Greetings y’all and a very Happy Friday to you.
Here in the USA, there’s a pretty good chance we’re reading recipes online for a thousand different ways to roast a turkey and/or make a zillion different sides and desserts to go with. At least that’s what I’m doing. (And there’s just two of us, go figure but it’s a ritual!) Our Thanksgiving Day approaches next Thursday the 23rd and the grocery stores and markets are all kinds of fun to shop right now, overflowing with abundance to share. And to be extremely grateful for our bounty.
Here’s abundance of a Zentangle® kind …
Our interesting woven-looking tangle for the day, Mr.C, comes from South Korean CZT James (Jong Seung) Lim and it’s his third on the site, along with Ganada and Ungto Turn.
James writes,
I dreamed of a world of Lines where the solidarity of tanglers holding hands is further expanded, and everyone who enjoys the Zentangle Method™ becomes solidarity. And I came up with the idea of a new tangle from the image of “Infinite Loop”.
This tangle uses only the C-curve out of the five elemental strokes. It is simple, but it is possible to create a solidarity loop that can be infinitely extended with just a C-curve. Tangle was named “Mr.C” and subtitled “The Loop of Solidarity”.
Tangle “Mr.C; Loop of Solidarity” was presented to Korean CZTs in Korea during the first hour of this year’s workshop. I hope many tanglers around the world enjoy my new tangle.
For those unfamiliar with Zentangle’s elemental strokes for deconstructing a pattern to be drawn as a tangle,
“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.“ ~ from the Zentangle blog
For an ingenious example of these elemental strokes used together as a tangle, be sure to check out CZT® Mina Hsiao’s Dicso. (Note: Not disco!)
To get the smoothest results with Mr.C, when you reach Step 4 the “take-off-and-land” technique comes in very handy.
James illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Mr.C below and in the three tiles above he shares some ways to vary the tangle with fills, color and shading.
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 jamesl for more of James’s tangles on TanglePatterns.com.
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Share your tangle on TanglePatterns
Everyone is invited to share patterns on TanglePatterns.com, you do NOT need to be a CZT. In order for patterns to be considered for publication they must be submitted to me by email. In other words you have to let me know about them.
For a submission to qualify as a tangle it must be a genuine pattern (“a repeated decorative design”) and not “a thing to draw”.
From The Book of Zentangle:
“Keep it Non-representational. Zentangle artwork is intended to be non-representational. Zentangle’s elemental strokes are also non-representational.
We don’t teach complex elements such as hearts, stars or flowers. Tangles are also non-representational.”
Remember that tangles never start with pencil planning.
"A tangle has no pre-planning with pencil guidelines, grids or dots, no erased lines."
If you need a refresher on what makes a tangle, read the A PATTERN IS NOT ALWAYS A TANGLE page on the ZENTANGLES menu bar at the top of any page.
For details on how to submit your pattern for consideration visit the SUBMIT YOUR PATTERN page on the top menu bar of any page on the site. On that menu you will find these two pages:
The first page includes instructions on how to prepare and send your JPGs. (Please save me time and do not send PDFs). It also includes a link to this PDF submission form.
When your examples include additional tangles from the site, please list them in your email. (This saves me time and my memory some wear and tear.)
If your pattern is posted on your blog, attach your steps and tile JPGs to your email and be sure your email includes the direct URL so I can link to it.
And remember, to quote Zentangle's co-founders Rick and Maria: tangles should be "magical, simple and easy to create", non-objective patterns of repetitive strokes that are easy to teach and offer a high degree of success to tanglers of all ages.
"Keep the tangles as little like 'drawing something' as possible."
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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.
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Mr. C is a fabulous tangle and I adore how I can explore shading and colours with it <3 It’s very relaxing drawing and connecting the C shapes together!