Jo Knows How to Tangle: Gurdell

I’ve been playing around with my tangles a lot lately, probably because I’m inspired by Eni Oken’s classes. I saw a print on a pillow and that led me to deconstruction of the design. Deconstruction means taking an image apart and figuring out how to replicate it. Actually, here are the steps:

1. Look at the image carefully — Get the best, most clearest version of the image you can.
2. Enlarge the image if possible — Funny thing. When you enlarge an image, you see it differently!
3. Cover the image with tracing paper.
4. Break the image down into these parts– i, s, c and o. These are the four strokes that comprise any image!
5. Look for the repetition.

At first, the image I saw was a simple diamond. That’s it. That’s all. But once I went through the steps, I realized there was a pattern–and that meant I could replicate it.

So, I present to you…GURDELL. So named because the “girdle” is that portion of a diamond that divides the top from the bottom. Think of it as a belt going around the waist of the gem.

Some tips to notice–

1. While this is not necessarily a grid pattern (actually I think it’s a blossom pattern), starting out with a box or a grid is helpful.
2. Once you have that space, you can mark two small hashmarks, top and bottom, of the square.
3. And a horizontal line.
4. Next you make a series of carrots or /\ marks. Start in the middle with the largest and make them smaller as you go out.
5. Yes, I suppose you COULD make the /\ marks all the same size, but if you do, you’ll lose some of the 3-D possibilities.
6. Mirror the /\ marks, under the horizontal line.
7. Draw diagonal lines from the tips of the /\ marks and connect them to the small hashmarks.

About shading–

1. Consider the lines from the tips of the /\ as the high points of the image. Therefore, they would be the whitest/lightest in value because you want them to pop out.
2. Shade lines from the horizontal line spaces BETWEEN the /\ to make the valleys.
3. Shade below the horizontal line and /\ marks.
4. Shade the top and bottom.

In my color version, I highlighted the lines from the /\ to the hashmarks. I think they nicely added drama.

I presume this is a blossom pattern because it fits all the hallmarks of a blossom pattern in the Zenology. It’s striking, self-contained, and it dominates the space. Next I think I’ll take the diamond apart and see if I can turn this into a ribbon pattern!

Do you like GURDELL? Any questions about it?