Tuesday, July 9, 2013

A curious variation on a Z E N T A N G L E

In the midst of our recent down-sizing and going through all the keepsakes of our children's childhood, I came across this:




"Oh!" I thought, "a Zentangle!" It was drawn by my oldest son at the age of seven.  Of course,  strictly speaking it's not a ZENTANGLE.  But it does really look like one at first glance. Those who visit me regularly will know of my obsession, with ZENTANGLES, Doodles or just Tangles.

I looked at this drawing carefully and was quite impressed with his skill here.
It set my creative juices flowing.  What if....

.....I reproduced the basic shapes he used in this drawing -- just the lines, They are a bit like what Zentanglers call "Strings" and on which you hang your various designs....



So now I had a blank sheet of paper with lines on rather like those drawings children used to do by taking their pencil and letting it wander all over the page.  (Sometimes called 'Taking the Dog for a Walk') Then they would fill in the resulting shapes with color.  But my lines and shapes on this paper were my son's lines and shapes.

Then I filled each shape with the various designs and patterns I have used when doing my Doodles
(my version of ZENTANGLES).

After that I decided to color the designs in each shapes using only the colors my son used in each shape of his original drawing.

And this is what I ended up with:


A curious variation on a ZENTANGLE.
His lines, shapes and colors;  my designs or patterns.

Not a masterpiece I will admit, but a mingling of a child's mind with his mother's forty years later.

_______________________________________________________________________________
My sincere apologies to the owners of the word Zentangle.  I should have noted that the word Zentangle is a Registered Trade-mark. _______________________________________________________________________________

This is my entry for ABC Wednesday, for the letter Z.  Congratulations everyone.  We have just completed the twelfth round of this project so ably led by Mrs. Nesbitt and Roger Owen Green.  Please click HERE to visit the inspiring efforts of all who made it to the letter Z.  Why not consider joining us in the next round?

12 comments:

Wanda said...

I love that you also keep your children's art. So fun to look back when they are adults.

I love your new "Z........" Can't remember how to spell it. HaHa.

Nice colors. When I post my CT next week, I used a black sharpie and my prismacolors.

kaybee said...

Well done, Chris! I think this is a great Z to finish off the ABC series...great imagination, and a terrific end result!

Roger Owen Green said...

That is ZUNderful! (Oh, that's NOT a word?)

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

I think that is very cool! My oldest son used to always doodle what was rather zentangle like. I asked him to do some drawings for his bedroom, but he could never commit. He just liked doing it for the sake of doodling rather than for a distinct purpose. Now he is heading off to college this summer. Time does fly. Best wishes, Tammy

claude said...

Hi Chris !
I love the both ones.
You are very talented, Chris.

mrsnesbitt said...

We learn something new every day Chris. I always doodled as a child - I remember my parents had some wallpaper which was blown vinyl - with lots of contours which were so inviting....when on the phone with a biro in my hand! lol!
Denise ABC Team

Scriptor Senex said...

I think a lot of us parents have pieces of srt from our children's childhood days. What fun it is to look back on them.

Suzanne said...

This is fabulous, then and now. I love both interpretations, thanks.

Nonnie said...

thanks for the new word, even though it's registered! lovely take on your son's art work! of course, his is fabulous!

Gattina said...

Never heard this word, but the drawings are great, lol !

jennyfreckles said...

Never heard of these but I love your creative interpretation, inspired by your son's creativity.

TwinkleToes2day said...

I think it is wonderful how you did this. Very 'outside the box' and your patterns are beautiful.
ps - I think 'doodling' is a more user friendly name, hehe ;)