The Zentangle Diva, Laura, took a break from posting her weekly challenges and I admit I was experiencing withdrawal pangs. Although I’m enough of a Zentangle® junkie that I never stopped tangling, especially while watching cable TV news, I missed the discipline imposed by the Diva’s challenges.
She eased us back in gently for challenge #366 with a “Back to Basics” challenge. We are challenged to use the pure Zentangle method with nothing but a 3.5 square inch “tile”, a black pen, pencil and a blender (tortillion). She even told us which tangles to use: Hollibaugh, Crescent Moon, Keeko, Printemps, all tangles by the Zentangle Mother Ship (so to speak). Here’s mine:
Back to Basics using the Printemps, Hollibaugh, Crescent Moon, and Keeko tangles. I confess I deviated slightly from “pure” Crescent Moon, by dividing mine on separate sides of the tile. Fortunately, the Diva isn’t very doctrinaire.
Since I didn’t finish my challenge #366 tile until the day before the Diva posted challenge #367, in a fit of lethargy time management, I’ve decided to combine my posts for both challenges in this blog post. (For those of you who already commented on this post when it was just for challenge #366, you are not losing your mind, it has been heavily amended and edited.)
The Diva challenge #367 is to do a tile using N’zeppel—definitely one of my favorite tangles. I’ve done a monotangle tile, but I’ve used 3 versions (tangleations) of N’zeppel.
I used a black micron pen and metallic gelly roll pens for the color. It’s more glittery IRL (in real life).
Since we’ve been gone for several months, I’ll catch you up on my travels this summer. There have been exactly NONE—not counting a brief reunion with old college friends in New York City. (I went right from high school to college, so when I say “old” college friends, I mean OLD. It’s fun (and maybe a little sobering) to reconnect with people who I first met when I was a relatively clueless 17 year old.)
The lower Manhattan skyline from across the East river in the borough of Brooklyn.
We have a house “down the shore” in Brigantine, New Jersey. During the summer, the dog and I escape to Brigantine from our cave-like condo apartment in Philadelphia. It’s only 87 miles away, but it’s another world. Mr. Excitement comes down for long weekends and telecommutes to his day job.
This is why I’m happy to stay put during the summer in Brigantine. This is the view from the rear deck of our house.
This is an “after the sunset” view of Saint George’s Thoroughfare Bay in Brigantine, New Jersey.
Even gathering storm clouds are dramatically beautiful – except I’m becoming anxious about Hurricane Florence currently aiming for the eastern seaboard of the US as a category 4. Even if she comes ashore in the Carolinas, it’s a massive storm, so we will feel the effects “down the shore” in New Jersey.
You can see why I’m not in a hurry to move myself back to the city.
When I’m not absorbing the view, I’m often tangling. One project has been bookmarks, although I’m not sure anyone under 30 even knows that bookmarks are a thing.
I’ve been kind of obsessed with a tangle I deconstructed (Dinoflor) that Linda Farmer published on tanglepatterns.com a few weeks ago. Have you tried it?
Now, I’m off to see what others have done with these challenges.
Please check out some other tangles I’ve published here on Boomeresque: Phirst ,also on (tanglepatterns.com), Segundo, Tercero, Aurabead, Aloha (also on tanglepatterns.com), Spearator, Springish, Spangles, and Shorely (also on tanglepatterns.com)
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Suzanne! Glad to see you found the Diva is back. I like your nice and simple tile with the nice and simple tangles. So relaxing. 🙂 Your summer place looks so beautiful and relaxing too. I love that view. And yes, I have used Dinoflor. I really like it. I have done some tangling – can’t help myself with that one. LOL But I’m also teaching myself some other art techniques, like watercolor pencils to complement the regular colored pencils. So I’ve been keeping busy. Otherwise it’s been a slow summer. See you on the next Diva Challenge!
That place where you stay in summer is fantastic. That view …….
Good to ‘see’ you back here; like you I’m very glad the Diva is back. I love your tile and the depth in it.
Wonderful tile! Especially I like your Crescent Moon.
And yes … I´m glad Laura´s challenge is back and so the Challenge familiy, too!
It can be very relaxing to go “back to basic”, I like your first tile with nice contrasts and beautiful drawn tangles. Also your coloured one for this week shows a wonderful ‘N Zeppel but my absolute fave are the coloured bookmarks with your gorgeous pattern Dinoflor. I have drawn it immediately after Linda published it on her site and you will see it definitely in the future on my tiles.
Brigantine looks to me a beautiful place, quite different from NY, the pics are great!
We also had a long and hot summer, somethimes to hot to go outside during the day, so there were days that I stayed insite in the afternoons and joined now and than Adele’s challenge and Square One…
Pretty colourful Nzeppel!
Good to see you again. I’ve been un blogged for the last few weeks but now that the Diva is back I think it’s time to get back into the swing of things. See you again soon, M
Love the colorful diva challenge tile! Your view is stunning in all weather…. I wouldn’t ever want to leave!
I love the kaleidoscope of colors. The look like seeds.
Ok. I can see the seeds now that you mention them.