Zentangle Workshop

Well, they are beautiful. You will be surprised how easy they are to create and how lovely your very first one will be. You will be eager to make another and may find they are addictive!

One of the unexpected benefits is that as you work on your drawing, you will find yourself becoming calm and relaxed. If you can find 30 minutes of free time, without interruption, you may find yourself entering a quiet contemplative, meditative state. Drawing in this way, without trying to prove anything or worrying about getting it right allows your mind to take a break.

Creating Zentangles can improve your creativity in other areas of life. It can improve your confidence - after all if you can produce artwork like this, then you can do anything! Almost all creative tasks can be broken down into zendoodle steps. One small mark on the paper will lead to more.

You can frame and display them. Zendoodles look wonderful hung together in one place. Or how about you transfer your new skill to decorating your home? People have Zentangles on their walls, floors and even their toilet seats!

Zentangle(R) is the name of the art form and method taught by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts. You can learn their method by subscribing to their newsletter, visiting the website or by taking a course from them or from a Certified Zentangle Teacher. Other people have coined similar names to describe their work. I created some Zazzle products with my designs and labelled them 'Xentangles' to avoid infringing the trademark.

Rick and Maria have connected certain words or terms to their method, such as:

Tangle ~ the pattern formed by making repeated strokes of a pen. They have assigned names to all their tangles. I can't remember names so I don't use them. There is a great website which catalogues tangles, as created by Rick and Maria and also by other people. See the last page for links.

String ~ is the initial line drawn that provides a framework or structure for the tangles.

Tile ~ is the paper or support on which the Zentangle is drawn.

Doodle ~ is something Zentangles are not. Doodles are random, mindless things. Zentangles are purposeful and mindful. I do take issue with this. Many people have commented on a blog post of mine that they have been 'zentangling' (whoops.. not supposed to use it as a verb) for years but called their artwork 'doodles'. So, to me they will always be 'structured, contained doodles'.

It has been suggested that we call our outside the box stuff 'Zentangle-inspired-art'. That's nice... I like it.

I have listed below what you need to get started. It isn't much. Zendoodles are created with the most basic materials: pen and paper. You can hop over to Zentangle.com (no affiliation whatsoever) and purchase a ready-made kit. I have one and it really is lovely. However, you can put together your own kit much more cheaply.

I have also added some information about creating a special or sacred space for drawing. It is a very personal choice and I have some suggestions to turn your zendoodling time into something very special.

You need surprisingly few materials to create zendoodles. A pencil, pens, paper and an eraser will do. I also like to keep a tortillion/paper stump nearby for smudging and shading right at the very end of my Zentangle.

Another important point to consider is, if you intend to use this process as an active meditation, then you need to create the right place to work. I'll touch on that a little later. First - the pens!

Zen-doodle on the go

Actually, if truth be told, I don't have anywhere special to do my zendoodles. I have a corner of a large bedroom, where my computer, printer, art materials and workspace live. I usually do my drawings here. I also do them while sitting in front of the TV. Okay... I also do them over the play park, at the beach and when we go for a walk and the children want to go off and explore.

That's the beauty of Zentangles; you need so little that you can do them anywhere.

Deliberate doodling - Zentangle as meditation

However, when I am settling down to some serious doodling (there's an oxymoron), I like to create the right conditions. It is lovely to shut the door, play some relaxing music and chill out. Sometimes I substitute the music for a good radio play - BBC Radio 4.

I like incense, so will often light a stick to get me in a creative mood. If you have a good, directed desk lamp to draw by, then light a candle or two around the room, otherwise, natural daylight is best.

Try to create some time when you won't be interrupted.

Begin by closing your eyes and grounding yourself for a few moments. Visualize roots spreading from your feet, into the floor and down into the earth. Breathe deeply and relax. When you feel calm pick up your pencil and begin your drawing. Don't plan it, just allow your hand to guide itself as you draw the initial dots, lines and string. Start to add tangles with a pen. Focus your mind on the movement of the pen as you fill in the spaces, hear the noise it makes and feel the texture of the paper. If, in due course, your mind wants to wander then let it go. Enjoy.

Although the images in this Zentangle-inspired workshop are all very different, they usually start out in exactly the same way - a single line drawn on paper. The nice people at Zentangle.com call this a 'string'. This string forms the structure of your drawing.

For this workshop, we're going to go the traditional way, with a single line drawn on a 'tile' - a piece of paper or card 3 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches (8.5 cm x 8.5 cm).

The image shows the back of a Zentangle tile from my kit. The paper is lovely and perfect for zendoodling. However, eventually, you may find this size is just too small so move onto a watercolor pad or loose paper.

Take your tile and make four dots with your pencil; one in each corner. You don't need to be precise about this. Join the dots with a wavy line. You can even put loops in it but it's not compulsory. Keep your pencil marks light - mine are heavy so they will show up on the scan.

Once you have drawn a number of these, you may find yourself dispensing with the border altogether. Some people like to fill the whole tile. For now, we'll go with the border.

Put your pencil tip at one edge of the border and draw a random curvy line. You can see that mine looks like an inverted 'V' and an elaborate 'S'. You can make yours more or less complex.

It's a good idea to practice drawing strings on scrap paper. Many people have problems with strings, including me. Watch the videos in the next section to see how effortless Maria makes it look.

Again keep your pencil light. I had to go over mine to make it visible, hence its scruffy look. No matter, it will be erased when the drawing is almost done.

Begin to fill the sections with tangles with your 01 Micron pen (or use the finest black pen you have). For now, keep to a single simple pattern in each section. I have provided some examples below and you will find more on the videos and the links in the last part of the workshop. I recommend you sign up to the Zentangle.com newsletter as they often include instructions for new tangles.

Also take a look at my other Zendoodle pages, again, they are all listed on the last part of the workshop. You will find ideas everywhere.

This is where the relaxing starts. It is the sheer repetitiveness of making small marks on paper that enables you to enter a meditative state. Put on some tinkly music and you'll be away.

My tile seems to want to keep turning around and that's okay too.

I've filled all the sections that I wanted to. You can leave as much white space as you like. As I was tangling, I could see that there was a heart-shape going on so I extended the top-right border a little to complete the heart.

Now it's time to erase the pencil lines.

I like this part best of all. It's quite simple to add shading to your drawing. Turn it around until you are looking at it the way you like best. Then decide which way the light is coming to it. From top left or top right usually works well. Mine is going be top left.

Begin to shade the sides of your tangle sections to make them look three-dimensional. Shade under 'leaves' and 'pebbles'. You can always erase if you don't like it. I always use a tortillion/paper stump to soften the shading.

And don't forget to sign and date your work. It's really interesting to go back and see how your skills develop over time.

Here is the finished Zentangle:

I've selected five videos to help you develop your zendoodle skills. As you can see, different artists have different styles. Yours will develop, the more Zentangles you create. For now, sit back, relax and enjoy this collection.

I'm looking for more Zentangle-inspired art for my gallery! So if you would like to share yours here, I'd love to display them. To contact me, click here: theraggededge and use the orange contact button under the photo. Your message will come straight through to my email address.

On this next section, I have gathered some links to other sites, links to my own pages and anything else that might be useful to you. Don't forget to let me know if you have enjoyed this Zentangle workshop by leaving a comment below. I would love to hear from you.

Photo: I used a zendoodle to decorate an art journal page. The entry was about a lovely spring walk that my kids and I went on and this Zentangle seemed just right.

Zentangle The official Zentangle site.

Zentangle® Blog The official Zentangle blog.

Tangle Patterns A great resource. Click on the grey letters at the top of the page to see a myriad of tangles and links to instructions to draw them.

Laura Harms Laura Harms posts a weekly Zentangle challenge.