Let's Connect

These past few days the news has been filled with reminders of how some people on a certain Hill are having a tough time connecting. (Don't worry, this isn't political, just an example of some human nature.) Maybe they should all just chill about 20 minutes for a Zentangle break. I got to thinking about connections and visualizing one side putting their stuff on the table, and the other side putting their stuff on the other side of the table. Really, the process of Zentangle shows us that there is always a way it can come together, if we just step back and see, instead of hovering, hanging on to what we think is “right.”  All this observation led me to this little tile…

One of the things I love most about Zentangle is that there is something for everyone… like an art smorgasbord, where one can pick and choose elements, styles, rhythms…. It’s endless! If you tend to like a little order in your life, Zentangle provides it. If you need to get out of a box, Zentangle can help you do that. Some days we like to stay in the lines, other days we just have to bust out of them. The string in Zentangle allows both of these things at once. Here are a few tips (and also some visual steps) for satisfying both sides, and at the same time, connecting one tangle with another:

1. Make your string with at least three sections.
2. Fill one section of the tile in a tangle of your choice, staying within the lines of the string boundary.
3. Fill a second section that is furthest away from the first one with a different tangle, again staying within the boundary of the string.
4. Look at the two filled areas. Turn your tile in different directions, hold it at arm's length. (This give you a fresh perspective every time!) Find lines that have “stopped” at the string, and see if you can continue the lines, using them as “bridges” to your second tangle (see the Third tile below). The tangle, Hollibaugh is a great bridge-maker!  Or use one existing tangle as the starting point for the new tangle. You can also have elements from your first tangles that can drift across the string into your new tangle.
5. Once you’ve made your bridges, use them as a new string and fill them with more of your favorite tangles, or fill them with the same tangles that extend from a previous section.

Tonight I will raise a little glass of something to connection and all the places we can find it.