Zentangle is...

The Zentangle® Method, created by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts, is an easy to learn, fun and relaxing way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns.

Thursday, March 17, 2016

The Week in Review

I hope my title won't scare you away, but this week was special. I contemplated keeping it private, but you are my Zentangle family, so I thought I'd share. That's just what we do, isn't it?!
On Tuesday, my only child, Gabrielle, married her soulmate, Drew. (Pictures will follow in a later post!) They chose a simple, very private ceremony, so that it would truly be their day. (I heartily approved, since Lar and I had done the same for our wedding day.) They will have a family celebration later this year, after Gabrielle finishes her degree in web development. (She is also busy starting her own company right now!)
Lar and I had lunch with the happy couple on Monday. I offered them a sentimental gift: a piece of stained glass that my dad had given my mom, with the inscription "Je t'aime plus qu'hier et moins que demain." ("I love you more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.") This had captivated my attention as a child every time the sun shone through it. So I took it off my window sill and wrapped it up. I wanted to give something that was part of Lar's and my wedding, so I took a button from my antique wedding dress, sewed it on a Bijou tile I had done, and slipped it into the wrapping.




On Tuesday, I was afloat somewhere in the clouds. Don't ask me what I did, other than check my phone for pictures!
Yesterday, I finally landed and decided to look at the challenges. Joey used a Roman numeral IV for the string, and suggested we use "4" tangles. The Diva requested green, in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. Hmm. Challenging! I decided to combine them, and that's probably where my struggles began! Add to that the fact that I've had a hankering to use color on Renaissance tiles, after trying a blue one on Sunday.



Thus it began. Roman numeral IV, green and a Renaissance tile. I haven't used any gems for a while, so I fit in two triangular ones. I wanted some kind of metallic pattern, so I thought about the crystalline triangles of Phroz and added Fassett, then Tripoli. Then I realized I hadn't included Joey's "4" tangles! 4Mom became an edge of Phroz. Yikes. I started feeling lost, so I added some layered ink auras and white ink Tripoli. It still felt so disjunct as a whole, so I added a white aura to try to pull it all together. Still not happy, I went for the zenstone and my emery board. This morning, I was about to scan it and decided to add a third round stone, then soften it with more zenstone. Then, basta! Not "Eureka!" Just, "Basta!"
If anyone knows where I can study composition, please advise!

Perhaps the beauty of this tile for me is not in the final result, but in the adventure of trying new things on a Renaissance tile. As I worked, I noticed the really soft, fuzzy feel of the tile. I wish we had a Feel the Fuzzy app so I could share!
Thanks so much for visiting, and indulging me in this lengthy post! Have a wonderful week! And Happy Saint Patrick's Day!


17 comments:

  1. The antique button on the bijou tile... what a wonderful gift! Love the blue and white tile and hey you had fun experimented etc. I have sometimes just cut apart the ones that just don't come together and make little gift tags, bookmarks, and the like. No one knows then! Ha!

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  2. Such special gifts for your daughter and son-in-law!! Your tiles are beautiful!

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  3. I'm so happy that your daughter will spend her life with someone that she loves. Such a lovely and thoughtful gift you gave her. She will also treasure your Bijou button tile. Isn't coloring on the Renaissance tiles just the best? I love both of them. The green one looks like a thumb and index finger with the "gems" as nail polished exquisitely!

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    1. I'm definitely hooked on using the colored pencils on Renaissance tiles. I totally agree that it's the best! I can never provoke that warm, chiaro-scuro look with the black, brown and white. I thought those gems looked liked fingernails, too! Kinda creepy!!!

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  4. I struggle with composition too, I just don't have enough artist in me to compose easily. I think you did a great job though, with a most unusual and lovely composition for the lV string. The negative space is just what is needed combined with the busy tangle patterns.
    I love all your tiles this week, but the little bijou tile will be the most treasured I am sure. How very clever to translate the button into a tile that looks just like the button. What a lovely gift. Congratulations to the happy couple.

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    1. Thank you, YT! It's great that we can inspire and learn together, with all the wonderful artists in our midst.

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  5. All are beautiful and absolutely unique gifts!

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  6. All tiles are great, espacially the Bijou - it is a lovely gift.

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  7. Beautiful work Jennifer. All of it. I love your Bijou button. Your tiles are gorgeous and beautifully composed. I wish I had your way with Tripoli (my nemesis). I finally got my ensemble tiles framed. I ended up with two (I included them in my Diva post). Thanks again for the inspiration.

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  8. Dear Jennifer, I can imagine, even if you "approved" the private day for the young couple you were in thoughts with them and felt a bit lost that day?! My best wishes to the young couple!
    You made such lovely and very private gifts... I love the ideas!
    And your tiles of this week are simply gorgeous! Love them all!

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    1. I was definitely "somewhere else" that day! Thank you for your best wishes and generous comments!

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