Zentangle - Lesson 101

Only with a pencil and a drawing pen

Have you heard of Zentangle ®? It is not something with long history. Indeed, it is a drawing method originated by an American couple, Mr. Rick Roberts an Ms. Maris Thomas just more than a decade ago.

The concept of the Zentangle Method was introduced in 2005, when Rick, a monk, observed his wife Maria, a botanical artist in drawing. He observed that she was lost in the work when she was painting. He noticed that she was “in flow” when drawing those curvy lines and circles. This is how the Zentangle Method begins.

Zentangle has no relation to any religion. As a matter of fact, “Zen” from the word “Zentangle” has certain implication of mindfulness, or meditation, but it does not relate to Buddhism or any other religion. In Taiwan, sometimes the term will be translated as “纏繞” in Chinese, meaning “twisted tangles”. Zentangle pieces apparently look very complicated and hard to accomplish. However, it actually has certain steps to follow in order to make this happen. What is more important is that, it doesn’t need too many supplies for your to start your first Zentangle creation.

Zentangle drawings are formed and practiced when the same pattern is drawn over and over again (repeatedly). This is different from doodling — which have no particular rules, thus they are indeed a collection of images/…