Every year, Zentangle Inc. unveils a Tangle of the Year, and it’s always a moment of quiet excitement in the Zentangle community. For 2026, the chosen tangle is TRIPOLI—a pattern that immediately invites curiosity, play, and exploration.
Tripoli is a beautiful tangle that creates a gentle visual illusion. Structurally, it feels like a reticula, offering a repeating framework, yet it remains wonderfully flexible. What makes Tripoli especially engaging is its ability to transform with just a small change in fragments. Alter the fragment, and the entire personality of the tangle shifts—subtle, surprising, and endlessly creative.
In my first exploration of Tripoli, I chose to work inside a circle, allowing the form to guide the flow of the pattern. Almost instinctively, the tile began to suggest an underwater world—fluid, layered, and slightly mysterious. The surrounding tangles support this feeling beautifully: Verdigogh, Any, DivaDance, Printemps, and l’Flux, each adding rhythm, softness, and movement to the composition.
The piece is created on a tan tile, gently washed with watercolors to add warmth and depth. I worked with a limited yet expressive palette—black, brown, and white pens—allowing contrast and highlights to emerge slowly, much like light filtering through water.
Tripoli feels like a tangle that will reveal more with every revisit. This is just my first conversation with it, and I’m looking forward to many more mindful explorations ahead.
Materials:4.5 inches Tan Zendala Tile, Black Micron 01, Brown Micron 01, White Gelly Roll Pen, Water Colors, White Charcoal Pencil, Graphite Pencil, Stub.
