At the beginning of this year, I found the days passed in a blur of many tasks and I had little time for art and creativity. I was feeling the absence of art in my life and so I began to search for something I could pick up and do quickly and easily. I discovered Zentangle.
I was attracted right away to the abstract designs. First I started by copying designs I liked. But soon I was experimenting with my own designs and patterns.
Though I draw designs that are pleasing to my eye, the end result is not the best part of Zentangle: it's the meditative quality of the actual process of creating a Zentangle. One Zentangle author calls it "yoga for the brain" and I think that's a wonderful way to describe it. I took Hatha yoga for two years from an excellent teacher and after two years of yoga practice, the benefits to my body and mind were numerous. Just like with yoga, the more I practice Zentangle, the more benefits I get from it.
A lot of the zentangles that I saw online were just black and white. But I adore color so I started adding color to my zentangle drawings.
I had colored pencils already so I used those to start with. But filling in the spaces completely with colored pencils was taking months. So I decided to buy some watercolor pencils that have been on my wish list for years. I went to the art store to buy Derwent Graphitint watercolor pencils but came home Lyra Aquarelle watercolor pencils and water soluble crayons too!
And oh the fun I've had with these water-soluble media! On this turtle zentangle I knew from the start I wanted a simple line drawing so I could really play with the color.
I just love the mosaic effect I could get with this water soluble medium for the water around the turtle. Drawing the lines to mimic broken glass took all my focus and was therefore just as meditative as the more complex patterns of some of my other zentangles. I suppose this turtle piece could really be called a Zia. Zia is a more planned zentangle. A true zentangle grows as you go without plan until that moment. I planned this turtle piece before I ever started working on it. But for my purposes, Zia or Zentangle, line drawing or pen and ink...it doesn't matter what it is called. Currently this is my preferred form of meditation.
And meditation renews my energy. For several months I zentangled when I was too tired to work on my fine art or do chores, or really anything. I could zentangle and that was better than just playing golf solitaire on my iPad! At least I had something artistic and fun to show for my time! But lately I use Zentangle to get in the art "zone" so that I can work more focused on my fine art. It also serves as a rest that gives me energy for whatever other work I need to do for the day.
This latest Zentangle fell in the middle of a burst of creativity. Suddenly last week I was able to paint on several of my acrylic works-in-progress for 7 hours one day and 4 1/2 the next. The idea of this Zentangle popped into my brain on the third day. I'm not exactly sure how it works, the brain is a mystery, but Zentangling gives me more energy to do the creative work I want to do! And that, after all, is the whole purpose of the quest I am on.
