Invitation to a free event on Jan. 4th, 2013.

Come & join us to learn about Zentangle®. 
At the Expressive Arts Institute,  Judith Greer Essex PhD, REAT.  & Wes Chester MA, CAGS will be hosting this free event so that I may introduce you to the many benefits of Zentangle.

Where;
The Expressive Arts Institute San Diego, 
located at 2820 Roosevelt Road, San Diego, Ca. 92106 

When;
January 4, 2013 from 5pm to 7:30pm & yes it is FREE!
Please check out the Expressive Arts Institute meet up page for more information on this & other events.

I will be giving hands on demonstrations & bring examples of different mediums that can be used.  I have been using zentangle as a wellness tool for myself & teaching it to others for the same purpose. It works & you will be surprised by the results, in more ways than one!

We would love to see you there. Take advantage of this event to see what Zentangle is all about.


Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways.

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.

            Today I would like to show you some of my work!

                         Those were done in October 2011.  
                 They were done on official Zentangle® tiles.  
 Some of the patterns used on the top one are; Rain, Zander,        Rick's Paradox, Betweed variation, Cubine variation. Some of the patterns used on the bottom one are; Rick's Paradox & Laced.  

    Here are two more. The bottom one was done in Sept. 2011.
              Some patterns from the top one are Betweed & Laced.
                          The bottom one I made up mostly.

                        Here is another example of Betweed. 
For those who may have noticed, I forgot to initial the tile because it was on the back of the tile above, made with Betweed & Laced. This was more of a practice one.

        Here are two official Zentangle® tiles with Rick's Paradox.
                                  I did these in October 2011.

     Rick's PARADOX is fun to do!

 In fact this is the one tangle I love to teach first timers. 

It looks  hard to do, but it really isn't when you learn from a CZT. When people create this tangle, they have more confidence in their ability to create zentangle.  This tangle is an original 

 Zentangle® pattern.

You will find that many web sites & blogs have instructional steps to patterns. Give them a try. There are some books you can purchase with patterns & ideas for creating tangled art including Zia art.  Zia means zentangle inspired art. To really experience the Zen, you will need to sign up for some classes with a real Certified Zentangle® Teacher. So do some exploring on your own,  & when you are ready, sign up for classes. You may choose to take classes first, setting sail to a Zen way, for better mental & physical health!

I hope you enjoyed viewing my first postings of some of my work!
Uncovering Pathways is my first blog experience. There is definitely a learning curve. I have a great mentor providing guidance, for which I am truly grateful! She was my teacher & inspiration to become a CZT, just like her! Thank you Suzanne at Tinkered Art!  Please check out her blog at tinkeredart.blogspot.com.

             Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways.