My tangle pattern Hydra

First, the challenge to join Lone Creature-you can find her post here.  Click on the picture to go to her "Nature's Construct" post directly.

You may be a bit confused, looking at Melissa's photo, and then at the pattern I created.  I decided to do a bit of brainstorming as well, and talk about the nature of creating pattern steps.  They aren't a study in realism.  The point is not produce steps that recreate the source of the pattern!

So what is the point?  First and foremost, to create pattern steps that anyone can follow.  Traditional zentangle calls for 6 steps or less.

Second, the point is to take elements from your source, stylize them, and use them with repetition and symmetry to create a pattern.  Any pattern that meets the first criteria.

I decided to ignore the most obvious elements-the cone shape and repeating petals.  Or did I?  I stylized the cone into a triangular shape, and mirrored it into four quadrants. If you look closely (I recommend checking the photo at Melissa's site), you'll see each petal is bisected.  I stylized the bisected petals and used it as a motif within each quadrant.  So--my pattern looks nothing like the photo, yet it is totally derived from the photo. 

Now you see why I come up with so many different patterns.  I could easily do four or five from this one photo alone.  And this is why I love doing them.  It makes me look beyond the obvious.