Since the beginning of time. Storytelling has been an important part of humankind. For generations, storytelling has helped us share history and culture and connect with each other. Stories and legends help us preserve history and values in ways that resonate across generations.
Storytelling can also help us understand ourselves.
We all take part in storytelling. Every time you read a book to a child or share a memory with family and friends, you are shaping the world around you, creating connections and preserving traditions and culture.
It was not long into my Zentangle journey before I realized that my tangles were telling a story. To someone else, they may just look like lines on a paper but when I look through a journal or tiles that I have created, I see thoughts, memories, feelings, and lines that tell a story from a specific moment in time.
I am not very organized with my completed tiles, and I often find them tucked here and there; inside a drawer, used as a bookmark, the corner of a frame. It never ceases to amaze me when I come across a tile that I created years ago, and it stops me in my tracks. I can remember instantly what was going on in my life or inside my head when I tangled that tile. Each line, woven together with another, repeatedly, holds a feeling that I can see on the tile as if it were words on a page. Sometimes it is excitement or joy and sometimes it is anxiety or grief.
Looking though old Zentangle journals is much like reading an old diary. One of the special things about the way my tangles tell a story is that only I can read them. There is no legend for someone else to decipher my thoughts, they are part of my story and for me to share.
It is a gift that the Zentangle Method gives us – to attach thoughts and feelings with lines and shades of gray on a piece of paper – and preserve those feelings for us. To bring us back to a moment in time and then to show us how far we have come. A gentle reminder that anything is possible… one stroke at a time.
I often think about ancient forms of storytelling and how we find drawings and symbols and cannot help but wonder what they mean. Will someone find our tangles in hundreds of years and try to decipher our stories and The Legends of Zentangle?
Cada ser humano escribe o cuenta la historia con diferentes matices, plabras, idiomas y tonalidades imprimiendo el propio estilo que lo identifica y que define su inclinación literaria. Igual sucede con nuestros enredos, en cada trazo hay un estilo, un pulso, una intensidad, un paso más, una duda, una inquietud, una alegría, una impromta y finalmente una gratitud por lo allí expresado gracias a ICSO!
Elsa Dueñas CZT26 on
I practice what I think you may have once termed “autoschediasm” which means starting without a particular ending in mind. During the pandemic, I was stranded far from my usual studio but had a limited amount of art supplies with me. I often started tiles … set them aside… and when my supply of tiles was exhausted, I went back to some of the earlier ones.
Turning each old tile and pondering the new perspective was key. I started to see illustrations in the half-baked tiles of stories or poems I knew well. So I added a few strokes here and there to make the images stand out for others as well. I continue this practice today and have even given a couple of seminars to other story tellers. It doesn’t happen for every tile but when it does, it is WOW.
Linda Dochter, CZT 16 on
My art is many times better than a diary!
Diane Lachance on
Sue Lesle CZT on
Зентенгъл е възможност да облечеш чувствата си, емоциите си, преживяванията си в красиви форми и плетеници!
И красивите мигове, и тъжните моменти…
Зентенгъл запечатва всичко…. И то остава да ти напомня…
Благодаря за възможността да се докосна до изкуството!
Дафи on
Michele Couture on
What a lovely essay about the meaning and magic of the Zentangle method, the inherent beauty of the images we create, and the memories attached to them. All these little tiles, ink filled notebooks and small framed objects hold the memories of our lives during the times they were created. They whisper to us in our own unique shared language.
I’m honoured to be a part of this generous, loving, creative community where peace, joy and harmony are celebrated.
Namaste, Julie.
Sharon Meikle CZT42 on
Wonderful blog Julie. I see the same thing when I look through old tiles or find one tucked away somewhere. Each one tells it’s own story – my own story.
Kathleen McMurtry on
Dione Greenberg on
Julie, I could actually hear your voice as I read this (not knowing the author until I read the last line). I especially love the line, “To bring us back to a moment in time and then to show us how far we have come.” Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your work with us.
Mary Kay Cass, C.Z.T. on
Julie, I knew that the tangle in the photo was yours right away. I love your style ❤️
Kathy Y. on
Charlene S. on
PamS on
As a child I always loved story time; my mother would read to me and she always added loving comments to embellish and enhance the experience.
Because of my mother I have a love of books especially the hard cover books that I tenderly cherished each time I held one. And to this day I still have my love for books and telling stories to my students. The gift of storytelling is a gift for all of us to enjoy.
Cheryl K. Jensen on