A new year for tangling! Happy 2016!

Whew! The holidays are over! I hope everyone had a fantastic start to the new year, filled with peace, relaxation, and creativity!

Here at our park, the "summer camp for adults" is officially open. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of teaching 12 new tanglers at Sarasota Art & Frame. (It was also the first time that I used a digital projector, and I think that it helped immensly!)

                            

 

~Today, we had "Tangle Talk" at our park: an informal get-together of tanglers to share ideas and inspire each other. Today, we had 9 people show up: a lot of creative energy!

Tangling on seashells!

Three New Tanglers in Nokomis, Florida!l

Last Thursday, we had another Introduction to Zentangle class. Joyce, who had taken my class the day before, offered to give us her lanai for this class. It was air-conditioned, and we felt right at home! Thanks again, Joyce

New tanglers: Karen, Gene, and Sally!

I do love to see the variations and "signature styles" of each tile!

. . . . . And Zentangle in Nokomis/Sarasota has started!

Our first Introduction to Zentangle class took place at the Royal Coachman RV Resort today. Four new tanglers participated, and I think they're hooked!

Susie, Joyce, Linda, and Debbie with their first tiles.

Here are the tiles that were completed:

I can't wait to see more tangling from these women!
What a fun group!

Home Party and Class

Last night we had a home party/class at Jan and Jimmy's house. Their place is a "mecca" for both art and music (Jimmy is an awesome mandolin player, and Jan is a tangler and a calligrapher, among other arts!): my kind of place! After we had some dinner, we got down to tangling...

I see one, or maybe two or three future CZT's! You never know! :-)

 

. . . And then there's the photo-shoot at the end!

From left to right: Teresa, Whitney, Jan, Jimmy, Peter, and David

I do love sharing Zentangle! (Can you tell??)

Home party . . . . and art store class!

      Welcome to nine new tanglers this weekend! I had the pleasure to teach two classes: one at a home party, and the other at Jerry's Artarama in Fort Collins.
     On Saturday, Monica and Dave hosted a home party/class. This was my first home-based Zentangle class, and it was so much fun! We started out with time to chat, have some great appetizers and wine, and get to know each other. Then we tangled!

From back to front: Kelly, Susan, Monica, Sheron, and David. (We also had great help from the two "fur babies"!)

... and here are the completed tiles!

Then, on Sunday I taught a class at Jerry's Artarama in Fort Collins. I have to say, Zentangle just attracts the nicest people! Again, what a fun group!

From left to right: Marion, Jan, Jen, Barbara, and me.

Here are their tiles!

Happy tangling, everyone!

On being a teacher and a student!

At the beginning of August, I had had the opportunity to participate as both a student and a teacher of Zentangle! I was able to teach a wonderful group of new tanglers at Jerry's Artarama in Fort Collins, and the next day I was in the role of the student, taking a class. I have to say that I enjoyed both roles equally well!

Our (very) talented class at Jerry's Artarama in Fort Collins. What a fun group!

As you can see by both of these tile mosaics, they were "naturals" at tangling!

The next day, I took the student role and went to Patricia Dusty Darrah's class in Denver. We worked on Fantasy Letters as Zentangle Inspired Art.

First, we discussed tangled that would be good fillers for our letters, spent some time practicing and "warming up", and then started tangling.

The next step was to color the tangles, cut out the negative spaces (a new skill!), then mount the letter on a black background.

(No band-aids were harmed in this phase!)

Here is the final letter, mounted onto a black background.

Wonderful memories of teaching new tanglers in Florida!

We've packed up our things, and made our semi-yearly trek back to Colorado. I'm thinking of all of the wonderful people in Nokimis, Fl. who became 'new tanglers' when they took my 'Intro to Zentangle' classes. Everyone was wonderful, and it was a true joy to teach these students! Here are some of the photos of the last Intro classes that were taught. (Earlier classes were shown in previous posts!)

Annie, Bea, Gail, Laura, and Sherree!

    

Diane, Barb, Barb, Jane, Jan, Kathy!

Ginger, Rick, Vicky, Sue, and Jazz!

Sharon, Tracy, Lisa, Sue, Helen, Barb ....

....With new 'Tangle-ears"!!!

Spreading the word about Zentangle during the craft show at Royal Coachman!

More Zentangle in the Nokomis/Sarasota Florida area!

     I am constantly amazed at how people who are new to Zentangle start out by saying, "I can't do that" . . . . and then end up saying, "Wow! I did that!".
   
SO ~ WHAT IS ZENTANGLE?

1. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS: You don't need any previous training or "artistic talent" to learn this art form.  The process is created "one stroke at a time", where each step is just one line! If you can draw a line, a circle, and a 'S', then you can do Zentangle!
   "The Zentangle Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. Almost anyone can use it to create beautiful images. It increases focus and creativity, provides artistic satisfaction along with an increased sense of personal well being." 
   Zentangle can: 
   

   • increase your focus,
   • help you relax,
   • inspire your creativity,
   • improve teamwork,
   • build your confidence,
   • change your outlook.
   Today a wonderful group of new Zentangle students came for an introductory class. We had a cozy time to tangle as it rained outside! Here are a few photos of our finished tiles ~ Each one is so unique and beautiful. 
   

   

   
   
   

   

   
   

   

   As a Certified Zentangle Teacher, I absolutely love seeing these tiles "come to life", with the individual styles of each student! We all learn from each other . . . . and then, when each tile is shaded, completed, signed, and admired, there is that "WOW!" moment.