All the News That's Fit to Tangle

Last night we found this jewel in our email inbox.

Dear Rick and Maria,

While enjoying the December, 2009 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors, I saw Sandy Steen Bartholomew’s article: Add Patterns to Journals with Zentangles and Transfers. I visited your website and was immediately “hooked”. I shared that with my niece and we have both been obsessed ever since.

When our local newspaper acquired newspaper stands from another city and needed them repainted, they offered them to artists to “do their own thing,” we knew exactly what we would do….Zentangle!

It took two of us 33 days and 100 hours to Zentangle all four sides and the top of the newspaper stand. 100 hours of pure pleasure. We still can’t decide which is more fulfilling: drawing every line or seeing the finished product.

“Our” newspaper stand now lives in front of the Golden Waffle restaurant on Main St in Chico, California.

Thank you for sharing Zentangle with the world. LH

Wow! Thank you so much for sending that, LH. It's awesome!

Please send us a picture of it after it's installed.

[Edited to add]

Here's a picture of its installation.

Click images for larger views.

A Bee, See!

When we wrote this blog entry, we didn't have a picture. Now, we do!

Original is about four inches square. Maria used goauche for painting and a mix of walnut shell and peat ink for lettering. Surface is goatskin (vellum).

Since we've been introducing words recently (see newsletter) this is a good time to introduce a couple more:

Zentomology™
Zentomologist™

Consider this is sneak peek into a fun project we've been playing with for a while now. More later!

Click image for larger view.

A Visit

Pat Ferguson, CZT, and award winning quilter, came by this week to pick up some Zentangle supplies and show us some Zentangle delights. We thought you'd appreciate seeing them, too.

When Pat makes mats for framed pictures, she saves the inside cutouts and makes bookmarks. After tangling them, she sprays them with a protective coating.

She had decorated punch-cut wood ornaments with Zentangle tangles. But before that, she traced one to create part of her string.

She also brought a copy of The Quilter Magazine.

That "ZEN Quilts" teaser on the cover of their Feb/Mar 2011 issue takes you to a lavishly illustrated four-page spread inside. Congratulations, Pat!

Pat [email] has a couple Zentangle inspired quilting classes coming up in Rhode Island. One's this Saturday and one is February 26. Drop her an email for details.

Thank you Pat, for sharing this we everyone!

Click images for larger views.

Ixorus #6

We introduced a new tangle, ixorus, in our recent newsletter. (If you haven't read it already, please do. It includes some great comments and a new word, "tangleation.")

Laura Harms' weekly challenge #6 is to create a Zentangle using ixorus.

Here are two contributions from Maria.

We were looking at some other contributions to Challenge #6 and when we saw Carole Ohl's, the similarity of this one to Maria's just above made us want to cue up the theme from Twilight Zone!

Thanks again, Laura, for this fun series.

Click images for larger views.
 

Zentangle Flood Relief

Jane Monk, CZT in Tasmania, Australia [blog] [web] wrote to us yesterday:

You may have heard about all the flooding in Australia. The Queensland Premier has a flood aid appeal and a group of blogging quilters have had an online auction - very successful as they have raised over $45,000. I auctioned three items - two related to Zentangle - the Zentangle Kit raised $120 and one of my Zentangle drawings raised $225, one of the unsuccessful bidders was quite keen so I offered to do another drawing for her at her last bid of $200 - she was very pleased to accept the offer...so Zentangle related items raised $545 in total from my little auction ... I thought I would share that with you, it reinforces my thought that Zentangle really does go everywhere and affects everybody... hugs

Here's an image of one of Jane's Zentangle creations for Australia's flood aid auction. The winner can choose a letter which Jane will add to the framed area.

What wonderful creations and contributions, Jane! See what else Jane created for this fundraiser at this blog entry.

Click image for larger views

Another Conversation

Maria struck up an online conversation with Cathleen Rehfeld, a professional fine artist who works primarily with oil paint. They decided to trade creations. We join this conversation after Cathleen receives Maria's piece.

Hello Maria!

Your beautiful bee came my way yesterday! I LOVE it!! I love everything about it, even the matting is beautiful. I must get to work on your piece of artwork.

I have to tell you, even though I haven't spent as much time as I would have liked with my Zentangles, it has already changed my sketching - my sense of composition of the whole is better.

I am glad you like her. I thought she was kinda cute.

Favor: would you be willing to write a sentence or two about how Zentangle has affected your life and art? I love what you said, especially since you are a professional artist......and can we publish it along with a few of your paintings and a link to all your sites..... we'd love to feature it on our blog. If you rather not, no problem.

Thanks. Best, Maria

oh of course! I love testimonials... : )

I'm not much of a writer though, here goes:

Zentangling has changed my sketching for the better - my sense of composition of the whole is improved. It increases my sensitivity to contrasts in a composition, and gives me tools to affect it. The idea of balance of light and dark for a composition for example, I never want to have exactly 1/2 dark and 1/2 light, more like thirds - 2/3, 1/3 light/dark or vice versa. And also the idea of things flowing into and out of other things, maybe a sense of direction in a sketch.

ooooh I don't know if that makes sense - so please paraphrase, add or subtract (or ask me to clarify) it to suit your needs!!

cathleen

I love the way you put it.....especially the part about 1/3 2/3 light and dark. I use sacred geometry and phi ratios in a lot of my pieces, but using that ratio for light and dark is brilliant. Thanks so much. I'll have to try it. I am basically self-taught, so everyone is my teacher. I love it that way. Can we send people to your website and blog? Thanks so much. M

Hi Maria,

Glad you are happy with the testimonial! It came from my heart!

Yes, please do send people my way! Thank you!

Cathleen

We are so familiar with the excitement and inspiration that Zentangle brings to people who believe they aren't artists or can't draw, that we overlook the benefits and insights that Zentangle can offer to established working artists. This conversation was a great reminder.

I [Rick] thought I had photographed the bee that Maria sent Cathleen. Alas, I did not. I'll ask Cathleen to send me a picture and then I'll add it to this blog.

Thanks, Cathleen, for letting us share this conversation.

We invite you to wander through Cathleen's online collection of creativity and beauty at her website and her blog.

P.S.
If you recently began following our blog, you may not understand our title for today's blog entry. You can read the first in our "conversation" series here that we had with a different person.


[Edited to add:]
Cathleen just sent a great picture.

Thanks Cathleen! We talk a bit more about this image on this blog entry.

Click image for larger view.

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Zentangle Article

This is the top front page of yesterday's Concord Monitor newspaper in New Hampshire.

An interview with Diane Lachance, CZT [blog] [email], resulted in a well written article full of good quotes and Zentangle insights. It's titled  "Zentangle Untangled" and you can read it online here.

Since the online version is text only, Diane sent us these pictures of the print version.

Congratulations, Diane!

Click images for larger view.

A, B, C, C, D, E, F, G . . .

CC just tangled an alphabet and sent it to us.

Take a closer look at some of the tangles she used:

She's working on a script version. We look forward to seeing it. And we look forward to meeting CC at our next CZT seminar. (Psst . . . bring the originals!)

CLick image for larger view.

Shades of . . .

We received this note from Sue, who is coming to our February CZT training.

Hi Rick and Maria.

I wanted to let you know that I have received your letter about the upcoming seminar. I am really looking forward to it! My husband was so impressed when he saw the envelope in the mail. It was kind of hard to actually open the envelope - I didn't want to rip it!

I am planning on flying in on Monday and spending a day with my sister.

I also wanted to show you the Zentagle I did yesterday while my husband was excitedly watching the football game. He was really excited that I could do that. By the way - He wanted me to offer our condolences on the Patriots loss.

See you soon,

Sue

Cool technique of creating something from nothing and enhancing it with shading. This is a great example of a basic Zentangle technique of always drawing behind - in this case, behind nothing. Thanks for sending that, Sue. We look forward to meeting you in February.

Tell your husband, "Thanks, and good luck with the Packers."

For those interested, there is still space available in our February CZT training. Email us if you have questions.

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Orbs #5

Maria is enjoying Laura Harms' challenges. Regarding this week's Challenge #5, Orbs, she writes,

When I saw Laura's challenge, I smiled. Everyone knows I love curvy, voluptuous lines. I like to think of my Zentangles as "Rubenesque." This just feeds my soul.

As for the word, "Orbs" . . . we wanted a word that described this shape's essence (rather than "circle") . . . so that everyone would understand this shape's beauty is not its circular perfection, but its organic, full, nourishing, yielding and luscious roundness. Mmmm.

Thanks so much, Laura. Your personal touch and enthusiasm are inspiring some awesome Zentangle creations.

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Weekend B-T-B

B-T-B, as in "Back to Basics":

• Breathe
• Tile
• String
• Tangle
• Appreciate  

After a wonderful day of family, food and fun, Maria sat down and "recorded" it in this Zentangle.

Click image for larger view.