Zentangle

Zentangle
Originally uploaded by basketcasejoy

What IS a zentangle?  At its most basic, a zentangle is a doodle!

According to http://www.zentangle.com/index.php it is described as an "easy to learn method of creating beautiful images from repetative patterns." The website also goes on to explain that it's a meditational artform, you enter a zen-like state while working on them. My favorite statement was this, "You always succeed when creating a zentangle because you always create a pattern." (Which is a lucky thing for me because to say that art was NOT my strongest subject would be an understatement!)

Some of the zentangles are EXTREMELY complex. While, perhaps not the MOST basic designs, I did choose a relatively simple design that I thought would translate well into the quilt that I was planning.

My quilt started out as a quick sketch of a zentangle found on Google images. While zentangles are traditionally 3.5" square and can be created in about 15 minutes, my quilt stretched the original design into a 10.5" x 15" rectangle (and took about an hour to create.)  Why was my quilt rectangular? Because my "square" started out as an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper that I folded in half and then folded it in half again. (And I apparently skipped the part about the "traditional" size!)

Oh, well...there's something to be said for "artistic license!" (So much so that this quilt is my Circle Challenge for my Art Quilt Bee, even though there was a totally different inspiration piece.)

Until next time...
Happy Quilting!