I often hear, “Go out and make your mark!” But people are so used to consuming what others create, they forget they can make their own marks.
Maria and I believe that life is an art form. We also believe that each person is an artist. However, most forget that creativity is easy, natural and fun.
Ask students in any 3rd grade class, "How many here are artists?" and every hand will reach for the sky. But ask them again in high school and rarely will a hand move.
As you take tests throughout years of schooling you learn there are predetermined right answers. Everything else is wrong. When you solve crossword or Sudoku puzzles, each has one predetermined solution. Even coloring books convey the subtle message that someone else is authorized to create the marks within which you must color.
When you do not use your creativity, it atrophies.
So how can you regain your creative passion? Our (predictable) answer is . . . the Zentangle Method, of course!
The Zentangle Method teaches you how to make marks and then (most importantly), how to make them your own. In Zentangle art, there are no predetermined “right” answers. However the Zentangle Method offers the necessary structure so you can express your marks with ease and confidence.
You have an infinite reservoir of creativity. With the Zentangle Method you will begin to appreciate the vastness of that reservoir. You will discover how good it feels to exercise your imagination and express your creativity. You can make a mark on your world. Begin that process by discovering how fun it is to make your marks on paper.
With each stroke, more imagination, creativity and confidence show up. You discover that the necessary stroke shows up when you need it. Gratitude shows up. You admire what you create.
What will be your contribution? . . . your service? . . . your offering? What mark will you make?
Life is an art form.
You are an artist.
Anything IS possible, one stroke at a time.™
Make your mark!
--Rick
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How has the Zentangle Method helped you to make your marks, your way? Please tell us in the comments below and we will choose two names to receive one of the following gifts with our gratitude:
- A year's subscription to the Zentangle Mosaic app!
- A print of Maria's beautiful "Anything is possible, one stroke at a time" poster
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Posts
40 comments:
I am profoundly grateful for finding the Zentangle method. It brought me back art that I though had been all but lost. I had been an a commercial artist and jewelry designer for many years, when I was stopped on my tracks by stage 4 cancer. During the treatment years, I thought it was all lost, I could not create anything for work, let alone for pleasure. Then I found Zentangle, and it brought back art in the most unexpected way, in a calm, soothing, meditative way, not the high strung way it had been before while working for clients. Thank you SO much for bringing that joy to me.
Zentangle has definitely left its mark on me, and in turn has helped me to make my mark on the world in so many ways. Some of the most memorable and important ways have been when I teach a class and get to see the amazement the students have as they create a beautiful work of art. I have been practicing zentangle for 13 years now and it has infiltrated every part of my life, from the artwork hanging on my walls to presents I have made for loved ones, cards,, jewelry and other crafts. Zentangle has provided me with a way to destress and rejuvenate so I can be a better person to those around me. Thank you Rick and Maria and the Zentangle family across the world!
I love you guys. You always seem to post just what I need when I need it. Thank you, I'm so honored to be a part of this community :) <3
I've always been a lover of drawing (doodling) on anything I could get my hands on - anything. :) When I found Zentangle it was like I finally found an art form that spoke to ME on so many levels. It was legitimizing the tiny strokes of my pen and putting a name to something I'd already been doing my whole life. Learning the different tangles and philosophy behind Zentangle only enriched my journey. Going to CZT training last year was quite literally, one of the best experiences of my life. In a world of stress and negativity, Zentangle is the bright light at the end of each day and a community of new friends that I love dearly. Thank you Rick and Maria for all that you do and spreading the joy that is Zentangle throughout the world.
The Zentangle Method has left it's mark on me in the following ways:
1) Conquered Art Class. Unknowingly, this has haunted me for some time - in my sub-conscience. I always had great ideas in art class, but was never able to have the ideas come to fruition. That left me feeling frustrated and a failure in the area of art. I have always been creative - as a musician and with some crafts. Through Zentangle, I have found that I can put pen to paper and create something amazing! I understand now, how my creativity works. And through the method, I work on being more (what I call) "spontaneously creative".
2) Pen to paper has always freaked me out a bit. I have a lot of cute journals that lay empty because I don't want to make a mistake in them and then it would ruin the whole thing. The Zentangle Method helps me work on this, almost as a therapy, by being courageous and knowing there is no such thing as a mistake.
3) I find myself being more creative overall. It has unleashed extra creativity through seeing things differently thanks to the philosophies presented in the Zentangle Method.
Thank you Rick and Maria for the Zentangle Method, and I thank my Mom for introducing me to it!
The Zentangle methode of drawing helped me when drawing realistic. I can now see that everything is build one stroke at a time, so I can draw all things, from buildings to trees to people and animals. Thank you for helping me develop more confedence so I have fun !
I was introduced to Zentangle this past Sunday. A friend thought it would be a way for me to get back my creativity - just as you've written in this posting. I started college as an art major, but finished as a scientist. I am a biology professor and I will retire at the end of next academic year. I've create one square. Just one. Through it I felt the spiritual peace and creative longing from all those decades ago. I am back to making beautiful marks. I am sure these seeds will blossom into the full-blown creativity of my youth! Thank you, Stephanie, and thank you Rick and Maria for making creativity so accessible. (PS - I am a plant physiologist and I am particularly drawn to the botanic tangles!)
As a kid, school student, I loved sketching, I believed I would live a life of an artist. I would draw in my mind all the time, but my favourite place was on my eating plate; yes funny it is, but for several minutes while chewing I loved the way I moved the gravy with fingers. But even before I grew 13, I lost my confidence, I lost the belief on the artistic approach . Today, after 17 long years of gap, with absolutely no drawing or sketching, I am once again living my artistic dream fully, daily, tangling on all the tiles. Such is the energy, the flow of tangling, that I end up thanking each pen and paper I come across. Thanks to Zentangle Method.
Zentangle was the key to the door I thought would never open for me. I longed to be able to create art, and did so in several mediums (jewelry, décor, fabric) but never on paper. My mother said she cannot draw, and I grew up believing that I could not, either. I was even "scared" to try Zentangle. I would buy the books, but I was convinced that I would not be able to follow the instructions and I would again feel like a failure. I waited and waited until I could take a Zentangle class. Love and creativity BLOOMED!! I have such a feeling of confidence and excitement and I eagerly share it with whomever I meet. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Zentangle method and the person I have become. I am forever appreciative, Rick, Maria, Molly, Martha and everyone at Zentangle.com!! MWAH!!!!!!!!!!
Zentangle gave my doodling meaning. It allowed an obscure part of my creativity to take flight in ways never expected. Taking it down to one stroke at a time truly did allow me to discover my ability to put pen to paper in ways other than words. It is a stress reliever and a meditation, it makes birthday cards a little more fun, and it's a whole new world to explore as I retire. One of the best parts, the people. My Zentangle community is wonderful, loving, supportive and down right fun. Zentangle has greatly enriched my world!
Zentangle is o much fun and gives me that "flow" feeling in my brain.
I love the Zentangle inspiration and journey! The new family are the best folks! I share with everyone the method. Thanks RICK and MARIA for this great gift��.
CZT20
The Zentangle Method has given me a way to consistently be creative on a daily basis. It has helped bring new opportunities into my life and allowed me to connect with others in a beautiful way.
On a related note, I really enjoyed this comic and felt that you might, too: http://zenpencils.com/comic/brenebrown/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zenpencils+%28Zen+Pencils%29
From the time I found Zentangle and took a class from Nancy Smith at our Quilt festival here in Houston, I have tried to practice, relax and enjoy what I learned from her. I have expanded to making thank you and birthday cards for family and friends. The joy it gives me in drawing a card and seeing their expressions of joy and wonder of the Art of Zentangle. There are days where it is just pure relaxation for me to just sit and create. When I get discouraged with one I have done, I always look back to my first Kit and the beautiful items I purchased of Maria's beautiful art. Thanks to you and your group for this wonderful expression of art and love.
Zentangle has left it's mark on me in many ways. It is helping me through my continuous journey with cancer. If I hadn't been introduced to in at my cancer hospital, I seriously doubt that I would have been able to take all that I have had to go through. It has made me a calmer and better person. It has also given me a chance to do something that I never thought I would do. Just going to CZT training was unbelievable! It was quite an adventure going up to Rhode Island by myself while still taking chemo treatments. I never thought that I would ever make enough money to pay for that trip, but I have, because I love to teach Zentangle and it has also made me very patient. Just to prove to people that "anything is possible, one stroke at a time" gives me a thrill!
I taught babies through university students through my career and retired when I was 62 to study art and explore the world. Who knew ten years later I'd combine my teaching experiences, my study of Buddhism and my CZT experiences to help others discover creativity and art in my studio and at the Art Institute of the Arizona-Sonoran Museum where I'm now a staff member as well as a student? And next month I'll begin teaching the Zentangle Method® as a volunteer to homeless women who frequent a support agency during the day for clothes, meals and other services. I see many of these women as I cycle on our "Loop" and think this will be a good way to make meaningful connections to some who are struggling and searching.
Zentangle has changed my life, and in turn I have helped others change their own lives when I teach them the Zentangle Method. I love making my mark this way! I have so much I could say but everyone before me has said it all.
Tangling has set my creativity free! With no preconceived idea of exactly how a piece will finish up, that allows my creativity to flow in ways that any other artwork doesn't release for me! I enjoy being "in the zone" when I'm tangling. It's like a mini vacation for me, taking me away from any cares or concerns of my day! Thank you Rick and Maria for all your wonderful inspiration and encouragement!
I've always been more of a "doodler" really, but Zentangle has helped me put form to my doodles and connect them in a way that they are beautiful instead of just lines on a paper. Thank you for that...
I´ve always been a very creative person. This all stopped when I had an accident in my kitchen and broke my right hand. Since then my hand has always felt like frozen and of course hurts when putting pen to paper. Zentangle is something I can do inspite of this handicap although my hand still hurts when I´m tangling. I can produce art in a most beautiful way and that makes me extremely happy. Teaching Zentangle is my passion and I always tell my students if I can do they can do it too! Thanks for your non stop inspiration Rick and Maria!
Inge from Bavaria, CZT 21
www.musterspiele.de
Tangling takes the sting out of my day and puts a sense of wholeness back in. Thank you for Zentangle!
I enjoy creating Zentangle designs. So much so that they are now an integral part of the beginning of the school year in my year 2 class here DownUnder. So many of the seven and eight year olds enjoy the activity set as part of the curriculum (I.e creating a personal bookmark) that they create cards and other pieces of artwork using the Zentangle method in spare moments and wet lunchtimes. And I knew it had made an indelible impression when I received a personally crafted Christmas card many months later. And so it spreads, stroke by stroke, line by line without any relation to age or skill level. Just something that makes a lasting impression and spreads joy!
Thank you SO much.
I have always been brain blocked as I call it when it comes to art. People have always criticized and given much direction to assist. I started coloring mandalas to help with anxiety. One day I stumbled upon a zentangle book and I bought it for my sister. I was saying to myself. She has more of a free mind, she will be able to do this and enjoy it. We often go to my sister's house for art time. When she started using the book on a sheet of paper, I started following along with her. She made this beautiful freehand drawing where I was trying to master each tangle. It took one time and I fell in love and I practice every day. Now I make beautiful art tiles and I am proud of myself. Self confidence and pride is such a powerful thing. I have less anxiety and I feel at peace when I am tangling. Thank you so much. Of course what better way to celebrate but by showing people what they can do and sharing my art. Tara
In the four years I've been tangling, I've probably made hundreds of thousands of marks on many, many tiles, and the zentangle method has certainly made its mark on my life. I've developed my own personal style and feel good about what I do and how I do it. But I think the principle mark I've made in the zentangle world, my unique contribution, has been in relationships. I've introduced a number of people to zentangle. I participate in several zentangle groups, where I've made it a point to get to know people and to take leadership to help those groups be sources of growth and encouragement to all of us participating. I've offered help to others and reached out for help, then responded in gratitude, when I felt the need. We have a wonderful zentangle community - thanks to all who have been part of it.
The Zentangle Method has made a big mark on me by increasing my creative confidence. Jackie S CZT XIII
I always had told people that I wasn't creative. I could do what others told or showed me to do and loved crafts for that reason. Not until I discovered Zentangle did I realize that I WAS creative, and that I WAS an artist. It has totally changed my life - I now have a positive self-image, and don't worry about making mistakes. I am thrilled to be able to pay it forward by teaching the Zentangle process to others! Lynn Noga, CZT8
I love the flexibility that Zentangle allows me in my art work. My personal tendency is to fill every available inch of a tile, so when Opus tiles arrived on the scene I was at first intimidated by the size, but after completing my first Opus, I never looked back! I'm also learning the value and power of empty, or negative, space in my compositions. It's okay to leave some breathing room.
I haven't had any traumatic events in my life (to date) yet I was lacking something. I found Zentangle. I have filled about 20 journals with my tangles, not to mention art journals, pieces of wood, shoes, shirts, and the list goes on and on. My empty spot has been filled. My confidence to create art and, well, do anything I put my mind to, had increased tremendously thanks to Zentangle.
Thank you Rick and Maria for filling that spot in my life!
Terri, CZT 16
I did a lot of art in my teens and 20s, but family, school & work kept me pretty busy. I kept putting off the one thing that relaxed me. Now retired, and with time on my hands, I wanted to get back to my art. But I felt I had waited too long and could not draw or paint. Then I was introduced to Zentangle and I could produce art without being stressed out. I am now doing tiles that make me very happy and have started back drawing and painting. Thanks to Maria, and Rick, I am producing art and no longer stressed.
I think the best "mark" I made was becoming the crafty Auntie that my neices wanted to spend time with. We would have "Creative Craft Weekend Sleepovers"! They would come over from Friday after school to Sunday night. We would decide on our craft ahead of time and I would get all the supplies. The crafts were all Zentangle Inspired... t-shirts, umbrellas, fridge magnets, wooden cut outs, candles, vases and jars. We would also go for walks, eat Pizza, and watch movies. I loved spending this time with my neices when the were young. It was the most amazing gift they could have ever given me! They are now 14 and 18 yrs, and saddly, just moved 6 hrs and a ferry ride away. A little harder to get together now.
Learning Zentangle has helped me make a mark by creating works of art my family and friends enjoy and appreciate. When I was a kid I only drew stick figures. Mom was the artist in the family: got a 4 yr scholarship to Rhode Island School of Design. I felt I could never be an artist. But Zentangle changed that: I made personalized Christmas ornaments as my first project (nothing like starting small) and gave them as gifts. I was so amazed by how impressed everybody was with each individual ornament. I knew I had found my nitch in the "art world". My confidence has increased, while my anxiety disorder has become more manageable. Being able to calm my anxiety without medication, while making art that I'm proud of is truly a gift! That is the best mark I've made. Once certified, I hope to help others by sharing this methodology. Thank you Maria & Rick🙏❣️😊
PAPER TAPE!!! yay!! zentangle helped me to find a medium that i could call my own and really, really enjoy working with....EACH AND EVERY DAY. it showed me that i ain't half bad at this drawin' stuff!! thanks for helping me point that out to myself!! and now i'm addicted to leaving little abandoned pieces of stuff for others to find! thanks again rick and maria. lacey709 aka #funwithpapertape
lacey
Zentangle has given me (and still does) so much. After more then 60 years of KNOWING that I couldn't draw, I found out I can. And after the begin period I even found the courage to give things I tangled (pebbles, bookmarks, necklaces and of cours tiles) to people as presents.
Finding Zentangle has really enriched my life in many ways and I will always be thankful for that!!!!
I never liked art classes in school because I felt that others were better at it than I was. Even my sister could color better than I could. I explored other things but doodled a lot. The margins of my notebooks in college were filled with what I would now call grid patterns. The Zentangle® method gave me some direction and opened up a world of creativity that I thoroughly enjoy. Did not expect that as I was drawn to it first by the possible mindfulness of the activity to use as a tool in my clinical practice. I got an added bonus and enjoy sharing it with others and helping them discover their inner artist.
Thank you so much for your elegant description of the power of the Zentangle Methed that allows our creativity to blossom. A joy in my life is being a CZT and seeing my students experience the magic of Zentangle.
Zentangle changed my life twice! And I feel that this still does not stop there.
The first time I just found information about Zentangle and tried to draw my first tile, I seemed to plunge into some incredible world. I did not want to emerge from him and drew whole night. It was a difficult period of my life when I lost my favorite job and it happened in a very unpleasant way. So, I started practicing zentangle every day. I was surprised when in my head there appeared not only a clear scheme of my true desires, but plans for ways to achieve these goals. It is completely amazingly
to me, because usually my head is a ball with heaps of tangle thoughts, desires and dreams. I clearly understood what I wanted and what I need to do to get it. Then I started to study photography. And I really love my camera and use it every day now. I took out my watercolor inks, which was gathering dust in the box more than 10 years and I started to draw again. It was like a fresh air for me. And now I understand that I will never betray my inks and brushes for anything else, only with them my life is full. Now I dream to start studying calligraphy and Maria is my inspiration. I understand that this is very hard work, but I am ready, because there is such a tool as zentangle in my hands. It helps me to believe in myself, to recharge my energy and get the strength and resources to implement new projects in my life. Zentangle helps me to be patient and calm, teaches me to see simple but beautiful things around me, my intuition becomes stronger and I listen and understand myself more.
The second time Zentangle had a big impact on my life, it was a seminar CZT#29. This is my first training in a foreign language. I was very worried and afraid, because I haven't spoken in English before. Of course, I taught it, read, listened, could write, but couldn't begin to speak. And I really didn't notice how it happened at the seminar. I was full with emotions and I so wanted to share it with people around me and I told! I told about myself, my experince and my thoughts. People could understand me. I hope ) At the seminar, it seemed to me that I was getting information on a completely different level, because everything was intuitive. It was magical!
I want to say a huge thank to Maria, Rick, Molly, Martha and the whole team for the amazing training, inspiration and warmth that you gave us.
I know my English isn't so good but I hope you can realize what I want to say. I decided to post this comment because I can't keep my emotions inside myself.
Now I feel that I am standing on the borderline of another very important event in my life, which also became possible thanks to zentangle
Zentangle made my mark in giving me my confidence back to create beautiful artwork. I'm able to show other people that yes, they are artists too! It has brought a calmness and purpose to my life! I love sharing what I know with the world and to people who can really benefit from this art form. I use this as my daily meditation. Best of all I can make beautiful pieces of art that i'm proud of and love to share with the world! Thank you for all that you have taught me and for the peace and happiness that I have found!
I found Zentangle at the precise moment I needed it! I was bored with my art and the art club I belonged to at the time as very traditional in their thinking and ways. I always try to think outside the art box whenever possible and Zentangle really spoke to me! I have been an artist as long as I can remember: a Signwriter (painting and drawing letters and designing signs), a graphic and visual artist as well as a Freelance Journalist and Photographer. I cannot live without being creative and love Zentangle for that very reason. Life happens and we all have challenges, some more than others or at more times than other times, yet with Zentangle it all seems manageable. I love to teach Zentangle to anyone who wants an art form to help them live a more creative and intuitive life. Dream big and your dreams will all come true with creativity and with Zentangle anything is possible...
Simply put, it has helped me able to do what I didn't think I could do for a long time which is draw. It has also helped me help others do the same.
The Zentangle methode of drawing helped me when drawing realistic. I can now see that everything is build one stroke at a time, so I can draw all things, from buildings to trees to people and animals. Thank you for helping me develop more confedence so I have fun !
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