I don’t know what’s come over me – it seems my bah humbugness has cracked a little and a bit of festive creativity has crept out. Technically these are not tangle patterns nor zentangles as they resemble real objects (one of the zentangle rule no-nos), but they’re close enough for me 🙂
The Holly and The Ivy
Snowflakes
Hi all, I’ve just updated my tangle pattern gallery – there’s been a week’s hiatus due to a technical glitch (a bit of insulation in the connector in the street box apparently) with my internet connection. All 15 of my latest patterns are now linked from the gallery.
Oh boy, this is a good one – as you can see, I more or less mastered it by the end of the instructions! The pattern is based on 10th century Persian motifs using the pomegranate plant as inspiration. The dots in step 1 are to aid you to keep the orientation of the flowers more or less at the right places later on. I found the trick was to try and follow the imaginary curves of the interlocking outlines as you draw the steps. Don’t despair, just practice!
Well that really is it, hope you’ve enjoyed the series 🙂
This pattern is from a Persian repoussé motif on a bronze ewer from the Sassanian period (224BC to 651AD). I think it also has fabulous art nouveau qualities and would fit well with Jugenstil and Wellenstil patterns.
Tomorrow – and you thought it was all over? Well, it turns out I had notes for 15 patterns, so dear tanglers, you have a bonus pattern: ‘Persian Flower Knot’. Make sure you have your glasses on, your tongue ready to stick out slightly and your headache pills ready as it’s a bit of a toughie!
This pattern is adapted from a Persian stucco border pattern – they did like their stucco borders! It starts out in the same way as the Persian Diamonds, so there’s lots of opportunity to blend the two together within your tangles.
Tomorrow, 14 of 14: ‘Sassanian’.
Another pattern adapted from 10th century Persian stucco borders. I think it would look great with the ‘lines’ coloured in as well (the inverse of the shaded sample). Careful shading would also make the outlines pop off the page… Hmmm, must have a go at all of those!
Tomorrow, 13 of 14: ‘Per-de-lys’.
This border pattern is adapted from a 6th century Persian stone carving. Lots of shading opportunities on this one…
Tomorrow, 12 of 14: ‘Persian Diamonds’.
This is a pattern found on Persian glass from the 13th century. I think it would make a lovely border, and if you were inventive, probably could make a good filler pattern filling in with other stylised flowers where needed.
Tomorrow, 11 of 14: another ‘Persian Flower Border’.
This is another pattern based on a Persian stucco border from the 13th or 14th century. It’s a bit tricky as the inner triangles are not connected to the grid lines (else it would just be a matter of drawing lots of parallel lines and colouring in alternate triangles). I found the trick was to draw the lines in step 4 quite close together in the middle. If you draw the triangles to be equilateral, it might be even easier!
Tomorrow, 10 of 14, a ‘Persian Flower Border’.
I’d be surprised if a pattern resembling this one hasn’t been done before, but I have developed the steps without reference to it if it’s out there! The pattern is based on a Persian stucco border pattern from the 10th century.
Tomorrow’s pattern, 9 of 14: ‘Persian Triangles’.