EILEEN ADLER

“Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas sold prints of Maria’s botanical illustrations at art fairs. Customers watched and exclaimed how they wished they could do what she did.

Then they gave all the reasons why they couldn't . . . not enough time, talent, space, money, etc. While Maria worked, she felt selflessness, timelessness, effortlessness, and a rich immersion in what she was doing – all classic aspects of a meditative flow state.”  

And so began the idea that grew to become the Zentangle Method of drawing. Initially they thought “tangle” would be a great name but with the “zen” of it, Zentangle was selected.

Zentangles are miniature pieces of unplanned, abstract, black, and white art created with simple, structured patterns called tangles on small squares of white paper, called tiles, 3x5 inch, 4x4 inch, or 5x5 inch. On the Zentangle tile, one lightly pencils a border and a string, a free-form shape into which one then draws intricate non-objective patterns called tangles, with deliberate intentional strokes using a pen. Additional shading can be added in pencil to create depth and drama. After applying pencil shading, use a Q-tip to smudge the graphite, providing a sense of depth. Rulers, straight edges, or other mechanical aids are not used in Zentangle. It’s just you and your pen.



Life Lesson: When I imagine what meditation may look like, I picture someone sitting cross-legged on the floor, palms face up resting upon one’s knees. Sitting erect, eyes closed . . . Zentangle is nothing like that image! A quick break, this is not intended to take hours, is so refreshing. Now, where did I put that pen?