CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher) Holly Atwater filled in for the Diva in setting forth this week’s challenge. She asked us to do a “Tritangle”, using the following tangles:
Trio (pattern by CZT, Hanny Waldburger)
Huggins (by Zentangle)
Xyp (by Zentangle)
I had no familiarity with these tangles and I’m not sure I’ve quite mastered them. However, I think that “Trio” has the potential to become a favorite. Like Holly, I believe I’m partial to swirls. I have resolved to be more swirly the next time I use Trio. Without further ado, here’s what I came up with:
Today is Veterans’ Day in the United States, the day we honor all those who have been willing to put their lives on the line in our armed forces. Ever since the Vietnam War, here in the United States, we have resolved to separate our feelings about those who serve from whatever we think about the governmental policies that send them into battle. We honor their willingness to “give the last full measure of devotion” in defense of their country. (That phrase was used by President Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address in 1863 when he dedicated a military cemetery after a battle during the American Civil War, a war in which more American soldiers died than in World War I and World War II combined.)
In the United Kingdom and in her Commonwealth nations, the red poppy is a symbol of remembrance. Remembrance Day is celebrated on November 11th—in recognition of the end of World War I at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. That war was supposed to be the War to End All Wars. Needless to say, it wasn’t. In honor of our veterans, today I felt moved to tangle this:
“In Flanders fields the poppies blow; Between the crosses, row on row”. This is the first line of a famous poem by a Canadian physician, John McCrae, “In Flanders Fields“, written at a medical aid station in Belgium during World War
I visited the World War I battlefields around the Belgian town, of Ypres (Ieper), an area of horrific trench warfare. If you are a student of history, I recommend a visit which should also include the charming town of Bruges (Brugge).
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh wow! That Trio is solo great! I really like how you did this. Love your tile and your poppies.
J’aime bien ces perles qui tombent et ce ‘Trio’ on dirait un bijou !
Awesome! Those poppies anre incredible! And your trio tangelation is gorgeous! Well done!
Two extremely well drawn pieces here, Suzanne. The poppies are lovely and I echo your sentiments but the tile really impresses me. And you say you are unfamiliar with the patterns… hmmmm
Like you, I have visited the Flanders Fields area and was stung by the pathos of it all. We took a group of students some years ago and it was telling to see their teenage shells stripped away in the face of what they experienced. Everyone should go; I challenge them to come away unscathed.
Maggibee, I didn’t share the ones I threw away. I know there aren’t supposed to be any “mistakes” in Zentangle, but trust me, there were mistakes 😉
Very pretty tiles. Love the poppies.
Beautiful post. A bit sad, but well put. Thank you.
Beautiful work, very well drawn!
I love both of your tiles! And especially love your message!!Beautiful work! :0) Share Humanity
Lovely tiles.
Well, I think you are swirling, twirling, trio’ing and tangling terrifically, Suzanne! I’m on the exact same page as you with our armed forces vs the government who sent them there. I make it a point to a thank a current or retired member every chance I get. It’s amazing how much that little gesture means to them! 🙂
I’m thinking that I’m getting close to moving my Zentangling to its own blog. Vamos a ver. Thanks for stopping by, Mike.
I like the challenge piece, but LOVE the poppies!
Love your Post, Suzanne. Both of your Tiles are gorgeous. Your Trio and your bead fill is wonderful. Terrific shading on these beads. I love how you have some of the beads falling out. Your Huggins, drawn in columns, is so creative. I love that look, and don’t recall having seen it done this way. Wonderful. Your Xyp is so clean and I love the scalloped Aura. Wonderful shading in both Tiles, and your Poppy pops off the page with that delicious Red.
Hear hear
Thanks for the in depth comment, David.
Hi Suzanne, loved your comment on my blog. I love the poppies – great for Remembrance Day as we call it in the UK -and your Trio is so incredibly 3D and appears so tactile that I can hardly believe it is pen and paper only. Great work. Axxx
Suzanne, both of these tiles are absolutely beautiful! I love the touches of red in the first one – so dramatic and striking. I really need to step out of my comfort zone and start working with colour.
Thanks, Laurel. Sometimes I feel that I use color (colour) as a crutch, but it does help me “say” what I’m trying to say sometimes.
Beautifully written post and two really wonderful tiles. I love the bead effect in the first, and the added color in both tiles is just lovely!
I love your tangles, too. I do think great minds think alike and I am so glad you pointed it out. I really like the poppies. Even though my favorite thing was how you filled in Trio. I am not that good at drawing it but I will practice. Thanks for coming to visit my blog. 🙂
Love your beaded trio! The poppies are great too. Great work!
I remember when I was growing up that many people wore an inexpensive paper poppy on the lapel….and that was in the USA. Why have we lost that remembrance symbol? You have illustrated it so beautifully! Thank you!
love your two tangles – I especially like your trio and the little circles/bubbles that come out from it. your poppies are quite poignant and beautiful
Suzanne… what a beautiful tribute you created in words and art… I am moved… I appreciate your comments and history of the Veteran’s Day date and your personal experience of visiting WWI battlefields.
You created such gorgeous tiles! Yes… I do have a love for swirls (you should see my signature!) and you created lovely flowing curves in your Trio. It’s a great tangleation and I love how you continued the flow with the beads/tipple descending down from the heart of Trio… makes me think of tears after reading your post. Simply beautiful. THX for participating!
Holly, thank you for this very thoughtful comment.
Nice job on this tile. I like the beads in Trio and how some of them are dripping down the tile. Must have taken a great amount of patience to do all those beads and the highlights. Like the touch of color. Nice tribute with the tangled poppies.
Donald, for some reason I have a scary amount of patience for tangling.
Oh wow – your Trio is a dream! I really like this variation and the “drop-effect” of it (I hope you know what I mean…)! Looks great 🙂
Many greetings to you from germany and have a nice weekend!
Sandra, I think I know what you mean by the “drop effect”. I need to get my trios to be stouter.
Beautiful artwork – and thanks for explaining the poppies – I kept seeing what I now presume were “poppies” worn by sportscasters, etc. around Veterans day and wondered what they represented.
“In Flanders fields the poppies blow; Between the crosses, row on row”. The line sounds familiar – I’m sure because famous, but it hasn’t crossed my radar in a long, long time. That line is killer – what a powerful, evocative assemblage of words. I should read the rest of the poem!