This week, I, again, tried to get up the nerve to submit a tangle drawing to this weekly challenge. I am still unsure whether I will or not. But needless to say, I enjoyed this week's challenge and it helped me discover that you can draw a lot of different things with the same design, which was really interesting. The challenge called for this pattern which I quickly began to enjoy. Because I enjoyed it, I ended up attempting several different ways to use the pattern. I found that I want to "connect everything" inside the tangle, which produced some neat results. Then I tried to do the opposite, and not connect everything almost leaving a skeleton-like appearance (to me at least). Then, I decided that I really like making lines with circles at the end, so I just played around with it while listening to the FPGeeks Fountain Pen Radio broadcast this morning, and really enjoyed the end result.
I think that because I learned the pattern this week, and realized its versatility, and became comfortable with it, I ended up actually kind of drawing something. When I began this journey, I thought I couldn't draw. I am learning that drawing, like everything else in life, requires practice. And patience. Practice and patience.
The last photo is just me trying two new patterns in one drawing: Inapod and Printemps. You can find the instructions for each here and here, respectively.
Out of all the drawings this week, I think that I like this one the best. It's really a variation of the Bridgen pattern because at some point, I stopped drawing lines and circles and simply began drawing new lines to connect the existing circles. This drawing definitely evokes a feeling of unity and interconnectedness. Several years ago, I took the "strengths" test in the book "Now Discover Your Strengths". My primary strength, according to the authors, is connectedness. After reading their explanation of the strength, I agreed with them. I was reminded of this quality while drawing this tangle.
Same with this version, except I tried to make sure that all of my lines were straight and not curvy. Depending upon which way I turn this one, it either reminds me of the Millennium Falcon, or the cartoon kid from Where's Waldo.
I made myself stop connecting everything and simply did what the pattern called for. I think this "bare bones" type appearance gives the pattern a very Eames-ish feel to it. It also leaves me feeling uncomfortable because the drawing feels naked and unfinished, and just...lacking in general.
This is just my "wing it" attempt while listening to the FPGeeks Fountain Pen Radio broadcast. It's freehand and whatever I felt like doing at the moment. This sorta reminds me of a science project that I did back in the sixth grade. In reality, it is likely close to the pattern Tink which I haven't "studied" but was the precursor to this week's pattern, Bridgen. I really like this drawing. It has both connectedness and a sense of flow at the same time.
Drawing with fountain pens: LAMY Vista EF / J. Herbin Vert Empire. Like I said, I'm just learning and there is a lot of room for improvement. I need to pay more attention to "closing my circles" and staying inside the lines. Or maybe I need an eye exam, which very well could be true. I enjoyed drawing with an EF LAMY nib, but think it's still too wide. I will likely try to acquire some type of Fine nibbed pen from Sailor. This drawing makes me think of the old Twizzler's commercial that featured a big claymation mouth chewing on Strawberry Twizzlers.
I used the Zentangle die to choose each design for each space. I like this design from a diagonal view. This week, I think I'm getting the hang of "floo", or at least a better handle on it. "Shattuck" is looking so much better. This tile has no "border"; I tangled around a freehand string. Since there is no wrong way to draw a tangle, I decided to stipple around the large circle in the middle of the tile, thus connecting the two designs on both ends. I thought that brought a little bit of unity, and it makes me feel content. I really wanted to fill the rest of the tile with circles. Perhaps next time, I will. I really like circles and just want to keep drawing them.
I received these Pentel Slicci (pronounced "slee chee" not "slicky") from Lily at JetPens to review. This type of pen is new to me, since the last time I used a metallic pen was sometime back in the 80's when you had to press down on the felt tip to make the metallic ink come out of the pen usually resulting in its gushing out onto the paper. Those pens were kind of a neat breakthrough at the time, but really stinky; the smell being akin to that of a Sharpie marker. When I was younger, I used to enjoy that strong smell, but now I am pretty sensitive to strong odors. I was a bit skeptical when I received these from Lily, since I expected to combat that same odor again. Not the case at all. These metallic markers are definitely stink-proof. I ended up having a lot of fun with these and my interest has been piqued enough to try other Pentel Slicci colors. I tried to take pics that revealed the metallic sheen, but these pens are tough to photograph.
Slicci metallic gel pens also come in Red, Green, Blue and Gold.
I found myself "bonding" with the bronze pen the most. I find that in natural light, it appears less orange-y and more golden brown. On yellow legal pad, the ink turns out having a terracotta-like appearance and I really like that a lot.
I often make to-do lists at work so that things don't "fall through the cracks", and I found myself reaching for these.
