Tips & Tricks

A simple play with the Method

As New Zealand moved into lockdown having been free for 6 months, I thought I’d head back to making things simple. So a nudge to not making life complicated, something to do when you headspace isn’t quite focused. One tile, one tangle, often known as a Mono-tangle. It’s an ideal vehicle for going back to the mindful roots and focussing on the here and now of Zentangle, as you reduce the decision making, putting down one stroke at a time, especially easy with a tangle you know really well. This produces a flow from your pen and encourages your creativity. If you feel under pressure you might just build the tangle on the tile, slowly branching on each element, stroke by stroke, great ones to try are Tripoli, Munchin or Huggins. or you could go a little ‘Crazy’ Huggins……
Or perhaps you want to play, like this wee tile with Printemps. A gorgeous spiral tangle, beautiful for filling in many odd shaped sections of your string. So take each section and draw it with a different attribute, so by the time you have finished you’ll have many tangleations.

Here are some prompts to think about if having an easy play with the tangle Printemps:

– weighted lines
– big and small together
– overlap
– grid like
– round
– ovals
– egg shapes
– with sparkle
– with drama
– with background,
– different rotations,
– heavy dot in the middle – and we haven’t even got to shading options.

Take a moment and a little space for yourself and pick up a tile your favourite tangling pen and enjoy tangling with your favourite tangle!