Getting into our flow state with zentangles
At Drawing Jam last Saturday we kicked off August by slowing down, taking a meditative breath and working on Zentangles. As I was preparing for this session, people said to me over and over again, "I love Zentangles". The Zentangle art form is sometimes referred to as "yoga for the brain". Using repeating shapes and patterns as well as conscious focus, we can create beautiful, whimsical designs. The wonderful thing about zentangles is that they are available to everyone regardless of artistic training or skill. If you can draw a line, a curve, and a circle, then you can draw a zentangle. They can be as simple or elaborate as you want them to be. The key to a successful zentangle drawing is to slow down and focus on the tip of your pen. This is the meditative aspect of drawing zentangles. This focus allows you to create beautiful crisp patterns that will bring your design to life. When your mind begins to lose focus and wander to other thoughts, that's when invariably precision is lost and mistakes are made.
To prepare for this DJ session, I turned once again to our great system of public libraries. They are such an awesome resource that is available to everyone. In addition to some great books I found at the Acton public library, I also found some very helpful tutorial videos on Instagram.
Along the way, I learned a few fun tricks to help make my drawings more alive.. Zentangles are often drawn with fine-tipped ink pens to create a black and white design. One technique I learned to enhance a drawing was to apply shading using a charcoal pencil and blending stump. This gave my rather 2D looking zentangle a much more interesting 3D appearance. Wow, what a difference! I also tried adding color to enhance my designs. This was definitely taking my zentangles to a new level.
When I first saw the intricate designs of some zentangles, I admit I felt a little intimidated. Sometimes it was hard to know where to begin. To help those at DJ who may have similar feelings of uneasiness, I put together boards that illustrated the process of drawing zentangles. To create these, I followed several tutorials from Instagram and showed step by step how to start with a few basic lines and end up with an elaborate zentangle design. I pinned these up on the wall so people could refer to them for ideas and inspiration. They seemed to help put people at ease and help them get started with more confidence.
Of course, DJ is about celebrating community as well as experiencing the joy of making art. Each session has included lots of socializing and sharing ideas. This was certainly the case last Saturday. There was an interesting discussion around the table about the link between creating art and maintaining good physical and mental health. This is one of the key principles on which Art For All was founded. More and more research has been done showing the benefits of art therapy, and this idea has become more accepted within mainstream healthcare systems. Please check out the article below regarding this subject.
The Intersection Of Art and Health: How Art Can Promote Well-Being, Mayo Clinic Press, Oct 2023
The next DJ session is Saturday 08/17/24 from 4p - 6p. With the theme of "Under The Sea", we will be taking the plunge into the ocean of our creativity. Go to the workshop page to register. Hope to see you there. Have an awesome week and keep drawing.
