Fee Phi Fo FUN!
Sometimes the quickest way to a zen flow state for me is just drawing lines. Line after line, aura after aura, no need to think too hard, just follow the prior line. And the biggest bonus is the intricate and beautiful images you can make just drawing auras!
I came across a good article at tanglepatterns.com that summarized a lesson on lines originally given by German artist Simone Bischoff. It seemed like a perfect "back to basics" exercise last night when I just wanted to veg out and make auras.
Near the end of the lesson, Simone takes auras to the next step and illustrates a clever braiding technique that looks like a tangle that should be named. (If you know a name, please comment below!) After a bit of practice on scrap paper, I was ready to put it to work on a real tile.
Enter the Phi tile, Zentangle's latest addition to the tile family! This tile is in the dimensions of a Golden Rectangle, also known as a Phi Rectangle. On the back is a lovely illustration of a phi spiral, which is based upon a series of ever smaller golden rectangles nestled against each other.
I've seen a lot of really cool tangles done on the backs of Phi tiles making use of the phi spiral as a string. But in this case, I really wanted that string on the front of my tile! To do that, I decided to sacrifice a tile to make up a template I can use to trace the spiral unto other tiles. I simply cut out the spiral, then taped the entry/exit point back together. I suppose I could use either the negative or positive portion of the cut out, but I like using the negative space because it is easy to line up with the edges of the tile you are tracing on to.
I picked out the tangle Punzel to use as a "backbone" of sorts for my aura braid. This wasn't a tangle I've done a lot of and I needed practice to get it right! My first tile last night wasn't quite right, but in the spirit of "no mistakes" I soldiered on. In the end, I liked it enough to go back and give it a second try this morning. After a bit more practice, I think I finally got the hang of the Punzel on attempt #2!
Click the images below for a closer look.