Happy Friday my tangling friends!
As we often do, we wrap up the week with a tangle that might need a bit more focus than the ones we’ve explored earlier in the week. I say might because each one of us is so different and what takes more focus for me could very well be a piece of cake for you …
For quite a while today’s LMaze by Taiwan CZT Curtis Hwang fell into that category of more focus for me. Then one day it suddenly clicked and everything fell easily into place. I’ll explain shortly …
LMaze is Curtis’s fifth tangle on the site. He writes,
The deconstruction of LMaze is inspired by a piece of advertising paper:
This advertising paper uses this graphic to create a frame, which looks very classic and solemn.
It looks like a complicated pattern, but it can be deconstructed with only 8 “L”s.
The combination of multiple patterns is like a maze, so it is named L maze. When you enter it, you will want to find the exit.
And changing the connection between the patterns, there will be different forms of maze.
Interesting to me how Curtis has deconstructed the negative space of his inspiration to create LMaze.
In my first forays at tangling LMaze I had trouble getting the overall shape down so that everything fit together nicely. Eventually I discovered that if I did Step1 then Step 3 (an L then an offset “7”) creating the outer boundaries of the overall shape, then I turned the tile and added the second set. From there it was easy to align the remaining strokes for LMaze. Then I went back and added weighting to the initial L and “7” strokes – it helped straighten out some of my wobblies. I could have continued to connect them as Curtis has done in his example tile but I liked the effect of the individual units.
Curtis illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing LMaze below and he includes an impressive (dare I say amazing?) ZIA monotangle that clearly took patience to tangle and meticulously add rounding and shading. Yep, impressive. Great texture.
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. (Small side note: if you look at the legalese in Pinterest, you are legally responsible for obtaining permission to post every photo that gets ‘Pinned’. Giving credit or sharing the source link doesn’t count.) Thank you for respecting these rights. For more information, click on the image for a discussion entitled “Artists for Respect” by several prominent artists. “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” ~ C.S. Lewis
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 curtish for more of Curtis’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?
- How to submit your pattern deconstruction to TanglePatterns
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
- If you have questions about the TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE, visit the BOOK REVIEWS tab on the top menu bar of any page on the site for COMPLETE details!
|
.oOo. |
|
Enhance your Zentangle experience while supporting TanglePatterns: |
|
CURRENT 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. | |
|
|
|
 |
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. |
|
February 24, 2023 | 
More like this: 
Solving mazes and drawing optical illusions are two of my favorite pastimes, so this is right up my alley! I can see loads of potential already, and I’ve only just done one practice drawing so far 😀
Amazing. This one will take some playing with but I like it.
Very rewarding tangle. Just landed on my sketchbook – so fun. Thank you for sharing!
The resulting negative space design looks very much like a swastika, a thunderbird, or a variation on a greek key.