Zentangle Project Pack 23

I have enjoyed participating with the Zentangle community following the Project Packs from Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas and their team. Project Pack 23 is particularly special because we are all celebrating Zentangle’s 20th anniversary of the first public class.

The special large size Fabriano paper (19.5” x 11.5”) was designed to reflect back in time to some of the most ornate and beautiful illuminated pages focused on letters. The page includes a wide frame, circle and square all linked and layered together.

Project Pack Ingredients

The Project Pack came with the large page rolled up and covered in tissue. It also included specialized tools to complete the project including:

· Sakura Micron pens: .01, .05, and 12.

· General’s Watercolor pencils: 705 Red, 769 Lt Olive, 763 Prussian Blue

· Sakura Pen-touch 2.0 mm Paint Marker in gold

· Round watercolor brush

· Graphite pencil, General’s white charcoal pencil

· Two tortillons

I mostly followed along with the videos that included Molly, Martha, Julie, Rick, and Maria. I made slight adjustments in the string and tangles because I knew immediately that I wanted to include Celtic Knots in the design. Let’s see how it all unfolded….

Day 1 – prepare the template with tea and watercolor washes and a string

This is where my first diversion happened. Instead of using tea or coffee, I used my favorite watercolors in yellow ochre, blue and green.

Day 2 – Martha adds Funls (or puppy huggins) and Frondus

I loved how Martha wove Funls throughout the design and used Frondus to beautifully fill space.

PP23 Day 2-3 - adding Funls, Frondus, Printemps, and Keeko

Day 3 – Julie adds Printemps and Keeko

One of the things I appreciated about this Project Pack was the use of tangles that were developed early in the Zentangle story. Printemps is such a versatile tangle that fits almost anywhere is an art piece and can be embellished in so many ways (see picture above).

Day 4 – Molly adds Fife and Bunzo

Fife is a nice tangle that looks complicated but is easy to draw. I like it too because it has an over-and-under nature that reminds me of Celtic Knots.

Day 5 – Martha adds Betweed stars and Mooka

This was one of my favorite days in the Project Pack. Martha used Betweed to build a beautiful star pattern that looks great in the finished piece. The large size really adds some perspective that the piece needed.

Day 6 – Rick adds Aquafleur in the corners and Flux

I thought Rick Roberts’s addition of Aquafleur and flux in the corners was brilliant. At this point in the evolution of the page it lacked contrast. By adding Aquafleur Rick introduced a boldness that was missing.

Day 7 – Maria adds fragments in coffered boxes

In the Zentangle community we love to use Fragments in various reticula in our art pieces. It was almost a draw-dropping moment when Maria Thomas added fragments in squares and then included the additional lines for coffering. Coffering is a new look for Fragments and Reticula.

Day 8 – Molly adds Moon Pie and Purk

I enjoy drawing many different tangles and my favorites include Purk and more recently, Moon Pie. Purk is incredibly versatile in that it can fit into almost any shape. Moon Pie is one of those tangles that is great to slip into any vacant triangle space.

I think this is where I broke with the program and added a circular knot to the project.

PP23 Day 8 - I added a Celtic Knot to the project

Day 9 – Molly adds Pokeroot, Rick adds Tipple

It was nice to see the pairing of Rick and Molly on Day 5 of PP23. Maria, as you know is still recovering from wrist/hand issues making it difficult for her to draw. I would have to say that Pokeroot must be a Molly favorite as it creeps into many of her tiles. While I often associate Paradox with Rick Roberts, I think Tipple must be a close second favorite of his.

I was planning to add a Celtic Knot to the border as soon as I saw the Project Pack. It fits nicely over the blue watercolor.

PP23 Day 9 - I added a Celtic Knot to the border

Day 10 – Molly and Maria draw a letter and add Mooka, Well, and “Love”

Naturally, as you would expect, my letter is N for Nancy. I followed Maria’s steps filling in the letter with black ink, adding a gold border and then an aura. I diverted slightly by including the Imbedded Letter technique instead of the tangles Molly added.

Wrap Up – Rick and maria reflect on the project

It definitely took me a while to complete this project even beyond the end of the videos. Including Celtic Knots in my tangled art work is normal for me and my students have come to expect it. Drawing a freeform knot on the border means drawing the grid, inking in the knot pattern, shading, and adding highlights. For me, it is a dream come true to be able to draw any repetitive pattern including Celtic Knots of all shapes and sizes.

Celtic Knots

Are you interested in learning how to draw Celtic Knots? I have a Celtic Knot Workbook that shows you how to draw the grid and a simple knot. It’s Free and you can find it here - https://ndawes-iteachtangling.ck.page/ck-basic-workbook.

If you would like to “take it to the next level”, then check out my new Knot Club membership group here - https://www.iteachtangling.com/nancys-knot-club.