Saturday, June 1, 2013

Grid (Un)Locked

Hi all,

This blog entry is a companion to this newsletter.

We're using this blog to display the images in a larger format and to enable you to join the conversation with your comments.

Enjoy!








Enjoy unlocking your grids!

As always, we will send one of these tiles to a randomly chosen commentator.


Click images for larger views.

77 comments:

  1. Zentangle is so good for me. It forces me to slow down; when I work quickly, the results aren't as good as when I work slowly and meditatively. Also, I hate puzzles and complicated life circumstances but the idea of "anything is possible one stroke at a time" has become a mantra that has spilled over into other ares of life. I look at these and panic initially but then realize they are built simply, one stroke at a time. Thank you.

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  2. Brilliant! This really shows that grids don't have to be straight and rigid!

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  3. I love working with grids! I really enjoy the peace I experience while tangling. I use Zentangle as a part of my prayer and meditation time.

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  4. This is just amazing! I am hosting a swap and I suggested a grid type of Zentangle. I think it will add something to my tiles for sure!!!
    TFS ~ always,
    Cheryl

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  5. I don't typically favorite grid patterns but this is an inspiration.Thank you.

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  6. Tihs is what I love...always learning something new.
    this summer I will be teaching and introducing approximately 169 4-H members to the Zentangle method of drawing. it is always a joy to see their faces and to share this with them.
    Thank you so much for making this happen!
    Carmen, CZT 9

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  7. Oh, this is going to be fun to try....and after Tues.(I am having surgery) I will have a bunch of time to play! Yeaaa, something more artsy to look forward to now during my recovery! Thanks for sharing! As always so inspiring!

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  8. Wow, the possibilities are endless (as with so many Zentangle patterns). Can't wait to try this and then introduce the idea to some of my "advanced" classes...I love Zentangle!

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  9. Great this overview. Will use it in my next tiles :-)
    tangle love, Arja

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  10. i love grids! I also like that you published this in a way that i can print it, and pop it into my zentangle kit as a reference. Thank you!Anna Houston

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  11. This is a great example of how simple it is to create a complex looking tangle with just simple shapes..... "one stroke at a time". Thank you for sharing that!!!

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  12. Awesome! I love grids and I find myself using them a lot more than the more organic tangle patterns. Can't wait to play around with some of these.

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  13. That is too cool! I love the new design element possibilities that grids provide. I'm new to Zentangle and still trying out individual Zentangle designs and working my way through various books. I'm registered for the November seminar and hope, that by then, I have something I'm proud to share. I'm looking forward to meeting Maria, Rick and a host of Zentangle artists.
    I apologize if this is received twice. I had some difficulty signing into Google.

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  14. Awesome possibilities. I need to explore this more.

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  15. Love all the little ideas you put out there for us! I absolutely love Zentangle and sharing it with others. Can't wait to take the CZT class in October so I can start teaching and spread the love even more!

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  16. I love the inspiration and tips in each newsletter. Thanks!

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  17. Love the outcome of this fun exploration. The dimension is incredible! Are you naming all these patterns?? :)

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  18. Very inspiring! I check my e-mail every day to see if you have posted anything new! I work full-time and can't wait to get home and get my house work done so I can get to tangling! It is my new favorite thing to do with my limited free time. Thanks for all the wonderful idea's!

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  19. I've recently discovered this interesting new art form.
    I'm a porcelain china artist and have been trying out some of the Zentangle designs that I watched in videos and seen in the newsletter. Fascinating!
    Judith

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  20. wow - these are all beautiful! I especially love the one Rick did that looks round on the edges. so very cool! I love how relaxing zentangle is.

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  21. Thank you for sharing all that you do ") I love tangling ! Did a really large one last nite (appx 12" x 6 " ) that I am giving as a gift to a friend... I take my zentangle supplies everywhere as they are far more portable than my paints and brushes lol...I have a moleskine book for black and whites, another for color and a 3rd documenting my vacations - all zentangle creations...

    Andrea H...

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  22. I love the grid sampler. All the tiles are really cool. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  23. Can't wait to try this with my students. What a fun way to generate new patterns. Zentangle can take you so many places!

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  24. I am enjoying Zentangle very much as it gives structure to my doodles. I like that I can take a grid and change things to reflect my vision.

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  25. I LOVE Zentangle!!! I am about to travel away for 7 weeks and leave ALL my other craft 'stuff' at home but I am DEFINITELY taking my Zentangle with me. This will ensure that I get some QUALITY Zentangle time which just doesn't happen at home because I have to prepare my other craft classes. SOOOOOO looking forward to (un)-locking some tangles. Thanks so much to you guys.

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  26. Great inspiration yet again. Be encouraged by your encouragement to us all.

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  27. Yeah, I love working with grids and have been doing this style for a while. Love the "left" brain style tangles and this just adds more to it. I will often divide a whole page into grids and work the grid style tangles into the big grid so that they "fit" together. Lots of fun and gives me something to think about even when I'm not actually drawing on the grid:-). So much fun!

    Karen Crittenden CZT. IX

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  28. This newsletter will be an inspiration for my students. I found Zentangles by chance and I know it was meant to be.slowly I've been learning the steps and then when I thought I was ready I introduced my 4th graders to the strings and tangles. We started with 4x4 white construction paper squares I realized this was a therapeutic process for not only my regular students, but also my special children. The very first lesson I used your ideas from the appredience kit thinking this would be a short 30 minute lesson, low and behold 90 minutes later they were still working in dead silence on the tangles. This has turned out to a weekly lesson and challenge. They love this.
    To make a long story short they are going to love looking at you grid patterns and trying them. What a great way to end the school year.
    Thank you for your sharing and beautiful art.
    Jane Patrick

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  29. I love mixing grids with more organic tangles. Finding just the right combination is key - and keeps me tangling!

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  30. Super, another extensive way of giving a grid swish and elegance.
    Thank you!

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  31. Can't wait to try etching this on copper and then hopefully make some interesting jewelry.

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  32. Wow. I can't wait to start trying this out! I'm off to get some paper and pens!

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  33. Wow! I love this new approach...as usual, I am truly inspired by your teachings. Thanks to both of you for enriching all of our lives with this wonderful art form.

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  34. laughingorchidstudio.comJune 1, 2013 at 9:53 PM

    So you are working within a basic square, tiling it over an area to create the over all tessellating pattern. The pattern in the square makes it more interesting than just tiling a square over the area. if you were to flip or rotate the square, but use the same pattern with in the square you would get an entirely different look. I'll have to play!!
    An extension of this would be to use a triangle or hexagon, which also tesselate, as your base shape.
    yep, I'll have to play.
    Sandra Chatelain

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  35. Hello... I love grid zentangles. They're so easy to do and remind me of quilting patterns. I do have to tell you -- I love the use of F4 and its' reverse image by Rick. It's awesome! Maria -- your lettering is terrific as usual. Do you always put lettering on the top of your sketchbook pages??
    Lots of inspiration as usual. :) Thanks!
    -genny

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  36. Awesome ideas as usual. The grid is so cool. I just love the inspiration you share.

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  37. I truly love the grid ideas and the inspiration that i get just from looking at all the different patterns....Zentangle has been a blessiing to me in so many ways....thanks. Lynne

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  38. Your artwork is so motivating. Thant you !

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  39. I love grids and these are such an inspiration.

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  40. What a great idea! Thanks for the grid inspiration.

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  41. All my life I have never been able to draw. Now, I feel like a real artist. Doing Zentangle takes me to a calm and gentle place in my mind.

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  42. Just learning Zentangle....what a great site! I will be hanging around here tonight for hours, just absorbing! Thanks!

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  43. Love working with grids will be fun exploring all these new possibilities, thanks

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  44. Thank you for some much needed inspiration! As soon as I read your newsletter I got cracking. Out came the random number generator and D4 was selected... Even when I'd completed one I had to go again... A2 is in the pipeline now!

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  45. There are times I look at your beautiful work and think,m "Oh how I wish I could spend some time inside your creative minds" then another newsletter comes out and I realize that I don't have to because you so generously share your ideas and thought process. Thank you for another wealth of inspiration.

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  46. I think this will be a wonderful resource for those who are new to Zentangle! So many possibilities! Thank you!

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  47. I love, love, love the grid ideas, especially the ones that look rounded. I enjoy this newsletter so much and love all of your zentangles! So inspiring! Thanks!

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  48. Judy Holzschuh, CZT IXJune 2, 2013 at 10:50 AM

    Your creative minds are an inspiration!This post demonstrates the importance of playing with new ideas, not using only established tangles. Stretch! It would be a great exercise for an intermediate or advanced class.

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  49. Thank you for the great grid tangles. I have always loved pattern and zentangle has made it easy for me to use patterns in my art.

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  51. I love the simplicity, but the permutations are endless!

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  52. The two of you just ooze talent and creativity through every pore of your bodies!! I have so enjoyed doing this and your book is again a work of art.

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  53. You sure get a LOT of comments when you give things away!!! This is a REALLY creative way to look the tangles. I have copied the boxes and will enjoy seeing what I can come up with using them!!! FUN.

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  54. Love these! Grids are great *jump starters* when I need to settle down to begin. :)

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  55. I always seem to be able to lose myself more easly when working with grid patterns, don't even notice the point where my mind quiets and the long lists of things I want to get done fall away and I relax. Not that I don't really enjoy the other patterns the grids just kind of draw me in quicker! Thanks for the all the inspreation! Love getting to see your work!

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  56. grid patterns have always been my favorite and appeal to my need for order. Thanks for sharing all of these great little tangles.

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  57. Thank you so much for this great grid idea. I love the examples.

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  58. You both do such great work and each of you have your own style. Wonderful!

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  59. You always offer such wonderful inspiration! This is fabulous, I can't wait to try it today and in the future with my workshop participants. Thank you.

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  60. I love the fourth design.....it would make an interesting overall tattoo on a persons leg or arm! Not mine of course! It certainly has a tribal look to it. I love this new method of combined grid patterns....can't wait to get out a tile and try it!

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  61. I think I shied away from grids because I thought they were too plain, not "fancy" enough. But that's not what Zentangle is about, right? It doesn't have to be fancy, it just has to be. Thank you for this reminder!

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  62. Love your ideas, they are very inspiring. Thank you.

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  63. Thanks for sharing your ideas. I always enjoy looking at your work.

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  64. I can't wait to try some of these! They're really fabulous.

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  65. I'm intrigued by the grids and will try them out. (And they make me think of Chuck Close's marvelous grids.)

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  66. I have been practicing zentangle and shared this at a Wellness Fair at the agency I work for. I love creating the tiles and have done some freehand drawings of a coffee cup, guitar and birthday cake and filled them in with tangles. Such Fun! i think its about time I got some real training with this. Looking forward to the Gallery opening on Friday, June 7th.

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  67. I love how you both explained the grids! The chart is a keeper, however, I can not, for the life of me, find I-2 in Maria's first Zentangle! I think you must have meant J-2. I love the Zentangles you have shown. I especially like the one Rick used in I-1. Thanks for keeping us educated!

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  68. Again more great ideas to try! Just in time for my summer vacation too! Thank you both!
    Kate Ahrens CZT IX

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  69. A handy tool to help out when tangling!

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  70. These are just beautiful! I'm in the process of creating a space for me to be able to get away. My husband is disabled so my time is quite often "not" my own. Zentangle helps me carve out a bit of "ahhh" time for myself.

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  71. Summer and school is out - great time to try some new fun! Thanks for these ideas.

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  72. this is a fantastic blog thank you for your inspiration :0)

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  73. I love grid tangles and this is another fun way to use them.

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  74. I also love the grid tangles and using them in this way just makes you explore them even more. Brilliant blog entry. I love all the tiles but the bottom one makes me smile so much as it reminds me of a motorhome (RV). We love our motorhome and I am looking forward to some time to tangle while in a field somewhere this summer.

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  75. I thought it looked like an RV as well. A really homey old motorhome!

    maria

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  76. Beautiful work! The last one, before the grid sampler, is my favorite. I love the sense of movement.

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