Category Archives: Zendala

Zazzle – New Tangle

Pastel Zazzle Zendala

For a while now I had been playing with a pattern that I think is an original. Finally it’s ready for the unveiling…  and thus I give you Zazzle. I think that Zazzle allows for a lot of versatility. It  works well as a starter for a zendala, or however you might like to use it in your tiles.

Here are the step-outs:

Stepouts for my new tangle, Zazzle
Stepouts for my tangle, Zazzle

Please note that I added a new Patterns page to the blog, where you will also find these step-outs. In addition, there are step-outs for my other pattern, Palmetta. I hope to add new ones in the future.

Below is an example of Zazzle on a zendala tile. In this case I drew concentric circles to provide a string, so it is more structured than the more free-form examples seen in the step-outs.

Zazzle Zendala
Zazzle Zendala

Although I like it in black and white, I thought it would look pretty with some added color. Using blue, purple, and aqua watercolor crayons I colored in specific patterns, and repeated them in an alternating fashion from the center outwards. For contrast I left some areas white.

Feedback about Zazzle is welcome and encouraged! If you try out Zazzle I would love to see what you come up with. Please leave a link in the comments below or send me an email via the Contact page.

 

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Diva Challenge #345 – Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays Zendala
Happy Holidays Zendala

The Diva’s challenge this week is to create a holiday themed zendala or tile. I had a pre-strung zendala that I hadn’t used yet and thought that this was the perfect time to do so! The interior string sections of the zendala are outlined in green Sakura micron pen, and the outer perimeter lines are in red. The tangles included are Flux, Printemps, and Paradox. It came out quite festive!

Over at Square One on Facebook the current focus tangle is Sea Wave by Ginny Lu. Step outs are available here. My tile appears below:

Sea Wave
Sea Wave

I had fun learning to draw Sea Wave. For whatever reason I decided to draw the waves diagonally on my tile, and then added Mooka, Msst, and a little Tipple. The Msst seemed to go well with the water theme, and I like how the Mooka resembles  curling or cresting waves next to the Sea Wave.

Prior to Sea Wave, the tangle of the week at Square One was Hypnotic by Elena Hadzijaneva. Step outs can be found here. My tile turned out to be monotangle zendala:

Hypnotic Zendala
Hypnotic Zendala

Since it is not done on a regular square tile I didn’t post it on Square One. It’s pretty cool looking though, so I thought I’d share it here.

Thank you for stopping by, and I want to wish everyone a joyous and safe Holiday Season!

 

 

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Diva Challenge #320 – Dansk (UMT)

Diva Challenge #320 Entry
Tangles: Dansk and Vivid

This week we have another Use My Tangle (UMT) challenge from Laura Harms.  The chosen tangle is Dansk by Margaret Bremner CZT. Dansk is fun to draw and makes  a great filler pattern. It reminds me a lot of Verve and Sand Swirl. Thank you for another great challenge! And thanks to Margaret for such a pretty and versatile pattern!

For my piece I decided to make a Zendala which would consist of an inner and outer band. For the center I chose Vivid by Ina Sonnenmoser because I thought it would be a good companion tangle for Dansk. And obviously I used Dansk for the outer band.

After inking the Zendala I thought it would be pretty to include some color. I used Tombow dual brush markers to color in the drop/petal shapes in both the Dansk and Vivid sections. Lastly I added in the shading. I’m happy with the resulting tile!

I’d like to also share with you that I found a handy gadget for drawing circles. It’s an Angle & Circle Maker by Helix which I found on Amazon.com (although I would assume it can be found at other office supply stores). This circle maker fits a standard size Zendala tile perfectly! I used it to make the above tile and it worked really well.

Thank you for visiting!

 

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Mandala Magic – Hamsa Mandala

In the next day of the 5 Days of Mandala Magic workshop we learned about the symbolism of the Hand and the meaning of Five. Very interesting! The hamsa (hand) form is a protection  symbol which has significance across many cultures. The hamsa symbol features five digits (thus the symbolism of the 5). To create a hamsa you can either trace your hand (the simplest way), or do a more stylized form (as I chose for my mandala).

The exercise was to create a mandala featuring the hamsa symbol. For my design I wanted to go with a henna style. Use of a Renaissance zendala tile seemed appropriate. I also  thought use of a sienna Sakura Pigma Micron 01 pen was perfect. Shading was done using a white pencil. Continue reading →

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Mandala Magic – Concentric Circles Mandala

As I discussed in my previous post, I recently participated in the Five Days of Mandala Magic workshop with Julie Gibbons. The next exercise was to make a concentric circles mandala. As pointed out in the workshop, the construction of a concentric circles grid is a bit easier than that used for the lotus flower pattern.  Drawing concentric circles of varying depths allows for a lot of variation and originality. My mandala was done in black and white, using a basic zendala tile with the patterns drawn with a black Sakura Pigma Micron 01 pen.

Starting in the center I made a spiral. Going outwards from the middle to the next two rings I drew orbs and filled u-shaped loops respectively. Next I included a ring of parallel lines which looked like a series of bars going around the circle. For the penultimate ring I went with the tangle pattern Hua by Mei Hua Teng CZT. In the outermost ring I drew a pattern of wavy C-shapes.

I’m not sure if this mandala can also be considered a Zendala, but it certainly has elements thereof. I like how it turned out!

Concentric Circles Mandala
Concentric Circles Mandala #5DaysMM

 

 

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Mandala Magic – Lotus Flower Mandala

This past week I participated in Five Days of Mandala Magic, a free online workshop offered by Julie Gibbons. Ever since I first found out about this workshop two years ago I had wanted to sign up.

I highly recommend taking the workshop the next time it is offered! If you are interested in learning about mandala/zendala then I suggest that you go right now to Julie’s site and sign up for her newsletter. That way you will receive a timely notification regarding when her next free workshop will be offered. She also teaches a year long, paid Mandala Magic course. Julie Gibbons has a great teaching style and you will learn a lot about the symbolism and emotionality of the mandala art form, as well as how to construct different types of mandalas. Zentangle aficionados will love it too. Continue reading →

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Diva Challenge #250 – Bringing It Back to the Old School

Diva Challenge #250 Entry
Tile for Diva Challenge #250 (8C, Finery, Paradox, Printemps)

For this week’s challenge the Diva asks participants to get back to the roots of Zentangle. As she notes in her blog post, the goal is a  “return to the ceremony” of tangling. Rather than debating what size tile to use, or to select a color, or any of that, the idea is to pay close attention to the process. After all, Zentangle is a mindful art form which improves focus and helps with relaxation.

Using a standard white 3.5″ square tile, black pen, and pencil, I created the above piece.  My string was simple and divided the area into triangles, squares, and rectangles. I had not drawn 8C before and wanted to try it. In the lower sections I chose to go with official tangles: Finery, Paradox, and Printemps.

As always, thanks to the Diva for another great challenge. Getting back to basics is always a good exercise.

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Zendala Dare #116

Zendala Dare #116 Tile
Hibred, Tipple, Uncorked

This is the first time that I have participated in Erin Koetz Olson’s weekly Zendala Dare which she hosts on her blog. I love mandalas (and zendalas!) so it was high time that I give the Zendala dare a try.

The template for this week includes six large ovals, so the first tangle that I thought of was Uncorked (by Adele Bruno). It seemed to work well in the rounded spaces. Next I tangled a border of Tipple surrounding the ovals, and then I filled the triangle shapes at the edges with Hibred.

Thank you Erin for the lovely template and Zendala dare this week!

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Diva Challenge #230 – Let’s All Be ZenDivaDala

Diva Challenge 230 Zendala
Diva #230 Zendala with Kuke, Batumber, and Chambray.

The guest blogger for this week’s Diva challenge #230 is Erin Olson, CZT. Her blog, The Bright Owl, can be found here.

Erin has challenged us to create a Zendala tile this week. She has designed a special Zendala template which can be downloaded for use in this challenge (the download link is available at the Diva’s blog). A link to instructions on how to transfer the template to a tile is also provided in her post.

My tile includes the following tangles: Batumber, Chambray, and Kuke. Thank you for presenting us with this fun Zendala challenge, Erin!

 

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