Monday, January 6, 2014

"It's a String Thing" #21 Tiles

Happy Monday and Happy New Year!  A what a happy new year these tiles do make :)

Cathy Cusson, on her Christmas break, had time to send in two tiles.

I don't think she would mind if post that she pointed out that the rows in her Sunflower were not alternating.  She was at first frustrated by it, but in the end really liked the look. The addition of the red really makes it stand out beautifully -


This is what she said of her second tile:
Having made the first mistake, I had to proceed to number two.  I like "summer sitter" but over/under things give me a fit. I did finally find a rhythm and actually started having fun with it.  The extra lines aren't a tangle or anything, I just felt that it needed some space to break up the tangles.  Since it needs to begin with an "s", think of them as slines or streaks, if you will.




That is a great term - slines.  Thank you Cathy! 


Mindy said that she really enjoyed drawing this -

And it really shows - in vintage 'Mindy style': clean, crisp, and shaded just so.  Beautiful!


Deanna Spence said that she especially liked Sundoo when she drew her tiles -


She repeated the little touches of Sundoo in her other tangles and the effect is so pretty. Her Sugarcane string line looks very three dimensional and the single large Sunflower in the second tile is such a happy touch!



Cheryl Rotnem said she had fun with this too -


Sunflower made her concentrate and she was pleased with the results - now that sounds like the perfect description of a good tangle pattern!  Thank you for that gem Cheryl.
 
In contrast, Annemarie said that she almost didn't join in with this challenge because the combining the tangles was difficult.  She proves to us that while it may have been difficult, it was not impossible!
She 'dotted' the ends of her Sugarcane with Sunflower - what a nice touch!


Sue Jacobs said that this string really took her back to the basics of "pure Zentangle." 

It is a treat to behold. She added her "own twist with the Struzzle" - see how she incorporated it into the string?! Brilliant! 

Jackie Becker said that she "really messed up the tangle patterns on this." She probably meant to say that she had many "creative opportunities" while trying this challenge :)


For her persistence, she has very pretty results.  The single Sunflower in the middle is a great focal point.

From the Netherlands, Ingrid sent her tile with happy new year wishes to me and "all the tanglers around the world."  She said that the challenge was just what she needed to restart her tangling. 




Notice how she varied the backgrounds as well as light and dark in the Sunflower pattern. We are all happy you are tangling again. Thank you, Ingrid!

Joan Delony said she completed many tiles using a variety of the five tangle patterns. She sent in the one that combined her favorite three -


They really work beautifully together on her tile. Very,very nice!

Sue Agnew said that this one felt "a little like 'parallel play' (the way toddlers play)...it seems to look like independent tangles rather than all of them forming a harmonious whole." It has such an elegance.
Sue also said that she was looking through the earlier challenges and was "struck by having spent all fall playing" with me and "with other tanglers."  Yes, time has flown - and as Sue added, "Here's to a new year of play!"


Vicky Brison said that she dedicated this challenge #21 to her youngest son who turns 21 on the 21st! Now that's a great line up of 21's - and this is a very special tile:

Every new look at it reveals more detail. The way she used the loopy Sundoo, complete with sparkle, is just pure Zentangle magic.

A warm welcome to Lynn from the UK. She sent this along with a link to her artsy blog. (
Click here to view) In her tile she worked the tangles in such a balanced way with the light and dark areas. The little details on Summer Sitter are a really nice touch. It's lovely.

Jenna Wheatman enjoyed layering the tangles on her tile -





 

While she said that at first it looked "a bit too much" it was "starting to grow" on her :)

My goodness, it's a masterpiece of tangle layering - pattern within a pattern within a pattern - genious! She said that she really had fun with it and what fun it is to behold.

A N D N O W....the tile of honor for this week!




                                   


CZT Tricia Faraone sent in this lovely tile. She combined the tangles in a pleasing way, varied the sizes, and added pretty details. (Click here to see more beautiful work on her blog.)


Tricia also included the most wonderful description of "It's a String Thing" that I have read to date.  She writes:


Anyway, this is my first try at 'It's a String Thing", and it was quite a relaxing process.  No stressing over creating a string, and no decisions about which tangles to use.  (Feels like Mom layed out my school clothes at night so that, in the morning, I did not have to be concerned about 'what to wear'!!  LOL)


What a very sweet analogy - it warmed my heart to read. It perfectly captures the experience I strive to provide through this challenge every week.

Thank you Tricia. I have a little something coming in the mail for you to commemorate the day.

Many thanks to you all for sending in your treasures.

Special thanks to:

Sue Zanker via Linda Farmer for String #21
and to the creators of the tangle patterns we used this week -
Struzzle by Jo Newsham
Sugarcane by CZT Suzanne McNeill
Summer Sitter by Karry Heun
Sundoo by CZT Jane MacKugler
Sunflower by Anne Marks


Please check back tomorrow for "It's a String Thing" #22!


Feel free to leave a comment in the space provided below. 
If you would like to a response from me, please use the email box located to the right.
Thank you ever so much!






2 comments:

  1. I haven't tangled much over the Christmas season. Just little bits in my sketchbook. I made a start on this week's challenge, but when I realised I'd done Barberpole instead of Sugarcane I realised I wasn't quite tuned in yet.

    But coming here and looking through everyone's tiles, as well as Adela constant encouragement, has tied me over. It's so great to see the way everyone takes a handful of tangles and a string and leads them in different directions.

    It's reaffirmed what a great beast Zentangle is, and what wonders it draws out of people. In short, I can't wait to get back to it!

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  2. Great attitude, ragged ray! Good luck.

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