Welcome CZT 27!

Our new home for our Certified Zentangle Teacher training seminars is so wonderful, it feels like we've always been here!

In this our twenty-seventh seminar we all made new friends and renewed old friendships. Some CZTs returned to take the seminar again and some people have been so active on the Zentangle Mosaic app that we already felt we knew them. It was wonderful!

As usual, we have some great images to share. Let's start by welcoming the CZT Class of 27!

This time 18 countries were represented. We added St. Maarten to the list so now there are CZTs in 39 countries!

This seminar was held in the Providence Biltmore. As we remarked earlier, this hotel was built for a Zentangle event because of its decorative tangle-inspiring style.

Let's take a closer look at that ceiling . . .

All you had to was look up . . . or around to get inspiration.

Speaking about inspiration, the beautiful art that CZTs shared provided even more inspiration to put pen to paper:

After each session, we put our tiles together in a mosaic. It was always amazing to see how each person's unique expression fit ever so elegantly into the mosaic:

Class time was focused and fun . . .

 After catching a candid of Molly in front of the tangled wings . . .

Maria and I took pictures of each other:

How wonderful it would be to package the love and creativity and community that happens at these seminars into this blog. If we could, we would. But until that is possible, we will look forward to sharing it with you in person at a future seminar!

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All of us at Zentangle HQ are SO grateful for all who traveled from near and far to make this experience all that it could be.

Thank you!

For all who are about to come or who are considering attending, we look forward to meeting you and working with you.

Until next time . . .

Rick and Maria

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Upcoming seminars:

June 18-21, 2017

June 25-28, 2017

Charlotte Carpentier, CZT

CZT Family Tree
We always say that the Zentangle Method attracts really awesome people. We have had the pleasure of working with wonderful Certified Zentangle Teachers (CZT) all over the world and we are excited to share these wonderful people with the entire Zentangle Community. Through our series, CZT Family Tree, we will introduce individual CZTs.

Today, we are excited to introduce Charlotte Carpentier

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Name: Charlotte “CharKat” Carpentier

CZT#: 14 

Hometown: Originally – Tombstone, Arizona, Currently – Temecula, California

Favorite tangle: Fengle (have it as a tattoo from LONG before I started tangling)

Favorite place to tangle: In airports and on airplanes…it means I am going someplace!

How I use the Zentangle Method in my life: I medically retired from the Army in 2012. I have chronic pain from herniated disks and bad knees, PTSD, and have suffered from debilitating depression my whole life. As a consequence, I also suffer from insomnia. Because I practice the Zentangle Method whenever I start a tile, it has become a meditation for me to get to sleep. When I am trying to wind down my brain to sleep, I go through the process in my head, step by step, and I am generally asleep before I finish the strokes of my first tangle. Because I am sleeping better, and have such a wonderful outlet for my art, my depression has been in remission for several years now. Only occasionally do I have what I call “black moments” (they used to be “black months”…reduced to “black days”…and now only moments.) I am also able to better regulate my pain tolerance without medication by regularly practicing, and have employed stretching methods from my Kinesiology degree that I teach in all my classes.

My favorite story or memory about teaching the Zentangle Method is: Through my experiences as a CZT, I have learned what a wonderful sense of community we have as CZTs. Sharing with my fellow CZTs has given me a purpose. I feel like I am part of something larger than myself, and that has given me hope in some darker times.

If I’m not tangling, you will find me...: At a rock concert…or traveling…or traveling to a rock concert.

Find me on the Zentangle Mosaic App: CharKatTangles

Website/Blog: www.charkatscreativeinsanity.com

Welcome CZT 26!

New friends, new location, new year . . . so much was new and exciting at this, our twenty-sixth (we still pinch ourselves when we say that!) Certified Zentangle Teacher training seminar.

In this blog post we'll let the pictures do the talking as we share a hint of the fun and creativity we shared with our new friends within the grandeur of our new venue.

First, welcome the Class of 26!

110 people from 17 countries! We added Argentina, Columbia and Russia so people can now find CZTs in 38 countries!

This seminar was held in the Providence Biltmore. This hotel was built for a Zentangle event because wherever you looked, there were tangles. In the lobby:

. . . or on the ceilings and walls of the ballroom where we had our classes . . .

And when Rick went out for a walk at lunch it was as if there were wonderful vibes showering our event:

Classes were held in that top room on the left. It's such a beautiful ballroom with all rounded corners . . . just like our tiles!

Maria, Rick (who was taking the pictures), Molly and Martha all led classes:

and the layout was perfect:

Many students shared their Zentangle inspired art they had brought:

. . . and enjoyed taking pictures of each other:

 
Meals were awesome . . .

complete with flaming deserts!

Most importantly, life-long friendships were formed and creativity abounded in numerous mosaics of Zentangle tiles:

(We'd show more, but we don't want to spoil ALL the surprises!)

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All of us at Zentangle HQ are SO grateful for all who traveled from near and far to make this experience all that it could be.

Thank you!

For all who are about to come or who are considering attending, we look forward to meeting you and working with you.

Until next time . . .

Rick and Maria

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Upcoming seminars:

April 23-26, 2017

June 18-21, 2017

June 25-28, 2017

Doing the Dishes ... Again.

Rick writes:
In 2007, we started BLOG Zentangle and began our enjoyable series of conversations within our Zentangle community.

In reading through these blog posts with their insightful comments, we decided to bring a few of them to your attention from time to time. It is easy, for me anyway, to sometimes think of old information as stale information. But these insights and conversations are anything BUT stale!

We invite you to enjoy this blog post that we dished out in 2015...

                     Begin previous post . . .                  

It is always fun (for me, anyway) to find new homes for my Zentangle tiles. I like them gathered around us in and about the house, not safely tucked away in a book or drawer. They seem to take on a function, a reminder of all good things. I like to just stick them on the walls with architectural putty (also called blue tack or white tack). I use this silly putty-esque feeling semi-sticky mounting stuff all the time, to keep dishes from sliding, to keep pictures hanging straight. I also use it to stick tiles right on the wall, be it plaster, wood or wallpaper. Some days I stick tiles to the corners of framed art or mirrors or wedge them between mandolin strings, the tines of an especially exotic fork. With  Zendala tiles, I love to use the putty to stick them to . . .

. . . dishes!

What a fun way to spend a quiet Saturday afternoon, wandering the aisles of no-name antique shops, second-hand bazaars and the like.

I even like to buy ones that have nicks and chips, because I know how they can be rescued by the mighty pen, wielded in Zentangle fashion, adorning it with tangles and . . . zen.

And, whilst you are out and about in these shops, you can also look for the tiny and wonderful miniature easels, to "pedestal" your new found work of art in a more regal fashion. If the plate is of the plain variety, old and yellowing or crackled ever so, you might add a border tangle around where the plate dips into the center.

A pre-strung plate! Use a Sakura® IDentiPen™ or even better, Sakura Microperm™. You can add perfs all around, then maybe an aura around them. This creates a classic border the likes of which you normally see on the edge of a gilt frame. The easels, you can also find online. (They are not as easily found as orphaned china.)

And, I was able to give one of the tiles a "hand." All us old artists, were certain to have been given these wooden "structures" to practice drawing (wooden?) hands.

You may have some great ideas of your own for presenting your tiles about your house. Tell us about them in your comments.

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R&M

Ria Matheussen, CZT

CZT Family Tree
We always say that the Zentangle Method attracts really awesome people. We have had the pleasure of working with wonderful Certified Zentangle Teachers (CZT) all over the world and we are excited to share these wonderful people with the entire Zentangle Community. Through our new series, CZT Family Tree, we will introduce individual CZTs.

Today, we are excited to introduce Ria Matheussen

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Name: Ria Matheussen

CZT: #22

Hometown: Izier (Belgium)

Favorite Tangle: Tripoli

Favorite place to tangle: during the summer in the shadow of a tree in the garden, in wintertime, cozy at the kitchen table, in the middle of the house. 

How I use the Zentangle Method in my life: The Zentangle Method brings more balance and inner peace into my life. I feel happy when I’m drawing. Before I discovered this method, I was a nervous person, now I live more at the moment and learned to appreciate what I have drawn. The Zentangle Method proved that it is possible for everyone. That is exactly what I tell my students during my workshops. I love the possibility to connect with people from all over the World. I give and receive a lot of comments and e-mails, thanks to the challenges. I couldn’t miss it anymore.

My favorite story or memory about teaching the Zentangle Method is: one of my students was Margit, a woman of 45 years old. She was in a severe car accident when she was 18 that caused brain damage. Before the accident, she wanted to start the academy of art because she was very talented. Because of the brain damage it was impossible for her. She had to put away her dreams and started easy part-time work in an office. She came to my lessons and was so excited to discover she liked this kind of drawing very much. Margit told her tangle adventures to her parents and relatives. A friend of the family teaches children with autism. Margit taught this friend the Zentangle Method and now the autistic children also like to draw this unique style. I will keep in touch with Margit and frequently, she shows me her beautiful tiles and the work of the autistic children.

Through my experiences as a CZT, I have learned: The Zentangle Method is really possible for everyone, it can connect people and it makes yourself and others more creative, more satisfied and more happy.

If I’m not tangling, you will find me . . . in the woods, walking with our two dogs or reading a book with a lovely song on in the background and a cup of herbal tea.

 

Website/Blog: www.tangledreams.be