I’m the kind of person who finds it hard to switch off. Sitting in front of the TV at the end of the day isn’t something I do, and reading is generally how I start my day, followed by a workout. So last year when I was getting particularly restless and feeling the need to learn something new (again), I decided to have a go at Zentangle. There’s never really a grey area when I get my mind set on something; I either give it my all or I give it up completely. There’s never a half-arsed attempt; I’m either in or I’m out and that’s pretty much how I am with everything.
I’d been intrigued by Zentangle for a while and the more I looked into it, the more I became obsessed with the drawings that were popping up on my Instagram feed. They were so detailed, so intricate and so damn good! There are many Zentangle books available, but there was one that kept cropping up again and again: “One Zentangle a Day: A 6-Week Course in Creative Drawing for Relaxation, Inspiration, and Fun”. Eventually I gave in and bought it, but unfortunately starting something new always drives me crazy. I have a tendency to get so frozen by fear that I physically can’t start a new project, so it ended up sitting on my desk for a number of weeks before I finally felt brave enough to even open it. Crazy, I know. I was so hung up on how fantastic other people’s work was that I’d fallen into the trap of comparing my beginning to someone else’s middle – and I hadn’t even started!
It’s a well put together book and each day the tangles are explained using both examples and text; there are many other books out there, but this one seemed to get pretty consistent reviews and I never found the instructions difficult to follow. Zentangle didn’t come easy to me, and some days I found myself ripping up my artist’s tile and starting over multiple times, rather than falling into a zen like drawing state. Other days, it flowed effortlessly and I found myself lost in the zone, unaware of anything else that was going on around me: these were the days I liked. It took me a bit longer than 6 weeks and I got so frustrated with day 15 that after the fourth attempt, I admitted defeat and gave up. Not one to normally let something beat me, I really struggled with locar and verdigõgh; even though I could draw them individually, I found myself struggling to incorporate them with other tangles.
The thing I was really looking forward to having a go at were the Zendalas; I enjoyed drawing these and I even printed a couple of cards to sell in my Etsy shop. Now that Christmas and the rush that comes with it is over, I’m looking forward to opening my sketchbook and experimenting with them a bit more.
I posted my Zentangle journey pretty regularly on Instagram, and even though it was part way through last year, I’d still like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who took the time to favourite my posts and offer words of support and encouragement. At some point, when time allows, I’d like to work through the book again and see how my work differs from the first time around.