One Zentangle a Day

point.
    Looking at the second tile, notice how patterns seem to be magnified, different from the first tile. Judy is big on negative space, allowing patterns to migrate in and out. She enjoys relaxing with pen and tile each day.
    Judy did this tile shortly after she had become a serious tangler.
    This is a perfect example of how artists use reflection to explore new directions in their work.

Creating Your Own Fabric Prints
    Prewash fabric before bleaching and dry before applying the bleach. Armed with black cotton duck cloth and a bleaching pen, Judy lined off predetermined squares with the pen. It is easy to see the progression from full circles that radiate out from a center to the circled areas that stop and start, appearing to remain tucked behind each other. This is a variation of Sez. The bleach is left on the fabric about two hours for this pillow.
    The fabric is rinsed and dried after the desired color is achieved with the bleach. Armed with Tulip paint pens and Sensei pens, she scattered patterns around, balancing lines, dots, and squiggles. Use Inktense pencils to add color where needed, and touch some areas with a wet brush to intensify the color. A challenge is choosing the correct color pencil on the tinted bleach to achieve the desired final hue. To coordinate the focal design with the accent fabric, Judy used a gold paint pen to echo the tiny cheetah print, lines, and extra-thin outline around the square shape. The lightest areas of the lines are the untouched, originally bleached lines.

Bleached Ensemble
    The bleach set on the fabric overnight to begin this tribal-like image. Test a sample of the fabric as all fabrics have different dye bases and the bleached lines will vary from fabric bolt to bolt as does the length of time the bleach needs to be left on the fabric.
    Judy was inspired by the ensemble set of tiles for this high-contrast creation. Spacing is important so all the lines don’t run together. Cognizant of scale and pattern detail, Judy drew simple images, leaving negative space for contrast. She used the Tulip paint marker and gold paint pen to enhance the bleached areas.
    Judy’s attention to detail is seen in the repetition of the cheetah print from the backing fabric into select areas on the duck cloth.
    Judy has a series of tribal pieces ready for upholstery, garments, custom designs, and home accessories.

DAY 39 DRAWING TEXTURE AND DRAWING ON MICA
    MATERIALS
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Micron 01 pen
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2B pencil
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sketchbook
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white tile
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mica
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Identi-Pen
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ArtGraph water-soluable graphite
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small round paintbrush
    TEXTURE IS ANOTHER ILLUSION that artists create to bring interest to an art piece. Some of the tangles, such as Shattuck or Warmth, are textural by nature. Patterns that are not textural can be altered to appear that way. Changing a part of the pattern to be larger than other areas, such as in Warmth, is one way. Breaking a solid line of a pattern into a broken line and using perfs and stippling are other techniques that can create texture.
    Use some of these techniques on the patterns you draw on your daily Zentangle tile to give some of your patterns texture. Use a white tile and an achromatic scale on the tile with any patterns or Tangleations of your choice. Try to include at least one of the new patterns you have created.
    This is a great warm-up exercise and a chance to change a pattern you do not enjoy using into one you will use more.
    Taking our tangles out of the box takes our work out of the box.

Mica
    Mica is a mineral that comes in many colors. Industrial grade is usually orange because of the shellac that holds it together. It is sanded and tends to come in sheets that are about 1/8-inch (3.2 mm) thick and opaque in nature. Natural mica comes in many colors, including green, white, orange, and clear. Today’s projects are made from a mix of the above, which can be found on the Internet. Most of the pieces used came from grab bags of deckled or colored mica. Mica can be separated into thinner layers and in most cases is transparent or semitransparent. The same technique was used to create the first two pieces. I used a Pigma Sensei 03 pen. I look at the natural patterns on the mica and use that as my string. On any ascending line, or line of the design that was in the forefront, I drew it on the front. Any descending line or line that was from the background, I drew on the back. Try creating your own tangle on mica.
    This ensemble started out as four