Sunday, July 14, 2013

Discover a zen-state with zentangle!



Get tangled in zenoodling or Zentangle(R) 

If you doodled while listening to a call, lecture, while watching television you will find Zentangle intriguing. While reading a blog post i was fascinated by this relaxing art where the best part is you can indulge in Zentangle without fear of failure. The feeling of relaxation is amazing. If new to this art form you need not be anxious as non-artists often are for after a while you feel comfortable. It’s as if the zentangle reassures you that you can do it! I call this zenoodling!

So get tangled in tangling!

It is fun to do and very relaxing. 
Zentangle was created by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts around 10 years ago. When Maria told Rick of her almost #Zen like feeling when she sketched her designs and ‘Zentangle’ was born.
Zentangle is doodling with line patterns, shapes and textures using a Sakura pen on a tile of 3.5 inches. I use an ordinary gel pen on paper available (often a journal which i write in or where i sketch an idea (the only difference being i use black gel pen for tangling).

Zentangle is quite similar to henna designs done in India which have patterns that are drawn, filled with a paste of henna leaves. As kids, we made a rough paste and applied it as circles which were the easiest to achieve without a cone. 

Zentangle is unplanned and abstract. The nowness when drawing or the mindfulness makes it meditation like. Right now, i am just experimenting with some of the simple designs trying out something that strikes me. Simple to elaborate designs are available on zentangle.com. The tutorials on you tube also help. 

Get started and get ‘tangled’

You could use colours or mixed media as you like. A 3-1/2 inch square is recommended but i ‘zen-doodle’ wherever i find space while writing, while working out an idea, watching television. It could be the cheapest, affordable way to art. The usually black and white designs can also turn out to be an art form with practice.
Zentangle your design
T-shirts, tiles, ceramics, fabrics are perfect for your designs. These are called Zentangle-inspired art.
Zentangle has reached a fine art with creative designs being loaded http://zentangle.com and so many other sites. I found some very simple pattern with sketches how to do it here http://tanglepatterns.com/zentangles 

Video tutorials are also available- check my favourite ‘art jounaling’ expert milliande on you tube. There are also many books available on Amazon. The patterns on these sites are for your personal use only. How to draw ‘allium’ is my all time favourite right now. Check it out on http://tanglepatterns.com/2012/03/how-to-draw-allium.html