Welcome to BLOG Zentangle. To learn about Zentangle, visit our website, read our free newsletters, take a class with a local Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT), and best of all . . . create your own!


Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Doing the dishes

It is always fun (for me, anyway) to find new homes for my Zentangle tiles. I like them gathered around us in and about the house, not safely tucked away in a book or drawer. They seem to take on a function, a reminder of all good things. I like to just stick them on the walls with architectural putty (also called blue tack or white tack). I use this silly putty-esque feeling semi-sticky mounting stuff all the time, to keep dishes from sliding, to keep pictures hanging straight. I also use it to stick tiles right on the wall, be it plaster, wood or wallpaper. Some days I stick tiles to the corners of framed art or mirrors or wedge them between mandolin strings, the tines of an especially exotic fork. With  Zendala tiles, I love to use the putty to stick them to . . .


. . . dishes!

What a fun way to spend a quiet Saturday afternoon, wandering the aisles of no-name antique shops, second-hand bazaars and the like.



I even like to buy ones that have nicks and chips, because I know how they can be rescued by the mighty pen, wielded in Zentangle fashion, adorning it with tangles and . . . zen.


And, whilst you are out and about in these shops, you can also look for the tiny and wonderful miniature easels, to "pedestal" your new found work of art in a more regal fashion. If the plate is of the plain variety, old and yellowing or crackled ever so, you might add a border tangle around where the plate dips into the center.


A pre-strung plate! Use a Sakura® IDentiPen™ or even better, Sakura Microperm™. You can add perfs all around, then maybe an aura around them. This creates a classic border the likes of which you normally see on the edge of a gilt frame. The easels, you can also find online. (They are not as easily found as orphaned china.)


And, I was able to give one of the tiles a "hand." All us old artists, were certain to have been given these wooden "structures" to practice drawing (wooden?) hands.


You may have some great ideas of your own for presenting your tiles about your house. Tell us about them in your comments. And we will send goodies to a few randomly chosen commenters.


-----+-----

The winners from our last blog post, Walk on the Wild Side, are (drumrollllllll):

ANOESKA

LIANNE

CHRISTINE GARROTT

Please send your snail mail address to zentangle(at)gmail(dot)com and we will send you something special.

R&M

39 comments:

Midori Okasako said...

WHAT A NOVEL IDEA... i wish i had thought of that several years back when my mother had passed.
(i discovered zentangle a few months ago.) my late mother enjoyed collecting various chinaware; far too many for me to keep them all. now, i sincerely wish i had preserved them all to tangle beautiful images everyday in her memory. thank you for sharing. very heartwarming. ~midori

Carol Graham said...

I tried sticking a tile up on the wall with some blue-tac, but when I went to move it, the paper started to pull away on the back. Do you ever have that trouble, or is the stuff I have maybe just a lot stickier? It didn't rip right through the tile, but it tore off the date from the back :-(

Anoeska said...

This is such a clever idea! I love it! I know have an idea of what to give my sister for Christmas, she loves 'antique' plates and I love Zentangle.

Unknown said...

What a wonderful way to display your tiles! I know what I'm going to be treasure hunting for the next time I go to a thrift store. :) Love your beautiful artwork!

Anonymous said...

Plates are a great idea; I haven't been putting mine out unless I can frame them --- never mind "the dog ate my homework;" I have 5 cats who are paper perforators! More often I've been adding mine to mixed media art pieces in progress, either a complete tile or tiles as a layer or cut up and added back in mosaic-style.

Linda Fine said...

I enjoy placing my tiles in wire card holders. I scan second hand stores for these. They have a solid base, with a wire going up, and a "Printemps" swirl at the top to hold a card. (now a tile!) Some have many wires to hold tiles, others have only one or two. I have seen some homemade ones, too, that are fun! I also use place card holders that are a small clip raised from a base. I am always on the look out for various plates to "frame" Zendala tiles. Let your creativity and open mind lead you to fun and different ideas to frame and display your tiles!

Phyllis C said...

I love minature easels and Zentangle tiles look great on them.

Lady Dragoness said...

I haven't found a good place for my finished Zentangle tiles. Right now, they are back in my Zentangle kit box, but I've only ever completed a few tiles - less than a dozen that I preserved. I might have to try them out on the walls around here...

Unknown said...

Hmm...I have all my tiles in a photo album to stop them smudging against each other. I'm not sure I would feel comfortable displaying them quite yet but this is a really lovely idea!...and there's even a shop nearby where I could get quite a few pretty pretty plates :-) Thanks for the inspiration! :-D

Cathy Ervin said...

My Zentangles and dangles are mostly still in my head, waiting to zen-splot out!

Marilyn said...

I love how you rescued the orphan china and gave them purpose and a new home.

Donna Pilato said...

What inspiring post - thank you!

I display my finished tiles all over my plant window above my kitchen sink. I stick them in front of plants, inside of plants, or just in the little groove in the wood below the planters. That way, while I'm doing the dishes, I can look up and appreciate my recent creations. If they fall in the sink, as happens on occasion, especially when the cats are walking around the plants, I know that a little water never hurts them!

joan s said...

I have enjoyed reading about all the ways people display their tiles. Mine are in a box of completed tiles and in my tangle notebook still, but I am inspired to rethink my storage options!

Ginny Stiles said...

I do hope that you put together this list later for us. People are ALWAYS asking "what do I do with all these?" at workshops. I love hanging mine from photo mobiles around the house. These have clips on them and you can put tiles in back to back and show case about 20 at a time. And they are easily rotated as you do new ones. You can get these at Amazon.com for about $6-$8. VERY fun. I also bought "photo clips" there and with these you can make a wall-hanging of tiles and display at least 25 at a time with the tiles all connected. I make mine 4 across and 7 or 8 down. They can be hung on a wall that way. I also have many displayed under a plate glass coffee table. I do not glue them down so I can change the display often.

Unknown said...

What fun to see your handiwork so beautifully displayed, Maria! Great idea!

Mariƫt said...

The dishes make beautiful frames for your Amazing tiles.
Very inspiring!

libbygilpatric.blogger.com said...

Keep on inspiring us with your ideas on ways and places to display and create more Zentangles.
My challenge is keeping up with you!

Paula Ellis said...

What a wonderful, wonderful idea! I display my tiles in tile-size refrigerator magnet frames. Sometimes I think I am hungry and go to the refrigerator for a snack…but then I see the beautiful tiles and reach for my Zentangle supplies instead. Instead of a piece of cake, another tile I will make :-)

gobarb26 said...

I try to give away many of my tiles but I have sooo many. I make one or two, every time I have a class. I also use the blue tacky gum stuff. I have a few from you and from some exchanges that I tack on my big armoire in my studio. I also have some in frames, and some in photo cubes scattered around the house. I have no wall space or table top space so I display what I can and the rest are in an binder in plastic sleeves that hold the tiles individually. I started buying them on the internet and they are great.

michele said...

I laminate my faves and stick a magnet on the back then on to the refrigerator.

Jennifer Sparrow said...

I lean some against items on display on shelves or the mantel. I use small easels sometimes, but prefer to recycle my old audio-cassette cases, which hold at least 15 tiles that I rotate. My favorite displays are tiles that I've tucked into my collection of old framed photographs. Certain tiles really resonate with them. For example a black tile with a lacy white ink design is tucked into a b/w photograph of my husband's great-grandmother being interviewed about her crochet work. I love the idea of using plates for the Zendalas!

Anonymous said...

I do love to be surrounded by my zentangle art -- my own, my sister's, and my counseling client'. Here in Nicaragua, I always have to keep it simple. I like the putty idea a lot, but dust is a constant problem, so I tend to tape up plastic photo sleeves and rotate out what tiles or zendalas I have in them at any given time.

Sue Jacobs CZT said...

Love the tangled plates. I've got several mini photo albums that I bring to my classes with me but I needed to have a place to display them in my own home. At one of my home parties a hostess had a photo display on the wall that works out perfectly for tiles. Plus, it's easy to switch around when the mood strikes. http://www.pier1.com/Lindsay-Clip-Wall-Photo-Holder/2674523,default,pd.html#q=photo%2520frame&start=1

Bohemia Art Studio said...

I found a few fun ways to set tangles anywhere! One is a lovely brass stand with three hands that spoke off at the top. Each hand is a small clip so I can put tiles in them. I found that at the local flea market. The other was a simple clear resin block that has wire holders in it for notes. I put tangles into that as those are the notes from my day! And such beautiful notes they are!

Thanks you for sharing your ideas! It always opens my creative side to see what others are doing.

lynne gooding said...

such a fantastic idea. love them all! I love using the unexpected! Love this blog.

Ellen said...

Thank you for sharing this. I love to go out and get me some plates. Another great idea to share my tiles and the Zentangle art I create. Ellen, Netherlands

Anonymous said...

I have thought to attach my tiles to my basement stair risers so I could enjoy looking at them everyday. I'm not sure what glue to use yet. Jackie Sinkovitz CZT XIII

Anonymous said...

In looking at all of these beautiful things I cannot wait to get to the course in April. A student was doodling in-between classes today and I showed her some tangles. It was fun watching her create them. I cannot wait for April 2016 to get here, wishing it were tomorrow!

Linda Dochter, CZT said...


Some refrig art, some china cabinet quality, most to give-away as I am trying to downsize.

Mary B. said...

My friend and I try to get together once a week to tangle and the last time I asked her for ideas on how to display a zendala. She asked if I had seen your post and lo and behold, there were the beautiful zendalas mounted to a plate. They are just beautiful. What a wonderful way to use old plates and artwork. Great idea.

dani song said...

I actually do most of my tangling nowadays in sketchbooks...but I really must go find some plates now ^_^ Thanks for the inspiration!

Unknown said...

It never ceases to amaze me when I read the newsletter and blog to see your unbeleivable creativity! thank you for sharing!!!

Jane Armstrong said...

I am inspired every time I read this blog and see the lovely photos. Thank you for showing us how to add beauty to our surroundings. I love your wabi-sabi approach !

Chris Titus said...

Oh my! Just what I need...one more reason to go thrift store shopping! Love what you've done with the dishes. (But as you know, at my house we forget the dishes and go straight to tangling the tables!! :) )

Anonymous said...

I make cards of my tiles and haven't bought a card to send for birthday, get well or just note paper, since I started zentangle. And this year everyone's getting tangled Christmas card. I love this art form .

Lois said...

Inspiring to see another place to put tangles!

Weaver chick said...

I have been keeping my tiles in a notebook but this blog is inspiring me to get them out where I and others can enjoy them. I've got some hooks with little clips on them. I think I will hang some tiles from my window blinds. Also, now I want to find some cool dishes for my zendalas!

kimmie said...

Thank you for sharing a unique way to frame Zendalas! I have a few ways I display the small tiles. I use candle stick holders or small glass bottles and place some play dough and a paper clip to hold the tile.
I have a few forks that can be bent to make a holder. For Christmas I use Christmas balls and small name card christmas balls to show tiles during this season to match the seasonal decor.

Kim Mastromartino
CZT 21

Unknown said...

What a great idea! I'm especially very fond of the 5th photo.
I'm fairly new to zentangling and I love reading this blog. Great inspiration!