Inktober Tangles 2023
Participating in Inktober Tangles has become a welcome fall tradition in my house. I look forward every year to the handout that Stephanie Jennifer creates with her lovely artwork and tangle oriented prompts. Stephanie is a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT) from seminar 21 who lives in Singapore. You may have seen or heard about her company, Seven Forests Five Rivers LLP.
The handout has tangle prompts with links to the original authors’ post with steps for drawing each pattern. She also includes a drawing of her own, a Facebook page for sharing our drawings and a hashtag to follow - #InktoberTangles2023.
Inktober Setup
Last year I worked in a handmade journal where I mixed tangles, fun mixed media papers and watercolor. This year, I wanted to keep it simple and used a small journal that I found at a little book store in Sitka Alaska. The journal is from Peter Pauper Press and is 3.75 x 5.5 inches.
Inktober 2023 - Days 1-6
This first week of Inktober Tangles included a mixture of ‘new to me’ tangles and beloved familar friends. Beelight by Zentangle, Flame Flower by Deb Bowyer and Nayu by Emiko Kaneko were definately familiar as I have used them many times in my own work and in classes.
Caro by Lucy Farran and Sunbelt by Jody Genovese were new and now have been added to my “good list” of tangles.
Inktober 2023 - Days 7-12
Foundabout by Zentangle is one of my “besties” since Maria shared it with us at ZenAgain 2022. Barz by Alice Hendon is a great tangle that makes me think Steampunk. Bailarine by Eni Oken, Buldiz by Stephanie Bordeau, and Dark Busters by Diana Marshall are cool ‘new to me’ tangles.
Inkotber 2023 - Days 13-18
This week included many beautiful and familiar tangles. Icanthis by Zentangle, Prima by Kimberly, Scara by Midori Furuhashi, Walnutz by Ildica Boyd, Acropolis by Joanna Quincy, and Zutto by Yuko Takamasu.
Inktober 2023 - Days 19-24
Who doesn’t love Knightsbridge by Zentangle as a great foundation tangle? Kalooa by Nina Dreher Goeddertz, Enoc by Danielle Depalma-Mabanta, and Syndeo by Stephanie Jennifer were completely new to me.
Roos by Oswaldo Burbano is an interesting tangle that gave me trouble trying to get it right. I need more practice with this one! Flutch by Heidi Kay was fun and also a little bit of a challenge.
Inktober 2023 - Day 25-31
This last set of tangles is by far the sweetest! Onamato by Zentangle, Camus by Annett Rumpler and Oasis by Tomas Padros are great line tangles that are versatile enough to be used in a grid and in circles. Kasual by Iratxe Unzurrunzaga Garate is a great botanical oriented tangle and Miliacrown by Susan Yeo is a wonderful background tangle.
Trixyz by Tina Chen is similar to Triquetra knots but drawn with a step out. Finally, Poke Root by Zentangle is another one of those great foundation tangles.
In Conclusion
This was another wonderful Inktober year with new tangles and old favorites. It’s inevitable that some tangles seem so familiar that they flow from my pen and others are a little bit of a struggle. We each have our own art leanings such as liking grid vs. organic tangles.
I always enjoy Inktober and will look forward to joining in again next year.
Have a great art filled day!
Nancy