How to draw BATIKI

Batiki is Texas CZT Sandy Hunter’s tangle deconstruction and it was inspired by a pattern on some fabric, just as Ria Matheusen’s recent Ilac tangle was also inspired by fabric.

Batiki makes an even dozen of Sandy’s tangles on the site, good ones all. She writes,

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my thirtysomething years on this planet, it is this:

Don’t believe everything you hear.

If there is one other thing I’ve learned, it’s this:

If you’re looking for patterns to deconstruct, go to a fabric store.

Fabric stores are indeed concentrated collections of potential tangles, almost overwhelming in choice. The challenge is to distinguish those patterns that can be “drawn as a tangle”:

“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. ~ Zentangle blog

The operative word in the last sentence is “pencil”: tangles do not begin with underlying pencil structures or preplanned pencil grids. Many of our tangles begin with inked grids that form the basis of the tangle’s structure and its strokes are integral to the tangle.

Based on a dot grid, Batiki is unique for the unusual shape it’s constructed with, composed of four parenthesis curves which form kind of a rice shape with a waistline. Batiki is very easy and very versatile as it can function as a grid-based fill for a section or as a ribbon or border-style tangle. Lots of potential for variation too.

Sandy illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Batiki here on her blog where she also shows eight variations, including her favorite which she named Oodle. She also includes a photo of the fabric that inspired Batiki.

As you enjoy any of the tangles on the site, please leave a comment of thanks and encouragement to show the artists you appreciate them for sharing their creativity to inspire yours.

Check out the tag sandyh for more of Sandy’s tangles on TanglePatterns.com.

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