Ensemble tiles, 9 times the fun...

I've been meaning to post a sample of what you can do with the pre-strung ensemble tiles that you can get from your local CZT or from the www.Zentangle.com website. Below is a completed set that I tangled a while ago for an "ensemble exchange." In this exchange (which is a common thing to do with other tanglers), I kept my center tile and traded the other eight of these tiles for those tangled by other friends. We each ended up with an reassembled ensemble jointly created by the nine of us. My finished group ensemble is out getting framed at the moment. I'll post a photo at some point in the future.

 

So, here's how it works. When the tiles are laid out together in the 3 x 3 arrangement shown here, the strings in which to tangle are pre-drawn across the breaks in the tiles, leaving just the one border around the edge of the set of 9 tiles.

 

These ensembles are created from the same luxurious Fabriano Tiepolo artist's paper used for the blank Zentangle tiles, just utilized in a fun new way. On the back is space to sign your name, date, and add any notes or messages you want to, if you are participating in an exchange.

 

Interested in creating your own? Contact me. I'd be happy to help you.

 

 

Getting zen-spired and sharing it, again!

Admittedly, it's been a while since I posted, but I have to tell you (at least part of) why that's the case. In late March, I attended a gathering of Certified Zentangle® Teachers across the country from me in Northampton, Massachusetts. We spent a terrific and inspiring weekend learning from each other, sharing information, and getting both rev'ed up and a little silly. I know, that's not so zen, but it sure was fun. The only hiccup was the flight delay that caused me to spend an extra night in Hartford, CT, but hey, I had my tangling supplies, so I just chilled in the room and tangled away.

In these classes, I learned more about tangling with color, creating a tangled an "organic garden," and some additional "beyond the basics" ideas to share with my students. Our teachers included Marie Browning and Sandy Steen Bartholmew (love their books!), and I came home with a headful of tangled thoughts, but so excited.

Several of the CZTs which whom I attended certification training were able to make the trip as well, coming from places like California, Saskatchewan, and even Australia, in addition to those from the Northeast, South, and Midwest of the US, and other Canadian locales. The enthusiasm generated by being with these upbeat, sharing and caring people was nothing short of awesome.

Then, to make these last couple of months even better, Jenny, my CZT friend from Australia, made a trip through the Seattle area a few weeks later. We spent our time talking tangling, looking for patterns, shopping for teaching supplies, giggling, and eating gigantic pieces of deep chocolate layer cake at a restaurant in Edmonds, WA. The only down side was the Vegemite she brought along (wink, wink).

So apologies for the dearth of recent posts, but I'm back at it now. Working on a new list of dates for both Beginning Zentangle 101 and Beyond the Basics classes. I have some fun new ideas about the Beyond the Basics classes, which I'll explain here with an update before too long.

I'd like to give a shout out to all of my past students, as well. I've been re-reading your class evaluation forms, and while I'm enjoying that there are so many positive comments (thank you very much), I'm also taking note of what you said you would like to learn, so I can incorporate those things in upcoming classes.

If you already tangle, keep it up. If you would like to learn, contact me to start your Zentangle journey. You won't regret it!