Zen-tangling- Inspiration Post by Blog Coordinator Aditi

Hello everyone,

Today, I have a very interesting post for you all. In art and craft, there is so much to be inspired from. In fact, in daily life, look around you and there is so much to take from the world. This inspiration then motivates us to achieve greater heights, and be better human beings.

With this in mind, I thought of inspiring you all with Zentangling or Zen Doodling. This is a fun, relaxing and calming way of creating beautiful images by drawing certain structured patterns. Simple dots, lines, curves, put together form these patterns called 'tangles'. There is a lot more to this, and you can always read up online about it. 

To begin with, I'm sharing a few simple patterns and steps of drawing them.

Usually, these are drawn on small pieces of paper called 'tiles', that can be later assembled into mosaics. However, there are no limits in creativity. Hence, you can go beyond these tiles and tangle anywhere. To begin putting the patterns together, we begin with strings. Random lines, to divide an area into segments. Here I have drawn an ambiguous shape and then draw a few lines as my string. I have then drawn the patterns show above in each of these segments. See how the square grid is manipulated to fit in the required segment. 

In this way, you can learn more patterns and create more designs. Below are a few samples of tiles with intricate patterns. Notice, how I've also introduced and played with colours.

This form has many therapeutic benefits as well. It is believed to have a positive influence on creativity, self-image, focus and problem-solving. Do read about it, and incorporate it into your daily activities as a 10-minute routine. 

Materials:

• Uniball Pens
• Paper- watercolour if using colours like in the last tile; Ordinary Cardstock for the rest.
• Fine Tip Markers

Most of the above -listed materials are available on the Rainbow Craftykari Store and can also be pre-ordered by sending an email at rainbowcraftykari@gmail.com.

Visit our BLOG for more inspiration, tutorials and check out our ongoing challenge.

Hope you're inspired! 

Aditi