ZenTangle Auraknot to ZenTangle

Every Tuesday nights for the last 14 weeks, I have been teaching ZenTangle to cancer survivors at a community center.  The easiest way to explain ZenTangle is by telling everyone that it is mindful doodling.  Once people hear that, they usually are intrigued, because they are so used to mindless doodling while they are on the phone or in a boring meeting.

Mindful doodling is creating repetitious patterns with an end result of something beautiful to display or offer as a gift. Most artists have been applying this method for decades, but they never had a name for it until the Founders Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas turned it into a business where you can get trained and certified as a Certified ZenTangle Teacher.  The best part about ZenTangle is how easy they made it for everyone.  It is easy-to-learn patterns; it is relaxing, and extremely fun. Your time will fly and before you know it, you have a beautiful image in front of you.

Most of the participants I have introduced ZenTangle to have constantly stated, “This is a lot more fun than I thought it would be.” Please visit www.ZenTangle.com if you are interested in learning more.

During our Tuesday night sessions, I usually show a new pattern that could seem complicated, but most of the time, I show the simple rules of how to start. You use a 3.5” square tile and draw a border lightly with a pencil. Then inside the border, you take your pencil for a walk to create a freeform shape. Within that various sections of the freeform shape, you draw patterns using a thin-nib Sakura Micron pen.  For most in-depth details, please visit: http://tanglepatterns.com/zentangles/what-is-a-zentangle

In the following YouTube, I used the Sakura Micron pen, size 02 to teach the AuraKnot pattern.  I learned that creating this video could be a form of creative practice as well. My laptop is 8 years old so the process took at least 5 hours, but if I had a new MacBook, I believe I could have made a more creative video.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the video and that it will inspire you to try your own ZenTangle patterns.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFQ-ECEskOc

Music by Brain Crain, “Halellujah”