Anyone Lose a Button? ZenButton

What a beautiful morning in San Diego at Kensington/Normal Heights Library.  Thirteen folks join me today to create a Zentangle Zenbutton.  ZenButton's are tangles in the round. Applying reticula and fragments (reticular - fine network of netlike structure and fragments - pieces of tangles that fill the reticula space).  Using two different pencils (graphite and white charcoal) for shading, you add depth and brightness to your tile (that's what we call the paper).  

After each class, we admire each and every art piece.  Before making a mosaic of tiles, we passed each tile around so everyone can admire individually.

Kim and June and me.

Holmes Elementary School Get's Robotic

I love teaching The Zentangle Method to the children.  Today, I was invited to Holmes Elementary school in San Diego, California. 

I have been to a lot of elementary classes.  This one was different.
Upon entering this first grade classroom, I noticed not one item was out of place.

 

In the middle of each table, was an organizer center for pencils and markers, writing slates were stacked perfectly under.  There were organizers every where you looked in the room.  With only a couple weeks left of school, the room actually looked like the first day of school before the children walked into class.  Beautiful class room Ms. Curtis, very impressed.  How do you do it?    

Ms. Curtis asked me to create a Zentangle Father's Day gift the kids could give to their Dad's.  I came up with a robot bookmark.  Twenty five first graders started their Zentangle journey today. Learning that there are no mistakes, no rulers, no erasers with The Zentangle Method.  They followed along with my suggestions of tangles (that is what we call the patterns).  I even let them create a tangle or two on their own.  Kids like the idea of creating their very own tangles.    If you can draw a circle and a straight line - you can tangle.

The big secret is to not let the Dad's of Ms. Curtis class know that they will be receive the best art piece their kids have ever created.  Shhhhh - keep the secret.  Great job kids - it was a pleasure to be in your classroom today.

Below, is Lilly... my youngest granddaughter.  Best assistant ever.  This was my first time teaching Zentangle in Lilly's classroom.  After class, she asked me if I could come and teach Zentangle next year in her class. Ahh. kids love Zentangle.

Need a idea for your class?
 Let me know the subject and I create a Zentangle art piece for your classroom. Watch the kids relax, focus and enjoy early art development with The Zentangle Method.

Zentangle Club at Oasis

Zentangle Club at Oasis,  San Diego, Cali, brings folks together for a Zentangle class.  I bring a surprise project for each class.  Today, I introduced Zentangle Dingsplatz.

What in the heck is a Dingsplatz?

A typical  Zentangle Renaissance tile is working on tan paper with black, brown pens with white charcoal pencil.  If you take a renaissance tile   and threw it against a wall, it would become a DINGSPLATZ

.  Fourteen ladies got Dingsplatz today.

 

A basic Zentangle tile is black and white.  When you add color into art it becomes more thoughtful, less relaxing.   You have to think, what color, what type of color/pen/markers/pencils?  How many colors? Where do I put the color?  Even when you want to add some color to your Zentangle tile, I say, the patterns speak for themselves so a little color goes a long way.  Like in one of the ladies in class today (Jan), added a little blue, to bling up her tile.  Lovely.

Mira Mesa Library Gets Tangled Up in Zentangle

Each year in San Diego, some of the libraries have a HOW-TO-FESTIVAL.  Throughout the library there are centers to learn different subjects.   I was asked to do a demonstration at the Mira Mesa Library on How-to-Zentangle.  This wasn't an Introduction to Zentangle, but just a hint of what would be in store for you when you take the "basic" class.  

The class turned out to be one of my favorite class, multi-generations.  Dad's and daughters, brother's and sister's, and Mom's and kids, ten in all were lucky to learn about Zentangle - a secret gem.

We created a bookmark  on 2x4 cardstock using The Zentangle Method.  Tangles taught were:

Rainking

Fassett

'nzepple

Paradox

Zentangle is a meditative art method.  During the process of drawing, you relax, focus and get into a state of well-being - healing art.

Below is the multi-hat Mira Mesa Library Manager, Ina Gibson.   She taught the How-to-play the ukulele.  Great job Ina.

Some of the other classes were:

How to make slime

How to grow your organic urban garden in a tiny space

How to be on time

How to make paper beads

How to make S/more pops

How to do Yoga for children

This was my thank you card from Mira Mesa Library for sharing Zentangle with the library. 

My pleasure. 

Pride Academy School is Ready to Travel

Look out, the VW bus at Pride Academy School is learning about traveling through the United States.  This is Ms Tindle's 5th grade class.  It is also my Grandson, Devin's class.

Ms. Tindle mentioned that the kids were having a lot of testing at this time of year.  Zentangle is the perfect deflector from stress of testing, also calming down and focus after recess or lunch.

The class is currently working on planning cross country road trips and what better vehicle to use than a VW bus?  She was excited to have an art project to display for "Lunch on the Lawn" coming the end of May.  When the rest of the school see's all the cool VW buses in their class window, they will think "the entire class are artist".

That is what The Zentangle Method does - helps all those folks that are intimidated by art in the past and takes the "hard" out of art.  No art experience necessary. 

Kids LOVE Zentangle - no mistakes, no erasers, no rulers.
If you can draw a circle and a straight line - you got this.

Oh - warning comes with each Zentangle Class:  Zentangle can be addictive

Below is my grandson, Devin.  He came up to me after class and said "WASN'T IT AWESOME?"  Ahh, that summed up the whole day for me.  That's why I love teaching Zentangle - putting smiles on faces, whether young or old - it never gets old.  Thanks Devin.  P.S.  Your VW looks amazing.

GOOD JOB KIDS.

I didn't get a chance to snap a pic of Ms.Tindle, but she said during the Zentangle class was the most relaxed she had ever been in a classroom.   That's pretty hard with a class of 33   -  "your welcome".

Side story.  Thinking about cross country trips:   When I was 19, two friends and I jumped into a pinto (not a horse but a car) and drove to Tijuana, Mexico (about a 40 minutes drive from my house), to buy 20+ leather purses and stained glass lighting.  One of our Dad's built a big wooden box for the top of the car, like a luggage rack, and we filled up the box overflowing with the stain glass and purses.  Those items were going to be our means to paying for our road trip.  Boy, did those leather Tijuana purses go over big in New York. We were gone for two months driving from West Coast to East Coast and back.  We never had to pay for hotels because we had enough relatives that stretched over the entire United States to stay a night or two and continue on our trip.   This trip was one of the greatest memory of my young life.  Oh, I forgot to tell you - one of my friends on the trip, had a two year old that joined us.  Whoever sat in the back seat with him during the drive had to entertain him, change diapers and feed him.  I bet to this day he doesn't eat cheerios.  He was a great kid to travel with.  

Where will your VW bus take you?