Hi and welcome back to the Chrissie Murphy Designs Blog. I’m moving on to the next fragment in the Magnified Fragments project today. Today we are looking at Fragment A4 using Aura’s as an enhancer. So let’s get into it and I’ll fill you in on all you need to know.
Now before we go any further – I have a disclaimer I’d like to share. I have signed up to be an Affiliate for Amazon Australia. It means that I get a small percentage from the sale of anything you may purchase through links I use in my blog. Just want you to know before we get into today’s post.
The Expressive Bits
What is the Magnified Fragments Project?
Well in short, it’s the biggest zentangle project I have ever undertaken! We are working our way through every fragment in the Zentangle Collection of Reticula and Fragments book, putting them under the microscope and magnifying them.
We are using a different Zentangle Enhancer for each Fragment to thoroughly explore each enhancement technique in depth.
I have longed to undertake a serious project for some time and have been praying for guidance in this area. There are 49 fragments in the book, so this project will take us through to the end of the year, and then some.
By undertaking this project I hope to renew interest in fragments and enhancers as we visit components that may not have been used in a while.
And most importantly, you are welcome to join us – you can join in and follow along using the hashtag #MagnifiedFragments. Check out our Magnified Fragments Gallery! It’s full of all the fragments that Expressive’s have created in the project so far. It’s absolutely amazing!!
What is Fragment A4 using Aura’s as an Enhancer?
Here is a close up of Fragment A4 that is featured in the Zentangle Collection of Reticula and Fragments book by Zentangle founders, Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas.
I have created a tile using this fragment as my string. In doing so, I effectively magnified it.
Aura’s were the enhancer. Zentangle describes the Aura tangle enhancer this way;
“In the Zentangle Method, a line tracing around the outside or inside of a tangle is called an aura.“
Zentangle Inc
Aura’s weren’t an enhancer I really used, but I have been using them more since this tile. Overall I wasn’t pleased with the tile, but I am pleased at what I’ve learned by using Aura’s as an Enhancer.
I chose the following tangles for Fragment A4 using Aura’s as an enhancer:
- African Artist by Tina Hunziker. It’s a pattern that I thought would work well for rotating through quadrants.
- Rixty by Zentangle. This was used to tie off the ends of each quadrant.
What does it mean in terms of my artistic work as a whole?
This was a tile where I tried something different. I had done Monotoned Monotangling before, but this time I wanted to stay with a fixed scale and just rotate the pattern through a variation of shades. As a result, I wasn’t really happy with the results.
I learned a lot through this tile. In terms of all the fragments I’ve completed so far, this one has been the one to teach me the most. It’s lessons will help me going forward.
How can you take this idea and be more Expressive?
I think it’s super easy to discount or throw away a tile you don’t like. But I don’t think that’s the best thing to do.
If you can encourage yourself to stick with it and finish the tile, it will go on to teach you things and ultimately shape you into a better artist.
There’s a catch here though…. When you go on to finish the tile, you still need to be giving it your all, even though you don’t like what you’re doing.
The tile can only go on to shape you if you can’t see how you gave up half way through. The tile needs to be able to show you that you gave it your best.
When it does, it will remind you of what to do next time. It will remind you of how you can work differently and where your strengths are. This is priceless considering it was something you weren’t really happy with to begin with.
The Factual Bits
The materials used
- Zentangle Tile
- Uniball Signo Gel pens in green and white
- Grey Copic Markers in C4, C5 and C7
- Prismacolor Premier Coloured Pencils
- Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolours for the background
How big is Fragment A4 using Aura’s as an enhancer?
It is 4 inches x 4 inches square.
Want to be more Expressive?
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Until next time, listen to your heart and sharpen your coloured pencils. A masterpiece awaits!
Bless you my friend
Chrissie xx
