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Greetings!
Happy Valentine's Day! We're excited to share a new tangle with you. It's called quandary. You'll discover that it "fits" this day well. We also have some tidbits and treats for you. Enjoy! (This is a duplicate email because some folks couldn't see all the images on the previous one. Thanks for your patience!) |
New Tangle: quandary
Maria writes:
If you have not already seen this amazingly moving YouTube, to set the mood, you might want to see it before we introduce our new tangle.
 | | "Ode to Joy" flashmob |
(Or, as we call it, "Ode to Zentangle" :-) Now that we're feeling just wonderful about life in general . . . . Imagine you're living at a "timeless time." Nothing is as it is as we know it, you are given a gift by a mysterious stranger, of some very valuable artist's tools: - A pen that never has to be dipped, no containers of ink to spill, continuously consistent lines,
- A piece of graphite magically wrapped in wood so that you can use it and carry it without the worry of smears and mess,
- And paper, oh the finest surface money can buy, hand made in a castle in Italy, lovingly handed to you like you were receiving a proclamation from the ruler of the land.
These things that no one else has or can imagine, what would you do with these? You would treat each mark you make with all the respect and appreciation it deserves as you take your time with each stroke of that pen, twirl of that pencil, feel of that paper. Each stroke you make, each shape you create, you turn the paper, to make sure the angle is as it should be, under your hand, in your mind. You marvel at the ability of the pen to make light and dark strokes, merely with the subtle pressure of this amazing tool you hold. Like a good book, you savour every page (stroke) not hurrying through to get to the end, but relaxing into the bliss and gratitude welling inside you. When trying this new tangle, take care to make each basic shape (that rice shape) with care and attention. If you continually draw them in the shape of the triangle as in the first box, it will create a "flower of life" like image of (more often than not,) 6 petals. Then what you do with this beautiful image afterwards (as in tripoli) is limitless. I have shown you a few things you can add to create tangleations, but I am sure you will come up with more and more beautiful than these. Have fun, Tanglers. Hold it at arm's length, admire. Passion and Gratitude. That's all it takes. Pass it on!
 
Rick adds:
As I tangled this, I enjoyed a mental image of arranging grains of rice that stayed in place once I put them where I wanted them. As long as I focused on arranging them in triangles, this pattern took care of itself. When I tried to arrange six grains in a star pattern, it took too much thought and planning.
One charm of this tangle is that you have access to whatever size (or shape) grain of rice you need from moment to moment. I also turned my tile each time I drew a new grain.
We mentioned that this tangle is appropriate to today. You can see why at this blog post. Here's an example:
Enjoy!
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Certified Zentangle Teacher Seminars for 2013
Our two Certified Zentangle Teacher training seminars for2013: June 23-26 and October 13-16 are now full. If you wish to attend, email Martha to get on a wait-list because occasionally a few seats will open up. We all look forward to meeting you and working with you.
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NAEA in Texas
 We (Rick and Maria) will be speaking and signing books at this year's National Art Educators Association (NAEA) Convention in Fort Worth, Texas, March 7-10.
During the convention we will mostly be in Sakura's booth and we look forward to meeting and talking with you.
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Sweet Stories and Treats
A CZT recently called to order supplies for a class she was about to give to teachers in a nearby school district. As we understand her, their students had been asking their teachers to learn Zentangle!
Now, when's the last time you heard of students asking their teachers to introduce a line of study to their schools . . . and making it happen . . . and that didn't involve electricity!?
What a great story. Welcome to all those new Apprentices!
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Dear Maria and Rick, A Thousands Hands Clapping! Congratulations! Your book is marvelous, as, of course, I knew it would be. It came today in this bleak chill to cheer me. I shall take it to bed with me tonight to wander through the marvelous designs and drawings. Beginning with the "Gift Page," so beautifully hand-wrought with my name. I love the way one of the first "Zentangles" emerges from the fiddle head ferns, like a princess at the beginning of a story. Your imagination knows know end. Fairy tale, myth, nature, magic, "origins," romance, Renaissance perspective, flight. It is all here. I know I will enjoy dipping into your "worlds of patterns" often. Tonight your book comes to bed with me for the start of my adventure. Tomorrow it will sit on my Little Table by the Window, where I take rest breaks. Thank you so much for sending it to me. Thank you for sharing this sweet partnership you have found together, which I also celebrate. Much love, S Thank you so much--I can't tell you the pleasure I'm getting from this. I've always been told my work is too tight, and now I've found an art form where my control is useful. You deserve a medal for this! Big hugs, R -----+----- Emily Classon, CZT, created a fun song parody that she calls, "Man, I Feel Like an Artist." Check it out on her blog here. (Alas, she doesn't sing it. :-) -----+----- It is Sunday morning and my Mom always insisted Sunday was a day of rest. I'm taking her advice today and have been sitting and re-reading "The Book of Zentangle". I am enjoying it even more this time as I was so excited the first time and raced through it much too fast. It is beautiful in every way. Your words are inspiring and easy to read, Rick. Maria's artwork is outstanding. I feel so fortunate to have such a treasure to enjoy. It is very nice to have great artwork on your walls but you 'get used' to it after awhile. I will never 'get used' to this book because I will take it out every so often and read it again. Seeing and reading new things each time. Thank you so much for giving me so much pleasure. I am very pleased to have Zentangle in my life. I am one of those people who thought I couldn't draw. Every time I finish a piece I marvel at how great it looks, even better when I go back at a much later time, I can hardly believe I did it. Thanks again and hope this finds you all well and happy. D -----+-----
Dear Rick and Maria,
I received my Zentangle Kit and your book two weeks ago and absolutely love both. The Zentangle Kit is beyond superb quality, and your book is fabulous. I have been transported into this wonderful world of Zentangle, which is new for me, but the timing of its arrival into my life is what I find more miraculous. I have been fighting a terminal illness for five years and Zentangle works better than any of the two-dozen medications I endure on a daily basis. I have also just received my first Zentangle Newsletter, which I am thoroughly enjoying. Thank you so much for sharing your talents with the world. I am grateful, tangling, and alive on this day.
Sincerely,
M
-----+----- "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others." --Cicero -----+----- |
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Thank you all for enjoying this Zentangle adventure with us and with each other. This is so exciting!
Happy Valentine's Day! Best, Rick and Maria
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