Back to Basics

As Fall falls upon us once again, we are reminded of back to school, back to basics, refamiliarizing ourselves and our families with routine (and comforting) ceremonies.

This is also true for Zentangle. Every once in a while, it's good to revisit our roots . . . remind ourselves of the beauty, simplicity and comfort of an original Zentangle. So if you're not already doing this, we encourage you to touch base with the core of Zentangle from time to time. One way to do this is recreate a simple Zentangle (maybe a variation of your first one) and remember the thrill of creating this tiny work of art for the first time.

Notice how your ease and confidence has changed. Are you becoming more comfortable with teasing out slight variations to your tangles?

Relax and reacquaint yourself with Zentangle's ceremony of simple patterns, with no worries about outcomes, or overusing a favorite tangle, or trying new tools on new media. It's just you and your relaxed focus on that black ink flowing onto that beautiful paper. Since you are not trying to "draw" anything in particular you can allow yourself to be surprised and delighted with unexpected outcomes, one exquisite stroke at a time.

So, go find a blank Zentangle tile . . .

. . . gather your pencil and pen, settle in a comfortable spot, and . . .

Appreciate

Breathe

Relax

Now take your time and enjoy your favorite tangles. Shade, sign and - most importantly - hold your tile at arm's length, turn it this way and that and appreciate once more.