sharpie – Art Room Happenings!

Create these fun and super easy tile coasters with a few Sharpies and some rubbing alcohol! Ceramic tiles make an inexpensive substrate to make these wonderful abstract designs on – I find tiles from our local Re-Store in all different shapes and sizes! Perfect for inexpensive & unique gifts to give!

What you need:

Sharpies or permanent markers
91% Isopropyl Alcohol
Clear Coat spray – I used Rust-Oleum Gloss
Ceramic Tile
Adhesive Felt pads
Small paint brush

Step one: Gather all your supplies and clean your ceramic tile surface with the rubbing alcohol, you can apply it to a cotton ball or paper towel!

Step two: Make sure your tile is dry from the rubbing alcohol, then start coloring your tile with your Sharpies or permanent markers! Keep in mind your colors are going to get moved around and colors will blend together – it’s best to just create abstract designs here, don’t try to create a picture, as it will get messed up in our next few steps!

Step three: Continue to color in your tile – you can leave some areas blank if desired, however, I find that the more color the better!

Step four: Dip your rush in the rubbing alcohol and gently “dab” the alcohol on the tile – a little bit goes a long way. You will immediately see the alcohol have an effect on the color.

Step five: Continue to add rubbing alcohol, I did mine in all dabs, creating a droplet effect. You could try splattering, brush strokes, or a combination to achieve different effects!

Step six: I continued to add dabs until all of my marker lines were gone. Be careful not to add too much rubbing alcohol as it moves and spreads your colors out, making the colors lighter and allowing more of the white to show through (this is why I find the more color the better in step three).

Step seven: Let you rubbing alcohol dry completely and then spray your tile with a clear coat – I used Rust-Oleum Gloss. Start with a very light layer of clear coat as sometimes it can effect your design. Let the light layer dry and then add a second coat to finish your tile!

Step eight: Let your tile dry completely – you can tell the clear coat effected my colors, making them a bit more muted!

Step nine: Once your tile is dry flip it over and add felt pads to the corners so your tile doesn’t scratch any surfaces! I used self adhesive felt pads but you could also hot glue cut felt pieces or cork as well!

Step ten: Enjoy your coaster! Or make and give as gifts!

If you’ve done classes with me before, we’ve probably created some sort of Zentagle inspired art! They’re one of my favorite activities to warm up with or combine with other art projects. They’re something anyone can create and have unique results! If you haven’t yet made a Zentangle; The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. Learn more at zentangle.com. According to the method, true Zentangles are completed in black ink on white paper (and can include some pencil shading) on 3.5″ square pieces of paper, however, you can create art inspired by Zentagles many different ways – I like to mix them up with other projects too! I’ve included below my inspired method for creating Zentangles and a few examples of ways you can apply them to other art! *”Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc.

What you need to get started with a basic inspired Zentangle art:

Paper – I use white card stock or smooth bristol paper, however, any paper will do (you could even use colored card stock or construction papers). The traditional size for a Zentangle is a 3.5″ square – or change it up and make your Zentangle into a bookmark, greeting card or any size or shape you’d like!
Black Sharpies – a regular sharpie marker and a sharpie pen. You can use any black ink pen or marker you have on hand though! Or change it up and use the same methods but with colored pens & markers!

Step one: My favorite way to get started is by drawing a few lines across your paper – edge to edge. I use the sharpie marker for this step. It’s okay if your lines overlap or start and stop on the same edge. The lines can be wavy, zig-zagged, curvy, etc. My finished Zentangle will be a bookmark!

Step two: Your lines have created spaces, or shapes, that we now get to fill with patterns! I like the smaller sharpie pen for this step. Your patterns could be repeating lines, shapes, or a combination! Take a look around to find inspiration for your patterns – there are lines, shapes & patterns everywhere!

Step three: Continue to fill in your spaces or shapes with patterns until you have them all filled in!

Variations – Instead of filling in the whole piece of paper with Zentangles you could first draw an outline shape to fill in (trace your hand, use a stencil or freehand a shape/object). Make it collaborative – it’s fun to have everyone join in, each person can fill in a different space after the lines have been drawn or each person can start a Zentangle which can then be passed to the next person, added to, and then passed along again! You could also add color to your completed Zentangles. Or make a painting into a Zentangle – paint a picture fist and then draw Zentangles on top (see the butterfly and cat pictures below).

Some examples of student Zentagles and variations! If you still need more help getting started or would like more inspiration to get started with check out my inspired Zentangle packet! Happy Zentangling!