A couple of years ago I started seeing what are called Zentangles.  They were on the internet, in magazines, some of my friends were asking me about them, and slowly I began noticing the complexity, and the benefit of Zentangles.

Doodling will come naturally to us if we’ve doodled since we were kids,  but if like myself, you never tried to doodle, it seems more difficult.  The way  we were raised has a great deal to do with whether or not we doodled.  In my family, we weren’t allowed to  “fritter” away our time, so it’s been more difficult trying to get the hang of it!  Frankly, doodling would have benefited my family, I always thought they were way too up tight, and serious! The benefits of this simple way of doodling are many;  It’s very Zen, and inadvertently, very relaxing, you’ll find the stressors of the day melting away.  That’s a good thing right?

Get your journal, a pencil, or pen, and  just sit and see what you can come up with.  It’s fun, and before long you’ll have your friends doodling, and creating Zentangles with you!  There isn’t a right or wrong way to do this.   Some artists will use a ruler, others freehand,   it’s all good.    You may want to color them in with markers, or pens, go for it!    The more you do this, the better you’ll become, and the more fun you’ll have.  Come to think about it, wouldn’t it be fun to have a few close friends over for a Zentangles evening of wine, cheese, and Zentangles?  It could even be a great way to mesmerize ourselves at bedtime!  I personally could use a little mesmerizing, since like many other artists, my brain won’t turn off for much longer than a couple of hours after I go to bed!  Now that I’m thinking of it, what a great way to relax while waiting to be called into the dentist, or doctors office!

More recently I began noticing Zentangles  on Pinterest, and boy do they get elaborate!  Some artists take it to the top literally, but my goal is to have fun with it, and like everything else, they will get better as you go!  Regardless of whether you want to create them to be perfect, or  just go for  it, and have fun, try it!  If you get a chance check out Pinterest, or even Google Zentangles, it’s amazing what pops up, and it will give you some ideas!

Where else can we use Zentangles?  It isn’t just for journaling, I’ve received cards from artist friends that have a small amount of Zentangles on the inside, cards they have created themselves.  They were fabulous!

Here are a few that I’ve created  while trying to relax, and experiment with a pen.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.