Zentangle™ as Spiritual Practice: A Drawing Meditation

Zentangle™ as Spiritual Practice: A Drawing Meditation

Jamie W. Johnson, Ph.D., CZT

Overview

Zentangle™is a fun and easy-to-use technique to create beautiful patterns with a focus on staying in the moment and mindfulness. In this particular lesson, you will quickly learn how to create an image using repetitive patterns around a word, phrase or symbol that is meaningful to you. While there are a plethora of fine art supplies available, I have suggested basic supplies to stress that you can practice this anywhere—all you need is pen and paper.

In Zentangle™practice, we say there are “no mistakes.” This is not about creating a perfect product but about how you feel while you draw, which is why I emphasize that it is a “practice.” Adults often say they are not artists, but anyone can learn Zentangle™. The prescribed 8-step process is designed by Zentangle™ founders Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts to help overcome artistic self-doubt. We also say, “Anything is possible one step at a time.” Follow the steps below and you will have a valuable experience with a final product at the end.

This particular lesson has been adapted from the original Zentangle™ method in order to accentuate the spiritual contemplation of the participant. In an unpublished research project, I found that 99% of survey respondents describe their Zentangle™ practice as improving their emotional well-being, while more than half specifically defined it as a spiritual practice.[1] As chaplains, spiritual caregivers, and mental health professionals understand, self-care is important in building resilience and coping with difficult events such as grief, loss, and trauma. Hopefully, this practice will become part of your spiritual self-care toolkit.

Supplies:

• paper
• pen
• pencil

Procedure:

*Please see the video that accompanies this lesson plan: https://youtu.be/J0PXO8T5mrA

1. Gratitude and appreciation: Gather your supplies. Take a moment of stillness and quiet before beginning. Breathe in, breathe out. Say a prayer or give thanks before beginning.
2. Corner dots: With your pencil, on your piece of paper, put one dot in each corner to make a square large enough to write and draw in. This will be your practice space.
3. Border: With your pencil, connect those dots lightly. The line does not need to be straight. While we call this the border, you do not need to stay in the lines!
4. String: Now with your pen, in the middle of your square, write a word (love, hope, joy, or even a short phrase or verse) or draw an image (heart, peace sign, star, cross, etc.), or combine the two. If you include words, you might want to outline the whole shape of the text. You can also subdivide the remaining space, with your pencil, to make smaller spaces to fill.
5. Tangle: Now add your patterns! A pattern (or tangle) is a series of repetitive steps drawn to create a beautiful design.
6. Shade: Add pencil shading to create patterns of light and dark. This does not need to create a sense of a single light source but is just another kind of pattern. Remember, you must leave some parts light to accentuate the dark shades.
7. Initial and date: You can even create a special symbol or signature for all of your drawings.
8. Appreciate: Look at what you’ve created! Give thanks for this time of meditation and creativity.

Suggested Online Resources

• Official Zentangle™ website: zentangle.com
• A treasure trove of tangle patterns with instructions (“step-outs”): tanglepatterns.com
• Google “Zentangle”—there are a multitude of resources on YouTube, Pinterest, and personal websites. “CZT” indicates that a person has received trainings and certification from the Zentangle™ founders

About Me

I am a Certified Zentangle™ Teacher (CZT) who practices and teaches in Connecticut under the name “Yankee Tangler.” I also hold a Ph.D. in art history and spent a decade creating and overseeing education programs in art museums. Now, as a student in the Masters of Divinity program at Hartford Seminary, I am journeying to become a hospice chaplain. As a Unitarian Universalist, I believe each person explores their own spiritual path of growth. Zentangle™ practice has been one of mine.  

Follow me at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YankeeTangler

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yankeetangler/?hl=en

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNZ_Z35hvmpit2maO6DpExA

Blog: http://yankeetangler.blogspot.com/

[1] Jamie W. Johnson, “Zentangle™ as Spiritual Practice: Surveying a Community,” Hartford Seminary, unpublished paper, December 19, 2019.  See abstract at https://yankeetangler.blogspot.com/2020/05/abstract-zentangle-as-spiritual.html

Summer Tangles Challenge: Hamail

Hamail, with punzel, chainging, crescent moon, tipple, and I forget the name of the border tangle with swirls

The Evolution of a Tangle

I'm not sure exactly when I first saw the tangle Floatfest, but I remember a beautiful tile on the Zentangle app Mosaic by my co-CZT#22, Anja Schaffeld (the link leads to photos of two tiles on her blog) that featured the tangle--and almost as importantly, it's name, Floatfest, a tangle by Carole Ohl, CZT.  I wanted to give it a try.

And so, here, I'm documenting how I go about learning a new tangle.  For me, this one was particularly challenging, a high-focus tangle.  I found a link to a step-out by Adele Bruno, CZT, on Pinterest; I used that as my starting point.

I first tried it in my regular sketchbook, working fast and trying to get down the pattern.  Bruno's notes were helpful, especially the one that said it didn't matter where the arches started or ended.  And so I practiced.

And practiced.

And practiced, not completely happy with my understanding of the tangle quite yet.

And so I put it on a tile (photographed here with a rainbow from a prism.)

My second tile went through it's own progression; first, with white arches.

But I had liked the play of black and white in my first tile and so colored some arches in, which has the bonus of hiding some "mistakes" in the hollibaugh-like overlap.

But I didn't like that much either and so I colored them all in.  I think I prefer the first one, uncolored. Oh, well.  No mistakes.

Which led me to the next two tiles, with the words "Try" and "Practice," and different heights and widths of arches.

 I combined it with fengle and crescent moon, making a mandala of arches (with prismatic rainbow.)

I tried it with another new tangle I learned this weekend, Rubenesque, and some perfs, an idea from Anja.

Which brings us to this morning and a Zendala (Zentangle Mandala) that I made with geo-flower, Rubenesque, and floatfest.  I'm getting the hang of floatfest now, after several attempts; I'm comfortable enough playing with it but know that I'm still not consistent with it (or with geo-flower and Rubenesque, for both of which I've worked through a similar process as floatfest.)  

And that's okay.  For me, it's about process--all of those tiles above and the relaxation and calm I experienced doing them (okay, not in the first few attempts, which was concentrated learning)--not product.

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Summer Zentangle Classes!!!

Zentangle Classes at The Perry House 

with The Yankee Tangler

Adult Zentangle 101

Thursday, July 14, 6:30-8:30 pm OR Thursday, August 11, 6:30-8:30 pm

Class fee:  $25, includes supplies

This 2-hour class encourages adults to connect with their creativity by using the Zentangle® method.  

Youth Zentangle 101

Thursday, July 28, 3:30-5:00 pm OR Thursday, August 25, 3:30-5:00 pm

Class fee:  $15, includes supplies

This fun 1 1/2-hour class builds on children's creativity by playing with patterns using the Zentangle® method.   Recommended age for this class is 7 years old and up.

To register: 

Registration is limited and will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Email perryhouse1128@sbcglobal.net with your name, phone number, email address, class, and number of registrants.  

Full class fee is payable to The Perry House Foundation by cash or check the day of the class.

Questions?  Call the Perry House at 203.377.3779

 

What is Zentangle®?

Zentangle® is an easy way of creating beautiful images by drawing structured patterns called tangles. It is a proven method to promote mindfulness and fosters self-esteem, focus, relaxation, creativity, and stress relief. People of all ages and skill levels can create Zentangle® art and have fun in the process!

 For more information, visit www.zentangle.com

The Yankee Tangler

Jamie Johnson is a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT), trained by the founders of Zentangle®, Maria Thomas & Rick Roberts.

 

Jamie also holds a Ph.D. in art history and has more than a decade of experience in museum education.  She emphasizes the mindfulness aspect of Zentangle practice, focusing on process before product.  She is excited to share Zentangle with others looking to explore their creative sides.

 

“Anything is possible…one stroke at a time.™”

The Perry House

The Perry House Foundation was established in 2004 to oversee the restoration of the c. 1690 homestead and to ensure its continuing role in welcoming visitors, teaching history, and participating in the life of the community well into the future.  The Perry House is located at 1128 W. Broad Street, near the Stratford Public Library.

 

 

 

Tile-a-Day: Practice, Practice

I've spent the last week or so learning several new tangles.  But instead of practicing the step outs in my sketchbook the way I usually do, I've been working directly on tiles.  I found many of the tangles on Pinterest and some from my friend and fellow CZT#22 Katrina Starkey Thiebaut.   I've discovered that working several new tangles together, I can better determine my favorites.

Below you see the back and front of one tile.  I think the string was too tight for all those tangles, especially for practice.  But since the process is the most important part for me, I'm sharing it anyway--even without shading, even with "mistakes."  On the back, you'll see that I noted the names of the tangles, if I had them.  I think I like the middle swirly line of Eddy and the canyon-like Taxi, plus the interwoven Gotcha, and especially the black-and-white zig zag.

*Rotate this 90 degrees to match up with tile above

For this tile, I borrowed the ribbon-across-four-tiles idea of Ellen Bruce CZT and again filled the string with tangles I was learning.  

Starting in the upper left tile and moving clockwise, approximately (completing each tile before moving on):  Fassett, Cheesecloth, Quandry, (a version of Waves?), Enyshou, (something with dots and strings), Frames, (a rose), Huggy Bear, Kunstler (waves), Flitter, Amoeba, Voly, Spoon Flowers, Stribations.

My First Zentangle Class at School

Today, I had the honor and pleasure to be invited to give a Zentangle lesson at a local elementary school by a friend and neighbor who teaches there.  She had taken my very first Zentangle class a few weeks ago and wanted to share it with her fifth graders.  This was the perfect time, as school is winding down and kids are getting antsy to be indoors.

And it went wonderfully well.

My Lesson Plan for Kids' Zentangle 101

Supplies:  kits for kids (pen, pencil, 4 tiles, bookmark), Apprentice letter to parents, easel, easel pad, thick marker, gray marker for shading, black tablecloth, Apprentice video,

I.  Introduction

    A.  Have you ever felt angry, sad, scared, nervous, tired, bored, frustrated?  How did your body feel when you felt those emotions?  

    B.  One of the ways to rest and calm your body and mind is to think about your breathing.  Everyone breathes, you can do it anywhere, without any supplies--if you're tired of waiting in line or scared to go into the doctor's office.  

    C.   Short breath meditation--in through your nose, out through your mouth.  Feel the change in temperature, the breath over your lips, the rise and fall of your chest.

    D.   It's all about paying attention to the moment, going step by step.  "Anything is possible one step at a time."

   E.  Zentangle is a kind of art where you create calm, clear feelings by creating repetitive patterns in beautiful works of art (break down word "Zen"--Japanese meditation-and "tangle"--the pattern of lines.)  It combines art and mindfulness.

   F.  So let's go step-by-step through the steps of Zentangle.

        1.  Gratitude and appreciation

        2.  Corner dots

        3.  Border

        4.  String

        5.  Tangle

        6.   Shade

        7.   Initial and Sign

        8.  Appreciate again

II.  Supplies and jargon--but you don't NEED any of these

     A.  Tile

     B.  Pen (keep it capped between uses)

     C.  Pencil

     D.  Tangle

     E.  String

     F.  Auras

     G.  Sparkle

III.  First tile

      A.  Z string

      B.   Crescent moon (aura)--variations including dots between auras

      C.   Hollibaugh (draw behind), dots/outlines/black in empty spaces (or reverse and do hollibaugh black); draw crescent moon or printemps in spaces or aura space

      D.   Florz (grid)--original has boxes at intersections, but I sometimes do a heart (they drew all manner of shapes)

      E.    Printemps (sparkle)--different sizes, overlapping (draw behind)  (Idea: maybe Flux instead next time)

      F.    Some comments and ideas to touch upon meanwhile:  if you can write "iSCO" you can draw tangles, no eraser = no mistakes (but show them Bronx Cheers), what does a "hollibaugh" look like? (there is no right or real in Zentangle!),  the names of the tangles are generally non-descriptive and are short hand to make it easier to discuss, shade as part of the design (not trying to create consistent internal light source), walk around to encourage and help them, look at tile at arm's length, go your own pace, everyone is different, make it your own, go back to your breath meditation if you get frustrated, borders are made to be crossed , lines don't have to be straight  

IV.  Show Apprentice video 6 of Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas while they complete their tiles and add them to class mosaic  

     A.  Maria and Rick didn't invent patterns, they came up with the list of steps to access meditation through art; the names are non-descriptive to give us a shorthand for talking about the art and to each other

      B.  Look at class mosaic together--all different, all creative and individual--with same instructions!

      C.  Distribute Apprentice letter to parents and announce them all Zentangle Apprentices.

      D.  Now what are some of the feelings you have?  

      E.  You can tap into this feeling, creativity, and beauty whenever you need or want to

      

  Optional second tile, if time:  triangle-on-log string, with zander, pokeroot, tipple, knightsbridge (or static or flux)

I was there about an hour and they were so focused, curious, and excited.  I even gave them two extra tangles (zander and pokeroot) because they wanted to learn more, even though I had to rush them.  I pointed to the tangled border of their Apprentice letter to parents and said there were so many patterns--they could even make up some!  (If they'd name them after me.)

I was surprised with how hesitant they already were at 10 - 11 years old to make a mistake; most of them admitted being very hesitant when looking at a blank piece of paper and asked to create something.  But once we got the dots, borders, and strings on the tiles, they settled in.  Still, at each step, they wanted reassurance that they weren't "wrong" and that their designs were "good."  Both the teacher and I kept reiterating that there were no mistakes, that they made the creative choices, that different was okay.  They did experiment with their borders--several drew squiggles and loops instead of straight lines--but they were surprised when I crossed the pencil borders and my printemps invaded hollibaugh!  Even still, at the end, a couple of students wouldn't join their tile to the mosaic. 

But they begged the teacher to do more Zentangle patterns; they said they felt good when it was over.  I left the Apprentice DVD with the teacher and two extra tiles for each kid (plus some extra pens in case something broke.)  I told them they could look up Zentangle online and find all kinds of patterns, that they could make greeting cards or pencil cases or whatever they wanted.  The teacher said it was the most focused her class had ever been all year.

Maybe next year, we should offer the lesson in the beginning of the year, and then the teacher can introduce new tangles as they go and the students can add them to projects at Valentine's Day or Mother's Day; they can tangle when they are anxious about a test or done with their work.  I know I would have loved it when I was a student, just like these kids did.

My First Zentangle Class

Last night, I taught my first Zentangle class to five supportive and encouraging friends.  The table was set with their mini-kits (with bag, tiles, Micron, pencil, tortillon, and bookmark), my new Yankee Tangler brochure, and some examples of my Zentangle art.  I also had an easel with Post-It flip chart set up.   And on the front door, a sign announced "Zentangle Spoken and Signed Here."


Yes, signed.  In American Sign Language (ASL.)   I had learned and practiced various relevant signs (words I don't use in usual conversation, including outline, border, string, shading, pattern, dots, line, circle, gratitude, mindfulness, etc.) in order to interpret for my Deaf friend.  There are two signs for Zentangle, which I learned from the CZT Facebook group:  a "T"-sign with the dominant hand making a "Z" in the air and also a non-dominant L-hand with a "Z" signed inside it with the dominant hand.   Unfortunately, my friend had to cancel at the last minute due to illness.  I hope to have a class for her soon.

The class was structured as an introductory session, with two tiles and ten tangles.  I used the following outline.

Zentangle 101

1.  Meditation with singing bowl

2.  Brief history of the Zen of Rick Roberts and the Tangle of Maria Thomas

3.  Introduction to Zentangle method and philosophy 

4..  First tile:  traditional "Z" string with hollibaugh, shattuck, florz, and munchin, plus drawing behind, shading, and connecting two tangles

5.  Extra:  my children teach ING and pokeroot (they were so excited about the class and wanted to be involved!)

6.  Second tile:  triangle shape on a rectangle string with xander, flux, printemps, crescent moon, with auras, sparkle, going over borders, and tangle variations

7.  Discussion of what can be next (black tiles, Renaissance tiles, Zendalas, ZIAs, etc.), resources (my favorite books for beginners include Marie Browning and Suzanne McNeill's The Joy of Zentangle, Beckah Krahula's One Zentangle a Day, and Sandy Steen Bartholomew's Yoga for Your Brain; more serious students would like the two official Zentangle books), and supplies (both official ones and cheaper substitutes.)

Here are some of the finished tiles (tile #2 is on the top row, #1 on bottom):

As you can see, they all had different interpretations of the same tangles--some made tiny patterns, some pressed harder than others; everyone shaded and colored differently.  One even added extra tangles, including piano keys--I think she did all 10 on the same tile (lower left corner)!

It was a fun night--and I'm very excited for my next class.