The Story That's Mine to Tell

 
 

Zentangle is an art form. Zentangle is uncomplicated pattern drawing needing few rules or materials: a pen, a 3.5” paper tile and a pencil. Because Zentangle has so few restrictions, drawing Zentangle patterns invites imagination and playfulness. Zentangle is where I landed while searching for something else.

Oddly enough, Zentangle showed up at the insistence of dragons. Someone once asked, “What is the most playful thing you can think of? What simply makes you smile?” I said, “The possibility of dragons.” From that moment on, dragons simply showed up in my life, unbidden and persistent.

 

The more I practice tangling, the more untangled my life becomes. Zentangle methods help calm a busy mind and give space to sort things out. The underlying premise of Zentangle? There are no mistakes. There’s no way to do it wrong, which implies that being perfect and right in our lives is simply not necessary.

Zentangle isn’t about art. It’s about the space before art. Zentangle is about the peace derived from making art, not the art itself. I've been tanlging in 2017. I’ve done hundreds of tiles. Most of them are thrown in a box when I finish. It’s not about the art.

TEACHING

I’m a retired career teacher. In 2017 I trained with the creators of Zentangle and am now one of about 6,000 in the world certified to teach Zentangle, a CZT. My students are intrigued by Zentangle because the practice is inexpensive. Tanglers simply pull out a tile and pen. There’s no set up or place to be. It’s portable and invites doing at a moment’s notice.

DRAGON TILES

Recently, I found myself driven to create tiles of my own design. Learning to bring a product to market has been an adventure and far more involved that I imagined. So not only do I practice and teach, I produce a pre-strung tile that’s playful and invites imperfect possibility.

It's time to begin. Join a class now!

  • Kevin - Orinda, CA
    I had no real idea what Zentangle was so I took a real chance taking one of Elaine's classes. Elaine took the time to teach me from step one and I can't believe how much I enjoyed the class. Since then I have taken 3 more classes and 3 of her workshops. I have found the information she teaches to be calming and peaceful. Zentangle is a creative and expressive form of drawing and Elaine teaches it amazingly well!
    Kevin - Orinda, CA
  • Jose - Oakland, CA
    Elaine was great to work with! I sat down with her for what felt like 20 mins but was actually a couple of hrs. She allowed me to find my flow when it came to the design we were working on. If you ever get a chance to take one of her classes or sit down with her I recommend it!!
    Jose - Oakland, CA
  • Dean - Chicago, IL
    Zentangle brings you back to that lovely, soft breathing focus and utter confidence that you are doing it right. Elaine masterfully guides you to that realization!
    Dean - Chicago, IL