New Words Found at Kensington/Normal Heights Library

Found and Tangled was our class today at this sweet, quaint Kensington/Normal Heights library in the middle of San Diego. What a fun class with eleven wordy students.  

The mission was to take an OLD book page and find a poem/phrase/collage of words, and then tangle.  So much fun to see all the beautiful results.

Allison and Terry joined us again today.

As well, as Kathy, Jackie, Judy, Kim & Kathy. Did you notice this line of folks were all K & J names.

Also in the house today was Janice, Mimi and newbie Monica.

Sunny brings her love and humor to class

Zentangle has no eraser, no rulers, and no mistakes. I won't say who, but during the first part of class,  someone really didn't like their piece and wasn't happy.  I tell folks that you don't know what you have till you complete it.  Later in class I was able to tell her that her piece stood out with unique beautiful and her "mistakes" were the highlight of her page. 

Notice a little color goes a long way in Zentangle.  The patterns speak loudly and color isn't needed.  In this case, we used color to highlight their beautiful phrase of words.  That was fun to have each person share the words they found today. 

They got me in the picture - across top back:  me, Kim, Jackie and Judy.

Thanks Judy, for sharing Zentangle with your friends and sending them to a class.

By the way, you have great friends, just like yourself.

University Community Library goes Rabbit

Spring has sprung and we reflect with our class at University Community Library in UTC, San Diego, Cali.  Sixteen tanglers left the white tile (that's what we call the paper) and grabbed a gray tone tile.  Using black pen, white Gelly roll pen, pink colored pencil, our workshop today got us ready to hunt eggs or at least draw them.

  I love when students bring their art to share:  LOVE THIS.

A side story:  Yesterday my husband and I took a two hour drive out to the desert.
With the wet storm this winter, the desert flowers are in mega bloom.
If you live close to Borrego Springs, it is definitely worth the drive.

Spring into my Garden at Oasis

Oasis is a wonderful place to continue learning after 50.  Six participants joined me and designed a Spring garden sleeve.  Using patterns that look organic, from Cherryl Moote, Tropical Garden collection ebook, we got our Spring on today.

Patterns like: Monster Leaf, Hearty Leaf, Giant Fiddlehead, Fiddlesticks, Ribbon Candy Fern and more.

So Pretty

Spring just Hopped into Skyline Library

Skyline Hills Library in San Diego, SoCal, hopped into Spring.

Working on gray tone paper, with black pen, white Gelly roll pen and pink Sharpie pen,

we gave life to this adorable little bunny with his cute little bow.

Thanks FRIENDS OF LIBRARY 

at Skyline Hills Libraryfor supporting The Zentangle Method classes.

Lost in the Forest at Allied Gardens

Today at Allied Gardens Library in San Diego, California,

we hugged a tree, using The Zentangle Method.  After drawing trees and learning new tangles, participants worked on their own to create their very own - Forest for the Trees project.

Love it when the guys come to class.

Using black pen to create trees and some tangles, add colored pens, and colored pencils made great texture to this piece.   Whala……………
 

Fun class.  All the individual pieces looked interesting. Most choose to color at home

Psychology Today and Zentangle

Arts and Health

The integrative, reparative and restorative powers of the arts by Cathy Malchiodi

Calm Down and Get Your Zentangle On

Zentangle is a self-help art therapy practice to enhance relaxation and focus.

Published on March 31, 2014 by Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, LPCC, LPAT in Arts and Health

Zentangle® is known to many artists and craftivistas as a way to create structured designs through drawing various patterns. Sometimes mistakenly called “Zendoodling” or “tangle doodling,” Zentangle or tangling is actually a formalized process that defines itself as something other than mere doodling because of its theory and approach. Rick Roberts and Mary Thomas [www.zentangle.com] are the originators of the trademarked Zentangle method. Basically, it’s a specific way to draw images, most often in black pen on white paper. Zentangle has become an international phenomenon that now has applications in stress reduction, education, therapy and even motivational training.

Why am I interested in Zentangle? While the process may look intricate, it is a deceptively simple pathway to relaxation and inner focus. In fact, proponents of the practice note that it has multiple benefits including calming an anxious mind, increasing self-confidence, and cultivating moment-to-moment awareness in a similar way as mindfulness meditation. Here are some other benefits:

It’s Self-Soothing. Repetitive creative work, in and of itself, can be calming and self-soothing. In fact, some of the preliminary research on the Zentangle process indicates that engagement in the process has measurable relaxation benefits. This is particularly true if you accept this process as one with no expected outcome other than the enjoyment of putting the pen to paper and staying open to whatever emerges.

It’s Simple. Zentangle art only requires a black pen and paper; you can do it just about anywhere. I can attest to the fact that any airplane flight goes by more pleasurably when I am tangling.

It Teaches How to Own Mistakes. Using a pen on paper requires that you risk making mistakes; in fact, most tangle art has at least some misplaced lines which cannot be erased. Tangling teaches you how to incorporate what seem like “mistakes” into the overall pattern of the design. It’s a great metaphor for everyday life—nothing is ever perfect, but how you adjust to imperfections [mistakes or the unexpected] in life is what really matters.

It Reinforces “Aimlessness.”   Many Zentangle enthusiasts highlight the tangle process as a form of mindfulness.  Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh observes that we need to cultivate aimlessness in life rather than continually striving to be “number one.” For example, when we practice walking meditation, we are not trying to arrive anywhere in particular; in fact, if we stay focused on the future, we lose the joy of our steps in the here and now. The same is true of the process of tangling. If we get caught up in judgment and deliberation, we are not in the here and now. But if we simply enjoy the creative process, we can enjoy every single moment of it and that is ultimately what any creative expression offers us. Zentangle teaches us not to rush and to take good care of ourselves in the present moment.

Keep Calm and Zentangle On,

Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, LPCC, LPAT, ATR-BC, REAT

Koi Fish finds Koi Zen Winery

Koi Zen Craft Winery-- uncork and unwind is just what we did with THE ZENTANGLE METHOD.

The name of the winery is Koi Zen, why not tangle a Koi fish?  Great class.  Sipping, tangling, and enjoying the evening.  I needed this class tonight after the drive in.  It took me an hour to get to a 23 minute drive class.  Traffic in San Diego is getting just like Los Angeles. Well worth the wait for a calming class.  Namaste