Class 4 ~ "Handala" & Zentangle Update

Finally had some time this weekend to sit down and finish colouring my "handala" and do some zentangling on the watercolour squares I handed out during class.

The "Handala", as you might recall from the handouts in my last post, was made by moving our hands around on a square sheet of paper and tracing it. Each time we rotated the paper we touched the tip of our index finger to the very center point on the paper. My "base drawing" looked like this:

I used the Tim Holtz Distressed Crayons that I brought to class to colour it - and bonus! - their pigments are pretty easy to move into the little nooks and crannies using a fine wet paintbrush. Here's the final coloured version:

I particularly loved that where the fingertips overlapped created a connected circle of hearts. You could colour your Handala using any medium you like, and you could even break up or add to the overall pattern by adding zentangle as well.

Speaking of zentangle ... during the class, I zentangled onto the watercolour squares I handed out. I used Ken Oliver's Color Burst Watercolour Pigment Powders to create the base colour layers. When the watercolour was dry, I used the random colour areas to break the card into different areas for zentangling. Below you can see the square as it began, and then how I completed the zentangle on it:

When choosing zentangle pattern placement, here's what I consider:

• Variety - a balance between straight line or grid patterns with flowing, organic patterns, particularly trying to have different ones next to each other.
• Light/dark - thinking about patterns next to each other that vary how much area I cover with the black ink. In the bottom right corner, for example, I wanted to keep it more "open" with few lines to balance the other corners that were already quite busy and dark.
• Rigidity vs. spontaneity - some patterns you have to "impose" on an area so it looks like a pattern (like the grid-based pie-shapes in the lower left corner), and sometimes I just let my pen follow the random splodginess of the watercolour, like the pattern in upper right corner which eventually developed into jellyfish shapes. The more you practice, the easier know what goes where will come to you.
• Playing music while you zentangle is fun - and the kind of music you play with affect what you draw, too. During class, we were listening to the "Spa Channel", so this came out dreamy.

I've included some blank bases for you to print out below if you want to play some more, or you could make your own using a very cheap children's watercolour paint set and cardstock. For added texture, scatter on a little rock salt or table salt while the paper is still wet, and brush it off when it's dry. In the meantime, you can print out these ... 

Have fun, and I'd love to see your finished Handalas and Zentangles in future classes!

PS ~ A word about products .... most of what I do in my journal, I do with cheap materials so I can keep it from becoming too expensive and too "precious" to experiment with. I've told you what I use because that's what I have and use, but there are cheaper options available for every process and I am in NO WAY suggesting that you need to buy the same products to do the same processes. For example, I later discovered there was a cheaper product than Colour Burst Pigments, but I'd already bought them, so that's what I have. Several times in my life I've made the mistake of buying something expensive because it worked for someone else only to discover it didn't work for me. So I encourage you to play with the materials I bring to class because they might be just the thing for you, and you can benefit from my already having bought them and played with them, and if they're too expensive for you, I'll do my best to suggest cheaper materials that will do the same job. The important thing to remember is that the "Good Stuff" is in YOU, not in the supplies you use!