Today’s fun and sparkly Arik tangle is from Japanese tangler Miki Watanbe and it’s her first on the site.
Miki introduces herself and her tangle:
I discovered Zentangle® in April last year and have been joyfully drawing many Zentangles every day since then. Currently, I am studying in preparation for the CZT42 seminar in the fall of 2024.
As part of my studies, I had the opportunity to come up with a new tangle. I wanted to create something that captures the essence of sparkling and shimmering. This led me to create this new tangle.
You can scatter this pattern in various places or overlap multiple tangles. Of course, you can vary the size and direction of each tangle as well. Additionally, you can draw different tangles in the spaces between many Arik tangles or alter the ends of the lines for various effects.

In Japanese, we describe something that sparkles and shines as “kirakira.” I reversed part of this word, “Kira,” to name my new tangle “Arik.”
Isn’t it great to learn a new tangle and an interesting word in another language all at the same time.
Arik shares DNA with CZT Jody Genovese’s recent Hush tangle, both constructed in completely different ways.
Miki illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Arik below and includes a tile demonstrating ideas to “alter the ends of the lines for various effects.”

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. “We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.” ~ Albus Dumbledore
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 mikiw for more of Miki’s tangles on TanglePatterns.com.
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Share your Tangle on TanglePatterns
Have you created a tangle you'd like to share with the community? I'd love to see it.
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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.
Not every pattern will be selected for publication, but I sincerely appreciate everyone who takes the time to share their creativity and contribute to TanglePatterns.
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
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A lovely, simple and effective new tangle, Miki!! Your variations are fun and whimsical too. So glad you submitted it for publication here. 🙂
this looks fun, thank you!
Miki – Thank you so much for your tangle, Arik. It is light, airy and beautiful.
Your tangle is beautiful. Thank you very much.