Zentangles - What's the attraction?
 

What's the attraction? What makes it all the rage? What am I missing? :confused:

Three of our local Stamping and scrapbooking stores are offering classes in Zentangles... beginner and advanced - dozens of them. Apparently all of the classes are full each time and requests for more. I've seen the resulting artwork and it is quite creative and artistic but so are many other art forms. Orchestrated doodling....learned strokes in defined areas on a page....can be as big or small as you want it to be. Best if used with certain paper and pens... When I ask what the attraction is, the response is that it's very relaxing and you get absorbed in the strokes and creation - obviously Zen-like. Well yes, I find doodling and shading and coloring (all means....pencils, markers, pens, paints, etc) quite relaxing and absorbing....but I just don't get the attraction and rage surrounding this newly introduced artform. (it may have existed for a while but it's now the rage here).

What am I missing? What makes this more interesting than other art forms? What's the attraction? Someone please enlighten me to what I'm missing and why....THANKS!!!!

TIA!!!!:p

Here's the homepage addy: http://www.zentangle.com/index.php

I�ve tried it and it was fine. I don�t quite get all the hub-bub around it, either. It is enjoyable to do while waiting for my son. I keep a pad and pen in the car. I�m not going to pay $50 for a �kit� though!

The one thing I learned from it is that I now know why I�ve never been able to doodle in meetings at work. I can�t doodle and pay attention to something else. I guess I�ve been Zentangling all along!

CindyB

So this is Doodle by the numbers? Funny!

I think the attraction is that anyone can do it.

What is Zentangles? I've never heard of it.

I went thru the whole site and I still have no idea what a "zendangle" is.

Anne

1. Draw a box. I think they usually recommend 3.5 " x 3.5", but you can do it any size.
2. In the box, make a line, straight, curved, whatever.
3. Within the box start making patterns, using the line (or "string" as a guide for where one pattern starts and another ends. It's really quite relaxing. The Zentangle instructors would hate to read this, but it's like we all probably did on our PeeChee folders in school. Bubbles, boxes, cross-hatching, etc. The idea is that you get yourself into a relaxed, "meditative" state. I just like it for killing time in the car, etc.

Does that make sense? This blog has a lot of patterns that you can use for a jumping off point. http://beezinthebelfry.blogspot.com/

CindyB

I haven't taken the classes so I'm not in a position to answer with any level of confidence or authority....but it looks like a piece of paper is drawn into areas and then you do repetitive drawing in each area....I believe that there are certain strokes that make up each drawing....if you do a search for this artwork you can see what they look like and I believe that they can be applied to any open area....but this is just my interpretation of what I've observed from finished pieces of artwork.

Can anyone provide a better description?:confused:

What do you do with it?

Cindy,

THANKS! for the explanation and the site for clarification!

I'm still not sure I get the attraction....maybe I have to try some to see what happens.

THANKS, again!

At our LSS...they framed it, created jewelry, on the site above they used it for home dec..... not sure what they tell you in the classes.

Thanks, I can't imagine using them with stamps and cards it just does not seem like it would go with the other stuff.

I can't think of any stamps it would work with. It would make cool abstract designs for cards, though. To me, it's more of a drawing exercise. I haven't taken any classes, but I've read some magazine articles and online bits about it. I think my 14 yo son would find it relaxing. He's autistic and LOVES repetition. Hmmmm. Maybe I'll try that with him this weekend...

CindyB

Well, you've all peaked my curiosity!! I've never heard of it but I'm off to check out the link :)

interesting

It's funny that it has a name now....but "zentangle" has been around in different forms for a long time. When I was first put into therapy, we first tried art therapy and this type of drawing was what I did. It really does have a soothing result.

The draw for me was the geometric aspect of the form. Geometrics calm my mind. I know that is true for a lot of people. I have a form of dissociative identity disorder. Doing this type of activity keeps me focused on the here and now. I just never knew it has a following!

My boys picked up on it later on and would create some really elaborate drawings using this technique. I still have them in a book.

I was going to say that I wouldn't pay money to learn the technique, but since I paid my therapist, I guess I already did! LOL

I never heard of this until I read this post so I googled it. What I found surprising is that I've been doing this kind of thing since I was a little kid. I always doodle when I'm on the phone and have a whole notebook full of this stuff from when I was in grade school (guess I wasn't paying much attention in class).

I could (and was about to) write this very same thing. I'd never heard of zentangle but have been "doodling" like it all my life. Like anything, what's old is new again, and in this case, they've given it a new name. When I was growing up, anybody who liked art did this stuff all over their notebooks and folders all the time. I guess like lots of things now, people think it's new and cool if they can take a class and learn how to do it instead of just "going with the flow" and doodling what you feel like doing. I guess if you never really had much artistic ability or didn't have any confindence in your abilities, taking a class wouldn't be a bad thing, but people have been doing this forever without any fancy name to it.

I still think it looks really cool and have always been impressed by those who "doodled" really intricate designs.

Too funny! This took me right back to the 60s when I was doing a design on an 8 x 10 canvas and was told to quit the hippie crap and paint real art! I'm lucky to have escaped her clutches and kept my imagination intact.

Thanks!!! for everyone's comments......who knew, looks like we missed career opportunities! LOLOL

Still interested if anyone has more comments to offer!

Yeah, right? So is it the new eastern name that makes it cool and trendy?

Does anyone else remember the mehndi circle design coloring craze in the 80s? It was also meditative and relaxing, but the claim was that there was something magical about the cricles.

Sure, it's relaxing, but apparently it's the action of drawing or coloring, and not necessarily related to a specific design. After all, isn't that one of the main reasons we like to color our stamped images?

Sorry, may have gone on a rabbit trail here. This is just something I've wondered about for a long time; since my teens when my sister would fill up notebooks with these designs and emerge happier than when she started.

I agree... it's just doodling by another name. JMO.

LMAO!!! You are FUNNY!!!! :mrgreen:

I am off to think of something old that I can coin a new term for, write some easy books and teach classes about! Hummm.. Litter box cleaning zen?

Hey, I am a therapist! And toy is right, I get paid to keep people in the here and now. People still do labaryinth stuff, and sand trays too.
Leah

Vee I will be first in line to pay you to teach my kids that one. :)

Yep - that pretty much sums it up for me too! :-D

I'd not heard of this before. Looks like doodling to me. I learned it for free from watching my mom doodle while on the phone. I guess this is pretty common from others posts here.

Thanks for all of the responses! I'm glad I wasn't the only one - either not knowing about it or nor understanding the raging interest at craft stores and sites. Still not sure that I do. I'd still be interested in comments.

To Vee - I'd be interested in the litter box cleaning Zen....with my 2 cats, I'd like to alter that regular experience. : )

What is it about this artform that makes it theraputic? how is it different from other artform? for instance how is it different from coloring - in any form, with any medium? I can easily get absorbed in any coloring endeavor....it could end up hours later and be very calming for me. With increased stress, this has provided a creative and calming outlet. So I understand that.....but via this thread, this artform = Zentangles or similar form = was specifically mentioned as being used as a therapy. I'm curious and trying to understand.

Additionally, I would think that in therapist session, this would be the intended outcome and be specifically guided to maximize the theraputic nature of this or any artform.....I don't understand it when being conducted at scrapbooking and art stores. It could have a default outcome but being taught in this venue, I don't know how this claim can be made. The instructors are not therapists.


For those who have found real theraputic value in this art form....I am very happy for you and wish you well!


TIA

I'd never heard of Zentangles before reading about it on SplitCoast, so I came to this thread to add my support. I've never been a good doodler; they're always so boring compared to others I've seen.

Then I checked out their website, and looked at the samples and patterns in their newsletter, and clicked on a few links. I can do anything with a pattern!

Now I can't stop thinking about them, and as soon as I figure out what kind of paper to use, will be giving it a try for myself. Looks like a great thing to do to keep my hands busy (instead of snacking or something!) and portable enough to carry along to doctor/hospital waiting rooms!

Oooh, you can check out TanglePatterns for more directions!

I agree, it just seems to be the name that's new,lol. I used to sit in class, make my name or boyfriends name in big fat letters, then spend the entire class filling them in with different patterns.

Lydia has a great tutorial and video on Zentangling . I had heard of it but I never look into it or tried it .

When I saw it I thought of the Doodle Art posters and such that were around in the 70's . Someone just resurrected an old idea and gave it a new name :)

It is fun to try and it cost little or nothing to try. Most of us have some white cardstock and a Sharpie or other fine tip marker.
I liked her idea of using stamps or stencils as a base shape

Here is her video :
Zentangling Tutorial - Splitcoaststampers

A coworker is really into it, and has showed me some of the greeting cards and other items she has decorated with her drawings. Very cool stuff. If I didn't already have a room full of stamps, I might give it a try.

That's for posting Lydia's video...I might try it after watching her zentangle!!

Here's some information about tangling from the Zentangle website.
What is it? - Zentangle

Zentangle is technically a registered trademark by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts. They have a set series of patterns that they use in their certified teacher training. However, as the art form took off, and many other people made gazillions of different patterns for tangling, they chose not to pursue exclusive use of the term Zentangle.

A different form of art is doodling or zendoodling. Zentangle always follows established and named repetitive patterns.

I tangle...and I pretty much limit myself to Rick and Maria's patterns. I think I have about 5 or 6 others that I use occasionally. However, I am not a Zentangle Certified Teacher. We have one CZT here that I know of ... Diana Crick of ScorPal fame.

Here's an article on the benefits of the Zentangle method.
Create Look Enjoy: Research: Zentangle and Well-Being

We made something like zentangle in art class in 7th grade.....we're talking 1976. Now it's just something I do to amuse myself in staff meetings.

Holy Smokes there are a lot of Tangle patterns available . :cool:
I found 5 or 6 books just on Amazon and a few Web Sites with free patterns .

Does this end up like making paper flowers where you have a box full of flowers ( Finished Zentangles) and no cards made to put them on ? LOL

At least this idea won't cost as much as the dies and punches to make the flowers :roll:

Just for Fun carries a line of what they call StampTangles inspired by zentangles.
Dea