I remember as a little girl keeping diaries and taking great care to make sure I hid them from prying eyes (my older sister). Horrified by the idea that she would learn my inner most thoughts – which less face it, at that age, it was probably me complaining about her or being the forgotten middle child (I will get over it someday…).
As an adult, I still keep a journal. I keep multiple journals, actually. I keep a journal to document memories that one day I might want to look back on. I keep a gratitude journal. For the past 9 months, I’ve kept a journal about my first pregnancy and last, but certainly not least, I keep a Zentangle journal.
I wish I had my Zentangle journals back when I was hiding my diaries from my sister because I’ve learned over the years that they are written in a language that only I understand. I can leave my Zentangle journal out for the world to see, I’ve included photos here and I share on the Zentangle Mosaic app and while you all see art, I see stories. Each deliberate stroke is a line in a chapter that only I can decipher.
I have written about this before in a blog post called Tangled Memories, and reflected on how looking back through old journals brought me back to all sorts of moments in life – happy, sad and everything in between. This is not a new revelation for me, but it is not something I am consciously aware of at all times.
When I write in my other journals, I think about the words I am using. That one day, I will reopen these pages and read them back to myself. When I am tangling in my Zentangle journal, I am not thinking about what story these pages will tell, that is not why I am tangling. So, it is always a pleasant surprise to open a page in my journal and have a certain memory, a certain story, spill across the page, in a language that belongs just to me. Lines, and dots and curves all interwoven in ways that may look familiar to other tanglers, you may recognize the tangles, but you can’t read the pages like I can.
My Zentangle journal is also a different kind of story telling because it doesn’t happen in chronological order. This is especially true for my current Shades journal because I am constantly jumping from page to page, exploring different shades of paper and different pens. These decisions dictated by my mood sometimes, a personal preference, or maybe a current trend in the tangling world. So, all of my memories and stories are scattered across the pages, intertwined and are what makes the pages complete, much like our memories and stories are what make us who we are.
What stories do the pages of your journal or your tiles say to you?
Perhaps some exciting news that you have been waiting for…
Or, maybe a warm spring day listening to the birds sing…
Or perhaps the forgotten middle child, I mean, tangle… (PS. Mom – You know I am kidding!)
Есть три варианта створок: Кава, Классик, Рондо, что позволяет не нарушать дизайнерской задумки по оформлению и обустройству интерьера.Собственная оконная фурнитура Variotec с возможностью использования скрытых петель отличается надежностью и плавностью хода и выгодно отличает продукцию Schuco от конкурентов,что является одним из преимуществ при выборе пластиковых окон Шуко.
Мы давно знакомы с продукцией Шуко, знаем, как она устроена, работает и какие сложности с ней могут возникнуть. Если у вас установлены окна Шуко, и их следует отремонтировать или продиагностировать, то мы с радостью возьмемся за работу. Нам хорошо известен данный производитель, так что при проведении ремонтных работ никаких трудностей не возникнет. Все будет сделано качественно и надежно. Вы останетесь довольны конечным результатом.
Juliobep on
From time to time, I hear people ask “But I don’t know what TO DO with all of my tiles.” In a word, I would say, “journaling.” For me, that means illustrating published journal entries, poetry, Scripture, and letters. Even the most abstract tile that were not tangled with a specific image in mind, take on new meaning for me after they have “cooked” for a time. Thank you for your insight, Julie.
Linda Dochter on
This reminds me of ’waaayyy back in my early Zentangle days when it was suggested that the lines on the back of a tile could be used to record the date and a note or two about the circumstances around the creation of the tile.
(And I finally HAVE to ask: what are all the crazy alphabet soup comments that constantly show up in great quantity???)
Margaret Bremner on
I am really looking forward to July 19th with Pocket Project 10! Thanks for helping me think and act in a new way!
Paulette Kirschensteiner on
Tracie on
There was another of a sad bunny with dark tangles where I wrote Come home Clover. When she was a little bunny she tried to escape quite often because she could get out of anything! It made me laugh because someone left the crate door open and Clover let us pick her up and put her back in rather than try to escape!
These memories make happy and I am glad to have. As your life gets busier and more hectic you will be glad for the quick tangle and note!
Best Wishes!
Betsey Youngs on
Judi aka Mom on
Leslie Hancock on
Mudita on
Nathalie Paré on
July 7, 2020
Jan Orlansky on
Jan Orlansky on
how timely and kind miss julie. i have multiple journals going too, and my zentangle journals are also prayer journals ‘in written ink’… in fact, when i first started i used my bible for tangling and crafting and learning about nibs and surfaces and pencils…and mediums…i.e. clear gesso and when to use it. thank you for sharing your inside track.
judy morgan on
I do so love your sentiments, journaling and the fact of zentangle’s privaye/secret language. Each of us remember in what we were feeling at the time but others who view interpreting from their perspective and enjoying every stroke and tangle, perhaps in isolation, more likely as composite.
Pamela Sauerwald on
Carole on
Kathy Y. on
Mary Illana Perrin CZT on
I like the idea of a using a book in addition to tiles. Can you tell us what brand of journals you buy? Or what to look for to ensure the paper is of sufficient quality?
nm on
My journal is not in chronological order either. I pick a page on color and what my theme will be at the time. I usually don’t date them. I just go with the flow. Thanks for your thoughts on journaling. I like them !
Jackie on
Jake on
Mary D'Angelo, CZT on
Cynthia on