How to sign up for a free subscription - never miss a tangle!
What is Zentangle?
Linda Farmer, Certified Zentangle Teacher

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

All contents of this website are Copyright © 2010 - 2023 Linda Farmer, TanglePatterns.com, and artists where named. Copying content in any form other than for your own personal offline reference and inspiration is expressly prohibited. No content may be reproduced, pinned or republished without express written permission. This work is not allowed to be used in training AI systems. Commercial use of any content is prohibited. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Artists for Respect
Your support helps keep TanglePatterns available!

RANDOM SELECTOR

Use this Random Tangle Selector with your TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE to help you select tangles. See Pages 7 and 9 of the Guide for instructions. You can also use this to select random Strings: simply pop in any number in the range of 1 to 250.

ARCHIVES

How to draw MEI

Zentangle pattern: Mei. Image © Linda Farmer and TanglePatternsMei is a lovely grid-based tangle from Taiwan CZT Hsin-Ya Hsu and she writes, “I dedicate this pattern to my mother Damy Teng (Damy) on the eve of my birthday (07/18).” Happy Birthday, Hsin-Ya!

This is a very easy tangle pattern to draw and the swirly ones are so much fun. Mei reminds me of Rosé and others which are also formed with swirls, including the Zentangle®-originals Printemps, Snail and Tortuca.

Hsin-Ya’s inspiration for her tangle was this Tiffany bracelet:

Inspiration for her MEI tangle

 

Hsin-Ya says that the bracelet pattern reminded her of Ram’s horns and she adapted the bracelet’s pattern into the following steps for her Mei tangle. She also notes Mei can be draw as either a grid or ribbon-type strip.

Hsin-Ya illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Mei below and shows several ways to vary her tangle in a monotangle. For my example I used another simple variation. While it’s very easy to draw, you do have to be mindful of the direction of the swirls, so following Steps 2 and 3 closely and don’t try to do them at the same time.

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. Click the image for an article explaining copyright in plain English.

Check out the tag hsinyah for more of Hsin-Ya’s tangles on TanglePatterns.com.

Related Links

  1. Looking for tangles by Artist or Type? For details visit the ABOUT > HOW TO FIND TANGLES BY ARTIST OR TYPE page on the top menu bar of any page on the site.
  2. What is a Zentangle? — if you are new to the Zentangle Method, start here for the fundamentals.
  3. Zentangle terminology — a glossary of terms used in this art form.
  4. How to use the site — an excellent free video tutorial showing how to use the site as well as pointing out lots of useful features you might have missed.
  5. Linda's List of Zentangle-Original Patterns — here is the complete list of original tangles (aka "official tangles") created and introduced by founders Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, including those not published online. If you are new to the Zentangle Method I highly recommend learning a few of the published Zentangle classics first.
  6. "A Zentangle has no up or down and is not a picture of something, so you have no worries about whether you can draw a hand, or a duck. You always succeed in creating a Zentangle." Thus patterns that are drawings of a recognizable naturalistic or actual object, figure, or scene, are not tangles. A pattern is not always a tangle — here's what makes a tangle. TIP: tangles never start with pencil planning.
  7. How to submit your pattern deconstruction to TanglePatterns
  8. For lots of great FREE tutorials on TanglePatterns, click on the TUTORIALS link in the pink alphabetic menu bar below the tangle images at the top of any page.
  9. Strings! Have we got STRINGS! Click on the STRINGS link in the pink alphabetic menu bar below the tangle images at the top of any page for 250 different (free) Zentangle-starters. More than enough for any lifetime!
  10. Never miss a tangle! FREE eMAIL NEWSLETTER - visit the SUBSCRIBE page on the top menu bar of any page on the site and sign up to get notices delivered free to your inbox.

.oOo.

Enhance your Zentangle experience while supporting TanglePatterns:

BRAND NEW ! TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE, 2024 Edition

TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE, 2024 Edition The 13th Edition of the TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE is an instant-download 109-page interactive digital eBook/PDF containing approximately 2,000 tangles on the site from May 2010 through December 31, 2023. It's a great resource and a must-have digital tool for using the site. Visit the STORE > E-BOOKS page and help keep TanglePatterns.com going by getting your copy now!

"Linda, Thank you! I was relying on too few and getting stuck after 3 years of daily working with Zentangle. This has inspired me to ‘begin again’ with renewed excitement." ~ Barbara R.

See the BOOK REVIEWS page for more details on its features and view a sample page. Note: this is a digital product you download immediately when you place your order, nothing will be physically mailed to you.
GIFT ORDERS FOR ANOTHER PERSON: To give the TANGLE GUIDE as a gift, visit this page to place your gift order.
If you're new to Zentangle® and tangling, my TanglePatterns.com BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO ZENTANGLE is just what you need to get started. Also available en Français and en Español.

Zentangle Primer Volume 1 This is the only Zentangle book you'll ever need: the fabulous Zentangle PRIMER Vol 1. It's your CZT-in-a-book by the founders of Zentangle®. Visit the STORE tab on the top menu bar or click on the image. For more about the content and to read the rave reviews, visit the BOOK REVIEWS tab.
NEW! Now available in KINDLE format for $9.99. Spanish Edition here. Japanese Edition here.
"Absolutely the best Zentangle Book yet! As an accomplished artist I used to think I did not need instruction on this art form. How wrong I was! My tangling improved by leaps and bounds after reading this book. If you think you have Zentangle down then you need this book more than ever!" ~ Kris H

.oOo.

 

 

4 comments to How to draw MEI

  • Jan Brandt, CZT XII, Reno, NV, USA

    A simple, graceful, beautiful tangle, Hsin-Ya! I love the possibilities for variations as well as the flower-like circle created with a 4-square grid, as your final step shows. I can already see it in a tile I’m working on. 🙂 Thank you for sharing this lovely pattern!

  • Laurel

    Visually interesting, lovely! Thanks Hsin-Ya. And thanks Linda for the links to other tangles with a swirl form. I missed several the first time around. My journal is very swirly this morning. Great way to start the day!

  • Hsin-Ya, you always have such amazing new tangles to share with us!! I’m excited to try this one! I love fiigree patterns!!Thank you for sharing!! ;0) Annette

  • Noelene

    Thanks Hsin-Ya for your lovely pattern, which I could see so many variations. I enjoyed working on your design to get the hang of it. Thanks for sharing it.

Leave a Reply

You can use these HTML tags

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

  

  

  

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.