Adorable Aurivox

 "Aurivox" is a tangle inspired by The Little Prince. In one of the chapters, the little prince meets a fox, and they discuss what it means to establish ties with someone.

The tangle's name is a combination of the Latin words "aurum" to mean "gold" and "vox" to mean "voice". The name conjurs to my mind, images of a beautiful fox howling at the moon - its voice haunting yet beautiful at the same time.

You can draw Aurivox as a single tangle:

In this large A2-sized piece, I hid two Aurivox amongst the other tangles: 

This piece was also A2-sized and is titled, “Chapter 2: Emergence”.  

It explores the transition from order to spontaneity, from the internal to the external, from the known to the imagined. The tunnel which is intricately rendered in Zentangle patterns, represents a space of quiet introspection and structure. As the viewer moves toward the exit, they are greeted by a burst of lush greenery. This acts as a metaphor for creative release, organic growth, and the beauty that lies beyond.

Aurivox is, again, hidden amongst the other tangles.

You can also draw Aurivox as a ribbon tangle:

Playing around with the size of your Aurivox's features will change the expression of your fox. I think this tangle would be great for tiny tanglers (children), and people who like a bit of whimsy in their work.

If you use Aurivox in your works, tag me on Instagram ( @havepen_willdraw ). I'd love to see what you create!

Captivating Catalyz

"Catalyz" is a tangle that is structured and orderly, while also being a bit geometric.

The word "catalyst" refers to an event or person that causes great change. As is common with lots of Zentangle® patterns, I added a "z" at the end to make it more easily searchable, and to tie it back to its tangle roots. Here's how to draw it:

Do you have that one friend that has the amazing ability to explain complex ideas in really simple terms, while not making you feel stupid? That friend who allows you to understand yourself better through open conversations - about everything and nothing at all.

There is structure to these conversations, but these conversations also grow and take on a life of their own, too. Meandering thoughts that may or may not lead to conclusions. 

For me, Catalyz carries those associations.

In my Word of the Year tile, Catalyz was featured in a very minimalist manner on the top left corner.

"The older I get, the more I find that you can only live with those who free you, who love you with an affection that is as light to bear as it is strong to feel.

Today's life is too hard, too bitter, too anemic, for us to undergo new bondages, from whom we love [...]. This is how I am your friend, I love your happiness, your freedom, your adventure in one word, and I would like to be for you the companion we are sure of, always.”
- Albert Camus

The tangle can be used as a ribbon tangle, and embellished in a variety of ways. And I can't wait to see what jazzed up versions of it you come up with!

If you use Catalyz in your works, tag me on Instagram ( @havepen_willdraw ). I'd love to see what you create using it as your catalyst tangle!

Insightful Intwine

We're at the second quarter of 2024 already. How quickly time flies.

This year, my chosen Word of the Year was "Beginnings". I wanted 2024 to be a year of new art projects, new adventures, and new connections. I spent the first two months recharging and focusing my energies on how I wanted my future to look like. 

I think, when you have unfocused energies, you attract people into your life whose energies don't align with yours. So it is a good exercise to take some time to sit with yourself and ask what is it, really, that you want.

It is at this time, too, that I was reminded that healing is not a linear journey. You think that you have gotten over something, but then the wound reopens. I have learnt that, that is okay.

Feelings demand to be felt. A friend told me that, she imagines her feelings to be ships entering and leaving the harbour... And all you're tasked to do is to acknowledge the ships - be it small ones that are paddle boats, or huge ones that are mega cruise ships... You thank them for visiting your harbour, and then wave goodbye to them.

With that, I would love to share with you a new tangle, that celebrates the new connections I've made. This is "Intwine"-

Here are some tiles I made featuring Intwine:

This tile also features my other tangles, Feist and Mirai. Check them out by clicking the links, if you'd like.

Lastly, I leave you with this lovely quote:

"The longer I live, the more deeply I learn that love - whether we call it friendship or family or romance - is the work of mirroring and magnifying each other's light. Gentlework. Steadfast work. Lifesaving work in those moments when life and shame and sorrow occlude our own light from our own view, but there is still a clear-eyed loving person to beam it back. In our best moments, we are that person for another."

If you use Intwine in your works, tag me on Instagram ( @havepen_willdraw ). I'd love to see what you create.

Mindfully Mirai

Isn't it scary how every single time we open our hearts to love, that there is a possibility of getting hurt. And yet, the lure is immense... 

We make plans - and yet life has a way of happening. "Mirai" means "future" in Japanese. With it, I think of my hopes for the future. I might not know how things would go, but I am hopeful for things working out in the best way possible.

Here's how to draw "Mirai":

And here are some tiles I made featuring the tangle:

"I think about how one day, they won't be here anymore. So I am trying my best in this lifetime and theirs, to love them as hard as I can."

This tile also features my other tangles, Intwine and Feist.

I hope the future brings you much joy and wonderful adventures!

If you use Mirai in your works, tag me on Instagram ( @havepen_willdraw ). I'd love to see what you create.

Floral Feist

Everything has its season — that's what I've been told. 

Sometimes, you might wish with all of your heart for something to happen, but you might not be ready for it, or there might be something even better waiting for you in the future. Have you experienced that in your life?

When I think of Feist, I think of softness, or a flower blooming - reaching out towards the sunlight. It represents slow growth - one that is done at your own pace and is sustainable in the long-term. It begins with a sparkle, and then it blossoms.

I hope you'll like using this sweet tangle in your own work, as much as I've enjoyed using it in mine, recently.

Here are the step-outs to my newest tangle, "Feist":

"Beautiful one, you hold my heart.
This heart that sometimes blindly seeks suffering -
But I don't fault my stupid heart,
Because I know that suffering sometimes
can feel religious if you do it right."

This was a tile tinted using gorgeous hand-make watercolours from Wild Dot SG ( @wildd.sg ). Their paints are made from pigments sourced in Singapore! Who knew soil could be so colourful. ✨

Check out some of my other tangles via this link.

And if you use Feist in your works, tag me on Instagram ( @havepen_willdraw ). I'd love to see what you create.

Fanciful Fragment S9

I was invited to be a speaker at Samsung’s Alt+Tab event where I and four other fantastic speakers shared how we've turned our passion into our profession. I spoke about how I stumbled into my career as a Certified Zentangle Teacher, and it was great fun hearing from the other speakers: Moushumi (a colour consultant), Eugene (an esports shout-caster), Chef Al (a private dining chef) and Dr Angeline (a vet who practices both Western and traditional Chinese TCM).

Here's a digital illustration I created as publicity material for the event:

To commemorate this wonderful opportunity, I deconstructed a new tangle that I'm calling "Fragment S9" because the Alt+Tab event was also the official launch for Samsung's Tab S9.

 Here are the basic step-outs to it:

However, you can also draw it in other ways:

If you scroll back up to look at my Alt+Tab illustration at the start of this post, you can spot four other ways to use the tangle, too.

I was looking at the previous illustration I had drawn on my Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 tablet and wondering why it felt so different from my traditionally done work… And I came to the conclusion that the reason was that when I work on paper, I would have to take a photo of it, in order to show it to you; whereas digital art has a more flat, almost perfect look to it.

I had this sudden thought of taking a photo of a blank tile, and then using that photo as a base for a digital drawing.

There’s been talk in some of the Zentangle groups I’m a part of - about whether digital art goes against the spirit of the Zentangle method… I pointed out to them that for some people with eyesight problems, digital medium might be the only way they’re able to create art as they aren’t able to work on a small scale. Someone else then mentioned that you could use rulers and mirroring tools with digital mediums; but you can use a physical ruler and carbon paper with traditional mediums, too.

With the above illustration, I played around with making my digital brushes and pens look more textured. Eventually, I found a rhythm and also streamlined my work flow. I’m proud of what I created. For me, this illustration toes the line between traditional and digital creation… They’re both valid forms of art. The spirit of the Zentangle method is to find calm in the process of drawing repeated, structured patterns. How you do it doesn’t really matter - pen and paper, sand and a stick by the beach, the S Pen and a tablet… What matters is that you take the time to create something to nourish your soul. Fragment S9 is featured on the lower middle portion of the above illustration. I'll be playing around with this traditional x digital technique again soon. I hope you got something out of this blog post. :) If you use the tangle S9, please tag me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/havepen_willdraw/ Until next time... Keep tangling! - Stephanie J., CZT 21 Singapore

Flowing Floraline

 This sweet tangle was discovered at the Singapore Gardens by the Bay for one of our Tangle Travelog series. You can find out more about the series via this link: 7f5r.thinkific.com/courses/gbtb!

If you remember one of my other tangles, "Faybio" was also discovered at the same location and they both share a common inspiration - tulips!

Here are the step-outs to "Floraline", and a photo of the tulips that inspired the tangle:

Floraline is usually drawn as a border tangle, but I'd love to see what you create with it.

Here are some tiles that I created featuring it:

I’d love to see the art you create using Floraline! If you’re posting on Instagram, tag me ( @havepen_willdraw ) and use the hashtag “#floralinetangle“. I hope you have fun playing around with this lovely tangle.

Warmest Wishes,
Stephanie Jennifer, CZT 21
Singapore

Flowering Faybio

Our Tangle Travelog: Singapore Gardens by the Bay series is still currently being sold at a promotional launch price on 7f5r.thinkific.com/courses/gbtb! 

We found a bunch of beautiful tangles at Gardens by the Bay! The second one that I'd like to introduce you is one that I've named, "Faybio". The inspiration for it was the Fabio tulip!

Here are the step-outs to "Faybio", and some photos that I took at Gardens by the Bay that inspired the tangle:

You can use Faybio as a stand-alone tangle, a cluster, a fun embellishment, or even a border!

Here are some tiles that I created featuring it:

And here's a page from my sketchbook:

I’d love to see the art you create using Faybio! If you’re posting on Instagram, tag us ( @7forests5rivers ) and use the hashtag "#faybio". I hope you have fun playing around with this adorable tangle.

Warmest Wishes,

Stephanie Jennifer, CZT 21

Singapore

A Very Merry Unbirthday

I wanted to gift this tangle to my best friend, Debbie. I really like the tangle, and I thought it’d act like a physical representation of our friendship.

But the issue with every new tangle that we deconstruct is… What will we name it?

“Debbie” means “bee”. So my initial thought was to name it “abeille” which means bee in French. But I’m quite sure people wouldn’t pronounce it the French way… I tested it on my husband and he did pronounce it phonetically.

Then I thought about the root word for “Debbie”.. which is “D’vora”. I thought that was cute so I asked Debbie what she thought.

She asked if the tangle was her un-birthday, post-birthday present. I said, no. That it was a just-because gift. She laughed and said, “Un birthday. There you have a tangle name.”.

So this is Debbie’s Unbirthday. hahaha

Here’s another version of the same tangle. Double Unbirthday:

I’ve used it in my art recently. Here it is as a duotangle in my sketchbook:

Hidden amongst these gems:

And here it is featured in a Tangled Facets tile. The blue fascinator is from the printable that comes with our Tangled Facets course. If you have not watched the free preview of the course, do pop over to our Thinkific to do so: https://7f5r.thinkific.com/courses/tangledfacets

 I hope you enjoy using Unbirthday in your art as much as I do, and that the little story that came with it made you smile.

If you would like us to feature your work on social media, tag us on Instagram @7forests5rivers or use the hashtag #unbirthdaytangle

Until next time, keep tangling!

Stephanie Jennifer, CZT21
Singapore

Playful Purkbit

Sometimes, you mesh two tangles together, and it ends up looking great. This was one of those times. Purkbit is a tanglelation of Purk by Zentangle, and Cabbit by Debbie New.

It was near the end of 2018 that Debbie and I started playing with with Purkbit. We joked about its name and we would use it in our tiles every now and again. We’ve finally gotten around to publishing its step-outs. It really is such a cute tangle, and we hope you enjoy playing with it just as much as we have.

Here’s a tile featuring some Purkbits wrapped in ribbon.

I’ve even taught an Embedded Letter class that featured Purkbit. The tangle adds a bit of whimsical charm to the tiles.

This is a card that Debbie created, featuring a cat version of Purkbit.

Here’s another tile with the kitty version of Purkbit.

If you would like us to feature your work on social media, tag us on Instagram @7forests5rivers or use the hashtag #purkbit.

Until next time, keep tangling!

Stephanie Jennifer, CZT21
Singapore