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What is Zentangle?
Linda Farmer, Certified Zentangle Teacher

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How to draw FENTZ

Zentangle pattern: Fentz. Image © Linda Farmer and TanglePatterns.com. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. You may use this image for your personal non-commercial reference only. The unauthorized pinning, reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.(I’m not going to talk about Florence, “the storm of a lifetime”, I’m too busy praying. This thing is incredibly scary.)

From organic to dramatic … from B-Leaf to Fentz.

Fentz is an easy and unusual tangle from Sydney, Australia CZT Lianne Woods and predictably enough is based on a fence Lianne spotted in her neighborhood. Fentz is Lianne’s fourth tangle on the site.

As she notes, inspiration for tangles can be found everywhere,

Tangles, tangles everywhere! Places I often find inspiration for tangles is on fences as I travel around for work.” On her blog Lianne shares a photo of the inspiration for her tangle.

Fentz offers many options for fills and shading and it’s an interesting tangle where flipping/rotating and mirroring the fragment creates quite different results.

It helped me to keep in mind that the strokes all end up either at the grid corners or at the ends or half-way points of prior strokes. You’ll see what I mean when you give it whirl. For my example I restated some of the strokes to make them bolder so they balanced with the rest of the finished tangle after I’d added all those tiny strokes to fill the shapes.

Lianne illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Fentz here on her blog (click the image for the larger downloadable version) where she features it in three Zentangle® tiles with several Zentangle-original tangles.

Notice how in Lianne’s Renaissance tile (the third one) she has used a single fragment of Fentz as a string for her Zentangle. Many grid-based tangles can function as a convenient string in this way so when you’re stuck for a String (although with 250 free strings here in our resource, how could you possibly be?!), give a grid-based tangle a whirl.

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. Your thanks helps motivate them to continue to share!

Check out the tag liannew for more of Lianne’s tangles on TanglePatterns.com.

.oOo.

A word about rulers

Many great tangles begin with an underlying inked grid (reticula) and they are always drawn freehand.

"Just as we point out that there's no eraser in a Zentangle Kit, there's also no ruler. ... With a relaxed focus and leaving rulers and preconceived notions aside, expect to be surprised and delighted." ~ Zentangle blog.

I've noticed quite a few "Zentangles" — and even tangle instructions — around the net where a some type of straight edge, stencil or other mechanical aid has been used to draw the underlying grid. Or even (egad!) to draw straight lines (or circles) making up the pattern within a Zentangle.

As CZT Sandy Hunter writes, "there is no zen to be had in the preoccupation with perfection."

Here's what I say ...

Zentangle is all about you and your pen

So put away the rulers and experience the Zen.

and you may quote me. 🙂

.oOo.

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.oOo.

4 comments to How to draw FENTZ

  • Suzie

    This is so dramatic, I love it! TFS

  • Melena

    A very interesting tangle. There are so many options for filling……..or not. I’m going to have to try this one today.

    Linda, we on the West Coast are thinking of you all on the East Coast. Looks like you might get away from the worst of it in Florida, but I’m sure there will be plenty of rain. Take care!!

    And good luck to all in the Carolinas. If you haven’t evacuated yet, please do so. We want everyone to be safe!!!

  • keetje

    I would so love to share that I use rulers when I zentangle on quilts. I need to use them then, but when its on paper I don’t do it. Love your site.

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