Diva Challenge #147

I really like the Boo-kee tangle as I can see all kinds of ways to vary it.  Some of the ways others used it had me in awe - incredibly talented people do this challenge every week!  I didn't get quite so creative with my first time using this pattern.  I went graphic with my interpretation: stark black and white, no shading and no color.  I will be playing with this tangle during the slow moments at work tonight to see if I can come up with something creative, so I might have a second entry for this week's challenge tomorrow. 

We'll see.

Diva Challenge #146

Well, I finally had time to finish a tile for the Diva Challenge this week.  I'm not happy with it, but I'm trying to make sure I do at least one piece for a challenge every week.  I figure this will help me to learn new patterns and not get stuck into a rut using the same familiar patterns over and over.

If you want to see some really awesome examples for this duotangle challenge, check out the links for other entries that are posted at Erin's blog Laura's blog (Sorry about that.  I got the Diva mixed up with Erin from The Bright Owl).  There are some stunning tiles!

New Tangle Pattern - Cyrano

Margaret Bremner, CZT and author of Enthusiastic Artist blog, has created a brand new pattern she calls Cyrano.  To me, it's reminiscent of Cadent, but with a bit more interest to it.  Here's the tile she posted using her new pattern with several variations:

She's posted the step-out for Cyrano on Enthusiastic Artist, so be sure to visit and learn how to add this pattern to your tangle repertoire.

Diva Challenge 145 - Part II

Last night, I was working with a Zendala template from Erin over at The Bright Owl blog.  I've finally reached the point where I am not using the templates straight up, but instead using them as my string.  Before, I used to just fill in the template with tangles and never changed anything.  This time, I traced it onto my paper to use as the string or inspiration for the piece instead.

The first thing that came to mind was to use the Quib behind the circular element of the Zendala.  I actually did the Quib before doing anything else.  I should have taken a picture at that point, because it was quite unusual looking.

I have not shaded this piece at all as I like the way it looks.  As I'm starting to do, though, I will print a couple of copies to play with shading or color.

I don't often have two offerings for the weekly challenge, so I had to post this.

Diva Challenge 145

Zentangle creators, Rick and Maria, released a new tangle pattern this past week called Quib. It is a lovely, ribbony pattern that is worked behind, similar to Hollibaugh.  As soon as I saw Quib, my brain went crazy coming up with ideas for the pattern - I have several variations I'll be working on.

Naturally, this week's Diva Challenge is to use Quib in our piece.  I worked on this yesterday afternoon and then in slow periods at work.  I may do a second entry for this challenge since I'm done early for a change and I really want to keep playing with Quib.

I became a bit ambitious in the piece I did, as I also added a couple of patterns I've never tried before, so I was attempting three new patterns: Quib, Dragonair, and Fricle.  I did mess up the Dragonair because I was doing it by memory.  Not a good idea for me.  Luckily, it still came out looking okay, I think.  The little swirly things in the upper left of the piece were fun.  I didn't go by a pattern, but I wouldn't be surprised to find out it is a named pattern somewhere.

If you haven't tried Quib yet, you can find it on TanglePatterns.

Fun at work

It was a bit slow at work last night, so I had time to play with tangling.  I'm really liking Mi 2 so I wanted to spend more time with it.  And for once, I went with the flow as I was tangling and I am happy with the resulting tile.

Tangleation: Mak-rah-mee & Btl Joos

While this didn't come out exactly as I pictured, I had fun drawing it out.  Now that I'm more familiar with some of the patterns, I'm letting more of my own creativity out.  Up until now, I've mostly just used the patterns I've found and I tend to stick fairly closely to the sections of my strings.  I'm feeling more comfortable with it all and am starting to experiment.