Rulers

Can you measure how well crescent moon is drawn?

Whose ruler?

Yours?

Ours?

Some other's whose tile you just saw?

When we made our DVD for our Zentangle Kit, it wasn't to show you exactly how something was supposed to look. We wanted to show you an easy method, an approach to your inner door of self-expression, creativity, and fun. We wanted each and every stroke (step) to be one you'd see and say, "I can do that!" And if you can do one stroke, you can create Zentangle art, one stroke at a time.

And just as we point out that there's no eraser in a Zentangle Kit, there's also no ruler.

Here is a picture of the first tile we did for that DVD. Although we chose which tangles to do, we didn't have a plan of what it would look like. The entire video was done in one take.

Is this the way crescent moon, or florz, or any other tangle is supposed to be done?

Who knows?

Who's to say?

Every time we see a new version, we find a new way it can look and we take inspiration and appreciate it.

If you set out with a ruler to find something that fits your expectations, what will you do if you encounter something that exceeds your expectations? Would you even notice it?

Ken Rockwell, writing about how to take pictures, describes the importance of keeping an open mind:

"I never set out with any preconceived notion of what sort of photos I'm going to make. I just head out and see what I see, and when the light is hot, I just might get something interesting. [...] I've found going to places already on someone else's map to be far less productive than just wandering around with open eyes.

How eloquent! And how appropriate for creating Zentangle art.

New worlds aren't found on old maps.

As we describe in our book, having no predefined right answer is both a charm and a challenge of the Zentangle Method. There is no "right" answer to look up in the back of the puzzle book and no one (at least, we hope not!) to look at it and say, "Correct!" or, "Incorrect!"

So . . . what does crescent moon look like?

Better to ask yourself, "What does my crescent moon look like at this moment on this tile?"

Only you can find out.

Each and every time.

With a relaxed focus and leaving rulers and preconceived notions aside, expect to be surprised and delighted.

Naturally, passion and gratitude help.

Enjoy!


Click image for larger view. (No, we're not giving this one away!  :-)