Marasu is a Zentangle®-original tangle co-founder Maria Thomas named for her sisters Madeline, Rachel and Sue. It’s one of the 102 original official tangles.
Canadian CZT Margaret Bremner demonstrates a fun way to create two Marasu coils intertwined with each other resulting in Double Marasu.
She notes, ‘It’s really quite simple. Begin with an ‘S’ and add to each line, alternating lines, to the edge of your section. Always begin the next line at the line-end nearest the center.”
And Margaret suggests these ideas for more exploration of Double Marasu:
Try it as a square instead of a circle (begin with a squared-off ‘S’).
Giving your initial ‘S’ a large half and a small half results in different widths of spirals.
Doing large spirals gives you space to add a line around one, or fill one with another tangle.
On the right above I experimented with the squared off version and my first example at the top uses more of an oval configuration than the lovely round spirals Margaret demonstrates. For the oval I simply started with a short, wide S shape. Ditto for the squared off version, short and wide. I already had a lot of black going on so I left the second coil white. Margaret shows some good ideas for both coils together.
My thumb enjoyed doing Double Marasu much better when I used a “backwards” S for my starting point, pulling my pen rather than pushing it. {I’m definitely noticing subtle signs of arthritis in my digits when tangling, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised after seven decades of wear and tear. I can’t complain.}
Margaret illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Double Marasu here on her blog and shares several Zentangle tiles and ZIAs with more great ideas for experimenting with this fun tangle.
Double Marasu makes a great string for ribbon-style tangles too!
“… And then some”
Margaret has a wonderful series of tutorials she calls “… and then some” where she takes several Zentangle®-original tangles “on a wild ride of variations“. Truly, you do not want to miss these creative and inspirational tutorials. Look for the links to Margaret’s tutorials on these pages:
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.
Check out the tag margaretb for more of Margaret’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
- 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!
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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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October 25, 2017 | 
More like this: 
Simple but original and very nice to use, thank you Margaret