Hello everyone! It’s been a very busy Monday but I was able to finish all my projects! Yay ME! First I want to share my Diva Challenge tile for this week. The Diva has challenged us to create a holiday tile and if you’d like to follow along, here’s the link for the Diva’s challenge. I’ve been playing around with Eni Oken’s lesson on the tangle Peanuckle by Molly Hollibaugh. Peanuckle can be a tough tangle to master and I was one who struggled with it. Then I watched Eni Oken’s video lesson by the same name and it all fell into place. Like so many lessons, Eni put her own spin on things and suddenly the tangle just clicked for me. Here’s where you can find Eni’s lesson on Peanuckle. I recently watched the lesson again and took another stab at the project. Here’s my sketch pad version.
I posted this in Eni Oken’s Art Club for comments and someone suggested it was ribbons and Pine Cones. That stuck in my head and I thought I would do a color version. When the Diva asked for holiday tiles this week, it seemed the perfect solution. Here’s my Diva Challenge tile number 379!
Lastly, I want to share todays 12 Days of Zentangle videos with my spinner progress! Today’s lesson was given by the lovely Julie Willand, an important member of the Zentangle HQ family. We used the tangles Crescent Moon, Bales, Shattuck, Marasu, and Indy Rella. All of these tangles are well known and very enjoyable to use. Here’s my Spinner progress from today along with the YouTube video link. Enjoy and I’ll see you all tomorrow!
Hey Y’all! Welcome to The Tireless Tangler! I am certainly missing the weekly Diva Challenge! Luckily, with challenge 251 from It’s a String Thing, we are sure to stay active!
As usual, my tile is reflects the influence of Eni Oken’s new 3D grid lesson!💜 Here’s my tile!
Also this week, I finished a fun tangling project and posted a 10 sec video to Instagram which really got a lot of attention! Since then, I posted to Facebook with an even greater response with requests to know how it was done. 💜Naturally, I made a tutorial! It’s live on Facebook now. Here is the first video and a link to the tutorial on Facebook.
This is called a Flextangle. It’s an Oragami kid’s toy that many of us played with as kids. I’ve added a Zentangle flair for you!
It’s time for the weekly “it’s a string thing” challenge! Number 248 was to draw a monotangle using the Zentangle ® Original Tangle, Drupe. I love Drupe but wanted to find a new take on an old favorite! Enter Eni Oken’s new lesson called MicroTangling. I enjoyed this lesson and the techniques it teaches very much! Here’s my Drupe tile with a MicroTangling flair. It was much more zenful than I expected, given my issue with straight lines! Join the “It’s a String Thing” challenge at Tickledtotangle.blogspot.com
I haven’t talked about Eni Oken’s Art Club for awhile as my efforts have been going into my YouTube channel, but I’ve still been enjoying the lessons Eni is offering to Art Club. Because I’m struggling with my concentration, I haven’t caught up with posting the tiles. Here are a couple from MicroTangling, Fragmented Windows, Zenbuttons, and Blue Starfish. You can find Eni’s lessons here!
The Diva Challenge this week took an interesting turn when I applied Eni Oken’s Tangle Enhancers Card Game. The Diva, Laura Harms, challenged us this week to “Use My Tangle” with her pattern “Somnee”. Somnee is a similar pattern to Zentangle’s “Hollibaugh” and I needed some inspiration to dress it up a bit. I used Copic markers for color, and Prismacolor Pencils for shading. Luckily, I have Eni Oken’s new card game, “Art and Tangle Game“! This game is designed to guide creativity when you’re not sure what direction to take and it worked! I chose 3 Tangle Enhancers. Line weight and rounding, fancy border and color a lá line interrupted. If you struggle sometimes knowing what to do next, I highly recommend Eni’s card game. You can find it here!
And here’s my finished tile!
One last thing I want to share with you this week! I have been given the opportunity to attend CZT 32 (Certified Zentangle Teacher training) in October! I’m so excited about this opportunity! Unfortunately, I have to now raise $2250.00 to pay for the trip! Because I live on disability, and am a single parent, raising that much money is a challenge!
This last week, Eni Oken suggested I start a gofundme campaign. Eni generously donated herself, but then went above and beyond by sharing the campaign in her Shading Fearlessly group. In one day, I’d raised more than $500.00! My secret passion for becoming a CZT changed from a distant hope to confidence as I sent $500.00 to Zentangle, Inc, yesterday! My deepest gratitude goes out to all the people who have donated! A very special thanks to Eni Oken for giving me the confidence to create and promote the campaign! As of this post, I’ve raised $655.00!
Today’s Diva Challenge, issued by CZT, Laura Harms, was to use a “Duotangle” consisting of the tangles “Tripoli”, and “Shattuck”. I use both of these a lot, so I applied myself using one of my “tan treasure tiles” made with Eni Oken’s parchment paper technique on a Zentangle ® Renaissance tile. It was perfect until I added the white gelly roll and a third Tangle appeared. I think it’s a version of hypnotic. So, I missed the Duotangle aspect completely but I still like the tile! 😉
Finally, for your enjoyment, a new Kitchen Table Tangles video! This is a Cadent Tangleation and honestly, I’m still working on it! Rick Roberts drawing is always a pleasure to watch!
I’m finally caught up enough to do the It’s a String Thing challenge this week! Luckily, Eni Oken released a new Blue Sun video lesson the day after the challenge came out and they dovetailed perfectly! Here’s the string with inspiration from the Olympics. The 3 tangles were Golven ( G for gold), Sand Swirl (S for silver) and Barney ( B for Bronze). I’m not sure my tile kept the idea of the Olympics or not but the string was perfect for the Blue Sun lesson from Eni Oken! I used a Bristol vellum tile and a mixture colored pencil and Sakura Pigma Micron and Sakura gelly roll Moonlights. It’s another great lesson for Art Club!
I haven’t been very plugged into Facebook lately, mostly due to behind the scenes work on a new Freeform Celtic Knot Tutorial. It’s almost ready and will include a free pdf with extra Knot configurations! I’m pretty excited to teach it as it has quickly turned very zenful to draw for me. Be sure to check back soon!
Welcome back! It’s time for the weekly diva challenge and I’m grateful to have it finished early this week! In keeping with her heart “strings” in February, the Diva challenged us to used nested hearts this week. Basically, one heart string inside another heart string. The challenge flowed easily this week and here is my tile. The pattern on the heart is Lily Moon’s Drogon. This has been a “go-to” tangle for me for quite some time and I use it constantly! On the hollibaugh stripes is a half shattuck, and 2 variations on my Marito pattern. I finished off with Printemps, Apcross (Step-out in the menu above), and a background pattern I learned from one of Eni Oken’s lessons (Treasure Frames I believe).
My pattern Marito can be found in the pattern Menu above, as well as a video step out with added embellishments you can find right here! Thanks for stopping by!
Hello and welcome to The Tireless Tangler! It’s been awhile since I posted here and a lot of changes are in the works! One thing that hasn’t changed and won’t change is the Artist Focus posts highlighting these incredible artists and the personalities behind the art. I’ll be honest and say that I sometimes am stunned and amazed at who these artists are and how they arrived on my radar! I’ve been admiring the artist this week for quite some time. Her lovely style and composition always combine to create something incredibly beautiful!As I prepared this focus, I was almost speechless at the wonderful person behind the art. This week’s artist in focus is the talented Anica of Zen Linea! Many of you will recognize her art from Facebook and Instagram. I will let you see for yourself what she has to say. Let me introduce you to Anica aka (also known as) Zen Linea!
“Hi, my name is Anica and I’m very happy to be the featured artist on thetirelesstangler.com.
I am a 42 year old living in Croatia. If you asked at least 90% of my friends and acquaintances to describe me, they would tell you that I’m a wife and a mother to a teenage girl, that we own a beloved Maltese dog. They would also know that I’ve been working in the financial industry for 15 years, taking the CFO roles for the past 12. My husband’s and my love for music and traveling has brought us to many cities, countries and a few continents, seeing dozens of concerts of our favorite rock bands and getting to know fellow concert goers with which we share our passion.
Then there is also that precious area of my life that I tend not to disclose to everybody. My nearest friends know just how passionate I am about arts and crafts, as well as those fellow artists that know me from some craft forums, closed Facebook groups or other social network outlets.
As a kid I loved to draw but my professional life took me into other directions so I doodled on every little paper at hand, while keeping my nose stuck mostly in spreadsheets or specific software I used for work. After I gave birth to my daughter, who will soon turn 16, I got the sudden urge to make something with my hands. I purchased some beads and wires and made a set of Christmas ornaments that I use to this day. Later I decided to develop the wire working skills and started making jewelry. I connected to a group of Croatian crafters through an internet forum and spent hours making intricate jewelry pieces. At that time I stumbled upon Eni Oken’s web page and invested in her stunning tutorials. After I decided that it is a shame to waste so much time on craft materials, I started purchasing silver supplies and gemstones and finally decided to take a formal class so I now own a title of a Contemporary Jewelry Designer that accompany my Master of Economics title. I was smitten with jewelry making for a few years, but my daily job started to occupy me more and more, which led to less and less jewelry making.
Fast forward a couple of years and two years ago I came across Eni Oken again, only this time it was to find out that she switched from silver and pliers to pens and pencils!!! You can imagine my excitement when I found out that there is this structured doodle art form called Zentangle! I was immediately hooked, started an online search and tried to get my hands on as many books and art supplies as possible. I discovered many talented and supporting artists which inspire me on daily basis. So here I am today, with an album full of drawings, drawers full of supplies and a brain full of ideas.
I started from the old-school white tiles with black pen for line drawing and graphite pencil for shading. Then I discovered tan and grey tiles and fell in love with the use of white pens and pencils. Getting good quality art supplies can be a challenge in Croatia so on a trip to the US I purchased a big set of Prismacolor pencils. They sat on the shelf and challenged me to try them out for some time, before I finally grabbed them and fell in love with using them for coloring and shading tiles. It is so important to be curious and fearlessly try different directions. I find that my interest in art making is helping me face challenging life decision that not only affect my hobbies. I’ll try to explain why that is so and what Zentangle means to me.
There are many things that I love about Zentangle. Not being a patient artist who works on the same piece for days, weeks or months, I appreciate the small format with a standard 9×9 cm tile size. It is so comforting for me to see a small blank paper tile, as opposed to a big white canvas. You can have only a few fairly cheap supplies, carry them in a purse and draw almost everywhere. You can pick and choose among working on an intricate piece or a simple drawing that can end up being as impressive, or even more so. And even if you opt for a complex piece, you can finish it at one take, right after getting back from work. I tried meditation as a means to relax and recharge but I find my mind wandering and obstructing the process. With Zentangle I suddenly find myself breathing calmly, focusing on one line at a time and everything seems to be so peaceful and simple, just as life should be. My alias that I use on social media sites is Zen Linea (linea is a Latin word for a line) and I believe that those two words are the nucleus of Zentangle art form. There is a lot to learn from mindfulness practices, and Zentangle is a perfect choice for those who tend to express themselves through art. There are many who believe that they can’t draw even a straight line and change their mind while using Zentangle method, getting self-assured and taking back the power, not only to tackle paper and pen, but also other life challenges. That is the power which Zentangle represents to me.
My goal is to keep exploring, try new techniques and art forms and never stop being a curious child with a passion for making things. There is nothing more rewarding than taking something raw and simple, being that a pen and a paper, a piece of wire, an acrylic paint tube, some modeling clay, a piece of fabric or a wire, and turning it into something new, giving it a new life. That’s what everything is about and I’m confident that it pays off to pursue this passion and share it with others.
I have an Instagram account (instagram.com/zen.linea) and a Facebook page (facebook.com/zen.linea) so you can check and see what I’m up to. I am not a traditional artist by profession but I’ll be delighted if my work sparks someone’s inspiration for creating. I am so grateful to many great artists I stumbled upon through all the past years that led me to what I am and what I’m yet to become.”
Anica is so wise in so many ways! It has been a real honor and privilege to get to know her better! I’m a real fan of her art and I encourage you all to follow her social media! It’s always a wonderful surprise to see her newest posts! I also invite you to see my first video featuring Anica’s art on YouTube! This is where I beg you to like and subscribe to my channel! Anica’s art is so awesome with music! https://youtu.be/J-K6Tfdi5l4
I have so many new artists to share and you will love them all! As always, dont forget to leave a comment or like! That’s how I know I’m doing the right things, or complaints are also a chance for improvement! See you soon for the next Artist Focus!
The lovely Diva, Laura Harms has given us our monthly UMT (use my tangle) this week. She has chosen CZT Carole Ohl’s lovely starlike pattern called afterglow! Here’s the step-out at Carole Ohl’s website.
I’ve never use afterglow before. I tend to enjoy the more organic flowing types. Of course, that is quite short-sighted of me before I even try it! As I progressed I started varying line color and width. I used micron pigma 01 in brown, and sepia, as well as a graphic 1 also in sepia.i then applied several of Eni Oken’s techniques for tiny details, and tan treasure tiles. It didn’t become special though until I shaded the star. I love how it turned out. 😀
Dragons! Something most people would love to be able to draw and now you can! Eni Oken released a new lesson about 3 weeks ago and it was a huge, dragon-filled success! Everyone loved it and I’m so grateful to everyone in art club who offered their dragons for this post! From polished artist to beginner, you will see just how awesome and easy this lesson is to draw! Within an hour of watching the lesson, this was my partially completed dragon! Not bad!
All of Eni’s lessons are great and this was amazing! I couldn’t believe how easy this was. You might be thinking “it wouldn’t be that easy for me. I’m no artist!” This makes me smile because a year ago I would have said the same thing. If you are looking for a great lesson to try, this one is a winner! I will say that this lesson is intermediate level, so some tangling experience is helpful. Eni Oken has a great ebook/video lesson library centered around beginner’s needs, so that may be a better place to begin, however I highly recommend trying a video lesson, like TangledDragons, too. There are so many nuances to the videos, having Eni Oken explain the why and how to while watching her lessons, really brings it all together for me.
This is my first complete dragon! It was really simple and honestly, no one could have convinced me that try number 2 would go this great. In our Facebook group for Eni Oken’s Art Club, we have members who have posted more than 10 dragons already. Of course, I’ve been writing and haven’t had the time to draw more. You will all be amazed at what they’ve accomplished.
Some of the artists in art club wanted to share their thoughts about Eni Oken and Art Club. Each of these artists are at a different place in their journey but we travel the road together.
Jenna Black Jenna’s dragon shoes Jenna’s shoes side view
“Tangled Dragons was one of my favorites of Eni’s lessons (how many times have I said that?), and I’m addicted. But while the dragon drawing addiction was still upon me, I happened on a new addiction of tangling on white canvas sneakers. So I figured I’d combine my addictions for a pair of dragon-tangled sneakers. (Here’s hoping I do a decent job of matching on the second sneaker….!)” – Jenna Black, member of Eni Oken’s Art Club
Visit Jenna’s Etsy store here! Her hand painted pendants are stunning!
Visit Tandika.com and check out her terrific blog!
Sallie Binder Sallie Binder Sallie Binder
“Anyone interested in improving their interest and understanding of art and at the same time become a part of an incredibly loving & supportive group of people with all levels of artist expertise, from beginners like me to more accomplished artist like many in the group, then Eni Oken’s Art Club is the place you want to be. I joined this group about 6 months ago and it was the best decision I have ever made. I’ve not only improved my artistic skills considerably, the joy factor in my life has immensely increased. Now a day with art is like a day without sunshine. Do yourself a favor and look into this opportunity at enioken.com. You won’t regret it!!” -Sallie Binder, member of Eni Oken’s Art Club
Mabel Yap
Mabel Yap
Mabel Yap
“Eni’s classes have constantly challenged me beyond my comfort zone and brought my tangling to places I’ve never thought possible.” – Mabel Yap, member of Eni Oken’s Art Club
Violette Kolly
“I always look forward to Eni Oken’s videos, every lesson gives you the opportunity to discover new techniques, and make new progress. And what a fun! I never thought I would ever draw dragons!!!” -Violette Kolly, member of art club
Carrie James
“This was my third attempt at a dragon following Eni Oken’s wonderfully inspiring and step by step technique. Really amazed myself, suspend your disbelief and give tangling a try.“ – Carrie James, member of Eni Oken’s Art Club
Carmen Clayton
Carmen Clayton
“I have gone crazy over the dragon challenge Eni Oken threw out there to us! If there are any tanglers out there or someone who would like to learn how to tangle, I urge you to join Eni Oken’s Art Club! Not only do you learn how to draw and shade properly for a low monthly payment but you get at least two videos/lessons a month with a lot of interaction from your new found friends and Eni too (friend) helping, encouraging, and supporting you in you tangling or even personal encouragement if you want to share! It is a fun group and Eni has taught us, me at least, a lot of tiny details! Come and join the fun and learn!!” – Carmen Clayton, member of Eni Oken’s Art Club
Vivica Chenoweth
Vivica Chenoweth
“I love Eni’s Art Club. I’ve learned so much from her and my art just keeps getting better. The Tangled Dragons lesson was fantastic! Eni’s videos are the perfect combination of Zentangle art and professional instruction. Her detailed directions and tips are wonderful and easy to follow. Most of all they are fun!” – Vivica R. Chenoweth, member of Eni Oken’s Art Club
Follow Vivica on Instagram: @vrchenoweth
Magda Wellens
Magda Wellens
Magda Wellens
Liz Brott
Liz Brott
Follow Liz on Instagram @tangledrebel
Sandra Mitchell
Sandra Mitchell Sandra Mitchell
Sandra Mitchell
“I love the Art Club. Without it I would never have tried to draw dragons. I never would have tried them and I love drawing them. It has totally opened new doors for me. And the support I have received from everyone is worth the world to me.” – Sandra Mitchell, member of Eni Oken’s Art Club
This post took on a life of it’s own. The more dragons that came in, the clearer it became how this lesson resonated with members. Click here to get Eni Oken’s TangledDragon Lesson! If you’d like to join Eni Okens Art Club click here.
Now, for one final disclaimer!
This blog is mine, the ideas for posts, words, and intent are all mine. Eni Oken has graciously allowed me to become her first affiliate marketer. Since I’m writing about art club anyway, and I’ve been searching for a way to defray the rising costs of running this blog, this seemed a perfect fit. What does this mean for you? If you should decide to join art club and decide to use the link on my site, I may earn a small commission. This is the only business arrangement Eni Oken and I have. She does not pay me for advertising or for promoting her site, or Art Club. Enioken.com is not responsible for any content on this site nor any mistakes that may be made by me. Eni Oken is an amazing teacher and person and it is with gratitude for her contributions to my life and art that I write so passionately about Art Club! – Cyndee Pelley, thetirelesstangler.com
The Tireless Tangler 