“You’re probably familiar with the tangle ’Nzeppel. Cockles ’n’ Mussels begins with a random version of ’Nzeppel and moves on from there,” writes CZT® Margaret Bremner to introduce her tangle pattern.
Although tangle patterns are non-representational, the repetitive lines inspired by nature combined with the official tangle ’Nzeppel make for a very absorbing and meditative tangle pattern.
I drew quite a few of examples of Cockles ’n’ Mussels and, possibly feeling more minimalist than usual, liked this one where I only used mussels strokes and left some of the ’Nzeppel shapes open. And a touch of shading. Then I filled the rest in as you see above.
I learned that one secret to Cockles ’n’ Mussels is to ensure you have lots of triangular shapes when drawing your first ’Nzeppel shapes. As Margaret points out, “In some cases you may want to subdivide a section to make more appropriate shapes. You may also want to trim a corner or an edge for the same purpose.” But as you can see, I had several non-triangular shapes that adapted just fine too.
Margaret has the step-by-step instructions for drawing her Cockles ’n’ Mussels (and Clams) tangle here, along with two beautiful Zentangles illustrating this addictive tangle.
Check out the tag margaretb for more of Margaret’s patterns on TanglePatterns.com.
I love this one!!
Margaret – a great one!