No, no, no, no, no … not THAT AI!
This is Japanese CZT Mikiko Moirkawa’s lovely Ai tangle and she explains that the name is the Japanese word for LOVE!
Frankly, I like this Ai a whole lot better.
Mikiko writes,
I am Mikiko Morikawa, a CZT39 living in Japan.
This tangle was created almost as if my hand moved on its own while I was brainstorming designs the day before a workshop.
As I was debating whether to draw Mooka, another Mooka naturally nestled alongside it, as if they were embracing each other in a warm hug.
The name of this tangle, “Ai” comes from the Japanese word for “love.” I chose this name to reflect my wish to continue sharing joyful moments with all of you.
While not-quite-Mookas and a bit more like nestling Printemps, Ai is a sweet addition to our heart tangle resource.
Mikiko illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Ai below and for her tile she uses it as a focal tangle along with familiar Zentangle®-originals.
![How to draw the Zentangle pattern Ai, tangle and deconstruction by Mikiko Morikawa. Image copyright the artist and used with permission, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. How to draw the Zentangle pattern Ai, tangle and deconstruction by Mikiko Morikawa. Image copyright the artist and used with permission, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.](https://tanglepatterns.com/images/ai-steps-mikiko-morikawa.jpg.webp)
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
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Check out the tag mikikom for more of Mikiko’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
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- 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!
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Very pretty! And, just in time for Valentine’s Day!
It is soooo good. It is so pretty.
Oh my goodness, I have been nonplussed lately over some of the patterns but this one takes my breath away. So cleverly done and stunning.
A real keeper you are brilliant?