Wishing you a heartfelt.....

To all of my friends and fellow tanglers, I wish you a heartfelt "Happy Holidays", and  "Merry Christmas"! May you feel peace this season and in the year to come

Add the berries! . . . . and 3Z mosaic!

Last week, I had 5 students in the Introduction class. By the end of the session, I think that we all felt as though we had made new friends! (3 of the students had previously taken the Intro class, but had the great philosophy that "you can always learn something new"!)


On her first tile, Marti said that it reminded her of holly leaves . . . . and asked if she could add berries! You bet! I love it when students add their own creativity, and say, "what if...."!

(Check out what Pat did with both of hers: She made beautifully soft tiles, using just pencil! This is a great example of playing with "what if.....?")

Here are their tiles:

Their first tile! 

A few days later, I received the new "3Z tiles" from Zentangle. I love them! Each one is a great tile in itself, but you can also put them together as a prestrung mosaic. I can also see experimenting with the Fragment and Reticula concept that Rick and Maria introduced recently! More on this soon....

Digital Tangling? Really??

YES, really!! I have been tangling for 7 years at this point. In October, 2014 went to the Zentangle training  #16, and became a Certified Zentangle Teacher. I absolutely love teaching the Zentangle method and process, and it is important to me to share it with integrity, emphasizing the meditative process as the goal. 

I also talk about Zentangle-inspired-art, which (while it, hopefully, gives the artist relaxation and joy) may also have the creation of a beautiful piece of art as a result.

Black ink on a white tile, with some pencil shading is "pure" or "traditional" Zentangle®. Anything else (ANYTHING) is Zentangle-Inspired-Art ("ZIA")! 
ZIA's include Zentangle tiles with color added, Renaissance tiles with brown pen and highlighting, black tiles with white ink, large Zentangle pieces, and (YES) digital Zentangle art. 

Some people "find the zen" while tangling with black ink on white tiles. Others achieve that relaxation creating ZIA's: landscapes with color, adding watercolor, tangling on fabric, adding "ZenGems" etc. etc. 

So, where does digital tangling come in? It's just another medium to use for tangling! That's all! Of course, you need to learn how to use the tool. . . . Any artist needs to learn their medium, whether it's watercolors, acrylics, or pixels! 

Isn't digital tangling "cheating"?  No -  I learned to tangle just as all other tanglers did. We tangled on Zentangle tiles, then (possibly) experimented with other papers, textures, and surfaces. (One of the many things that I love about Zentangle is that Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, the founders of the Zentangle® method, are constantly coming up with various shapes, sizes, and colors of tiles, as well as techniques!)  Just remember that using a stylus or iPad will NOT make you a better tangler!! It will not teach you tangles, or how to tangelate  or how to morph one tangle into another. The digital medium is just that: a medium with which you can tangle. When I work on a digital ZIA, it takes me just as long (sometimes longer) as it would on a larger paper ZIA. I create a background (just like watercolors on a paper background), then usually make a string, possibly a border, then I tangle with "one stroke at a time". I shade, highlight, and smudge each area. There is no magic or shortcut. 

Does Digital tangling exclude traditional art or Zentangle processes? Not at all! I love to incorporate photos of watercolor backgrounds, Gelli-plate prints, AND "traditional" Zentangle tiles in my digital ZIA's. I take the images, and use them as layers. 

Some people say that digital tangling isn't "real Zentangle". That's a simplistic dismissal of digital tangling. It's like saying, "using colored markers defeats the purpose of doing Zentangle". An iPad and stylus can be tools to create ZIA's. 

Here are some criteria that may help define true digital tangling:

1. Tangles are used. The definition of a tangle is a pattern that has been deconstructed 
or broken down into 1- 4 steps, using the 5 'elemental strokes' that the Zentangle method is based on. Tangles have names, so they can be referred to, shared, and replicated. 

2. It is hand-drawn. The creators of Zentangle, Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas have the motto: "Anything Is Posible, One Stroke At a Time".  One of the meditational aspects of the Zentangle process is that you focus on the stroke that you are doing in the present moment. You don't think about the stroke you just did, or what you will do next. This can only be done with a single hand-drawn stroke. (Digital apps such as iOrnament and Amaziograph do not incorporate the Zentangle method. They create computer-generated patterns which are digitally repeated.)

3. The digital media (iPad, stylus, art app) allows for tangles to be hand-drawn. There are numerous apps that are created for hand-drawn art. Some examples are Procreate, Art Rage, Brushes, and Sketch Club, among others.



I absolutely love the Zentangle method, and am grateful for the "happy zen place" that I often achieve when tangling digitally or otherwise. Digital tangling is not for everyone. . . . just as adding color to a ZIA is not everyone's 'cup of tea'. Find what method speaks to you, and enjoy the zen!

Zentangle classes in Sarasota, Venice, and Nokomis, Florida!

The season has started here in Florida, and so have Zentangle classes! On Saturday, I taught a wonderful group of 6 new tanglers at Sarasota Art & Frame, and they all "caught the zen" in Zentangle. Two women are already friends of mine from previous classes (I call us a 'mutual admiration society'), and the other four are new friends!

Lyndsay, Jean, Pat, Mark, Roger, and Carol 

Roger, Jean, and Lyndsay with the class mosaic.

Our first tiles of the day!

Our second tiles of the day!

When I got home later that day, I felt like doing some tangling, myself, which felt good!

Here is a small "addendum" to this post. In light of the anxiety and  tension that many people (including myself) are feeling lately,  I responded by creating this digital collage. Enjoy!

New Celtic music album for Zentangle practice!

We are so excited to announce that we are starting to record an album of relaxing Celtic and original music which will be perfect for your Zentangle practice! This is going to be instrumental music on the hammered dulcimer, mandolin, and cello ~ focused on creating a soothing atmosphere for creative activities (think: Zentangle, yoga, etc!). To see our video describing our music, and to hear some of our music, click this link:  MINDFUL PASSAGE 
**Be sure to check out the perks that we're offering on Indiegogo, as "THANKS" for helping to support this project.

This is an image of the album cover, which is still a work in progress! If you peek inside the Celtic knot you'll find Margaret Bremner's tangle "Skye" as well as "Finery" in the leaves!

Colorado tangling!

We've made a good transition back to Colorado, after our 6 months in Florida.  (Maybe this blog should be the "Traveling Tangler"!)
Here are some photos of the latest Colorado tangling:
** VISIT MY "CURRENT CLASSES" PAGE FOR UPCOMING CLASSES!**

Demonstrating at the Drake Farmer's Market in Fort Collins

These two were "naturals"!!

We had a great "play day" with Colorado CZT's: Sue Clark, Cj Peterson
Jan England (visiting!), Pat Mathes, and Dusty (Patricia) Darrah!

Diane and Cass ~ wonderful  tanglers at Jerry's Artarama

A wonderful, enthusiastic group at Rigden Farm in Fort Collins!

A Taste of Tangle U and Digital Tangling!

I just returned from Tangle U in Portland, Main ~ and am FULL of ideas, projects, and tangling that I want to get to! Classes were presented in: Zendalas/Mandalas, Opus tiles, "Zero Drawing", Watercolor with Twinkling H2O's, Illuminated letter techniques, etc.

Flying into Portland, Main

Meredith Yuhas taught Zero Drawing!

So many  excited CZT's in one room!

The class mosaic

Of course, we had to eat Main lobster!

At Tangle U, I taught an informal group about tangling on the iPad, and the response was wonderful. I use the app called Procreate. I think that this is going to be a  beautifully creative medium for creating Zentangle Inspired Art! There was enough enthusiasm that I, along with Sindy Levine (another CZT)  created a group on FaceBook, called Digital Tangling. 

Spring Has Sprung!

We've been watching the weather "up North", and Colorado is having it's typical weather pattern of 70 degrees one day, and then 10" of snow the next day. Here in Florida, we've simply gone from wearing long sleeves to short sleeves. (I know . . . . "dirty job, but someone has to do it"!) To help bring spring in, here is a look back at a piece that I did waaaay back in 2012.

I also want to showcase some of the newest tanglers in the  Sarasota/Nokomis area, along with some of the classes that were held over the past few weeks!

 Great new tanglers as of February 27!

Happy tanglers!
Barb, Judy, Teresa, and Carlotta

Here is the "Tints on Tan: Seashells" class on March 1

John, Donna, Belinda, Lana, Joyce, Ginger, and Ellen

Our Introduction to Zentangle class on March 11:

Focused on tangling!

Here is the "smile, everyone!" photo!

I LOVE this!
Here is the "WOW! Zentangle is FUN!" photo!
Jenny, Kris, Laura, and Joan

Tints on Tan: Seashells class on March 12:

Setting up for class

. . . . . And now, for a little bling!! March 15. . . . .

                                      Zentangle Zen-Gems class!

Belinda, Lana, Ann, Peg, Ginger, and John

Introduction to Zentangle class at Sarasota Art & Frame!

New friends and tanglers (not in order!):
Annette, Barbara, Laura, Joyce, Judy, ad Swan