Greetings y’all, I trust you’re all doing well or at least as well as you can manage in the general mayhem of things.
Frankly I’m also a bit dazed by all the Christmas craft products and projects I’m seeing around the internet and in my inbox. I’m still trying to get my head around the fact it’s already July-almost-August, so I suppose it’s not that far off after all. {Sigh.}
BUT, we’ve got another cool tangle for us to explore and help slow things down a bit with our Zentangle® practice.
KGI is from Japanese CZT Aya Sasaki and it’s her second on the site. Some time ago Aya shared her Ico tangle with us and we learned that though she’s Japanese, Aya lives in Bangalore, India.
KGI shares DNA with CZT Liz Drake’s Card Trick and both also work great as a container to fill with other tangles too. As Aya explains KGI was inspired by this beautiful example of origami:
This origami is Kazaguruma. Kazaguruma means Japanese toy.
The name Kaza Guruma inspired “KGI”.
When you use the term “origami” in the site’s search bar (top right corner of any page) you’ll find several tangles on the site and some tutorials too, were inspired by the ancient art of paper folding. From Wikipedia, “The best-known origami model is the Japanese paper crane.”
Of course the internet abounds with tutorials on making this model and many others, and there are some wonderful kits including instructions and beautiful origami papers available as well. It’s a fun pastime and a great skill to teach children too.
Classic Origami Paper Cranes. By Laitche – Own work, Public Domain
When I checked the Japanese term “kasaguruma” in Google Translate, I learned the literal translation is “pinwheel”. If you use the site’s search bar for the term pinwheel, you’ll discover several more tangles on the site inspired by this iconic spinning toy.
KGI is easy to tangle, bearing in mind the right angle strokes added in Steps 3 and 4 create the sides of a square. And as you’ll see from Aya’s ZIA tile, it makes an excellent grid (inked) or string (penciled) to fill with other tangles. Or not, if that’s your preference. For my KGI example I added a little Knightsbridge along the edge bands.
Aya illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing KGI below. Her beautiful ZIA tile includes the Zentangle®-originals Mooka, Well (I think?), and Tipple and CZT® Shie Naritomi’s Yumemi.
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. Republishing images isn’t allowed. Thanks!
Check out the tag ayas for more of Aya’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 regularly repeated arrangement, especially a design made from repeated lines, shapes, or colours on a surface”) and not the repetition of “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." 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 Here's how to SUBSCRIBE button (top of left sidebar on any page) 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!
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July 23, 2025 | 
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What a fun tangle this is. Cannot wait to get home from work, and give it a try. Thank you for sharing.