One Zentangle a Day

pieces of all the same height. I broke the edges away to create the four deckle edges. I drew the tangles across the four pieces using the above technique.
    The mix of orange, semiopaque, and clear areas on this piece of mica are perfect for this technique. ArtGraf water-soluble graphite was used for shading.
    This piece was created using the same technique, and then Liquid Pencil was applied in the shadow areas and on the front in the negative areas.
    This piece was created from odd industrial mica parts. Resin was placed in the center to magnify the small drawing in the center frame.

DAY 40 LETTERS AS STRINGS
    MATERIALS
    •
Micron 01 pen
    •
two 2B pencils
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white tile
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sketchbook
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8 1/2" × 11" (21.6 × 28 cam)
    •
piece of paper
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rubber band
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colored pencils
    USING CALLIGRAPHY WITH Zentangles is one way that Angie likes to string a tangle. To start her string, she makes a ribbonlike letter using a double-pencil technique. A double-pencil technique uses two pencils held together with a rubber band, forming a broad-edged calligraphic tool. Try this technique on a large piece of paper, keeping the pencil points at a forty-five-degree angle as you glide across the surface of the paper. The ribbon-like marks make wonderful channels for borders and letters to tangle in. You can also band together two Sakura Pigma Micron or Pigma Sensei pens for permanent outlines. Either way, Angie likes to separate the letter from the background by adding an aura around the entire letterform with a pencil. Then, when the entire background is tangled, stop at the penciled aura to hold a white area around the letter. Last, shade the letterform with water-soluble graphite. Another way to add a white aura is to draw a nervous line around the area then tangle up to the nervous line.
    Keeping the aura around the letter even allows it to blend into the piece. If the aura is uneven, it will attract attention.

ZIA
    Each letter in the word
peace
was written with the double-pencil technique, creating a string. Like a Zentangle, the tangles within each of the letters are drawn one stroke at a time. Finery, Shattuck, Zander, Fife, and Bales embellish these letterforms, and then they are finished off with shading and a nervous line.
    The broken-line border around each letter harmonizes their unique shape.
    I love the playfulness of the double-line pencil letters. I find them more stylized, neater, and consistent than most bauble letter techniques.
    Here Angie added color to the text with colored pencils. Achromatic or colored, they remain beautiful.

DAY 41 FOLK PATTERNS AND RESIN
    MATERIALS
    •
Micron 01 pen
    •
2B pencil
    •
Identi-Pen
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sketchbook
    •
white tile
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3 1/2" × 3 1/2" (8.9 × 8.9 cm) piece of Claybord
    •
Mod Podge Hard Coat
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1/2" (1.3 cm) paintbrush
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Gel du Soleil and a UV light or ICE Resin
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Grey glaze gel pen
    MANY FOLK PATTERNS break down into very simple one- to three-stroke patterns. They are the influence for today’s patterns. Research the folk patterns from your or any other heritage for inspiration in creating new tangles. Many of these patterns have meanings you might also like to take notes on.
    The closed coil pattern, which is used for a wild rose, has been used for centuries to symbolize happiness. Used singly it stands for a wish for a happy day, in threes a happy event, and in a cluster a lifetime of happiness.
    Practice these or a few from your own heritage in your sketchbook. When you are comfortable with them, create your daily Zentangle tile. You can combine it with any patterns or Tangleations you choose to use, preferably some that you have created.
    Old patterns and tangles work well together.

Resin
    Today’s ZIA offers a whole new way to add dimension to tangled tiles. By dividing the drawing with two layers of resin, we will create dimension and an effective 3-D technique.
    There are many resins on the market today, but they basically break down into two types. Gel du Soleil requires no mixing. It can cure in twenty minutes when placed in bright sunlight or under a UV light. The light must be able to penetrate anything embedded in the resin for the resin to cure. Two-part resin such as ICE Resin also works for this, but you must let it cure twenty-four hours between layers. Both are very clear and will work for this project. Read all the manufacturer’s directions before you proceed.
    This ZIA also requires a little planning. In your sketchbook, plan the