Tag Archives: Zentangle

May 25, 2022 · 3:41 am

Zentangle Teabag Art Class

What a fun and creative “Zentangle Tea Bag Art” Zia Online Class! We completed one awesome teabag art piece that can be framed and some students created beautiful greeting cards. Some even went on to make more teabag art! This is our Zentangle Class Mosaic. Thank you all for joining me and sharing!

I was really surprised and pleased at how easy it is to tangle on a used teabags! I absolutely loved it!! We first learned how to prepare our teabags and how important it is to use Gesso to seal the fabric. I demonstrated several easy and quick ways to get that lovely antique staining, without having to steep your tea or create a mess. Then we drew tangles and followed the tea stained patterns. Each teabag was different. There were holes, tears, and folds but we embraced the teabags imperfections and incorporated them into our art. After coloring, I demonstrated how to tear the edges of our white 100% cotton paper to get that beautiful natural torn look. And then we attached our teabag to to it. Some of us also attached word sayings to complete our project. I can see why these little gems can be addicting!

Donna xxoo

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January 14, 2022 · 3:04 am

Happy New Year 2022

How did that happen!!! 2022?

A brand new year and a fresh start!

Don’t know where to start? Are you stuck?

No matter where you are in your Zentangle journey, it’s always helpful to go back to the “basics”. No color, no decisions to make, which is less stressful. Keep it simple with black and white. Get inspired by taking my January 15th, “Zentangle® Basics Online Class“. It’s the perfect class for a beginner or those who want a refresher. Once you have the basics down, there is no stopping you!

Register in “Classes” on my website by 2 pm today! www.tanglealaska.com

Love,

Donna

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June 27, 2018 · 1:56 am

CZT Family

Hi! I’ve been thinking of Alaska today.

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I’m SO EXCITED because I have 3 friends from the same family who are becoming CZT’s (Certified Zentangle® Teacher) today!!! It’s the last day of the 4 day CZT-31 Seminar with Maria & Rick and Zentangle staff, in Providence, Rhode Island. Two are my students and are sisters (from Alaska) and the other is their niece (from Colorado).  Mary and Tina have taken numerous Zentangle® classes with me so I’m thrilled that they are really loving Zentangle. I’m also excited because Tina lives down south around Kenai and there are no CZT’s there. It’s way too far away for me to cover! It will be nice to have some CZT’s I can talk to in Alaska 🙂 When I became a CZT in 2014, there was only one CZT in the Anchorage area, but she wasn’t teaching. So I’ve had to learn and struggle on my own. I’m very fortunate that I am a member of the CZT Facebook group and have formed many lasting friendships. It’s a loving and supportive group who have helped and guided me so much! I could not have done it without them (love you Brenda)! Tomorrow my 3 friends can join me!

When I attended my CZT Seminar, it was held in Providence Hotel. Now Seminars are held at the Biltmore Hotel. I spent one night there before transferring to Providence Hotel and joined the other CZT’s (here I am looking out my window at the Biltmore Hotel).

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Every CZT Seminar is special. One highlight of my Seminar-17 was when Martha’s two boys got up and taught us a tangle! They were so awesome!! I don’t even remember what the tangle was because I was watching them 🙂

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At the end of Seminars, when you receive your CZT Certificate, you get to put on “the Zentangle® Graduation Cap”! Here I am with mine but it was sooooo heavy it was falling off my head and someone captured that lovely and oh so attractive moment! LOL!!

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Welcome Mary, Tina, and Ella! Congratulations on becoming Certified Zentangle® Teachers!! CZT 31!

♥ Donna

 

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June 24, 2018 · 2:41 am

Zentangle Project Pack #03

Hi! Are you up for a summer challenge???

Zentangle® headquarters came out last year with Zentangle Project Packs 01 and 02. Maria, Rick, Molly, Nick, Martha, and Julie all participated in these wonderful series of instructional videos! They did a really great job and I’ve learned so much from them and want to share them with you!

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Recently they came out with Zentangle Project Pack 03!

Project Pack 03

  Click on link to go to the videos!  http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Zentangle-Newsletter—-Project-Pack–03-Video-Links.html?soid=1101168872594&aid=F1fbF4Qp8cY

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Supplies or buy the Project Pack 03 at http://www.zentangle.com

  • 4 (small) or 9 (large) White 3.5″ (89mm) square tiles
  • 2 Graphite pencils
  • Small rubber band
  • White charcoal pencil
  • Black Sakura® Pigma Micron 01 pen (or any extra-fine tip pen)
  • Blending stump
  • Water brush or small paint brush & water
  • Any watercolor pencils

And have FUN!!

♥ Donna

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June 23, 2018 · 2:08 pm

Benefits of Zentangle® Art

Hi! I found this post I wrote a while back, never posted it, and so I will share it with you now, as it has been a very long time that I have talked… All my life I have been a worrier, you know…the “what ifs?”. Many times I have worried to the point of making myself sick or I’ll have a rip roaring panic attack. And depending where I am at the time, I would avoid going to those places again. At one point in my life, all the doors closed in on me and the only safe place was my home…for 4 long years! Eventually I discovered there was a name for this, it’s called Agoraphobia, an anxiety/panic disorder, which I have had all my life. In Latin it is referred to as “the fear of the market place”. Eventually I got help, which turned my life around. But I still have all the “what ifs? and negative chatter” which are ingrained in my head and sometimes still stops me from doing things or makes it very difficult.

I was first drawn to Zentangle® by the beautiful and intricate and creative abstract black and white art. And then I read, “anyone can do it!”. I didn’t believe it because I can’t draw, but I thought I’d try it, and I did it, AND it was unbelievable!  I knew from that moment that I wanted to become a CZT and teach it. Zentangle has brought me so much peace and has helped with my anxiety, depression, pain, and the “what ifs and chatter” in my head. The Zentangle® Method™ is all about teaching you how to relax and focusing on drawing structured patterns (tangles). It is a stress reliever by distracting your mind so you can just live “in the moment” (mindfulness). It is the “process” I enjoy and the art is a benefit. The Zentangle® Method™ has taught me to enjoy & appreciate life and to trust my intuition, knowing that it always turns out OK.

Finding Zentangle and becoming a CZT has given my life purpose and has gotten me out of the house and back to teaching and living again (I LOVE teaching!). I have made many wonderful friends around the world and I’m so grateful! My mind now is occupied with beautiful Zentangle art and patterns I see everywhere and I’m constantly thinking of new ideas, projects, and classes!

Some of the Benefits of  the Zentangle® Method™:

  • Stress Reliever and Promotes Relaxation
  • Decreases Anxiety, Panic Attacks, and Depression
  • Pain Management
  • Problem Solving
  • Physical and Emotional Therapies
  • Focus and Concentration
  • Mindfulness-“living in the moment”
  • Fine Motor Skills
  • Self-Confidence and Self-Esteem
  • Personal Well-Being
  • Working with Children and the Elderly
  • PTSD
  • Recovery Programs
  • Positive Group Dynamics
  • NO Art Experience Required!
  • Is a break from Technology!
  • Opens the Mind to Creativity, Imagination, and Intuition!
  • Practicing Zentangle will help you “Release your Inner Artist” – even if you think you don’t have one!
  • Anyone can do it! Give it a try! You only need a piece of paper, pen, and pencil!

❤️ Donna

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July 17, 2017 · 6:00 pm

What is the Zentangle® Method™?

Want to unwind from stress, focus your thoughts, and explore your creative side? As a CZT (Certified Zentangle® Teacher), this is what I do!

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“A Therapeutic Process of Meditative Pattern Drawing” Designed for Everyone!

The Zentangle® Method™ offers a quick way to intentionally redirect your focus and allow you to enter a relaxed state, by drawing structured patterns (called tangles) while creating beautiful abstract art! Tangles are broken down into steps, making it easy for ALL ages and abilities to draw! Anyone can do it! As you combine these tangles together, you will be amazed at yourself when you discover that you are in fact an artist and you can draw and create your own beautiful and unique art!

  • Zentangle can change your life!
  • Enjoy the peacefulness and contentment of “living in the moment” (not yesterday or tomorrow)!
  • An easy, fun, and relaxing stress and anxiety reliever you can do anywhere!
  • Portable! Need only a pen, pencil, and paper!
  • If you can write your name, you can do Zentangle! No artistic skills needed!
  • Non-Technical!
  • No mistakes in Zentangle…only creative opportunities!
  • No right or wrong way!
  • Increases your sense of personal well-being!
  • Opens your mind and heart to new creativity, imagination, and intuition for people of all ages and abilities!

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8-Basic Steps in the Zentangle® Method™

  1. Gratitude and Appreciation
  2. Corner Dots
  3. Border
  4. Strings
  5. Tangle
  6. Shade
  7. Initial and Sign
  8. Appreciation Again

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Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas created the Zentangle® Method™ and Zentangle® INC. about 14 years ago. They offer four intense seminars a year, in Providence, Rhode Island (where they live), teaching those who want to learn all about Zentangle and become a CZT ( Certified Zentangle® Teacher).  We now have about 3000 CZT’s around the world!

Maria and Rick state, “As you practice the Zentangle Method, you discover that not only can you create beautiful art, you also can increase your focus and create a different mood and state of mind. We believe that life is an art form and that our Zentangle Method is an elegant metaphor for deliberate artistry in life. This Zentangle approach is not only easy and enjoyable, but also profound and uplifting.”

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Students are given the same instructions…but each Zentangle® tile is different!

So, give yourself the gift of Zentangle® art and take a class with a Certified Zentangle® Teacher!

Find a CZT near you at:  www.zentangle.com

Check out my website and classes at:  www.tanglealaska.com

♥ Donna


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June 25, 2017 · 2:38 am

Coffee Cups Competition

Hi! Before today gets away from me, I want to share a FUN project we did around this time, last June 2016. As you know I work for Blaines Art Supply, and last June, many art supply representatives came up from the lower 48 to throw a “Make it & Take it” event. I set up my tent, tables, and examples of my Zentangle® coffee cups I had done at home. I was so excited!!

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Blaines Art donated white coffee cups and black pens (there is a beverage bar inside the store). We were going to have a tangled cup competition and I was ready! There were lots of other tent “stations” like alcohol inks, painting sneakers, Gelli printing plates, lots of different types of pens, watercolors, markers, and papers too to experiment with. Many of the products were on sale.

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I had drawn some simple Zentangle tangles and their step outs on big pieces of paper and taped them to the side of the tent so people could follow step-by-step. I also had Zentangle books, supplies, business cards, and my up-coming classes. Everyone’s cup was sooooo different and creative! Some took their tangled cups home and some we displayed in the store and for the rest of the month people could vote on their favorite one! The WINNER got a goodie bag filled with awesome Zentangle supplies so they could keep tangling!!

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Even though it was a COLD day and my hands were frozen we all had a good time! Jake even took over the booth so I could go inside to warm up 🙂 I think we should do this again!

♥ Donna

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November 6, 2015 · 2:44 am

One Year CZT Anniversary!

Hi! It is really hard for me to believe it has been one year today when I was in Providence, Rhode Island, at CZT Seminar 17. After 4 days of intense instruction, I graduated and received my Certified Zentangle® Teacher certificate from Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts. It was one of the biggest days of my life! It was absolutely magical! I learned so much and made so many wonderful friends who I still stay in contact with. Zentangle® has changed my life, it has given me life! Being the agoraphobic that I am, I still shake my head that I really did it because it is very hard for me to even leave my house most of the time. I wanted so much to get a beautiful photo of Maria giving me my certificate and all I got was this…and I could NOT stop crying and saying “I did it, I did it, I really did it!” Maria, being the beautiful person that she is, handled it well! I’m also still amazed at that person who could not draw at all, now draws beautiful art and I am excited about teaching and sharing the Zentangle® Method™!

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So much has happened in this past year! It’s been hard and yet wonderful! My goal was to teach Zentangle® Workshops at Blaines Art Supply (the only art supply store besides Michaels) in Anchorage, Alaska. When I got home I interviewed and got the job but it was one of the hardest interviews I’ve ever had and having been an RN in the past, I’ve had some tough interviews. Working for Blaines Art, of course I promote their products, but the problem was they didn’t have the Zentangle® supplies I needed (supplies I had learned from seminar). Not being able to use Zentangle® products was a challenge and I had to reevaluate and rethink everything. It stopped in my tracts at first but I’ve learned to be open and flexible because there are great art products out there. I’ve been teaching classes there now since January and everything has worked out just fine.

It’s been hard for me because there was only one CZT in my town and she doesn’t teach classes and I cannot turn to her for support. So I am on my own. Fortunately I have the support of my Zentangle® family in Providence and other online CTZ’s. My first class was January 9, 2015 and I was scared to death but my love for Zentangle® is so strong, that I did it! I think I had about 12 students and they were all so nice 🙂 We did 2 tiles and learned 8 tangles. After that class, I had many students asking me, “now what??” I knew exactly how they were feeling because after my first class with a CZT I said the same thing and wanted to continue learning more and to tangle with others…it’s all about the process and the enjoyment of being relaxed, “in the moment”, and being with others who speak the same Zentangle® language. The end result is always beautiful art. So my wonderful boss at Arctic Rose Gallery offered me the space to have monthly Zentangle® Social Meetups! Yes fantastic!! Better yet, we gather on Sunday when the gallery is closed and is quiet 🙂  Perfect for the “Zen”!  The meetups have been so rewarding and fun and lovely friendships formed! And one of my students from my first class even went on to seminar and became a CZT!

1-9-2015 My First ClassZentangle Meetup

I have so much I want to share with you! I’m going to try to catch you up to the present and hopefully before 2016!
❤ Donna Continue reading →

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December 14, 2014 · 4:05 am

Certified Zentangle Teacher

Hi! I’ve recently returned from Providence, Rhode Island. I know, pretty amazing for me! Those who know me, know that sometimes I can’t even get out of my house 🙂  It happened very suddenly when I got a newsletter from zentangle.com that there were 4 open seminar spaces available…first come, first served! This was my dream, to go to seminar to become a Certified Zentangle® Teacher but I figured I would have to wait until 2015 (it’s very hard to get in!). I would be trained by the founders of Zentangle®, Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts. Well a long story shortened…I emailed but the 4 spaces were already filled and I was #15 on a waiting list. I was so disappointed to think I almost had a shot of getting in!

About two days later I get another email and I GOT IN!!  That is, if I could fly to Providence, RI, and find a hotel in less than a week! The seminar is at the Providence Hotel but they were booked solid. Before I knew it I was on a plane and off to become a Certified Zentangle® Teacher! No time to think how terrified I was to fly and fly so far from home for 6 days. I’m talking about Alaska to Rhode Island! It took me all day to get there, starting at 3:30am (Sat)and finally got to bed at 4:00am the next day (Sun).

But I did it! I made it to Providence only to find out they did not have a room for me! Yes, NO ROOM!! I had a total meltdown (and I mean it was bad!) and was driven across town to another hotel. I had absolutely no idea where I was or who I was with. They fortunately came back to get me the next day (I was crossing my fingers that they would!). I emailed Martha (Maria’s daughter) to let her know what happened and checked into the seminar that evening. I stayed at Biltmore that night, alone and scared.

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The next morning (Mon) after the morning class, Martha took me aside and said there was a vacancy at Providence Hotel and they were working on getting me over there with everyone else. OMG! I was soooooo excited, so relieved, so grateful, so exhausted! From then on I had the most FANTASTIC and AMAZING time! It was like I was living in a magical dream-world filled with beautiful tangles and warm and wonderful people. Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts and their entire Zentangle® family were unbelievably so kind and giving.

Me, Maria, and Rick

Me, Maria Thomas, and Rick Roberts

I met so many people from around the world. We had 13 countries and 22 students from Taiwan who became my friends (kneehow). I had so much fun and learned sooooo much!

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When I got back, Blaines Art Store asked me to teach Zentangle® classes and I start in January 2015 (another dream come true!). I can hardly wait!!!! I am now a Certified Zentangle® Teacher!

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CZT

See you in class 🙂

♥ Donna

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December 8, 2014 · 11:37 pm

Zentangle Discovered

HI!  Last summer I discovered Zentangle® which has changed my life! I came across it at www.zentangle.com and was mesmerized by the beautiful art and I knew that was something I wanted to do. I ran out and bought as many Zentangle® books as I could find.  Zentangle® is an easy to learn, fun, and relaxing method of drawing repetitive structured patterns. It only requires a 3.5″ x 3.5″ white paper, 01 Micron Pen by Sukura and a pencil.  No eraser because there are no mistakes in Zentangle…just opportunities for new patterns.  This was my first attempt at tangling (before I took a class) 🙂

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My First Zentangle

Now, I CANNOT draw but it said it’s easy and anyone can do it and so I took a beginning class from a Certified Zentangle Teacher and came out with two beautiful pieces of art that I DREW!! Yes, I can draw Zentangle Art!  There were 6 students and we did 2 Zentangle® tiles each. Each tile had 4 different tangles (patterns) on it. The most fascinating thing to me was that we were each shown how to draw the same tangle BUT each of our tangles were totally different and so creative!! It was our own art we were drawing that came from our minds!  Just like in life, each person’s handwriting is different.  We each have different personalities.  Since the first time I saw Zentangle Art I secretly wanted to become a Certified Zentangle® Teacher.  I was convinced if I could draw such beautiful images, then anyone could and I wanted to share this magic!

First Class Zentangle Tile

First Zentangle class tile

Second Zentangle class tile

Second Zentangle class tile

Beginners Tile

Beginners Tile

 

I recommend taking a class with your local Certified Zentangle Teacher and explore www.zentangle.com

♥ Donna

 

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