Tangling with History

I taught my first public adult Zentangle class on Thursday night to five enthusiastic students at the historic house.  It was a fundraiser for the education programs at the house and the first in a series of adult and youth classes.  Everyone was so enthusiastic and asked for the next class!  

Until then, here is the one I taught . . . .

Zentangle 101 Adult Class

I had a few displays around the room, including an Opus with many basic tangles and a few of my favorite tiles.  All of the students received my basic beginners kit, with Micron 01, pencil, tortillon, official Zentangle leaflet, my Yankee Tangler mini-brochure, the "Anything is possible" bag, and a bookmark.  

I introduced Zentangle, with its mindfulness-creativity paradigm, as a way for adults to (re)connect with their creativity.  I gave some of the origin story, of Maria filling in an illuminated letter and being in such a flow that she didn't hear Rick enter.  We talked about how patterns have been around time out of mind and how Zentangle sets up a structured method for using them.  We did a singing bowl meditation focused on the breath, with the mantra, "May we be peaceful, may we be happy, may we embrace our creativity."

      

First string--rectangle base with Z-string above.  We did crescent moon, hollibaugh, knightsbridge, and printemps.  

We looked at the class mosaic and they had questions about some other tangles, so I did an impromptu second tile (instead of the Bales monotangle I was considering.)  It was a loop-string with pokeroot, flux, and zensplosion folds.  Those don't blend well together, but the tangles were fun to learn (and the ones they requested.)  I also demonstrated punzel.

At the end, we talked about the next class (more tangles and a project), supplies and where to find them, and other recommended resources.  The list I handed out is below.  

I've heard from most of the students--they are practicing and having a great time.  Goals accomplished!

Happy Tangling!!

Recommended Resources

Tools

• Pens:  Sakura micron pens  01 and 08, Identi-pen (for treated fabrics, wood, or ceramics), Sharpies for rocks, shells,  etc
• Tiles:  Official Zentangle 3.5 x 3.5” tiles or Studio Series’s Artist Tiles
• Sketchbook:  any unlined book (I like heavier watercolor or sketch paper)
• Frames:  black or white 4 x 4” frames at Target
• Mod Podge and Mod Podge for fabrics to prep canvas, wood, and other surfaces

Books

• Marie Browning and Suzanne McNeill's The Joy of Zentangle
• Beckah Krahula's One Zentangle a Day
• Sandy Steen Bartholomew's Yoga for Your Brain and her two card decks
• Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas’s The Book of Zentangle and The Zentangle Primer

Websites and Apps

• www.tanglepatterns.com  A compendium of many tangle patterns
• www.zentangle.com The official site, with products and updates, including free newsletter
• Zentangle Mosaic app—free “waterfall” of people’s artworks; paid subscription allows more access
• ABCs of Zentangle YouTube videos by Dilip Patel

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