Seek and ye shall find?

I was given a daily calendar for 2012 – everything geared towards gratitude. And while I agreed with the sentiments, I thought it would be mostly kitschy. Every so often though, it surprised me with quotes that caught me where it counts. Thoreau was one (you can see my surprise here) but it was Winston Churchill that hit me the hardest talking about hobbies.

“To be really happy and really safe

one ought to have at least two or three hobbies,

and they must all be real.”

Scared the willies outta me. Especially when I saw excellent science that backed up this wisdom (my post here). So I've been on the keen look-out for what might fit for me.

In late March, a friend suggested that we might put up his friend who would be taking a course here in Edmonton. Through her emails, I saw she was a CZT. After looking that up, I suggested that she could teach me something about this interesting activity. She said yes, but she doesn’t come for another week and a half. Being patient is not my strongest point … so I started looking at Zentangles and they have HOOKED me!

For years I’ve avoided doodling because it made me mad. It never turned out anything like I had in my head. Tangles are tools that allow me to get those pieces out.

Hallelujah, I have a hobby! (A second hobby, because I read very widely).

Yes, I’m a little frustrated because I don’t yet know very many tangles (“patterns”), and shading techniques seem to be less explained. But I am really enjoying all of this. The practice, even the train wrecks. I see patterns everywhere. (Oh, I saw those before, but honestly, I had nowhere to “put” them.)

I promised some promising links, as many of my friends newly introduced to my new introduction are asking questions. Someone should start a Wikipedia page, because there isn’t one yet!

While they can look complicated, Zentangles are made a stroke at a time. There is no pre-determined pattern or solution yet there are limits on the freedom, and it’s these constraints that provide potential. It’s pretty cool!

Founders Rick Roberts & Maria Thomas have a website and a blog.

There are hundreds of patterns: http://tanglepatterns.com/about

There are some good books. I have purchased a couple e-books from the Tanglepatterns.com site, as well as “The Joy of Zentangle” from Chapters.

Lastly, I found a blogger ("the Diva") from Saskatoon. She puts out a weekly challenge – so I’ve committed to trying to submit something for that challenge weekly…  The best part is the worldwide submissions posted each week, and the creativity for each challenge is awe-inspiring.

Did I mention that the sun SHINES brighter, the grass is GREENER, and food TASTES better?  
Tangles I know I used! Papyrus, Twilight Zone, Chemystery, Sandswirl, Msst, Zinger