Arwen Lynch wrote this great article about “Zentangle for the Soul“, and it reminded me that I had taken a class a few years ago with my cousin. We were the only two who showed up, and so we had the teacher’s undivided attention. It was fun!
I’d pretty much forgotten about “tangling”, but every now and then I’d run across the kit my cousin surprised me with after the class. After reading Arwen’s article, I dug everything out. The items in the ziplock were from class, and the book I picked up used at a local store.
I kept the tangles I created in class and then right after:
This is my favorite of the 4. I did it after the class, and I really like the checkerboard pattern (would love a floor like that!) and the hearts. It just all came together so nicely.
In this (my 2nd tangle ever), you can see the evidence of my tremors in the spirals. Drawing a spiral is one of the tests they use to decide if you have Essential Tremor or not.
Not thrilled with this one. It was the very first attempt at tangling. I bought some colored Sharpie Pens to jazz it up, but there wasn’t any help for it. 😉
Another ‘meh’. Not sure what I was doing here. 😉 I seem to like hearts and checkerboards, though.
I have a hardbound blank notebook in which I’ve begun another tangle. It’s easier to keep with me than tiles. The other day I was on hold for almost 45 minutes with customer service, and I finished a tangle that I’d started the day before.
Yes, you can start a tangle and finish it another time! As a matter of fact, there’s a lovely blog post by Eliza Fayle about easing in to creativity, and as she’s a tangler, of course she uses that as her example. She tells about creating over the course of a day (not multiple days), and that has made a big difference in how I am doing the tangles. I don’t always have time to sit for 1/2 an hour or more to create one, so this gave me the permission to connect back to it over the course of the day. It’s great!!!
Do you tangle? Link to some of your creations! Or post them on Instagram with the hashtag #tanglingfun . I’d love to see them!
©Pip Miller – September 2015
This Healing Hobbit's Life 
Gorgeous zentangling! Glad you’re enjoying it.
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I just need to let go of my perfectionist tendencies;)
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Wow, those are really nice. Who knew you were so talented? I like the first one, best, too. That’s the whole thing, just draw four different pattern things? What is the purpose, or is it just to have fun drawing?
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No, you should google them and see what people come up with! The purpose is mindfulness and creativity. 🙂
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Never heard of it before. Looks like fun! Very M.C. Escher.
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You’re the second person who mentioned that artist!
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It has that look. Do you like Escher?
Is the comparison a good thing? It’s a compliment…you’ve got talent
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I had never heard of Escher. I’ll have to Google. 😉 And thanks!
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When you google m c escher, I’d like to know what you think. If memory serves, he’s a surrealist, around the time of Salvadore Dali, and is kind of an aquired taste, but well respected artist just the same.
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Oops, just found this. Thank you so much for the shout out. Interestingly, my thought when I saw your spirals was I absolutely loved them. A reflection of your uniqueness and what that brings to your art.
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Why thank you! 🙂
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