Harp is our last tangle for the month of September 2020 and it’s from Nevada CZT Jan Brandt.
Harp is Jan’s first tangle on the site though she’s long been a valued contributor with her supportive comments for other artists and their tangles.
With many other fun and popular tangles, Harp shares DNA with the Zentangle-original Cadent.
Jan introduces herself:
I’ve been tangling since 2012. I was hooked within an hour of drawing my first line! My path to discovering Zentangle has truly been a “maze”!
Since I was three (when I decided to become a ballerina), I have envisioned becoming an artist. Any kind of artist. However, since paying the bills is a requirement of adult life, I found my way into a career as a computer instructor, first as a freelancer, then as an assistant professor for several community colleges in southern California.
Several years after I retired and moved to the mountains between Reno, NV and Lake Tahoe, Zentangle found me! As it has for so many others, it slowly allowed me to believe I AM an artist. I was thrilled to attend CZT Seminar #12 in 2013 and I have been teaching ever since. Although I enjoy many other creative pursuits, Zentangle is my passion. 🙂
These are photos of “Dangling Bijous” I created last Christmas, they include Harp and Stella on Bijou tiles.
I learned the process at TangleU 2018 from Annie Reiser, CZT, who called them “Charming Tiny Tiles”. “Dangling Bijou” is the term I use to describe this ornament made by placing 2 tangled Bijou tiles back to back, punching tiny holes through opposite corners, threading a length of very thin ribbon through the top holes and clipping a beaded dangle through the bottom holes. (Two of my students and I make the beaded dangles ourselves.)
I teach the technique to my students, using a variety of tangles, in themed workshops throughout the year, including Valentines, Spring/Easter, Autumn, Christmas and Winter.
In particular, Harp seems to lend itself to a Christmas/Winter theme.
Jan illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Harp below and includes three lovely examples of Harp with and without color. “I chose the name ‘Harp’ because of the harp-like shape of the sections.”
For the gorgeous Renaissance tile shown above, Jan writes it’s “another rendition of Harp I drew on a Renaissance tile. I lowered the center then shortened the lower shapes and lengthened the upper shapes as well as added some fancy auras or ‘lacy embellishments’ surrounding the tangle. This may be my favorite drawing of Harp so far! It’s fun to invent variations of a tangle that looks so straight forward at first.”
Image copyright the artist and used with permission, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. These images are for your personal offline reference only. Please feel free to refer to the images to recreate this tangle in your personal Zentangles and ZIAs. However the artist and TanglePatterns.com reserve all rights to the images and they must not be publicly pinned, altered, reproduced or republished. Thank you for respecting these rights. Click the image for an article explaining what copyright means in plain English. “Always let your conscience be your guide.” ~ Jiminy Cricket
Jan’s last example is “my embellished version of Harp on a canvas tote.”
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! And please share a link to your favorite tangles on social media. Thanks!
Check out the tag janb for more of Jan’s tangles on TanglePatterns.com.
Related Links
- 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.
- What is a Zentangle? — if you are new to the Zentangle Method, start here for the fundamentals.
- Zentangle terminology — a glossary of terms used in this art form.
- 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.
- 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.
- "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.
- Un motif n’est pas toujours un tangle — Qu’est-ce qu’un tangle ?
- Un diseño no es siempre un tangle — ¿Qué es un tangle?
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September 30, 2020 | 
More like this: 
Hi Jan! This is so pretty and very elegant. Definitely a show stopper. Can’t wait to try it.
Thank you very much, Jody! I am a long-time admirer of your art and hope I will see your renditions of Harp somewhere, someday! 🙂
This is absolutely beautiful! And what a lovely gift to give.
Thanks Jess! Dangling Bijous are very fun gifts to give! I believe all of my family members now have one, and several friends as well. 🙂
Oh Jan, this looks great: love the tangle immediately and your tiles are wonderful, thank you very much for sharing this pretty one with us.
Ria, it warms my heart to know that you love Harp! Your art is so wonderful. I hope to see your rendition of this tangle soon … somewhere! 😀
This is so incredibly beautiful! I can’t thank you enough for sharing it. With all that I learned from PP#11, I feel confident that there will be some really nice art happening soon. Congrats!
Thank you, Rita, and you’re welcome! I look forward to seeing what you do with Harp. 🙂
Absolutely incredible! The “Dangling Bijou” is so elegant!
Awwww, thank you Cassandra! Dangling Bijous are SO fun to create with any tangles you like!
Really lovely!
Thanks, Jennifer! 🙂
Jan, I think your design is beautiful. Then, scrolling down and finding the wonderful Christmas ornament idea really brought me joy! I believe I’ll make one for each of my granddaughters who are adults now with their own Christmas trees. They know their grandmother loves to tangle, and I hope they’ll feel the ornament is a keepsake.
I must add one personal note. My heart skipped a beat when I saw your name, because my sister’s name is Jan Brandt. She passed away this past January at the age of 86. She enjoyed seeing all the Zentangles I made, and seeing your name brought her precious memory to mind. Thank you!
Oh Jane … I’m SO sorry you lost your sister this year. xoxo I’m happy to know, though, that your memories of her are precious. My last name is very special to me: it’s the last name of my high school sweetheart … whom I finally married after our 30th high school reunion!! 😀
This tangle is gorgeous. Since I make a few of my Christmas cards, this is surely going to be on several.
Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome, Deborah! I’m so happy you find it to be “gorgeous”. And I’m thrilled you plan to share it with others on your Christmas cards this year!
That is stunning Jan – can’t wait to give it a whirl!
Hello fellow CZT#12! Thank you for the compliment, Carol, and I hope to see your “whirl” with Harp! 😀
Oh my, Linda, I am SO delighted you chose to add Harp to your site today!! I do love this tangle and am very happy to have it shared with “the world” on TanglePatterns! Thank you!!! I am humbled by the responses received so far. 😀
Harp is so-o-o much fun to play with! It requires quite a bit of concentration though! I introduced it to a few friends on zoom tonight and one or two them may be signing up with Tanglepatterns! I just love its feathery grace and potential uses!
Loving this. Thanks for sharing Jan.
Magnifique. C’est un réel plaisir des yeux. Et ces bijoux sont adorables. Bravo
Merci beaucoup! J’apprécie votre commentaire.:)
What a gorgeous tangle! Thanks for sharing.
This is GORGEOUS, Jan! I am so happy for you! Really beautiful. I cant wait to play with it!!
This is a lovely idea. One that my students could tailor to what ever holiday they celebrate! Thanks for sharing. Mary
Jan, so happy to see your beautiful “harp” here at last! Such a lovely and graceful tangle!!
Very nice, Jan! I like the flow of it. I’m printing the step-outs so I can try it sometime; I hope that’s before all the October activities are done. 😛
I’m very happy exploring this tangle! I find there’s lots to play with and create 🙂 Thank you 🙂
Jan, thank you very much for your beautifull HARP.
I tangled two of them and it’s pure fun. So easy and relaxing.
Greetings from Germany 🙂
Stunning 🙂
This is very pretty and it’s great the number of variations you show. I enjoyed tangling it! A side question (because it’s driving me crazy) what is the tangle name that is in the second tile of the step by step that is partially hidden. The one that has a “stem” with rounded top (reminds me of a seed sprouting!) Thank you!
Hi Gem, that’s Maria’s Mooka, a VERY popular tangle!
Thank you Linda! It was just one of those blocks, the more I thought, my mind was blank! Even after tangling with it for a while! Must be the heat ?
Let’s go with that 😉
This is lovely!! I’m a harper, and so the name immediately caught my eye! I do more neurographica than tangling – but must do some of these – and the idea for the ornaments is brilliant! Thank you
Nadya, thank you! I am delighted you like it. 🙂 Ahhhhh, a “harper” … I always wanted to learn how to play. I am a pianist (“all those keys”) so the thought of “all those strings” never daunted me – I just never did it! Also, I’m glad you like the ornaments idea! I make them every year. They make such wonderful yet inexpensive gifts! And each one is unique. 🙂
Such a beautiful tangle and your embellishments to the basic design make it look just like a lace doily! I love the beaded dangles. Do you have a tutorial on how to make them or maybe know where I can find one? Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful design.
Hi Joan, Jan has described how to make them in this post 🙂
Found a home for singleton earrings!