 This review is by Sandra Strait and appeared on her blog, Life Imitates Doodles
Before I start with the review, I want to show you what I won from Sandy Bartholomew's recent Minion! contest (check out her ZT for Kidz blog to see all the fabulous entries). I won a copy of the Zentangle for Kidz book; a packet of tangle trading cards with the patterns CUdad, Btl Joos, Stubert, Pollen & Punch; 5 official zentangle tiles in cool case; a bookmark, and a lovely little zentangle button! Life is Good!!!! Thank you Sandy for a really cool and fun contest, and for the fabulous prizes! And now on with the review. Zentangle for Kidz! Zentangle for Kidz is slanted toward the younger generations, but would also be excellent for those adults who are really, really convinced they will melt if they ever pick up a pencil (you've all met someone like that!). The emphasis is on having fun. The style is all Sandy's. If you've seen either of her other books, you'd instantly know this one is hers. But this one has the addition of Alex and Lilah-cartoon characters who guide you through the process of tangling, making you laugh along the way. Lilah Beans abound! Most of the tangles can be found in her other two books, though I didn't recognize the tangles Dyon, Yo, Snare, Jelly or Jelly Moon. But the templates of a tangle trading card and tags that can be copied and used for organizing your tangles are all new. This would be a great book for a newbie, or your kids or just because you want to have fun! Size: 8.5" x 11" Pages: 20 pages, including covers Portability: Easily carried, but too big for most purses. Perfect for folders. What's Inside: Stuff you need; How to Draw a Zentangle; Let's Tangle; Snakes & Borders; Easy Zendalas; Auras; Messing around with Tangles; Strings; Where to find patterns; Templates for organizing patterns; More Ideas. The Tangles: Knightsbridge; Lilah Bean; Keeko; Florz; Buttercup; Kaleido; Cootie; Pane; Hollibaugh; Krust; Parabox; BB; Jetties; Puff-O; Gewgle; Punkin; Botto; Flutter; FlutterBi; Onamato; Meer; Shattuck; Knase; Zander; Squid; Sippy; Msst; Btl Joos; Yo; Twist; Pearlz; Dyon; Gust; Caral; Awdry; Snare; Flux; Pingline; Crescent Moon; Alps; Jelly; Jelly Moon; Zazzle; Tidal; Revel; Oshun; Mehndi Zendala  This review appeared on Tangle.Patterns.com by Linda Farmer
Zentangle for Kidz! is CZT® Sandy Steen Bartholomew’s latest Zentangle® book. Using a comic book style, written and illustrated by Sandy, Sandy helps kids discover how to draw “cool stuff”. Cute cartoon characters, named Alex and Lilah after Sandy’s own children, guide kids through the easy steps of creating a Zentangle®, and patterned drawings that requires nothing more than a pencil, pen, paper. Zentangle for Kidz! is full of colorful kid-friendly illustrations that kids will find fun to follow and explore their own imaginations through drawing. For those curious about the tangle patterns, by my count there are 47 tangles of which 17 are official Zentangle® patterns (including the first appearance of instructions for Dyon) and the rest are from Sandy’s previous books, Totally Tangled, and Yoga for Your Brain. Sandy illustrates the steps for each tangle and uses tips and a variety of cartoon characters to help children make their way through the instructions. She gives tips on shading, adding auras, using shapes and letters for strings, and drawing basic zendalas. Unlike Sandy’s two most recent books, Zentangle for Kidz! is the larger Zentangle-series (by Suzanne McNeill) physical dimension of 8.5 x 11-inches, and contains 20 pages including covers. “Speaking in language all kids can understand and will appreciate, this new book provides everything your child needs to try their hand at drawing, while keeping it fun, easy and stress-free.” Zentangle for Kidz! makes a great gift for any young child and might just spark a generation of contented tanglers. What could be wrong with that?  This review appeared on TanglePatterns.com by Linda Farmer
Good News! Sandy Bartholomew’s teeny-tiny AlphaTangle – A Totally Tangled Alphabet has just been republished by Suzanne McNeill’s Design Originals publishing company, and it’s now available for purchase. It’s a fun “new and improved, revised and updated” edition. There are several updates to the new edition, starting with its slightly larger physical dimensions, 4 5/8 x 5 1/2-inches, and a newly designed cover. Sandy has added a list of basic supplies and simple steps for getting started, along with a few drawing tips and 6 pattern mini-how-to’s: Nightsbridge, Keeko, Pearlz, Printemps, Hollibaugh and Ennies. The rest of the charmingly tangled alphabet content is identical to Sandy’s original self-published first edition, with 77 of the original 102 official Zentangle® patterns. (See my review of the first edition here for more details.) It’s no secret that I have a “thing” about people using correct terminology about Zentangle®. So I really like that Sandy points out some tangle lingo in her effort to help Zentangle Zealots keep their terms straight: TIP: Zentangle is a noun, not a verb. Don’t say “I Zentangled my bathroom floor.” Say “I tangled my bathroom floor.” Other things to say: “I need to create a Zentangle, right now!” “Sorry, I didn’t hear you. I was busy tangling.” If you’re looking for tangle pattern drawing instructions, AlphaTangle isn’t it. (TanglePatterns.com is!) But this is one book that every fan should have in their library because it illustrates many official Zentangle® patterns in a very delightful way. And it’s perfect for tucking in a pocket or bag to carry around with you for inspiration when you “Need to create a Zentangle, right now!” This review appeared on Sandra Strait's blog, Life Imitates Doodles
Original Revised Pages: 62 Pages: 68 Size: 4" x 4" Size: 4.5" x 5.5" Cover Color: Black Cover Color: Red No instruction Instruction: Tools--All You Really Need Instruction: The Basic Steps Steps are shown for: Printemps, Hollibaugh, Ennies Alphatangle isn't meant to be a teaching book. It's a handy-dandy reference that shows beautiful examples of many patterns, but not the steps to creating them. It does not show how to draw the patterns. I emphasize this, because it's a delightful book, but people can be disappointed if they are expecting something different. The original version is slightly more portable because of its smaller size. The revised version has four pages of instruction for beginners. Not all of the tangles in the book are official tangles, and not all of the official tangles are shown, but this is the largest collection of them to be found (unless you take the CZT training). If you want a small reference, easily carried, then this is the book for you. I carry the original version of Alphatangle with me all the time, and it has started to fall apart (I've lost the opening page!), so it was a no-brainer for me to buy this revised version. Amazon says they still have 1 new of the Original available, but I don't believe it's available elsewhere unless someone is selling it on ebay.  This review appeared on Sandra Strait's Life Imitates Doodle Blog
Yoga for Your Brain by Sandy Steen Bartholomew Size: 8.5" x 8.5" (21.6 x 21.6 cm ) Pages: 52 Portability: Easily carried, but too big for most purses and a little thick for folders. What can I say? Sandy Bartholomew has written the book I wish I had written! It has exercises, and projects, philosophy, and encouragement, all written clearly and with a wry sense of humor. The book is more advanced than its predecessor, Totally Tangled, going deeper into methods of shading, and for creating your own patterns. If you are the person who says you can’t draw a stick figure, and you are very new to zentangle, this is a book you put on your list for later. But if you are an inexperienced tangler who has seen all those really cool zentangles and wondered how they were done—this is your book. And there are plenty of ideas for creativity so even the experienced tangler will find sources of interest. The book is beautifully illustrated, and there are lots and lots of tangles—90 in all, 76 of them new. The Tangles Ammon, Annee, Apeel, Bales, Ballenchain, Baseflake, Becki, Bellaposa, Bellish, Besochix, Billiken, Bingley, Botto, Boxt, Caral, Chads, Chakra, Crystle, Circfleur, Coop, Cootie, Durn, Etcher, Fidget, Flake, Fleur, Fleur-ish, Flores De Casa, Florz, Fürn, Gewgle, Haffleur, Itch, Jute, Kringel, Krust, Leeter, Lustrade, Muffit, Mumsy, Ninja, Ogel, Paisley, Pellet, Pi, Pingline, Pixie, Portia, Purlbox, Quip, Radia, Ramykin, Sabi, Sippy, Skein, Slink, Slurp, Sporktine, Stature, Subcub, Sweed, Tentacle, Tide, Tideberry, Tuffit, Tung, Twiggy, Twist, Uptown, Vine, Wabi, Whysk, Wingding, X-glass,Y.A.F., Zusafürn Tangle Examples: Buttercup, Crescent Moon, Hollibaugh, Jacki, Jetties, Keeko, Knightsbridge, Lilah Bean, Printemps, Punkin, Quabog, Sampson, Yawn, What’s Inside Getting started with zentangle; Using Auras; Different kinds of shading; Curvy tangles; Tangles from Grids; Deconstructing patterns; Tangles within tangles; Using the Paisley pattern; Circular Tangles; Tips for Zendalas; Snowflake type tangles; Taking photos and sketches for patterns; Where to look for patterns; Tangling portraiture; Creating Tangle Variations; Combining Tangles; Making a spinner; Using Zentangle for Meditation; Zentangling What You Love; Using Styles; Transfers; Zentangle Journal; Foam Printing; Tangling on Rocks. Artwork Above: "Yoga for the Brain Potholder" by Sandra Strait In this example, I've used the tangle Bales (with a striped Aura), Slink, Pellet, Purlbox, Radia & Jute.  This review appeared on TanglePatterns.com by Linda Farmer
Sandy Steen Bartholomew’s new book, Yoga for Your Brain: a Zentangle Workout is now available! OMG – let me just say that if you already have Totally Tangled in your library you will definitely want to get Sandy’s latest. By my count there are 90 patterns in the book – and 76 of them are all brand new patterns and they’re all by Sandy! The remaining patterns (14) are official patterns and others included in her two previous books, AlphaTangle and Totally Tangled. The book is the same physical dimensions as Totally Tangled with 52 pages (including cover). It contains 24 chapters and an alphabetical tangle index at the end. I am so excited about this book! It’s jam-packed with extended tutorials on all the things you learned in Totally Tangled and so much more. A few of the tips, projects and creative ideas included in the 24 chapters in Yoga for Your Brain include:
Please Note: This book is not geared to beginners. If you are a beginner, you should start with Totally Tangled. Of course, you can always get both. This review appeared on TanglePatterns.com by Linda Farmer
AlphaTangle – A Truly Tangled Alphabet is “an adorably teeny (4″ square) book of alphabet letters” created from “official” Zentangle® patterns. It comes from the creative mind of CZT® Sandy Bartholomew, author of Totally Tangled. Many official Zentangle® tangle patterns are named within the drawings and each letter of the alphabet is formed from several of the patterns with names starting with that letter. For example, the letter A is drawn using the patterns Avreal, Ambler, and Ahh. Each letter has its own page in the book with an equally delightful facing-page illustration. According to Sandy, “The original art was drawn with a Micron pen and shaded with pencil. AlphaTangle® was intended to provide inspiration for fellow Zentanglers.” If you are interested in identifying many (by my count, 77) of the original 102 official Zentangle® patterns, and enjoying Sandy’s take on the drawings, this teeny book AlphaTangle is worth the teeny price of admission for your Zentangle book collection. This review appeared on TanglePatterns.com by Linda Farmer
Totally Tangled by Sandy Steen Bartholomew – this softcover book from CZT® Sandy Bartholomew is a must-have reference for Zentanglers and doodlers alike. Formally trained in illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design and New York School of Visual Arts, Sandy is an author, illustrator, mixed media artist, and business woman who runs her own “creativity general store”, mini-gallery, studio, and teaching studio in New Hampshire. These endeavors clearly show in the creativity of Totally Tangled. Lavishly illustrated in Sandy’s whimsical and engaging style, this 52-page (including cover) delight contains directions for 107 (my count) patterns. Most are Sandy’s creations, but she also includes patterns by 11 guest artists, and 5 “official” Zentangle® patterns. Totally Tangled begins with an illustrated section on tools you’ll find helpful, and suggestions on how to make the best use of them in your tangles. Next Sandy reviews the basic steps of creating a Zentangle® followed by tips and techniques on shading, color, contrast, and how to create depth and roundness. As a rookie Zentangler, I found these pages really valuable and refer to the them often. Then come the patterns! Lots of them, with step-by-step illustrations and tips sprinkled liberally throughout the pages. There are also examples of Egyptian, Japanese and Mehndi designs, and Zendalas for further inspiration. The final 10 pages include lots of creative ideas on Zentangle applications, ideas for strings, more sources of inspiration, and tangling with your kids. It concludes with an alphabetical index of all the patterns in the book for easy reference. Totally Tangled is full of inspiration and creative ideas for your Zentangling pleasure. I’d venture to bet that you’ll be hooked in no time with this book at your side. And you’ll be amazed how your kids will love this too – it’s a great hobby for the whole family. As the back cover says, “Can’t draw? Stressed out? Even if you are an artist and feel perfectly calm … Zentangle is for you! Learn to focus, relax your mind and boost your creative confidence. No Kidding”. Seriously. You want this book in your Zentangle® library. This review appeared on Sandra Strait's Life Imitates Doodles blog...
It won't be the easiest thing to stay objective with my review of this book. Because some of my tangle patterns and zentangles are included. *does the dance of joy* But I'll do my best. The book has 115 tangle patterns, if I counted correctly. Each chapter has a 'theme'--patterns based on grids, patterns based on the flow of water, patterns based on japanese and egyptian designs and more. Brief, but specific tips on techniques are sprinkled liberally throughout the book. For those of you looking for help with shading, Sandy avoids the technical, but gives you very specific information on different types of shading. Great emphasis is placed on the reader learning to expand his or her own creativity. The book is full of ideas for creating strings, discovering your own patterns, and using the patterns you've learned. The bulk of the tangles are Sandy's, but she has also allowed 11 other artists to share their tangles. I've listed the patterns in the book below, by the artist (see review online for list). I suspect many of you have been following some of them, and want to know which of their patterns are included. Totally Tangled Size: 8.5" x 8.5" (21.6 x 21.6 cm ) Pages: 52 Portability: Easily carried, but too big for most purses and a little thick for folders. |
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