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Getting Stuck Up Again...

Getting Stuck Up Again...

In 2007, we started BLOG Zentangle and began our enjoyable series of conversations within our Zentangle community.

In reading through these blog posts with their insightful comments, we decided to bring a few of them to your attention from time to time. It is easy, for me anyway, to sometimes think of old information as stale information. But these insights and conversations are anything BUT stale!

We invite you get Stuck Up again from 214...

Begin previous post . . .

Maria writes:


I have received a couple of letters recently that said:


"What on earth am I supposed to do with all these Zentangle tiles once I have drawn them?" 


Well, I never have thought this might actually be a problem (as you'll soon see).

Maybe if I carved life-size birds out of wood, after carving 50 or so I might wonder where to put them, but not a 3 1/2" square of paper.Since we already have sooooo much stuff on the walls, we are having to get really creative as to where to put them. But it's fun. Sorta like it's the hunt for the "perfect" pair of boots that makes the day interesting, not the purchase.

While I can understand that it might not be feasible to frame and hang every one of your tiles, it may be fun to have your favorite ones hanging around and interchange them often . . . giving yourself time and opportunity to appreciate your new-found artistic self.

So, here, my friends, are a few suggestions on what you do. Get stuck up. I mean, literally. There's this stuff called "mounting putty" or "removable adhesive putty" that is super sticky but not so sticky that it destroys stuff when you take it down. And it does not (as far as I can tell) destroy your Zentangle tile. This stuff sticks to pretty much anything. And because a tile weighs almost nothing, it hold fast and you don't need to use much.


I stick tiles to the walls, mirrors, furniture, car windows, inside the glass on glass cabinets, bathrooms, stick them on top of the glass on other framed pieces that you might be a bit tired of (this is actually pretty cool), kitchen cabinets, refrigerators, windows . . . you get the idea.

 
You can see the putty because the tile is on the inside. This is a tile that was sent to us by an avid tangler.

 We use this everywhere.
 Old pictures get new life!

 . . . in between mandolin strings . . .

 

 

 

 . . . or inside a car lantern found in Rick's dad's basement whose windows were exactly 3.5 inches square!



Well, one other thing I like to do with my tiles is give them away!
Let us know what you do with your Zentangle tiles and we'll send a gift to one of you lovely commenters!
What's your story?

Rick Roberts

37 comments

  • I recently visited my kids in Texas to house/dog sit so they could go on extended summer vacation. I got trapprd inside during a particularly violent thunderstorm & decided to “play with the pens”. I took TEXAS and tangled inside the letters, added a longhorn steer wearing yellow diva dance roses, bluebonnets behind it all, an armadillo on top of a letter & a tangled lone star. Framed as a gift. Fun times!

    Toni Colvin on

  • I had 1 session with a Certifiied Zentangle teacher. Had never heard of it 2 months ago and now I am hooked! Because of chronic pain I could no longer design and dye silk scarves, sarongs and window treatments. Zentangle is a meditative art form for me. I am able to distract myself from pain so I can complete an entire tile in one sitting. It has been exciting to fill my need for art and the hole in my heart after losing silk dye art. I have a new love!

    Gaye Wenger on

  • I use them on greeting cards. As a CZT I have a lot of tiles that appear similar. I can personalize them by putting an alphabet letter over them and use them on greeting cards. Zentangle tiles make great coasters either in a protective sleeve or coated with a finish. I love everybody’s ideas!!

    Jeanne on

  • I joined a Facebook group called Random Acts of Zentangle. I release my tangles into the world, with a saying on the back that tells the person who finds it to keep the piece of art or leave it for the next person. It’s to brighten your day and bring a smile to your face. My 10 year old daughter loved to tangle and will often ask if she can leave a RAZ when we go out places.

    Charlene on

  • When I visit (a real) friend, I take a bottle of good wine with me in a special braun bag that I have embellished with tangles and that is apreciated very much!

    For christmas, for a marriage, a birthday… people are very grateful to receive an authentic finished Zentangletile, glued on a card.
    It is pleasant to receive but also pleasant to give.
    Thank you for the original ways to show this beautiful art.

    ria matheussen on

  • I have a Zentangle® “clothesline”. I strung a piece of small decorative cording across the wall and clipped opus to bijou size tiles (and other substrates) to it with mini clothes pins from the office supply store and then clipped more tiles to those, and more tiles to those and so on. It has morphed to cover over a 4’ square area, with only two tacks holding up the cord! It’s a game now to find the next spot I can put a newly created one without blocking the view of another or collapsing the entire structure. I also have several tiles clipped back to back on one of the mobiles I purchased from the ZT site.

    Long Haired Lori on

  • Have been tangling for just over 2 years now and building up quite a collection! Right now I keep them filed chronologically and refer back to them on occasion just to see how my style has progressed which is also a source of inspiration when needed. Each calendar year I take my 25 or 30 most favorite tiles and make them into little 8by8 books through an app called Mosaic in the Apple store that I have out on the coffee table. I also have some in placed around the house either in photo cubes. For a few larger projects I have them framed on the walls in the area where I’ve actually taught students for them to get ideas for their own work. I’ve now started to give some away as gifts to friends and family who would really appreciate them. The tiles right now are manageable – it’s all the art supplies I’ve accumulated in my quest to broaden my experience that are forcing me to add more storage cabinets to my office – at some point I will no doubt need a course on how to declutter your workspace!

    Matt Wieczkowski (MattskiCZT) on

  • Good day! Interesting post.
    I love making tile exchanges. My friends and I write each other’s a zenletters, we put our drawings and inspire creativity. It’s so contagious! Look at the drawing of another master and new ideas to be come. And it’s cool, just to give a friend a piece of his work. Do it! :)

    Elena on

  • I put the ones that I really like on display in frames on my walls. I like being surrounded by beauty because it makes me happy. Small doses of happiness every day is good for one’s health. Every once in a while, a tile will stop giving me that small dose of happiness because I’ve improved so much… that’s when I’ll take it down and replace it with something new. I keep all of my old tiles in a clear box. That way, they don’t take up too much place, but I still know where to find them if I ever need them.

    Stephanie Jennifer on

  • I use clear 3.5 square plastic frames that have a magnet on the back (found at Michaels) to display on my fridge, locker at work, or anywhere else that is magnetic. I also keep many in a binder so I can flip through it from time to time. There’s some very inspiring ideas out there !!

    Michele Werner on

  • I would term my approach as a “tangleation” on Random Acts of Zentangle (RAZ). If I plan to go to a large gathering (e.g. wedding, class reunion, neighborhood picnic, parade), I take a deck of completed tiles with me. When the conversation gets around to “So what are you up to lately?” I show off my tiles. When someone says “Oh I really like that one” then I reply, “It’s yours. Keep it as a remembrance of this day.” I just love to see reactions on surprised and appreciative faces.

    Linda Dochter, CZT on

  • I finished a small tile at breakfast this morning and left it with my tip to the waitress. She loved it.

    Blythe on

  • Most of my completed tiles are in chronological order in a binder and I have enclosed some in greeting cards, I need to get some putty to use them where I can enjoy them more!!

    Alice Roche CZT#29 on

  • I have two large bulletin boards in my art room, to which my husband lovingly refers to as ‘Doodleville’. I often rotate the tiles on the board and keep the remainder in a drawer. It’s inspiring to look at each morning while I drink my coffee. I also give many of my tiles as gifts.

    Christie on

  • Love, love, love the car lantern!! So fun that it’s little windows were 3 1/2 by 3 1/2. I have a lot of tiles around on our walls. People enjoy seeing them. It’s also fun to leave them places for people to find. I once left one stuck in a tree way up in the mountains. I wonder if it’s still there.

    Wendy H. on

  • Interesting ideas. I bought ceramic tiles at a store and zentangle them as coasters. I sprayed the front with a clear fixer and gave them to my family as Christmas gifts

    Linda Mensching on

  • Sometimes I make picture frames out of them. Sometimes I put them together to make gift wrap, covering a gift box. Some go into the album that I show to my students and some I give away. I also made a deck out of blank Bijou cards, each with only one tangle per card. Then, when I need a prompt for which tangle to use, I shuffle the deck and draw a card. Such Fun!

    Leslie Hancock on

  • Oh that car lantern. Imagine what the maker or the user of it would have thought if they’d known where it would end up – mind boggling!

    I have most of my tiles in albums. But a favourite recent one is always in a frame to the shelf just to my right. At Christmas I put Bijou’s into tiny glass frames that sit as placeholders for my partner and I at our dinner table. And sometimes tiles get sent or given to special people too.

    Jem on

  • I have a journal that I use to chronicle my tiles, I use the black photo corners to attach them so I can remove to see the tangle names that I write on the back. They are also dated. I look at them for inspiration. I also have a small magnetic photo board I use to display my most recent tangle and a photo holder clip that also holds a favorite. Just love looking at what I have created.

    Deborah Murdough on

  • I have two sets of double glass closet doors in my art space. I have started hanging them on the glass. Sooner or later I will fill those doors with my favorite pieces!

    Ellen on

  • Wow what super ideas I have shared some

    of my tiles on birthday cards but mostly keep
    them in a special box and refer to them when I need inspiration .

    Barbara Sandison on

  • I put mine in plastic sleeves in a binder to show at shows I do. Mount some in frames and sell them at craft shows. I do turn some into greeting cards, or pop one in a birthday or get well card. But mostly I just give them away to people interested in Zentangle. I do always scan them in and save them in a digital file, so I have a record of what I have done. I am always surprised when I go look at my digital files how many I have done over the years, and how few I have to show at the craft/vendor shows I do. People always enjoy them and it brings a smile to those who receive them and an even bigger smile to me for a Random act of kindness/Zentangleness. Thank you Rick and Maria for all the smiles you have given to me with the Zentangle method. I am truly a different person for Zentangle!

    Sue Leslie CZT 22 on

  • I have put my tiles in the art displays at our retirement complex. I have given far mor of them away. I even punched a small hole in the corner of some, added a cord loop and gave them as Christmas ornaments.

    Amy Gill on

  • What fun ideas, I am now looking forward to sending Zentangle post cards. My daughter found a nice binder for me,that I enjoy filling. I also give them to any one that admires or shows interest, which leads to a demo and then to setting up a kit for them with any extra supplies I may have.

    Anita M. Jones on

  • I’m in many tile swapping groups so many of my tiles go there. I make them as gifts. I make some as Random Acts of Zentangle and leave them where ever I go with a beautiful message on the backs. I surprise people that maybe are having a hard time. I’m in a group that makes tiles for people that are sick or undergoing medical procedures. I like to make peoples lives happier by gifting them a tile, it puts a smile on their face and mine and then they own a beautiful tiny piece of art. Others go into a binder so I can use them to show my students what can be accomplished. I have some in a cube frame that has 6 openings and just put them around on tables as a conversation piece. I’m a bookbinder so I have made a book to draw some tangles in and I’m thinking of making a box for some too.

    Leslee Feiwus on

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