Hi and welcome back to the Chrissie Murphy Designs Blog. I’m sharing one of my first tiles using Repeating Fragments today. So lets’s get into it and have a closer look.
Now before we go any further – I have a disclaimer I’d like to share. I have recently 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 inspired me to create this Repeating Fragments tile?
As you know, I have recently developed a love for Fragments. Each week as we magnify a fragment, I keep thinking about what it would look like if it was repeated. Zentangle Fragments are actually intended to be repeated. They’re designed for use in a grid of some kind.
I’ve shared in the past how I had a bit of an aversion to grid patterns and straight lines. I held an Expressive Challenge earlier in the year, just to try and help myself warm up to them (check out what I created here). It must have worked, because I don’t have the same aversion to straight lines in tangling I once had.
I’m finding I am more and more open to working in grids…. I decided I was going to give it a go!

What techniques did I use for the Repeating Fragments?
For this tile I played around with scaling by using a grid that reduced in size from one side of the tile, to the other.

What does it mean in terms of my artistic work as a whole?
This is a fairly important tile for me, because it signifies a progression artistically.
As we grow and develop as artists, so does our ability to appreciate other forms of art. I was not a fan of grid patterns and straight lines. I’ve said before, I felt they were too rigid and stiff and I struggled to see beauty in them.
But over time, through conscious choices to explore things I felt were binding, I’ve changed. I’ve grown. And I’ve developed.
I can now say that I see the beauty. I can see the elegance, the simplicity and the order in grid patterns. They are beautiful. This has been a wonderful growth for me. This tile is very significant for my artistic work as a whole.

How can you take this idea and be more Expressive?
Is there a type of tangling or art you’re not really a fan of? Why not make a decision to deliberately explore it further.
Often when we explore something in greater depth, we develop more of an appreciation for it. And when our appreciation increases, so does our curiosity.
Curiosity is a great quality to have as it leads to new discovery. We’re working to become more Expressive as artists, so discovering new things will only help us in this regard.

The Factual Bits
The materials used
- White Hexagonal Tile
- Derwent Inktense in blues and browns
- Signo Uniball Gel Pen in white, black and brown
- Prismacolor Premier Coloured Pencils in varying colours
- Grey Copic Markers in W4, W5 and W7

What Fragment was used for Repeating Fragments?
I chose Fragment E4 from the Zentangle Collection of Reticula and Fragments book by Zentangle founders, Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas.
How big is the Repeating Fragment tile ?
It is 4 inches in diameter at its widest point.

Want to be more Expressive?
Join the Expressive’s List to begin to learn ways you can start to express yourself creatively. With the Lord there are no moulds or limits, just possibilities, and the promise of unearthing who you were created to be.
Expressive Subscribers receive an email each month that contains creative inspiration and ideas, links to helpful resources and a month’s worth of journal prompts to stimulate creative expression. These prompts are a great way of learning to express yourself when you’ve never really tried it before. Fill in your details below to sign up.
Until next time, listen to your heart and sharpen your coloured pencils. A masterpiece awaits!
Bless you my friend
Chrissie xx