What Do You Do When Overwhelmed or Depleted?

Most artists have experienced periods when they find it difficult to make art.  Lack of ideas, too many ideas, comparing one's talents and art outcomes with other artists, a perceived dearth of energy... all of these reasons and more can stop an artist from creating.

Recently I found myself not creating or teaching.  I simply became overwhelmed with all the possibilities with Zentangle art.  Looking at what other artists are creating, it became difficult to know what to draw or teach next.  

My personal preference is for classic Zentangle:  abstract compositions in monotone shades.  Maria Thomas, founder of Zentangle Inc., suggested that all we need is to keep the art simple and beautiful.  The fewer the choices an artist has to make, the more easily they can create.  But the internet is filled with artists creating pictures and shapes and filling them with bright colors.  Should I be learning and teaching that since it appears to be so popular?  While pondering this, I set aside my pens and paper altogether.

This roadblock was cleared when I reached out to a fellow teacher who was in my Certified Zentangle Teachers (CZT) class years ago.  I asked her if our teacher group was still meeting remotely and doing art together.  She connected me up with a wonderful group of CZTs in a group called "Zen Gulf Cafe".  With continuous ongoing weekly projects, the Zen Gulf Cafe teachers take turns teaching one another.  

Very quickly, I was encouraged to teach the group as well.  Again, I hesitated.  I have taught introduction classes to people who have never made Zentangle art before.  I have ongoing students who are developing their skills.  But to teach other certified teachers?  This seemed daunting, especially when I felt confused about art project ideas in general.  But the leader of the group, a woman from India named Dolly, sweetly but persistently asked me.  When I expressed my concerns, she scheduled a call with me.  As we talked, I listened to her gentle lilting voice reassuring me that any design I chose to teach would be appreciated by the group.  

She was right.  I chose a simple repetitive design from Zentangle Project Pack 7.  Once I demonstrated the simple shapes once or twice, there was no need for me to speak much.  The group became absorbed in silence as they got "into the zone".  After the session the comments flooded in:  "I loved this session!"  "So meditative and relaxing!"  Each artist chose their own ink colors, each selected unique shape sizes and combinations.  All the art was gorgeous and different.  Each composition complemented the others.  

Now I'm back to regular art creation and teaching.  If you have a block, reach out to other artists.  Come together with them to support and inspire.  Trust yourself to be able to flow again.

Teaching in Zen Gulf Cafe

Same set of instructions yet look at this sampling of such varied outcomes...

Other recent creations I've done with the support of the Zen Gulf Cafe CZTs and the sessions they taught:

Delicate lace effect of white on black

Dramatic dimensionality topped with lace

Zendala pre-colored with Lindy's Magicals

A meditative appreciation of the layers and gifts in this world

Shading and Highlighting

One of my favorite things to share with Zentangle students is shading and highlighting the tangles.  Creating the tangles is relaxing and inspiring.  There are endless designs we can lay down on paper with pen and ink, focusing on one pen stroke at a time.  But the amazing tangles can inspire wonder when they become three dimensional with shading.  We use graphite pencil and then blend the graphite with a paper tortillon to create the illusion of depth and shadows.  Then we finish off the effect with white charcoal to add light and height to contrast with the graphite shadows.

In addition to the variety in tangles, we use white tiles, tan, grey, black or we can create a colorful background and tangle on top of that.   Whether creating art with others or doing it on my own in the garden or on my couch with a drawing board in my lap, I always find Zentangle relaxing.  

 

  

Back In The Business of Sharing Peace and Joy Through Art

 My last blog post was way back in 2020.  I can hardly believe it.  But then again, the whole world was forced to go on "pause" for too long a time.  It wasn't until April 2022 that I scheduled and taught another Zentangle class.  The moment a couple of my previous students returned to my home I was so happy.  We exchanged smiles and hugs and set about making happy little Zentangle ornaments.  This ornament idea was an inspiration from Barbara Langston, one of my CZT classmates.  She is a wonderful Zentangle instructor with her own YouTube channel called "Not Perfect Zen".  

For our ornaments we used Lindy's Magicals to color our paper tiles and then we tangled over the top and shaded and highlighted.

Next we folded our tiles while sending a string and an attached bell through the center of the ornament.  We glued the folds and created a lovely shiny coating using Mod Podge.  

In the following weeks I offered several Zentangle classes focused on creating a 7"x 7" piece known as an Opus tile.  At each session students were taught five new tangle patterns.  Week by week the art piece emerged.  Now normally I will complete an Opus within a session or two, using the patterns that come to mind and then repeating them with slight variations.  But I noticed my student Trisha had come for about four sessions and hadn't completed one Opus.  I asked her when she was going to finish one and her answer was interesting.  She said, "I love what I've been able to do so far and I don't want to ruin it by trying to add the final patterns."  

This is a common stumbling block for many artists.  This fear of failure can hold artists back from starting and it can also hold some back from completing a work.  

We talked it through, bringing to mind that nothing Trisha had done thus far had been ruinous AND it was only a piece of paper.  I had given her fresh Opus tiles each session so she had plenty more to play with.  

The result of our conversation was that Trisha went home and indeed completed her Opus piece.  In fact, she told me her drawing time put her in a peaceful "zone" that allowed four hours to go by without her noticing.  

She proudly sent me a photo of what she had done and said, "I tried as hard as I could to ruin this tile but it didn't get ruined!!  I think it's a breakthrough.  I'm so happy."  I think anyone would agree, Trisha created some wonderful art here:

We have also been creating art booklets which are filled with inspiring quotations designed to support anyone delving into art.  Originally designed for Mental Health Awareness Month (May), special patterns were suggested for each page by the founders of Zentangle.  Step-by-step instructions for each page are found on the Zentangle YouTube channel.  There is something wonderful though about gathering in person and stepping through the pages together.

Here are some pages my students and I have completed so far.  I love seeing the different stylings and interpretations when we lay our work out in mosaic form.

Anyone local to San Diego can participate in any upcoming class by going to the Meetup.com and joining my group called Zentangle With Annie.  Those who aren't local can still join the group to see the activities our group does.  Here's a link to click to join!  Zentangle With Annie Meetup Group

Although Zentangle has proven to be an easy and relaxing art form, I recently decided I'd been way too dormant with my watercolor painting.   I certainly didn't want to be in an "if you don't use it you'll lose it" situation with painting.  But unlike Zentangle, whenever I approach painting there's always a hesitance or even a fear that I will mess up and the painting won't turn out.  There are so many elements to consider... getting the right ratio of water to pigment to get the tones and vibrance right, the amount of water to put on the paper and how long to let it soak in before applying paint, working fast enough so areas of the painting don't dry, etc.  

What's helped with that in the past was checking in with the Watercolor Workshop group.   I first found this group about 12 years ago on Yahoo.  Today they exist on MeWe.   What I love about this group is that they exist to paint given projects each month which the artists share by posting.   I've received inspiration and encouragement from this group.   And if you seek tips or feedback on techniques the artists are kind and provide that too upon request. 

As I approached getting started with a painting in August of this year, the Watercolor Workshop group provided yet another helpful suggestion.   Lynn Bauer of Dragonfly Spirit on YouTube has several videos on painting on postcard-sized watercolor paper.   What a great idea!   After all, if I mess up the painting it's just a postcard!   I can easily start over with another little square of paper.   My brother was born in August of 1963 and he died in August of 2016.   So I wanted to try a little watercolor featuring him. There's a photograph that was taken when he was working as a caregiver for a client who had Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS).   The client wanted to go on a cruise.   He snapped a photo of my brother standing on the deck of the ship.   I thought it just might work out as a silhouette painting.   With Lynn's techniques it worked out great.

Brother Bill

As September rolled around the monthly project for the Watercolor Workshop group was to paint snow. We only have white snow when we preserve and don't paint over the white watercolor paper so it's a challenge similar to negative painting.   Everything else but the snow gets paint.   I went back to YouTube and found a snowy mountain painting session I could follow.

Snowy Peak

In art it's wonderful to have support systems, sources of information and inspiration.  And it's not only a joyful thing when paintings work out but when others enjoy looking at it.  Keep on painting!  Keeping on drawing!

Passing the Zen On

The past few months have brought a temporary halt to hosting Zentangle classes in my home.  The last one I'd scheduled was on March 16th.  But that afternoon the county health director announced there were to be no nonessential gatherings of any size due to COVID19 concerns.  

I'd been excited to share the new Moonlight Gelly Roll pens with my student Trisha that night.  Such beautiful colors!  Since she was excited to draw with them, Trisha decided she should come by my house and take the pens home with her.

Trisha's enthusiasm for learning Zentangle art comes from years of feeling like her artistic instincts were suppressed.  She had been put into kindergarten at the age of 4 and while she was smart enough to keep up academically, her motor skills lagged a bit behind her older classmates.  Comparing her art to theirs made her feel like she wasn't good enough.  And she believed that throughout her life even though she wanted to create and express herself in art.  

When we met she loved every tangle we created together.  At the end of each session she left with a big smile on her face and her beautiful art pieces in her hands.  For the past three months she's been drawing new art and sending it to me.  She's used the classic black ink on white tile method and practiced shadowing with graphite.  She created this amazing 3D effect in her work with a Paradox monotangle.

Trisha's Paradox Monotangle

Keeping with the Paradox monotangle she took off with her Moonlight Gelly Rolls on a black tile to achieve this effect:

Trisha's Moonlight Paradox Tangle

Here's yet another tangle combination in which she added shadowing on all the edges of her circles, making them look like little pillows.  

Trisha's Open Circles

She then texted me and asked if I thought she should tangle inside the circles.  I encouraged her to experiment and practice.  She agreed and remarked, "You're right!  It's just a little piece of paper!"  Her artwork transformed completely!

Trisha's Transformed Art

Over the course of two weeks Trisha sent me 19 works of art that she had created on her own at home!  I asked her what motivates her to tangle so much.  She said "I just always feel the need to create and Zentangle gives me joy and relaxation."  

As a Zentangle instructor that made me feel so good to hear because I know I've done my job.  I've passed on the ability to access joy and relaxation when creating art.  Mission accomplished!  That's what Zentangle is all about.  And what a wonderful gift when a teacher receives inspiration and motivation from her student.  

Thanks Trisha!

Going Opus

When teaching Zentangle classes we most often use paper tiles that measure 3.5 x 3.5 inches.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  First, it allows people to draw a variety of patterns but complete a work of art in under an hour.  Usually in my classes I send my students home with two completed tiles and that sense of accomplishment.  Secondly, a smaller tile is so easy to turn and move to and fro while executing one stroke at a time.  

Now I happened to learn Zentangle on a much larger paper tile, the Opus size.  It measures 10.5 x 10.5 inches.  The exciting thing about this size is that when it is finished it is always a framable work of art.  It's worthy of gifting, selling or simply hanging and enjoying in your home.  There's plenty of space to spread out and make large, free patterns or many smaller patterns.  So I have started offering Opus classes to my students once they've completed an Intro to Zentangle class.  My first Opus students got off to a great start as you can see.

Opus Tile Class

I find tangling so relaxing that I'm always working on a new Opus myself.  Here are a couple I completed last month.

Monochrome

Opus Blue

Art Therapy?

The month of October has seen my Zentangle classes take off.  I've done one-on-one sessions as well as group classes.  People are pleased with their art as well as the process of creating it.  However, I've noticed that there is sometimes more going on than people having a playful drawing session.  Some students put themselves down.  My role is to gently encourage them that perfection is not the goal with this art.  Lines are not to be perfectly straight.  Curves don't have to be perfectly symmetrical and round.  A misplaced line or curve is not a mistake... it gets transformed into the sum total of an intriguing nonrepresentational work of art.

As a new art teacher I have sometimes been surprised at the self-doubt and self-criticism of some students.  And in those moments I can see a fragile person who perhaps is very demanding of himself/herself in day-to-day life.  My art sessions may be rare moments when that person hears and is shown that he or she is fully-capable... there is no possible way to fail.  Sometimes it's hard to convince them that they're not failing in that moment... it's a new activity, a new artform for most.  So their frustration and negative self-talk flows out.  I've found that it's up to me to field those responses and without being fake, encourage the artists to be patient with themselves and trust the process.  My job is to remind the artists to BREATHE as they draw... and focus on making one stroke at a time.  When the entire art piece is completed and shaded, there is satisfaction and even pride.  Quite often students have shared that they caught themselves smiling as they got into that focused drawing.  Others finish the session with the words, "I'm hooked on this!"

Recently I was a bit too ambitious in thinking I could teach a large class how to execute the super-cool basketweave pattern called Huggins.  My first verbal instruction was to draw a nice matrix of small circles.  Before I knew it, some students had drawn tiny circles all over the place with barely any spacing.  There was no way to connect them properly to form the basketweave pattern.  So I simply suggested to those students that they continue to fill that space with circles, large and small.  Huggins became Tipple and all were happy with the effect.  No mistakes! 

What I love most about teaching Zentangle is the happiness it brings my students.  I love the smiles as they admire their art at the end of the session.  I love their sense of pride and accomplishment and discovery.  I'm gratified when students carry some of the relaxation ideas from the art session into their daily life.  

Some of My Students This Month