 189 as the artwork accompanying a beautiful appropriate piece of literature for the week. Next surprise, my journey creating the tile is also included!!! So honoured, thank you, Adele. I returned to your blog often this week
Then after all this excitement, a curved ball string 190! Words eluded me for a time, but the zentangle patterns included, were Wow! We have two windfarms close to our town! Always thought, the out of this world blades would make a great pattern, Margaret Bremner. But when I looked at Ria’s Nouvart, I was hooked. I love art deco, its decorative themes and, translucent colours and lights. And although I worry when the challenge is straight lines and geometric patterns, this week I just dove in, and sink a swim I took up the challenge and did I have a wonderful experience. To my amazement, the string has nigh on disappeared and I loved Windfarm as well as Nouvart by Ria Mattheussen, both new to me. Colouring Nouvart is a must. I love stained glass and that’s what it reminds me of. I have a small set of Staedtler water solubles and, once more a great challenge to blend colours from the pencils that I have. I am very happy with the result.

Tangled Tidbits -
And I thank you for the inspiration, Felicity.  (Here is the link to view Felicity tile and note.)
*wonderful Windfarm variations - perfs, stripes, aura
*fabulously filled Nouvart - a pretty party of tangles and colors



From Jonesy (St. Louis, Missouri) ~

Hi, Miss Adele! I'm glad we have an extension on this one, as things are just so chaotic lately. I don't use a lot of color, usually, but I decided to brighten things up a bit. This week's patterns have such strong angles, so I colored the background to give them the limelight. For fun, I decided to smash one of the windfarms under the weight of all the pressure. Did u spot it? Well, have a wonderful week!

Tangled Tidbits -
*amazing effects with weighted lines
*angular finish on Windfarm lines
*deep red certainly affords fabulous limelight



From Kate (United Kingdom) ~

My contribution to IAST 190. I did think of a black background then
decided with all that space it would be a bit overwhelming so settled on
shading instead. A couple of rather wobbly lines in 'Windfarm' but I
tell myself it all adds character!

Tangled Tidbits -
and charming character at that!
*softly shaded alternating string spaces
*folded over tips of Nouvart


From Tonya Blankenship (Grundy, Virginia) ~

Greetings, all! This week's combination of a hard-lined string and hard-lined tangles proved to be a unique challenge for me. As a result, I tried to focus on really slowing down to draw deliberate strokes. Thanks for another enjoyable challenge!

Tangled Tidbits -
*Nouvart and Windfarm flow from the diagonal string line
*Box Spiral 'S' curve - sweetly simple tangle varies in size as it overlaps slightly



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

Brenda Urbanik, CZT #13 (South Africa - Knysna, Western Cape)

Thank you for this lovely challenge, I LOVED it!!! Of course, the string disappeared, but that's all good! I loved those lovely Box Spirals, I think I could have continued adding them on the tile for days.

Tangled Tidbits -
...and it shows!
*beautiful layers (like a bouquet) and dark spaces between Box Spirals
*Box Spirals filled Nouvart (that's five!) feature fine detail lines
*Windfarm lines churn into Box Spirals
*softly shaded tangles

Congratulations, Brenda!

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 ~

Box Spirals and Windfarm by Margaret Bremner, CZT

Nouvart by Ria Matheussen, CZT

The results of "It's a String Thing" #191 will be posted in a few days.


Check back tomorrow for "It's a String Thing" #192!