Week 8--Flower of LIfe

The geometry of the Flower of Life can be tricky. Take the time to read the associated blog posts for some of these submissions and you'll see why!

When we asked Margaret Bremner if we could use one of her works to illustrate the design, she not only offered her permission, she got busy working on Bijou(x)--the name for an official two-inch Zentangle tile--and sent these in from Canada:

You can see more of her responses to the TwobyTwo on her blog.

Sarah was inspired by the concept of flowers and used a variety of materials to create her submissions:

What lovely colors and patterns!

Ann in Denmark was inspired by Margaret's work:

Freebird made this bead creation (and has gone back and done all of the themes):

Our official response created totally in Photoshop:

A big bravo to all of the artists who tackle the TwobyTwobyTuesday challenge! There has been great feedback coming in from the artists regarding the process and topics. Rather than find the teenie size limiting, the art has been liberating for some as it can be created quickly. We also thank the art appreciators who have stopped by to see what's going on. We have a voice; you offer us validation.

Be sure to check out the artists' websites as there are plenty more goodies where these came from!
Until next time....

The Secret to the Universe

Somewhere in a stack of design books, we found a very simple rendition of the "Flower of Life." We know you know what that is, but perhaps you didn't know it had a name. At it's most basic, it looks like this:

Fiore della Vita

It gets more complicated with each set of circles, all interlocking on centers. The more circles, the more "flowers." We've seen a battery of tutorials on how to draw it, and we've posted one here, that doesn't require a compass, whittled down to size for the TwobyTwo.
The geometric pattern has a long human history and in some faiths is considered sacred. We found this explanation a quick study and this one is a bit deeper, still just a tip of the iceberg of its religious and mathematical implications.
Can you spot the pattern in this image of silver Shi, the Chinese Guardian Lions?

We can honestly say that this blog adventure started with drawing some doodles and finding out about the Zentangle (R) method. From there, we found all sorts of tangly people on line and a very long story short, found the work of Margaret Bremner. Margaret did a study on the Flower of Life in mandala fashion, including this beautiful Zendala:

Flower of Life
by Margaret Bremner (c) 2013
Reproduced with Permission

For those who practice Zentangle, Margaret (whom you may know as the Enthusiastic Artist) offered a gentle reminder that there is an official Zentangle tile called, "Bijou" that just happens to be two-inches square! And, there's also an official tangle by Molly Hollibaugh called, "Fife," patterned after the Flower of Life. What a perfect combination for the TwobyTwobyTuesday challenge! (You can find a Certified Zentangle Teacher near you who can hook you up with materials).
And while we're talking about art-stuff, Sarah shared with us some yard sale finds:

You can never have enough gizmos, can you? These are Fiskars templates and can be found at a craft store near you.
And true to form, we found something way off-base for this challenge:

Flower of Life
Manga cover
 Fumi Yoshinaga

A lot of inspiration can be found that starts with one little circle. It just begs modern artistic interpretation, doesn't it? 
Show us your "Flowers;" send them to:
1xeritas@gmail.com by June 30, 2015 at 2PM Arizona time. Creations will post later that day.
Thank you in advance for participating and creating. Spread the word so more artists can try their hands at the TwobyTwobyTuesday art challenge.