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"There has been a lot of interest in the
Zentangles some of us have been doing. And questions. If you have no idea what I
am talking about, Zentangles are basically doodles. If you are a doodler, some
of you are, some aren’t, you are a natural-born Zentangler.
There is a wealth of information at www.zentangle.com Check it out. The
newsletters explain a lot about the process, which is very simple really. You
begin by making a random line drawing, two or three, intersecting the lines, and
creating spaces that you then fill with patterns and designs.
Some of the SD members have been working on a
collaborative project (we actually have two going on now) - a collaborative is
also called an ensemble, and you can find an explanation of that in the 09/04/07
Zentangle newsletter.
However, you do not have to be in a group to do a
zentangle. If you want to try it, you will need a piece of paper, preferably a
heavy piece of paper (any size - I suggest you start small - 4“x4“) - cardstock,
or watercolor paper - and a black marker (permanent) like Sharpie, double-tip.
If you are not sure about making a random line, try putting a few (10-12) dots
on the paper, then join the dots with one continuous line. Again put a few dots
on the paper and join those with a continuous line, intersecting the other line.
That will hopefully create the areas for your patterns or designs. Then the fun
begins. Fill in all those empty spaces with patterns - checkerboards,
triangles, circles, squares, swirls, dots, lattice, diamonds, crescents,
scrolls, crosses - endless choices.
The point is to have fun. Relax, let it happen,
don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. You are not striving for
perfection. They are called ZENtangles for a reason. Doing one can be
meditative, and mindless. There are no rules."
Laura Reed
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