How to draw BRIXBOX

Hello friends, so lovely to see you again 🙂

Today’s BrixBox is both a tangle and a grid/reticulum, as many of our tangles have the potential to be. I’m sure there’s little need to point out how endlessly versatile this tangle can be. For my example I decided to leave it pretty bare-bones so you can visualize how just about any tangle or embellishment in any configuration can go in the BrixBox-es.

BrixBox is from Dutch tangler Anneke van Dam, it’s her third on the site and it’s another tangle from the archives. I was reminded of BrixBox recently when the same pattern was submitted by CZT Colette Carlson. So with thanks to Colette for the memory jog …

In her post, Anneke explains she was inspired to deconstruct BrixBox when she came across this stunning example of a type of origami by Daniel Piker on flickr. “I looked at them with Zentangle eyes of course!! Wow, could they be deconstructed to make a nice tangle pattern?”

The main tip Anneke gives, and I assure you it makes BrixBox easy as pie to tangle, is to start from the center with the large square box, then add the quarter-size box at the lower right corner of the the large one (unless you’re left-handed, then you’ll want to go for the lower left side). Then TURN TURN TURN your tile as you repeat adding the small boxes in that same position. Turning your tile is the key to this tangle. You’ll easily see where the large boxes fit in as you turn the tile and add the smaller boxes.

Once you have your BrixBox in place, then you can decide whether to simply leave it as-is as a texture, or embellish it in any one of the limitless ways possible, as Anneke notes:

Use your own imagination and don’t forget to play with the tangle patterns we normally do in the basic “square” grid: Beelight, Yincut, Emingle, Warble, Stoic/Twile…. You’ll be surprised about how BrixBox as your grid makes a difference, it offers many new opportunities!

Anneke illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing BrixBox here on her blog where in her addendum to the post she includes a great ZIA example of it used randomly as pieces of a grid and filled with a variety of tangles.

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Check out the tag annekevd for more of Anneke’s tangles on TanglePatterns.com.

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Before sending your pattern, please take a few minutes to review What Makes a Zentangle® Tangle? and How to Submit Your Pattern Deconstruction to TanglePatterns. These pages on the SUBMIT YOUR PATTERN menu explain what qualifies as a tangle and how to prepare your pattern.

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When you're ready, simply send your pattern by email following the instructions on the submission page.

I look forward to seeing what you've created.

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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. What Makes a Zentangle tangle? 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. Patterns that are drawings of a recognizable naturalistic or actual object, figure, or scene, are not tangles, and tangles never start with pencil planning.
   • A pattern is not always a tangle.
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   • Un diseño no es siempre un tangle — ¿Qué es un tangle?
7. How to submit your pattern deconstruction to TanglePatterns
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