10 Apr Connecting Through Creativity: Find Your Zen This Spring
By Barbara K. Stump, MA
What does spring look like outside your window today? Blossoms blooming, or snowflakes flying? It’s the end of March and we still have snow falling in Traverse City, Michigan. To say it’s been a long cold winter is an understatement. It hardly seems like spring, yet Easter is a month away. Adding to the chill factor, is the rising price of eggs. Holy cow, or should I say holy chicken?! It’s definitely making breakfast more expensive. Then there is the thought of decorating Easter eggs with the family. Is this something you like to do? The uptick in of the price of eggs is timely, and unfortunate for sure, yet some traditions are worth keeping, and maybe even modifying when necessary. This year I am practicing Zentangle on my Easter eggs, both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional. Have you tried to “tangle?” Do you like to doodle? You don’t have to be a highly skilled artist to try this form of art, and it can actually be a good stress reliever. As the word Zentangle suggests, it comes from the word ‘zen’ (the Buddhist mediative philosophy for balancing the mind). The objective of exercising this form of art is to create a sense of calmness in your life. It was developed in the United States in 2004, by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts.
Whether you observe the Easter holiday or not, you might enjoy and benefit from the process of creating a Zentangle design. It is considered a simple form of meditative drawing. Psychology Today states that, “meditating even for as little as 10 minutes increases the brain’s alpha waves (associated with relaxation) and decreases anxiety and depression.”
To practice Zentangle one needs to move through an eight step process. Usually it is practiced on 3 ½ inch square tiles, but you can choose any shape or form you would like to for this process. Even the shape of an Easter egg. The only materials you will need are Sharpie Markers, Micron Pens, and a Pencil. Here are the steps to the Zentangle method:
- Gratitude and Appreciation: Having this mindset allows your mind to relax and appreciate what you are about to do.
- Add Corner Dots: place one dot in each of the four corners of your square paper, or in my case an egg.
- Make a Border: Draw a straight of curvy line to form a border for your work..
- Section Your Work Space: Draw 3 to 4 intersecting lines to separate your square (or whatever shape you are using) into sections.
- Begin Tangling: Using a micron pen or sharpie, make patterns in each of the sections without worrying about making mistakes. Again just focus on the process because nothing can be erased. (Hence, no need for an eraser in the supply list)
- Shade: using a pencil add dimension to the work by shading different areas of your drawing.
- Artist’s Initials and Signature: On the front side of the work write your initials, and write your signature on the back of your work.
- Appreciate: Take a look at your work and appreciate what you created.
You can also try other shapes or forms besides the traditional 3 ½ inch square, such as the egg example I drew on the paper above, or actual eggs like my example below.
As you can see this is a relatively easy process to follow, and the finished artwork can vary every time you make a Zentangle. The meditative practice of creating a Zentangle, moving through the 8 steps, can bring a sense of relaxation and calmness to your day. Taking as little as 10 minutes to focus on the present, and appreciate something we created during that time can provide a moment of peace and reflection. How nice would it be to start your day, or end your day, with a sense of calmness and appreciation for something? To sum it up best, I’ll leave you with a quote from Buddha. “Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have.”
Barbara is an art education consultant and G3 contributing writer.
