Saturday, December 8, 2012


Benefits of Zentangle.

I have been very interested in the benefits of doing zentangle®. It is being taught all over the world by CZT's (Certified Zentangle Teachers). There are people teaching this that are not certified. You will not get the same experience including secret tangle patterns created by Rick Roberts & Maria Thomas (the creators) of Zentangle®. There are a few CZT's serving San Diego County, including myself. You can check out more about CZT's at zentangle.com.

If you can hold a pencil or pen, no matter your age you can learn this meditative art. If you can make a dot, small line, a curved line then you can learn to do this. Every stroke is deliberate & repetitive. No art experience is required. Zentangle is non representative of objects. It is done in black ink using Micron pens on off white Fabriano paper tiles. They have black tiles made of the same paper & we use white ink on these. We use the finest ink & paper for our creations, because we are worth it! When done with these supplies the work is even more beautiful.

Some of the benefits that others have seen first hand are lowering of blood pressure, creating a sense of calm, reducing anxiety & agitation, improves concentration & focus, improves eye hand coordination, etc. I read about a nurse that used this while children were given their chemo treatments. She said the children would all cry during the treatments. She gave them supplies & taught them how to zentangle. When the children came in for their chemo treatment she would give them their supplies & they would start to zentangle. Children were no longer crying during treatments. They were distracted & had something positive to show family & friends. What a great wellness tool!

I have read that a pain support group gets together to zentangle. I know that it works well on pain management. I have back pain. When I have taught classes & had to stand for awhile, I do not feel the pain during the class or for awhile after. Others with chronic pain have told me that they do not have pain when they have been in my class.

Students of all ages have been given time to zentangle before taking a test. When they chose to do zentangle before the test, their scores are much improved. One elementary principle reports that two students got into a conflict & were sent to him. He gave both students tiles & pens to do zentangles there at his desk. After a short time, they discussed what had happened & the students were able to resolve the conflict in a very calm manner. There are some schools, mostly on the east coast, were the entire school spend time everyday to zentangle. Zentangle started on the east coast because that is where Rick & Maria live & teach.


When I worked at the women's jail teaching Wellness & Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) classes, if we had some extra time at the end, I would teach them zentangle as part of their toolbox for recovery. This is a good tool for those with addiction challenges. Instead of picking up & using (drugs & alcohol) pick up your pen & paper to create something positive. Great for a distraction tool.

Lastly I find it also improves self-esteem & confidence. It is pretty cool to see that you have created something uniquely your own. Even when I have everyone in a class do the same tangles, each one looks different. I had a student that could not sit through the class. He would rush when drawing. He then would become frustrated because the tangles would not work out. He overcame his challenge & was able to slow it down. He was so proud when he completed a project. He has found confidence, pride & joy. He expands his creative side in many more ways now.

I have some more of my work I would love to share with you. Enjoy!  


                         This tile was completed on 2/21/12






                                        This one was completed 9/14/11.






                           This one was completed 12/20/11.










     My friends say this one looks like a headless snowman but it's not. It only looks this way at this orientation. If you turn it on it's side or upside down it will look different. This is true with all zentangles. They do not have a right side up. When you create tiles you turn them as you add your strokes. 
This one was completed 9/13/11.









This tile was done in collaboration with another student & myself when we were taking classes with a CZT. This was before we both became CZT's. This was a fun collaboration!
 Both of us went to RI to become CZT's.











This is an official mandala tile.
 This is the 2nd one I have done.
These tiles are larger than the official square tiles.
It was completed on 11/17/12

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways.

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