ZenLining

Hey there tangling friends!

I recently found a Zentangle picture of mine from three years ago and realised that drawing is now an integral part of my life. I rarely go more than a day of not tangling, and if I do, I feel that something is missing. My stress and anxiety levels also go up if I haven't put pen to paper. 

Sometimes, though, even trying to think of patterns to draw and where to start on the page is too much. I have been inspired by various artists and my need for something so simple that it requires absolutely no thought. Just lines. Nothing else. No need to decide on patterns, colours, paper or pens. Just pick up my usual 0.1mm Staedtler Pigment Liner, whatever paper is close by and then one stroke at a time - calming my mind, steadying my body and anchoring me in the present. I find I can become completely absorbed in the lines, blocking out all worries and allowing me space to breathe. Sometimes I decide to draw out a design and then fill it in with lines. Sometimes I just start in the middle of a page with no expectations. Sometimes I start with a Zengem and see what develops.

I have been drawing this way for a few months, especially during December, which I always find extremely stressful. I also find shading the lines very calming. Here are some examples...

Here's the link to my Pinterest board with lots of inspiration - ZenLining Board

Here's a link to one of my favourite artists - Roan Tjon Fo

Winter Project

Winter Project

10 Prompts to Warm you up!

Participants may choose which prompts they wish to do and those with more time or larger Zen needs may choose to do all of the prompts. I don’t want anyone to feel they have to do everything, or feel guilty that they’re not ‘keeping up’ - the idea is to have fun and find our Zen.

Participants may start any time, but it’s not necessary to start at the beginning. The idea is that by the end you should have 10 individual tiles/drawings. You could do them on a calendar, put all of them on one larger piece of paper, or put 10 separate traditional Zentangle tiles into an album. You can draw on whatever you like - traditional 3.5” Zentangle tiles, larger sizes or digital Zentangle. Please post your work to my Facebook group - Wholehearted Zentangle - we love seeing how everyone interprets the prompts differently! If posting on Instagram, please use the hashtag #WinterProject

1 Lets start with some fire colours - oranges, yellows and reds

2 Phroz

Phroz step by step

3 Draw a crescent moon shape and tangle inside. 

4 Choose 2 or more patterns beginning with S. Try some new to you ones! Some ideas here

5 Use a warm coloured background - either the paper colour or use inks, watercolours, pencils etc. Then do a duo tangle of Sindoo and Ponio. 

6 Start with a circle and a square on your page and see what develops

7 Draw a six pointed star and turn it into a snowflake

8 Have a go at adding some dew drops to a simple monotangle.

Some ideas here

9 & 10 You might need a bigger piece of paper for this one - we are going to draw a frame today, a window frame, ready for the next prompt. In the middle of your frame, draw a large circle - we want to see the sun beaming through the window. You can use watercolours, inks, coloured pencils or anything else to colour the sun. Fill the sun with some swirly patterns like Sandswirl, Printemps, Sez, Olb, Prestwood or Meringue. 

Thanks for joining in!