The Fifteen Minute Challenge

This week's challenge from The Diva was to complete a Zentangle tile in 15 minutes.  The premise behind using the small 3.5" square tiles for Zentangles is to be able to complete them quickly without feeling like you have to fill up too much space.  I have never timed myself before to see how long it takes me to complete one, but after this week's challenge I do know this:  it is not 15 minutes!  After taking my first Zentangle class, I promptly went out and bought a drawing pad that was a bit larger.  After working with more space for a few weeks, I went back to the tiles and found them much easier to complete.  Now I think of larger designs as multiple tiles put together rather than making them on one large piece of paper.

That said, here is my first 15-minute tile.  Watching the clock was so stressful for me!  It is definitely not complete.  I usually leave my shading for last, and this tile has none and looks unfinished.

I'm not sure if I cheated on the next one by thinking it through a bit more before I started, but I found a few lessons learned as I went along.
-Simplify tangles and leave out any "unimportant" elements that still give the same impact (as with the Onomato lacking the second bubbly border).
-Use fewer tangles, and repeat them...or "zoom in" and enlarge a tangle or two to quickly fill space.
-Leave white space--it's okay!

 Just for kicks, here is a new project I am working on, embossing tangles on metal sheeting.  This one needs some color added to define it a bit more.  It includes Blooming Butter and Featherfall.  After I finish and mat it, I will post another photo.