POKE (root, berry & ink!)

Pokeroot was one of our first tangles. It was inspired by a pokeroot plant growing in a vacant lot across from our home. Pokeroot is an unusual name for us to use for a tangle because it is named for what inspired its pattern. We usually choose names that don't create a preconception of how a tangle should look.

John Nordell, CZT, was "poking" around recently and he recorded his results in this blog entry on his CreateLookEnjoy blog. Here's his video from that entry:



John also admonishes, "If you find yourself inspired to mash and draw, please keep in mind that the Pokeweed berries are toxic." 

In preparing this blog, I came upon some interesting pokeroot/pokeweed factoids:

• Over time pokeberry ink turns from purple to tan. You can see this in the Declaration of Independence which Thomas Jefferson wrote using pokeberry ink.
• Letters written with feather quills in pokeberry ink by Civil War soldiers are still legible.
• Supporters of U.S. President James Polk wore pokeweed twigs during his campaign. Similar sounding "Polk" and "poke" are sometimes used interchangeably in reference to this fascinating plant.
  [Source]

Here's some "tangling" music for when you tangle pokeroot.



We invite you to visit John's blog entry to read his full story and to leave a comment.

Click links and enjoy!

It was a dark and stormy night

Or more specifically, a dark and Sandy night.

Even though hurricane Sandy's center was distant, we still felt its effects.

Maria was up in the middle of the night tangling. She used a black Sakura® IDentiPen™ and what she thought was a black Micron 01. (It was after all a dark and stormy night!)

Above all that turmoil was a full moon.

Molly just arrived and brought a Zentangle tile she did last night. Here she uses hollibaugh, fife, and our latest tangle, bunzo.*

Click images for larger views.

* "Bunzo" was Maria's nickname for her/our son Noah. He didn't like it when he was young, but recently asked if we were going to share its origins. :-)

What's on Your Plate?

We recently received this beautiful email from "L":

Dear Maria and Rick,

Thank you forever for your inspiration, tangling has proved to be my salvation!

When I was quite ill this summer my husband and I did a joint project for our  Christmas gifts. My husband turned the wooden decorative plates from Brazilian Cherry wood with an indentation in which he glued 12 different circles on card stock decorated with my tangling and then poured on a resin that hardened like glass.

We are so pleased with the result. Hope that you enjoy the photos!  

They are beautiful! We so appreciate you sharing them with everyone.

Be sure to click images for larger views.

One Stroke at a Time

Our dear friends and CZTs, Lois and Earl Stokes, just wrote a beautiful and important blog that we want to share with you.

This blog entry tells a story of how Zentangle intertwined with their experiences, including Earl's recovery from a stroke.

We are so happy to have them sharing their stories with us again.

They are both exploring metal relief as a medium for the Zentangle method. Here's a sample:

There's lots more here. Please take a moment to enjoy beautiful images and a wonderful story.

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Get Flord!

Maria writes: 

It's one of the first things I see every morning. It attracts my eye when we are out and about. It's primitive, yet elegant. It was one of our first tangles and has stood the test of time, never going out of style.

It's florz, one of the tangles we teach on our DVD in our Zentangle Kit.

Sometimes it's good to get back in touch with basic tangles, And once you've got in touch; it's also fun to explore variations of that tangle. 

Let's revisit florz and explore some variations. Take this as an opportunity to challenge yourself in your daily (right? :-) Zentangle practice.

In your first effort, focus in on that original tangle, making those dark shapes into a really elegant, beautiful, dramatic image.

Now, let's explore a few variation ideas.

What other variations can you imagine?

So, when someone asks how you are, say, "I'm just 'flord' today!". . . and show them why!

Enjoy!

- M

Click images for larger views.

Tangling in the Shade

We've played quite a bit with tangling with Sakura's white Gelly Roll™ pen on black tiles and on black ink.

Last night, Maria was exploring tangling on shaded areas. Her Gelly Roll pen and graphite pencil weren't interacting to her satisfaction. So she tried a Fabrico® grey pen that we use on fabric to draw strings and shade.

Here's what happened:

Fun stuff!

Materials used:

• Zentangle tiles
• Sakura® Pigma Micron® 01 black pen
• Sakura® Gelly Roll™ white pen
• Pencil
• Tsukineko® Fabrico™ grey marker

Click images for larger views.

The Book of Zentangle

We have finally published our first book:

We created this blog entry for you to review it, discuss it, and ask us questions about it.

You can find The Book of Zentangle in our online store. It is also available from many Certified Zentangle Teachers (CZTs).

We announced its release in this newsletter.

This book tells our story of how we came up with Zentangle and what's behind its development and direction. We tell our story in words, illustrations, and Zentangle art. As we write in our introduction:

A guidebook to Paris isn’t Paris; but when you visit Paris, you’ll enjoy it more with a good guidebook. This is a guidebook to Zentangle. It can help you awaken your ability, nourish your awareness, and find your way to a joy that has been there with you all along.

Here's a look at the back of the dust jacket:

. . . and the inside front flap:

The Book of Zentangle is a good Zentangle information and design resource and we designed it and bound it in such a way (complete with lusciously tangled end papers) that it will gently stay open on its own to any page. It is fully indexed and includes a wide-ranging bibliography if you want to explore some of the books that inspired us in this adventure.

I (Rick) wrote most of the words. The Zentangle tiles are ones that we've created through the years. This book is also lavishly illustrated by Maria. Some illustrations show sources for many of our tangle inspirations . . .

. . . other illustrations offer samples of our Zentangle tiles, each carefully held in place in fanciful ways so you won't lose them should they slip out of your book!

In "Notes," Maria describes her inspirations and thoughts behind her illustrations.

At long last we are thrilled to share this book with you.

We look forward to your comments.

Hardcover, 146 pages, 6 x 9.5 inches (150 x 240 mm), full color offset, with bibliography and index. $39.95

Click images for larger view.