The Quiet Side: Issue 10


The Quiet Side

Exploring the unseen benefits of creative focus.


Beautiful and Beyond:  in addition


The nonrepresentational nature of Zentangle makes each tile, or page in your journal delightful each time you look at it anew, each time you look at it from a different angle. Holding your tile near or far, you see something different.

Putting my tile away and looking at it again a few days, weeks or months later I always find something new to appreciate about the design, strokes and shading.   But beyond how the tile looks – l love to make a note on the back of the tile, or along the side of my journal page – what was going on that day, where was I working on the tile, what sorts of decisions were weighing down my brain.

Often what is most beautiful about some of my tiles are what is beyond the visual. The moments I was able to give over to relaxation in a busy time. Or a solution to a problem that came to me while I focused on each stroke of a tile, helping me to clear my head in order to find the answer. Writing notes to myself, sort of a journal of tangling on the backs of the tiles helps me remember what I enjoy most about Zentangle. The simple process allows me to clear my head, relax the running thoughts in my brain and refresh myself to see what is Beautiful and Beyond.


Did you know?


Bijou is a little mascot of Zentangle and has lots of little inspirational phrases about Zentangle, like Beautiful and Beyond. Read more about Bijou here.


deliberate – still – appreciate – quiet – focus – trust – deconstruct beautiful – reflect – relax – discover – create – comfort – shade – breathe – inspire – be bold – embellish – savor – slow – calm – admire

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