This week’s String is shared by tangler Judy Okawa for your creative enjoyment.
This is Judy’s first String in our community resource and she writes,
“This string is based on the pattern which I saw on the Japanese tea bowl in this picture From: http://www.dailycompass.org:
The caption on the picture said that ‘the Japanese art of kintsugi involves filling the cracks in a broken pot with gold, highlighting the broken places with beauty rather than trying to hide them.’
That seems to fit so well with the Zentangle concept of ‘no mistakes’….“
Bear in mind that Zentangle® strings are guidelines, and there is no right side up. Strings are always drawn freehand in pencil so they magically disappear into your completed Zentangle.
You can use a string exactly as it is or adapt it to suit as your Zentangle grows. Start with the string as it’s shown then, as you go, combine sections if your tangles want to, or divide a section into smaller ones. Go with the flow and enjoy.
You can help our community’s String resource grow by sending me yours to share. Remember to keep them simple, Zentangle strings are not elaborate or complicated. For your convenience, below there’s a link to a template to use if you’d like. The template helps keep the Strings consistent in size.
If you’d like to share your completed Zentangles for others to see, look for the blue ADD YOUR LINK button below. “How to” instructions are there too.
Right click and SAVE to your computer; then print. Pinning of any content from this site is not permitted. Copyright notice is posted on the bottom of every page. Thank you for respecting these rights.
Lightly pencil the string on your tile and you’re good to go tangling. Enjoy!
Reminders:
- Important: Strings are always drawn freehand in pencil so they magically disappear into your completed Zentangle.
- Use any string over and over again with different tangles.
- There are so many tangles available that your Zentangles will always be different even using the same string.
- Or use it with only one tangle — a monotangle.
- Usually each string will have many options.
- The Border (if one is given) is also a suggestion — use it, change it, or ignore it. It’s your art.
- As Bijou says, “Sometimes I even leave a section blank; which is occasionally my best choice!” Bijouism #12 – Choose your tangles
- And remember, in Zentangle there’s no right-side-up!
Related Links
- The Importance of Strings – and String 001
- Template to submit your Strings for sharing – right click link to save this PDF (or click link to open PDF), an instruction page is included with the template. The template helps keep all the Strings consistent in size for the site.
- TanglePatterns Strings group on flickr – another way to share your finished art using these Strings for all to enjoy
- Click on the link “STRINGS” on the alphabetic menu bar above for more Strings
- Linda’s List of Official Zentangle® Patterns – the complete list of official patterns (i.e., created by Zentangle® founders Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas), including those not published online
eBooks available from TanglePatterns.com
TanglePatterns.com STRING GUIDES, Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Sure you can download the strings from the site but this saves you tons of time and as always your purchase helps keep TanglePatterns going and growing. Each STRING GUIDE begins by describing the importance of Strings in Zentangle® and then presents 50 strings from the site’s resource. Strings are given in two formats to jump-start your Zentangle creativity: three pages contain “at-a-glance” size images of all 50 strings, followed by 13 pages of full-size traceable images. Additional String suggestions by several CZTs are also provided. As an added bonus, beginning with Volume 2 each guide also contains blank String Organizers for you to record and organize your own favorite Strings.|
TanglePatterns.com STRING GUIDE, Volume 1 (Strings 1-50) |
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VOLUME 1 - STRINGS 001-050. A 22-page PDF eBook. |
| TanglePatterns.com STRING GUIDE, Volume 2 (Strings 51-100) | |
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VOLUME 2 - STRINGS 051-100. A 24-page PDF eBook includes bonus blank String Organizers to organize your own Strings. |
| TanglePatterns.com STRING GUIDE, Volume 3 (Strings 101-150) | |
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VOLUME 3 - STRINGS 101-150. A 24-page PDF eBook includes bonus blank String Organizers to organize your own Strings. |
| TanglePatterns.com STRING GUIDE, Volume 4 (Strings 151-200) | |
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VOLUME 4 - STRINGS 151-200. A 24-page PDF eBook includes bonus blank String Organizers to organize your own Strings. |
| TanglePatterns.com STRING GUIDE, Volume 5 (Strings 201-250) | |
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VOLUME 5 - STRINGS 201-250. A 24-page PDF eBook includes bonus blank String Organizers to organize your own Strings. |
| Visit the STORE > E-BOOKS page for more information and support TanglePatterns.com by getting your copies now! | |
May 21, 2016 | 
What great ideas! Fixing broken pottery to make it more beautiful, and then using the crack pattern as inspiration for a string. I googled kintsugi and found many more string ideas. Thank you so much!
Sara, thanks for your follow-up suggestion! After I read it, I checked out kintsugi on Google Images, and, as you said, found lots more ideas…. Thanks!
I love this string! And it can be changed in so many ways! Thanks for the inspiration – it will be my next greeting card string.
Would love to see the greeting card you do!
I love this string. So,I decided to post the tile and share it with you. This is a first time for me to do this.
Thank you, Judy Okawa, for sharing this string with us.
Thanks for sharing your tile! I love your combination of tangles, and how Zinger grows out of Rixty!
Thank you Judy! I’ve been working through the Zentangle Primer Vol 1 and fell in love with these basic tangles all over again. It was fun to do something different with them.
What a fantastic idea to rescue all this pottery – looks amazing! And how appropriate for Zentangle! Thank you for sharing this Judy.
Thanks for your feedback! Like you say, it’s really interesting to think about how we can apply this idea to Zentangle….
Thank you so much for this idea Judy. I just looked up Kintsugi on the internet and now I want to not only use the pictures for string ideas, but I would love to try repairing a broken ceramic piece. I may actually have something in my cupboard that I didn’t want to throw away and now I know how to fix it beautifully. Thank you Linda for posting the links about Kintsugi.
It seems to me that the concept of kintsugi could be applied to a collaborative between an adult and a very young child. Give the child a gold crayon and a tile and let them have a go-at-it. Use their precious art as a string.