Hi and welcome back to the Chrissie Murphy Designs Blog. It’s that time of the year again….. time to share about my time at the Yintangles Seminar 2022. This was the second Yintangles Seminar I’ve been to, and I loved every minute of it. Let’s get into it so I can fill you in on this amazing event.
Some facts about the Yintangles Seminar 2022
The Yintangles Seminar is hosted by Yvonne Rein, CZT. This is the second year Yvonne has run the event, and this year it was held from 12 to 15 November at the Seville Mercy Conference Centre in Cairns.
There were about 19 of us who attended live this year, and we came from all over Australia. We travelled from Darwin, Brisbane, Sydney, Newcastle, Lismore, Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart.
There was no online component to the Seminar this year, it was all face to face teaching.
Day 1 of the Yintangles Seminar 2022
During Day 1, we had 4 classes;
The first class was with Niki Lawrence, CZT who joined us via Zoom. Niki had us working with Mistleberry (a combination of mistletoe and berries). I really loved Niki’s class and we were so grateful she was able to teach us from her home base in Sydney.
The second class was with Yvette Campbell, CZT and this was the first of the days classes to push me out of my comfort zone. Yvette had us working on a different surface. It was called Formakote.
This surface reacts with watercolour markers in a unique way. And micron pens just glide over it. I found the colours I used became quite muted and I was really challenged with how to apply contrast….
In the end, I was thrilled with the tile I created and I’m so grateful to Yvette for the introduction to this new medium.
Class 3 was with Lianne Woods, CZT and again the push out of my comfort zone continued. Lianne’s class was inspired by artist Wassily Kandinsky’s Squares with Concentric Circles piece.
The tile we created combined elements of the concentric circles with a cityscape. This is something I would never normally consider tangling, so I really enjoyed the new perspectives and techniques Lianne shared.
The last Class of the day was with Sue Douglas, CZT and again, those comfort zone boundaries were pushed! Sue’s tile was one of complete freedom with no string boundaries to contain us. The patterns guided you instead as you decided where to place them.
Sue also had us using a wider range of gel pens (for me anything greater than two colours is a wide range!). I used the same colours as Sue, and they were ones I’d never normally use together. I love the different look that these elements ended up creating.
Sue really challenged my sense of colour and composition and I’m so grateful for this lesson.
Day 2 of the Yintangles Seminar 2022
During Day 2, we had another 4 classes;
Class 5 was with Mary Bryant, CZT and Mary taught us Microtangling (a concept originally deconstructed by Sonia Gangoli). I absolutely loved this class and I had a great time with it. A big thank you to Mary for bringing this class to the Seminar.
After Mary’s class we were surprised to find Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas (the Zentangle Founders) had joined us for a one hour catch-up. It was great to hear how everyone discovered Zentangle and to hear Rick and Maria’s thoughts about what inspires them as creatives.
Then it was on to Class 4. Class 4 was a Terrarium by Yvonne Rein, CZT. This was such a beautiful design, and Yvonne used a different approach for teaching it. Instead of tangling out front on the big screen, Yvonne had a Powerpoint full of steps to follow. It was a great way to learn.
This was the first piece I was unable to complete at Seminar, and the rest of the days classes ended up following suit. It’s given me some homework for the next little while which I’m looking forward to completing.
Class 7 was presented by Tegan Rein, CZT. Tegan showed us how to create bookmarks using tangling that you rotate. You tangle one end, rotate the bookmark, tangle the other and then fill the centre area.
Just like Yvonne’s class, I wasn’t able to finish my bookmark at Seminar, so I’ll work on it at home. I’m so thankful to learn this way of tangling as I love the layered look it gives when finished.
The last class was the biggest for me because it was mine! My class was called “High Contrast Pangea and Aquafleur” and we worked a hybrid tangle of the two patterns. We used scale and colour as a way to provide high contrast on a tile. The tiles that everyone created looked amazing! Check out the mosaic below.
I believe I have lots of room for improvement as a teacher, but overall, I’m pleased with how things panned out. Just like the two classes beforehand, I was unable to complete my tile too, and I will need to work on it later.
My favourite moments from the Yintangles Seminar 2022…
There were so many awesome moments, but there are a few that were distinct.
On Saturday night a group of us headed in to the city to visit the Cairns Night Markets. We finished our evening with a ride on the Ferris Wheel and we were able to see a cruise ship leave the port of Cairns. It was all lit up and looked amazing. It was a great time with great friends.
I also loved sitting beside Kim Lechner, CZT and Rikki Bradley. I learned so much from listening to them as they tangled. Each day, I watched them devote themselves to the tiles they were working on with such reverence and beauty. It was something I found very moving.
I’ve been particularly challenged by Kim. I’ve learned I tend to speed through stuff with a “she’ll be right” attitude. I’d love to incorporate some of the reverence and attention I see Kim give a tile into the way I create mine.
What blew my mind…
This time it was the classes that pushed me out of my comfort zone. I felt lost at times not knowing how to achieve things I normally know how to do in a tile. I was completely captivated by what these teachers were able to do.
You know when you travel on a plane and you look at earth down below and you understand how small you actually are in the big scheme of things? Well this is what these classes were like for me.
I realised how little I actually know as a tangler and my mind was blown away by the techniques being demonstrated by Lianne, Yvette and Sue. It was absolutely amazing.
Mealtimes were fun…. again
Sharing meals together each day was a real treat. There was so much great conversation, lots of laughs, and many wonderful memories.
Still grateful…
Just like last year, I am so grateful to Yvonne Rein, CZT for what she has been able to organise. The Yintangles Seminar 2023 has been such a blessing to so many of us in the Australian Zentangle community. Friendships have deepened, creative inspiration has been stirred and we’ve all shared some great moments together.
Thank you Yvonne, very much.
Want to be more Expressive?
Come and create with me.
When you sign up to the Expressive’s List you will receive an email each month that’s full of creatively inspiring stories and ideas. You’ll also receive a month’s worth of tangle and journal prompts that are designed to kickstart your creative expression.
I can help you to express yourself creatively if 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
