Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Happy Earth Week!

Monday was Earth Day...although every day should be Earth Day, right? So even though this was not posted right on that day and you are not reading it on April 22nd, it's okay...any day is a good day to reflect upon the planet that is home to us all, to be thankful for its countless wonders, and to strive to take responsibility as best we can for the portion of Earth with which we come in contact.

I spent Earth Day finishing up a project that took far longer than I anticipated: Earth Day post cards. I created four original post cards for a swap that I signed up for with other CZTs (Certified Zentangle Teachers). The challenge was to design these post cards using ony tangles that start with the letters E, A, R, T, and H. Other than that one limitation, the design of the post cards was up to each artist.

I started my post cards back in March...for my string, I used the word EARTH. It turned out different on each of the four cards. Here's how my post cards looked before I tangled them:



The color on these images looks kind of funny. It's because I drew the strings so lightly with my pencil, they didn't show up well, so I had to find a way to darken them. I adjusted some settings, but in some of them, it made the background look yellowish in areas.

I don't want to post the completed (tangled and shaded) designs until I know the people I sent them to have received them. But I can tell you some of the tangles I used:
E: ennies and echoism
A: auraknot and ahh
R: Rick's paradox and ragz
T: triral and tagh
H: hollibaugh and heartrope.

I used more than these tangles, though...and I did not use every tangle I listed in every card. Each card featured at least 15 different tangles! But I took the complicated route...if you want to make an Earth Day post card, you could design it as complicated or simple as you wish. The Tanglepatterns website was a great resource to me as I was creating these cards...you can look up tangles for each letter.

Once I know my post cards have each reached their destination I will be posting images of the finished post cards. You can hardly see the strings! I used color when I shaded them...I was happy with how they turned out, and I am eager to share them with you. So be on the lookout....

 - Amy Broady -

2 comments:

StxRadley said...

Loooooove this idea! Going to try. Can't wait to see your finished ones!

Amy in TN said...

Thanks, STX Radley!
I have not yet heard back from my postcard recipients, so I will not post the completed ones yet...but I think I will post them post-tangling, pre-shading. And later, the completed postcards.