New Class Schedule Winter-Spring 2017

In addition to this Sunday's Zentangle®  Basics class at the Trumbull Historical Society, I will be teaching the following classes this winter and spring at the Perry House in Stratford.

ZENTANGLE® CLASSES with the YANKEE TANGLER

Valen-tangles Sunday, February 12, 2-4 p.m.  Class fee: $25, includes supplies.  Get your hearts on with this Valentine-oriented Zentangle® class.  Recommended for those ages 7 and up with some Zentangle® experience.

More Tangles Thursday, March 2, 7-9 p.m.  Class fee: $25, includes supplies.  This 2-hour class introduces students to new tangles.  Recommended for adults with some Zentangle® experience, such as Zentangle® 101/Basics.

Adult Zentangle® 101
 Sunday, March 12, 2-4 p.m.
 Class fee: $25, includes supplies
This 2-hour class encourages adults to connect with their creativity by using the Zentangle® method.

More Tangles Thursday, March 30, 7-9 p.m.  Class fee: $25, includes supplies.  This 2-hour class introduces students to new tangles.  Recommended for adults with some Zentangle® experience, such as Zentangle® 101/Basics.

Mommy and Me Thursday, May 11, 6-8 p.m.  Class fee: $30 for one adult and one child (additional children $15 extra), includes supplies.  This special class will introduce both child and adult to the Zentangle® method through both individual and joint activities.  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 info@perryhousestratford.org with your name, phone number, email address, class, and number of registrants. 

Questions? Call the Perry House at 203.377.3779.  Full class fee is payable to The Perry House Foundation by cash or check the day of the class.

What is Zentangle®? Zentangle® is an easy way of creating beautiful images by drawing structured patterns called tangles.  People of all ages and skill levels can create Zentangle® art and have fun in the process! For more information, visit www.zentangle.com. Instructor Jamie Johnson, aka the Yankee Tangler, is a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT), with a Ph.D. in art history and more than ten years experience in museum education.

Coming Soon

I'm getting ready for my Zentangle Basics class at the Trumbull Historical Society this Sunday.  Space is still available for teens and adults.  Email your name, phone number and number of registrants to: trumbullhistory@gmail.com. Questions? Call (203) 377-6620. The class fee of $20 will be payable on the day of the class. The Trumbull Historical Society is located at 1856 Huntington Turnpike, Trumbull.

Here's a basic Zentangle tile that I did on one of those lovely little canvases from Target.  We'll be doing a very similar tile on Sunday.

And look for a schedule of new classes soon!

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New Class!

While I am still setting the winter and spring schedule for my local Zentangle classes, I am pleased to announce that I will be teaching a Zentangle Basics class for adults and teens at the Trumbull Historical Society on Sunday, February 5, from 2 to 4 p.m.   Registration is limited and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Email your name, phone number and number of registrants to: trumbullhistory@gmail.com. Questions? Call (203) 377-6620. The class fee will be payable on the day of the class. The Trumbull Historical Society is located at 1856 Huntington Turnpike, Trumbull.

Look for more class announcements soon!

Youth Zentangle 101

Last week, I taught my first public Youth Zentangle Class 101--and we had a great time!


Each child got a kit with a bag, pigma pen, pencil, tortillon, sharpener, five tiles,  Zentangle steps bookmark, and my Yankee Tangler postcard.  I had a few things on display, including a small presentation board with some of the tangles we'd be doing.  I also had a few of my Art Drop Rocks--next time, we should tangle one of those with metallic sharpies!

I followed my school curriculum, basically, with a discussion of feelings and emotions, a breath meditation, and then two tiles.  The first one was the basic Z-string, with crescent moon, hollibaugh, cubine, and pokeroot, which my son demonstrated.  Look how well everyone did!

We did a monotangle, or single pattern, next--fassett, which they chose.  I think it was everyone's favorite tangle.

I've gotten a few emails from parents that the kids really enjoyed the class--one even tangled his own bookmarks at home!  I'll be doing another youth class on Thursday, August 25, 3:30-5:00 p.m. and now plan on scheduling a Family Zentangle class in the fall.

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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Class Preparation

I've got a string of public introductory classes over the next two months, both youth and adult, and I've been getting ready.

Today, I ordered postcards, stickers, and business cards featuring my "Tangled Heart," above.

I've also been practicing basic tangles and strings for the adult class this Thursday.  Granted, I've added some small advanced touches as I practiced.

Crescent Moon, Florz, Hollibaugh Printemps, Perfs, and Flux

Flux, Crescent Moon, Hollibaugh, Printemps, Zander, Springkle

I'm really looking forward to the class. I have eight people coming on Thursday, all new to Zentangle.

More on that soon.

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I've also started a list of some basic tangles that encompass many techniques, including auras, "drawing behind," grids, organic, and "drawing towards/drawing away from self."  I've also included a list of "doo-dads" or extras that many of us add to the edges or corners of our strings, extending outside of main design.

 Basic Tangles for Beginner Classes

(I've used the ones marked with an *asterisk.)

Auras

*Crescent Moon

Tripoli

Sez

Quipple

Fassett

Hurry

"Drawing Behind"

*Hollibaugh

Squid

Tagh

(many organics)

Grid

*Florz

Chillon

Bales

Flukes

Patena

*Knightsbridge

Cubine

‘Nzeppel

Yincut

Emingle

Keeko

Organic

*Printemps

*Pokeroot

*Flux

Rixty

*Msst

*Tipple

Nipa

Floo

Ahh

Purlz

Indyrella

Drawing Away/Towards Self

*Static

Eke

*Ing

Meer

Striping

Rain

Echoism

Orlique

Shattuck

Extras--these are sometimes added to corners, extending outside of the string.

Fescu

Springkle

Zinger

Sedgling

Indy-rella

Bumper

Floo

Ynix

Opus

Perfs

spirals

loops