Beckah Krahula - One zentangle a day: a 6-week course in creative drawing for relaxation, inspiration, and fun

Origins of Zentangle

The creators of Zentangle are Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. He is the Zen and she is the Tangle. Rick has had many diverse vocations, such as cabdriver, high-tech sales and distribution positions, financial analyst, investor, Native Americanstyle flute designer and creator, writer, recording artist, and for many years, monk. Maria is a renowned lettering artist and entrepreneur, owner of Pendragon Ink, a custom stationery and design company based in Massachusetts.

Zentangle is the combination of Marias art background and Ricks meditation background. While watching Maria work one day, Rick noticed that her state of concentration kept her completely focused on her work. Through discussion they realized what Maria experienced while creating was what Rick experienced while meditating. Together they worked to create a series of steps that allow anyone to achieve a relaxed focus while they create beautiful images using repetitive patterns. By using repetitive patterns with deliberate strokes, one becomes engrossed in each stroke and a shift of focusi.e., a heightened awareness in which your mind, instincts, and knowledge all work together quickly, effortlessly, and accuratelycan occur. They call this a meditational art form.

What Rick and Maria call a meditational art form many artists or athletes would describe as being inthezone; a Yoga instructor would call this creating a sacred space; others would refer to it as having a relaxed focus. Not only is Zentangle a way of creating beautiful pieces of art, but it has added benefits to help us through the hectic pace of todays lifestyle. Studies show that this type of activity increases mental retention, stimulates creativity, improves ones mood, can be calming during stressful situations, and can be used as a tool for anger management. For individuals who deal with complex information, practicing Zentangle resets the brainas if you had a nap and woke refreshed. Zentangle teaches self-confidence through creating marks, designs, and freehand drawing and the eye-hand coordination needed for drawing.

These are quite a number of benefits when you consider a Zentangle takes only thirty minutes a day. In addition, you do not need to know how to draw because Zentangle will teach you. It does not require a lot of equipment, space, or technical ability. It can be brought everywhere and done anywhere, by anyone. No previous artistic ability is needed. Zentangle works for everyone.

IN 2008, I WAS A TOURING ARTIST scheduled to teach in a different city over forty-seven weeks. The first show of the year, I was teaching at a national wholesale art convention. This show is always nerve-racking because of large class numbers and limited time to get everyone through the project.

I was limited in movement as I was tethered to the front of the room by a ten-foot microphone cord attached to the wall at one end, the other fed up the back of my jumper and attached at the front. I could barely reach the front row. As I stood, trapped, waiting for the class to start, I noticed Patty Euler, the owner of Queens Ink, drawing on her instruction sheet. Her drawing was beautiful, and I told her that I did not know that she could draw so well. She replied, This is Zentangle. My customers love it. She gave me a demo and promised to show me more when I came to teach at her store in a few months. The class went well, the rest of the week was very busy, and Zentangle fell to the back of my mind.

Fast-forward two months later. I woke up in a hospital recovery room. I learned that a life-threatening illness had returned. I put my busy career on hold as I began treatment. As I had been through this illness before, I knew what to expect, and that made my nerves harder to control.

I lay in the hospital bed attached to tubes that prevented me from moving. Feeling trapped, I remembered the convention, Patty, and her drawing, which I thought would be a great project to keep my hands busy. I wouldnt need many supplies, and it would work in my limited space. Because the drawings were small, my attention span short, and my movement restricted, it seemed the perfect answer. At first I could not remember the name, but it did not take my friends and family long to retrieve it for meZentangle. They printed all they found about it on the Internet and brought it to me with pens and a sketchbook.

See for details on this tile design.

I was surprised on the first day at how the time flew when I was tangling. From that day forward I drew Zentangled tiles to get through appointments, tests, surgery, hospitalizations, and treatments. At first, it was an easy kit to grab and go. It was small but efficient in keeping me occupied when I felt trapped. It did not take long to realize that it wasnt just the process of tangling that helped me through my illness, one step at a time. Often, fellow patients would ask what I was doing, and I would show them. I started bringing extra tiles and pens to share. One day, one of these patients said, No wonder you are so calm and upbeat when I see youthis should be part of everyones recovery.

I soon realized that if creating Zentangles could get me through the worst of times, it would also enhance the best of times. As I healed and was able to return to my studio, I replaced the former random routines I had used to focus with drawing a few Zentangle tiles. Within ten to twenty minutes I am focused and ready to work on my current project. In thirty-two years as a studio artist, I had never found a way to place my mind so quickly in what many call the zone. To me, this means a state of focus that allows the instinctual and intellectual sides of the brain to work in harmony. The process of creating a Zentangle is a great tool. Creating Zentangle tiles fills your life with beautiful pieces of abstract art, improves drawing skills, and benefits the body and mind. Today there are many studies that point to the benefits of meditative art forms. From a reset similar to a nap, they calm the mind, increase the intake of information, sharpen focus, and relieve stress. Every correspondence I send ends with the phrase, Keep creating, it will change your life. Not only does creating add beauty to your life, but also it improves our attitude and personal outlook.

Black tiles have a style and elegance all their own.

A ZENTANGLE IS A MINIATURE abstract work of art. It is created from a collection of patterns not meant to represent anything. It is created on a 3 1/2 3 1/2-inch (8.9 8.9 cm) piece of art paper called a tile. This size allows for a work of art that can be completed in a relatively short time. The process is a meditative art form, using a pen and pencil. There are no mistakes in Zentangle, so there is no need for an eraser. If you do not like the look of a stroke you have made, it then becomes only an opportunity to create a new tangle, or transform it using an old trusty pattern.