Pattern Play-a new Zentangle book!

As a contributor, I received a pre-release copy of the new Zentangle book, Pattern Play by Cris Letourneau and Sonya Yencer, CZT's.  Cris is the author of Made In The Shade, which is a fantastic book full of shading lessons for your Zentangle tiles and Zentangle Inspired Art.  I was anxiously awaiting this new book, and finally had the time to sit down and read it cover to cover.  I have to say that I am really impressed with this book and I think that Cris and Sonya did a wonderful job!  I am honored that Cris asked to have one of my tangle patterns, Falz, featured and some of my art work too!  It's always a thrill to see your art work in a book!

 

Now on to the book......this is a book that beginners and seasoned tanglers will enjoy!  It starts off giving a background on what Zentangle is and what it isn't.  I really liked that they talked about Zentangle not just being a collection of patterns (which can be overwhelming and time consuming), but they go on to show how you can explore and refine your style with the tangles you already know.  They talk about all the materials used, the basic steps to creating a Zentangle,  and what a basic class is like.  Next they explore tangleations (noticeable variations of existing tangles).  This part of the book really spoke to me about just how many ways there are to create variations of tangles and I loved all of the illustrations they used for examples! Pictures are worth a thousand words!  Then they go on to explore 21 tangles and ways to play with them and make them your own.  They show the original tangle with all the step-outs, 6 tangleations for you to explore, and finished art to inspire you.  After each tangle they include two workbook pages with tips and suggestions for you to practice.  Now, I really hope you are able to draw in the workbook pages, but if you are like me and don't want to mess up a book (I know, I am a weird perfectionist who can't bring myself to write in a book), you can still work through each pattern and practice on paper that you stick in the book (like I will be doing), LOL!  Anyway, this is going to take me awhile to explore each of the 21 patterns and the endless possibilities for tangleations, and I look forward to doing just that!





I hope this review has helped you some and that you will get this book.  I think you will enjoy all of the great information it has to offer and that it helps kick start your creativity! 

I just ordered some copies that I will carry to sell in my classes (let me know if you'd like one....I can save you shipping).  Otherwise, they will be on sale on Amazon to everyone effective June 27th.   Congratulations on a wonderful book, Cris and Sonya! Happy tangling and tangleations!