July 31, 2017

Zentangle® – July 2017

July 31, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

31 days in July and 31 Zentangles. I enjoy the Zen time while I am making each one and then the choosing the tiles for the monthly blog post…it is a pleasure to look at everything I created in the month and marvel at the joy I always feel in the process and the product. Maybe Zentangles are like little celebrations that get better with accumulation and a little savoring. Most of the tiles in July were the square ones…and the golden cardboard from canned Seltzer water.

The business cards were the ‘quick’ ones I did when I just wanted a little break – make a Zentangle – then go back to whatever was dominating the day.

The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. "Zentangle" is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.

May 01, 2017

Zentangle® – April 2017

May 01, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

More than half the 30 Zentangle tiles I selected for this month were not square; they were made on old business cards are 4 x 3 inch card stock. Twelve of the thirty tiles are on old business cards. Because of the smaller tile size – they are often faster to make and have fewer patters. I’m still enjoying the color diversity of the Sharpie Ultra-Fine Point markers…not back to using shading very often.

The 4 x 3 inch card stock tiles have a little more area and tend to be more complex looking even if they have only a few patterns. I like experimenting with multiple colors and layering on these tiles.

The 3.5 x 3.5 square tiles were all recycled materials; all except one were from the Seltzer Water boxes. I like the light brown color of the cardboard and the way the ink flows onto it. Because the boxes are larger than others I’ve cut into tiles, it is faster to produce lots of tiles quickly with the paper cutter. I got a new rotary cutter blade in April which made it even easier.

March 01, 2017

Zentangle® – February 2017

March 01, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

February is a short month…but a huge one in terms of the number of Zentangle® tiles I made over the course of the month: over 90! I got some new Ultra Fine Point Sharpies and enjoyed having so many colors. I also continued to use recycled materials for tiles as well. My favorite is the boxes from the Seltzer water cans. The light brown seems to go well with many colors of ink.

While most of the tiles were the square 3.5 x 3.5 inches, I did quite a few on the backs of 1970s business cards. They are a good size for bookmarks.

The 4 x 6 inches white cards – cut in half – area a good size for non-square tiles too.

February was a big month for Zentangle production! Hope you enjoyed the 28 our of 90+ that I chose to include in this post.

February 01, 2017

Zentangle® – January 2017

February 01, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

I averaged almost 2 tiles a day in January and have come to realize that I do more of them when I need to create a Zen interlude for myself. Creating a Zentangle is the fastest way for me to do that. I’m anticipating that February will be similar because of the political climate…and my daughter’s search for the ‘what next’ after she gets her PhD this spring.

I discovered a box of very old business cards – the very first ones of my career. They are over 40 years old and I’m using the backs as small tiles. Sometimes I am surprised what will fit in that small space!

When I scanned the 60 tiles I created in January, I discovered some odd sizes. I try to use card stock from odd sources. This one might have started out as a note card.

And then there are the bulk of the tiles that are the typical 3.5 x 3.5 inches. They are from different sources too: the blank back of lightweight cardboard packaging (canned drinks, Stevia, spiral notebook covers) and purchased card stock that is probably over 15 years old – all cut to size. I did more fill color than shading in January.

January 04, 2017

Zentangle® – December 2016 – part 2

January 04, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

I continued making owls out of toilet paper rolls in December. I lined them up on the window ledge of my office. I always start out with the eyes and try to make them different than the day before. I like the Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker because it overcomes the brown of the cardboard.

I try to vary the patterns as well although minor changes in a pattern make it look different enough. When I am creating them – I don’t think about gender…but afterwards I sometimes get an impression. The one in the middle below looks feminine to me!

The spiral highlight in the eyes was an idea I got from an owl on a ceiling fan pull chain that my sister bought for me as a gift.

I was looking at a book about algae, diatoms, and water plants and used one (upside down) as the starting point for the body of the middle owl.

The owls are in the order that I created them….it was well into the month before I used a color other than black!

Once I started using colors – I continued…. although the purple looks very close to black.

The last one was ‘Christmas’ inks (on Christmas) but the red looks too orangey to me. That’s the last owl for December! I like them on the window sill!

January 02, 2017

Zentangle® – December 2016 – part 1

January 02, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

I did so many Zentangle® sessions in December that I’ve divided then into 2 posts; this first one is the ‘tiles’ only.

The first group is normal square tiles. The ones that look light brown are cut from boxes of canned drinks. Sometimes the indentions from the cans make circular shapes that I use as strings. I like the light weight cardboard; it absorbed ink well and is easy to handle. It’s a little harder on the paper cutter than card stock. As usual – some of the designs are patterns from Zentangle sites…others are derived from botanical structures, portions of modern art paintings, or stylizing a landscape. Sometimes everything I look at seems to have potential for a Zentangle tile.

The next group is not square…and not all the same size. I found a package of 4 x 6 inches note cards that I cut into 4x3 tiles but there are some that are other sizes too – not sure how I created them.