Vote for Me Me ME!

I finished my entries for the Munny Munth contest and after trying to upload photos using FOUR different browsers - I succeeded! And just in time - the deadline is tomorrow. Phew! So now I need all of you folks to go and vote for my Munnys!! And don't look around because there are a ton of other amazing creations, but mine is covered with tangles so it's the best! Hee hee. Just kidding. You can vote for someone else's creature and I promise I won't hold it against you. Really. Go vote... right now.... I'm waiting!

OK, you're back. The picture crops off parts so I'll post the full pics here. It's a Superhero Family: Meg is mega at 20" or so, Minnie is mini at 7" and BooBoo is mini-mini. They all have "Squid" on their heads.

I love Meg's butt-crack and tattoo. Minnie wanted a tattoo, but she's too young, so she got a cape instead. Accessorize, baby!

Guest Tangler - Carole Ohl

I've been exchanging emails with Carole Ohl who is working on a Zentangle for a mural above a piano  (we need to see pictures when it's done!) My fee for all my free advice was that she send me some pictures to post here on the blog. Don't you LOVE it when someone describes themselves in a way that makes it seem like they are a newbie... and then WHAM! ... you see their art and are blown away!

Here's what Carole says about these two pieces:

"Attached is a Zentangle-inspired piece i did. it is actually 22x30". I had so much fun doing this, and it was my first attempt at adding color. (Editor's Note: uh-wha!!?) I used watercolor and Inktense pencils. Because I was intimidated by the idea of color. I decided to approach the color the same way I approach a Zentangle: one step at a time, and it was great fun that way. This one is now framed and in a gallery.

I've also attached a group Zentangle (black and white) that is also 22x30". The string was drawn by me, and shaded by me, but the tangles were made over a period of a couple of months by about six different people. It was donated to a local non-profit."

Carole is a new CZT, too - take a look at her blog, Open Seed Arts for some really lovely new Tangles! I particularly love "Inapod".


As a an aside, Carole mentions Inktense pencils, which are made by Derwent. I've bought gazillions from Dick Blick, and here's a link to the pencils on Amazon, too. These are watercolor pencils and yet, they are something MORE! As the name implies, the colors get really rich and intense when water is applied to them. But the magic is that they are "ink". So when completely dry - the colors are permanent. That means, You can wash yellow over a dried blue... and they don't blend! Since the yellow is transparent, you will have green where the colors overlap, but the yellow will not pick up the blue and smear it. This can be really useful.   It can also be frustrating, if you don't work quickly - you can't re-activate the dried colors to do additional blending. If you have never tried them... DO! The colors are so freaking gorgeous. BUT - my advice (if you are OC like me!) is to make a swatch chart of each of your pencils (dry to wet), cut out the swatches and tape to the tops of your pencils. The colored end of the pencil is not very accurate. I just made a very quick scan of a few of my pencils so you can see how different the colors are (and how intense!)

Julie Walker, Tangled

I received an email from Julie Walker, a beader, who owns a shop in Ohio called The Bead Cage. She has recently become addicted to Zentangle ("Welcome, Julie!") thanks to Carole Ohl and Peg Farmer.

She writes: "You know how things just call to you when your supposed to do something with it! I began making greeting cards with Bible verses on them and animals...

I wanted to do something that no one else is doing so, I began "tangling" picture matte frames. I did one in the silver foil by using an empty pencil and  the others are just tangles! I am having way too much fun and it is difficult when I do have free time to choose between my love of beads and  my love of tangling! So, thanks for sharing! This truly has changed my life and helped me be less critical about my work.... I love the bead tangle thing too! Beads are my passion but tangling is coming right up there with my beads!!!"

Julie's animals are a great example of using color with Zentangle. The color compliments the patterns and doesn't overshadow. They are also a great example of the inspiration that can be found through poetry or, my favorite, song lyrics. NICE! What else are you guys working on?

Killer Tangles (of the Week)?

A few posts back I promised to post my sketchbook pages of Japanese kimono patterns that couldn't be tangled.

Well, maybe "haven't" is a better word. I had many pages of Japanese designs in my sketchbook - almost all were converted into Tangles for the book, including the two shown here in the center of the page. These became "Flutter" and "Treasure".

But the  left and right ones... well... I gave up for the time being. If you follow the pencil lines down, you can see the progression, or steps, needed to draw the patterns. And THAT is what stopped me (or stumped me?). You have to DRAW them. I could not come up with a way to tangle them without pencil lines and without having extra useless guidelines showing through. After drawing about 100 tangles for THE BOOK, I came to the conclusion (or rule of thumb) that a Tangle is a pattern that can be drawn in 6 (or so) steps or less and does not need pencil guidelines (although the occasional penciled grid can be a lifesaver).

I intend to go back and play with these some more - now that I have a fresher eye. Just looking at the left one (which looks like rows of panties to me!) - I'm thinking maybe draw each individual unit, around in a circle... curve in...curve out... curve in...curve out... curve in...curve out, then start the next unit (panty?) Hmm, could work. We could call it "Killa' Panties". The one on the right baffles me though. But there might be a way to simplify it....? This one makes my brain ache trying to look at in a different way. Ouch. I think we will call it "Migraine".
Any ideas? I love these visual puzzles!!

What's Inside?

I have had a bunch of emails from the more timid tanglers asking "What's inside?" of the Totally Tangled book. The photos on this blog and on my Etsy site have only shown the cover and a few of the information-y pages and these potential addicts want to see what an actual instructional page looks like. So I took a few quick shots of some random pages. I hope these pages will pique your interest and also whet your appetite to see more. you will all be so overcome with the desire to possess this book you will head right over to my Etsy shop and buy one... right now.... click here... yes, you....
(or you could get  Totally Tangled on Amazon if you prefer!)