I realize that zentangles are old news, creatively speaking, but Ohio isn’t at the head of the line for new ideas. A member of a cloth artist group I belong to showed me the basics. She used the technique to draw an intriguing self portrait on fabric. I experimented with squares of fabric ironed to freezer paper for stability.
After I finished four pieces I decided to sew them together with some black and white fabric scraps I had and bits of strips from an old project. Moral – you really will find a use for those leftovers someday.
This patch is the most baroque of the ones I drew. I wouldn’t use red fabric again as it’s just too dark.
I think this is the first one I drew. It’s simpler and more linear.
The next one involved more circles and shading.
In this last one, done at different times, I tried out different patterns.
If you decide to try this I recommend you use a pen designed for archival use. I used a Micron .5 pen and a roller gel fabric pen. Avoid Sharpie markers as I’m told the ink will eat through fabric eventually.
I can recommend this technique as an excuse for doodling and as a fun way to pass time while on the phone and in waiting rooms.
I’ll have to show this to my mom as she’s obsessed with Zentangle. Nice art piece!
One of my quilting groups is doing zentangles on fabric next Saturday. I hope to take some photos to share. Before now I had no idea how many patterns there are.
You can enhance some of your work with zentangles and adapt them for free motion quilting as well.
Zentangles are a great source of inspiration for FMQ patterns. I really like the way you can break up a large space with several different patterns. Kind of like the way Angela Walters does.