The Quiet Side

Exploring the unseen benefits of creative focus.

Come Out of Your Shell :  a hard rigid usually largely calcareous covering or support of an animal

When I went across the country to Rhode Island for my Zentangle teacher course three years ago, it was an amazing experience.  Simply making the reservation, and getting on the plane was an adventure after years of focusing elsewhere.  I gave myself permission to indulge in something I love.  It was a step into a whole new world focused on my passions, and rehabilitating long forgotten creative expression.

The first person I met gifted me with a little wooden pin she had made that said “Come Out of Your Shell.”  She had been making many Bijou pins with plans to hand them out with joy to the people she met at the CZT training.

How could she know she gave me the exact one I needed at the time?

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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The Quiet Side

Exploring the unseen benefits of creative focus.

Inspire:  to influence, move, or guide by divine

I am always inspired when I share Zentangle.  Sitting with a friend and showing them the steps, or standing in front of a conference room and teaching a group of co-workers, reaching a teen going through so much change – all these fill me with joy.

I love seeing people connect with their creative self, rediscovering some dusty skills, or embracing the ease at which the structure of the Zentangle Method can release such creativity. I also love when students learn, and come to the next class with a story of how they shared what they learned with someone they love.

Grandparents sharing it with their grandchildren and teens sharing it with their relatives over the holidays. Friends from a lesson in art class spreading the tangles throughout the school.

Even when I am not teaching, and am just taking some time to tangle with a friend, what I see in their work inspires me to try something new in mine.

Try This

Your exercise today is to make a date to be inspired by creating something with a friend.

Tangle and tea with a friend.  Share what you know with someone who hasn’t tangled before. Give each other a tangling challenge. Or if you prefer to use tangling as a personal focus and meditation – try painting or coloring.  Sharing a new box of crayons or pencils with your kids can be a great conversation starter as everyone relaxes into their work.

Haven’t tried tangling? Gather a group for a class, contact me or find a CZT in your area here.

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

Sign up for my blog to allow yourself to get inspiration and some fun tangling exercises right to your inbox.

The Quiet Side

Exploring the unseen benefits of creative focus.

Breathe : to draw air into and expel it from the lungs 

Breathe. It is something we spend a lot of time on in my classes – and a habit that I am constantly practicing to help bring balance and peace to my day.

In a class, I notice people holding their breath, waiting to exhale their anticipation and it is something I am always gently reminding students to practice.  Breathe with each stroke, breathe to help yourself focus on your tile.

When you are using tangling to relax, and the worries of your day or the weight of the world is falling on your shoulders it is easy to hold your pen in a death grip and hold your breath in waiting to see how the tile, tangle or stroke come out. When you find yourself nervously holding your breath– try this little stretch. Put your hands in the air and interlock your fingers above your head. A few breaths maybe five counts in, five count out.

Nice and slow.

Try This

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  nourishing breath for your body and mind.

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

Sign up for my blog to allow yourself to get inspiration and some fun tangling exercises right to your inbox.

The Quiet Side

Exploring the unseen benefits of creative focus.

Shade :  comparative darkness or obscurity owing to interception of the rays of light

After all that time relaxing into my lines, learning to be deliberate in my strokes and focusing on the here and now – you want me to shade my tile?

Inevitably in classes the fear of the darkness and shade comes out after all that hard work of learning to let go and embrace the lines of a tangle. Practicing breathing and lightening our grip on pens with renewed focus on how we are feeling is a lot of work. And then all the anxiety and fear we work through letting go with the pen is back again.

One of the beautiful elements of Zentangle as a non-representational art form is that really there is no wrong way to shade. I could take the same exact tile and shade it six different ways and they all will highlight something new and different in the stroke of the pen.  Shading can mask something you don’t like and bring forward with light something you love.

If you are in a dark mood your shading may be dark and deep, and if you are full of joy in this moment that you have pencil in hand, your tile will reflect that. It can serve as a sort of mood journal, and can add a lot of depth and insight to your creative journey.

Try This

It is excellent practice to try the same tangles and same tile repeatedly, giving you many opportunities to try a different way to shade that tile. So start your shading practice by tangling two tiles with similar strings and the same tangles. Then set these two tiles side by side and try shading them in different ways.

Alternately, take a photo and print it out several times to try something new on each copy. You’ll be delighted by the results of the challenge.

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

Sign up for my blog to allow yourself to get inspiration and some fun tangling exercises right to your inbox.