At first glance when I received CZT Hsin-Ya Hsu’s Balo tangle for consideration I thought it was Florida CZT Vicki Bassett’s Fandango.
However on closer study I realized they are two different patterns. Similar, but not the same.
Hsin-Ya’s inspiration for Balo was this pretty beaded bracelet, which she then deconstructed for us to draw as a tangle.
Zentangle® co-founder Rick Roberts writes,
“Drawn as a tangle” means that you repeat a series of elemental strokes in a certain structured way so you inevitably end up with a particular pattern without needing to know what the pattern you are creating is supposed to look like.
Usually the number of elemental strokes needed are 3 or less. Often, you only need one or two. By “elemental strokes” we mean a dot, a straight(-ish) line, a curve (like a parenthesis), a reverse curve (like an “S”), and an orb or circle.
It also has to be done without any underlying pencil structure or preplanned grid.
Hsin-Ya illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Balo below.

Image copyright the artist and used with permission, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. You may use this image for your personal non-commercial reference only. Republishing or redistributing pattern deconstructions in any form is prohibited under law without express permission of the copyright owner. For more information, click on the image for the article “Copyrights and your blog.”
And here she features Balo in a lovely piece of Zentangle-inspired art (ZIA) with several other familiar tangle patterns.
Check out the tag hsinyah for more of Hsin-Ya’s tangles on TanglePatterns.com.
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Love that pattern, and will probably start using it as a go-to pattern.
The ZIA is incredibly beautiful, love it love it love it!!!
Beautiful pattern! I really love it.
This is my favorite in a long while. Pretty and fun.
Very clever, intricate yet, simple.
Great pattern! Can’t wait to use it. Thank you!
This is a very beautiful pattern :). I have a question about the copyright. If im drawing anything and I decided to included this pattern on my own drawing, do I have to ask for permission? Im confuse and I don’t want to have troubles with the law. 🙂
Hi Lisbeth, please read these pages:
http://tanglepatterns.com/2013/03/guidelines-for-creating-zentangle-inspired-art-and-products.html
and
http://tanglepatterns.com/2012/04/new-free-ebook-copyright-for-crafters-and-artists.html
Beautiful Pattern:. Thanks
Hsin-ha, this is a gorgeous tangle! Your step outs are clear and easy to follow. I’ve just drawn Balo for the first time and will enjoy including it in my future Zentangle pieces.