| Looking for Stillness in our Lives The world runs at a frenetic pace, especially the online, constantly connected side of our lives. Constant notifications, texts, emails, social media updates. As we learn to live at this new speed it seems even more important to find a balance by being still. Allowing your mind to be still takes practice. Allowing your body to truly rest takes practice. Not a lot of new skills or explanation required, just reminders and practice. The New York Times recently offered a challenge to sit and look at a painting for ten minutes. Don’t do anything else, just look at the painting. What do you discover in the work? What do you see in the strokes? What captured my attention about this article was that it was adapted from an art history lesson where students are asked to study a single painting for three hours, which sounds incredibly hard, but compelling. It feels like our attention spans have been shrinking with the size of our technology. The smaller our devices are, the more convenient they are to carry with us – the more we need them, the less opportunity we have to be distraction free. Constant interruption creates a fight or flight response in our nervous system, and how can we possibly ever relax? I often find when I journal or draw, or during another focused activity that I pause for a moment and capture a bit of stillness, where the silence envelops me like a bubble. Every once in a while during the course of the day, I find myself mesmerized by the wind in the trees, or one of my pets being cute, and I slip into a pause of stillness as I watch, it is almost as if my energy knows I need this pause, and drops it on my like a gift. I find these moments of peace frequently arrive on my busiest days, and welcome them, but as I strive for better balance, I have also started to practice just being still for a moment in my day. It takes a bit of practice to allow myself into these moments and to absorb the stillness they offer me. These still moments in our day are like a breath of fresh air for our minds. |
| A simple practice for stillness Sit quietly for a few moments with all your screens and sounds off. Watch the raindrops fall outside the window, or the flames flicker by the fire. Sit still with yourself physically. Feet flat on the floor, hands gently resting on your legs. Take five minutes, two minutes or one minute to sit gently. Start small, even if it isn’t long, its a start. Close your eyes or focus on the distance and just sit. Breathe and be still. Sit still with your mind. When your mind wanders, bring it back quietly reminding yourself that you are still. Breathe evenly. It is a practice to be still for even a moment when you are used to constant stimulation. |
Category Archives: Inspired By…
The Unexpected Doo-Dah
While tangling in a local tea shop – I started playing with Doo-Dah and ended up with some unexpected results. My first few strokes went a little wonky, not quite a straight line and since I was using a the pretty fine Micron 01 pen, it called for a fairly delicate little horizontal line.
I have also been experimenting with adding a little weight to the corners of line intersections, so the resulting doo dah looked a little curvy, which was fun. I drew a second doo-dah next to it, and suddenly I saw a forest emerging from these basic strokes. I lost myself for the whole length of my tea latte on that cold day and was happy to have my watercolor with me to add further interest.
If you have never tried doo-dah, here is the more traditional way it is approached. But it is certainly a tangle that has a lot of potential for play!
Custom Orders by December 15th
Order your custom TangleTop Organizers or Tile/Place card holders by December 15th to ensure we can ship in time for Christmas.
The perfect gift for the Zentangle enthusiast in your life. Keep supplies visible and organized as encouragement to tangle.
Engrave the word or phrase of your choice, or choose one of our stock inspirations.
These tile and place card holders are perfect for your table, and for your small pieces of art and inspiration all year long.
Order at www.soundtangle.com. Short on time? We will gift wrap it for you!
Questions? kellie@soundtangle.com
Encouragement to Tangle
TangleTop Organizer
Experimenting in the fabrication shop makes me happy, can lead to some interesting ideas to test the capabilities of our equipment and spark ideas for how to create solutions to some organizational problems that I face.
One of my biggest hurdles on an average day is making it a priority to take time to have some quiet and focus. Whether I tangle, journal, or spend time on one of the exercises we talk about on TanglePod, it is important to help me feel grounded. Putting away my supplies makes “out of sight, out of mind” a reality, and so I was constantly leaving piles of supplies, or random kits around, never quite having the right tools on hand.
A little bit ago I came up with the idea to make myself something for the table top to store my supplies, keep them tidy, and hold just the perfect tools for what I need. We were cutting cardboard the next day – and that was the perfect material to use for a prototype.
First prototype in cardboard
After using it for a few days and making minor adjustments, I was ready to go the next time we were cutting wood.
I really wanted to place the focus on my basic tools and to keep my display simple. We had a little piece of stained wood, which I thought would make a great base. The result is clean with a pop of color. It is very specifically designed for the size of Micron pens, short pencils and blenders used for the traditional Zentangle Method(r), which is what I wanted to remember to do each day.
First sample in unfinished birch with a red base
Experimenting further, I was excited to discover cabinet finish birch which enchanced the simplicity of display I was looking for, and love that the simplicity of design could support a gentle reminder engraved into the wood. It was really interesting to learn as I was cutting it that the engraving takes a lot more time and passes of the laser than cutting out the entire organizer.
The laser engraved words really pop on cabinet finished birch.
Finding a solution to keep my supplies handy without feeling like they are ‘left around’ has been very positive for my goals to stay current on a daily practice of pen and ink. And since I have had several requests to create them for friends and family, I am very excited to now offer them in my shop and wherever I teach classes.
The TangleTop Organizer is available in this original design, with or without engraving or with custom engraving of the wood. You can find it in my SoundTangle Store and in person at classes. I have a few in stock ready to ship, and can create any combination of the colors and engraving as they are ordered with just a few days turn around.
With whatever system you choose – don’t let “out of sight out of mind” inhibit your daily goals. Keep what you need where you need it to make sure your goals are always top of mind.
Happy Tangling!
Kellie
I would love to hear what you think about the TangleTop Organizer – you can reach me with comments and questions at
Just Breathe
Whenever there are uncertain times, or big decisions to make – or course changes of direction that you didn’t predict, it is a good time to start breathing.
If you put your hands in the air and interlock your fingers above your head – you breathe easier from your diaphragm in a nice rich inhale, rather than the short shallow stress breathing that you will take from your chest. It is a much more natural and nourishing breath for your body and mind.
When you are using tangling to relax, and the worries of your day or the weight of the world is falling on your shoulders and you realize your pen is being held in a death grip – try this little stretch. A few breaths of five count in, five count out.
Nice and slow.
The Doily Tangle
Most of the time, I am pretty much a hard core Zentangle® purist. I love the 3.5″ tile, I love the place I can get to in my head relatively quickly working in that format, and I have quite a long list problems solved while working on a tile. It always amazes me how the answer is waiting for me if I can just get rid of the clutter in my head by focusing on creating something for a few moments.
It is an entirely different experience to work using the same format in a representational format. I set out with an attempt to draw an object in tangles, and along the journey it became some what an obsession to just get the project finished. It took weeks.
The project was inspired by a doily that has been passed down to me through a few generations. We have several dozens, as must many people who can’t bear to part with hand made heritage from their grandmothers and great grandmothers. I am pretty sure these were originally used under vases to keep from scratching wood tables, though I also have versions intended to keep oils off the arms and headrest of easy chairs. Now they don’t quite fit in with our modern furniture and lifestyle.
I love to find new uses for old things, and occasionally will put one of these lovely, utilitarian protectors to work, but mostly they stay in the closet. It was in the desire to find a bridge between the practicality of old world crafts and today’s lifestyle that I decided to try to create the pattern into a tangle. The doily fit perfectly on the opus tile. (The Opus tile is 9 times larger than the original tile, and measures 10.5″). I used a compass to create the outer edge, points of the petals and the circles within them to serve as my string. I used a ruler to create the points of the crochet on the outer edge.
As with the more structured string that this required, finding tangles to use to accurately capture the airy feel of the crochet was tricky and I very easily got tired of the same tangle. I branched out a bit and modernized the “stitches” with a variety of tangles instead of being true to a consistent tangle for all the rows. It was certainly an accomplishment to finish, I think my grandmother would love the completed project, though I am certain she would have had the patience to complete a million little strokes exactly even in size as her stitches are. Maybe someday I’ll have as much patience as she did and try again. 
Forgiving your imperfections, one stroke at a time…
My grandmother passed along to me dozens of chair doilies – which in, her youth and probably into adulthood she hand made. You will probably recognize them as something that was on the back and arms of your grandparent’s chair as a means to protect the fabric, or perhaps under a vase or collectible on the dresser. There really aren’t many modern day uses for these doilies, and so my pile of them is just a fond remembrance of a grandmother I loved very much.
Each doily looks perfect to me. The stitching is even, the spacing seems insanely perfect, and I am sure that I could not possibly create something like that with string. As an artisan I am sure my grandmother would have had dozens of stitches she wasn’t happy with, perhaps many that she pulled apart and redid – essentially using an eraser for her work. Decades later, I wouldn’t recognize the frustrating stitches and I bet she wouldn’t either.
As an experiment, I thought it would be fun to use the doily as inspiration and see how it could be represented in pen and ink, on a 10.5 Zentangle Opus tile.
During the process of capturing the essence of the home spun handiwork, I drew so many lines I was not happy with while the ink was drying on the paper. There were so many sections I immediately wished I had taken in a different direction, so many curves that weren’t curvy enough, or lines that were too long. Keeping in mind the Zentangle mantra of “One stroke at a time,” I would take a deep breath, lighten the grip on my pen, find a comfortable position and just keep going, one line, one curve, one stitch at a time.
As with any labor of love – taking a break, a little space and some time away can do wonders for how you feel. Setting aside this piece for a while and revisiting – all I see is the completed whole. I know how I got there, taking it slow and step by step, and being forgiving of myself and perceived imperfections. Maybe one day someone will look at this and think they couldn’t possibly create something like it – then they will gather their tools, whatever format they may be in – and get started.
Piles of Tiles
Each one of these little groups of Zentangle tiles represents someone who came to one of my introductory Zentangle classes in the past two weeks. So many of the students were in awe of how they could learn something new, that not only creates beautiful results – but more importantly provides them with a way to relax. The Zentangle Method gave them a tool to use for focus, relaxation and help to find a quiet place in their minds.
There are so, so many stories to share – one student was traveling to Europe the next day and asked for more supplies to share with her daughter. Many students wanted to share this with the children in their lives who they knew needed a way to be screen free and calm. A student asked me – could I please do another class for several of her friends who need this type of creative inspiration in their lives.
When I learned about Zentangle, I knew immediately that I wanted to learn how to teach and share it – to share it in this imperfect time when people have no quiet moments, when calm is something so unattainable, where we are over taxed, over scheduled and have such little space for a creative outlet.
I am ever so thankful that I listened to that little voice that said “sign up for that. you need to do this.”
One dot at a time…
Stippling is a really fun form of pen and ink artwork, and can add interest and depth to any work you are doing – whether the Zentangle method, sketching or even working with your kids in a coloring book. Wikipedia defines Stippling as the creation of a pattern simulating varying degrees of solidity or shading by using small dots. Such a pattern may occur in nature and these effects are frequently emulated by artists.
I still have some sea life drawings I did for science in high school, where I decided I really liked my ultra fine sharpie, and used stippling to create all the details. I didn’t get a full grade on it because it lacked color per the requirements, but it remains one of my favorite projects, and I love to run across it when I organize my closet.
Check out this artist, who created a video of making a stippling portrait – one dot at a time. A single dot looks so insignificant, but put it with 3.2 million friends, and you have something pretty amazing!
Hero by Miguel Endara
Zentangle CZT Seminar
After spending much time this past year practicing the Zentangle method, I was so excited to travel to Rhode Island and participate in the 2104 Certified Zentangle Teacher training. We spent days immersed in the Zentangle method and sharing ideas, hearing stories about the positive impact this meditative art form has had on people from all walks of life.
The upcoming CZTs came from all over the world to learn directly from Maria and Rick the founders of Zentangle Inc. It was incredible to meet so many people excited about how this art form has helped them, and hear about how they planned to share this training with their communities.
Many soon to be Zentangle teachers were already using art in their areas working with recovery, stress reduction, troubled youth, struggling families, seniors and children. We came from all areas of experience, IT, designers in textiles, artists, retired teachers and a handful of nuns.
Many people see art as an important way to stay grounded, and something that is rapidly being lost in the increasingly technological world. Creating with your hands, feeling the ink on paper or mixing the paint in your pot can’t be replaced with even the best tablet. I am very excited to continue learning, creating and finding balance for myself, and sharing this idea with my family and friends.