Anything Is Possible One Stroke at a Time

Julie writes...

Do you ever have a vision in your head for a tile and you excitedly pick up a pen and paper and begin to tangle, only to get frustrated that it is not quite turning out how you planned?

I have been there before many times. Earlier in my Zentangle journey, I would sometimes just abandon the tile, stashing it away in a “tile graveyard,” telling myself that I would return to it later, knowing deep down that I would not. I used to try and talk myself out of doing this by telling myself, “No mistakes”, but that mantra did not always stop me from hiding that tile away because it was not what I had planned.

Later, in my Zentangle journey, I learned that the philosophy that I really needed to lean on in during these moments is “Anything Is Possible One Stroke at a Time.”

In those earlier years of my Zentangle practice, I would feel disheartened when the vision I had in my head did not immediately start to take shape on my tile. But it was not because I had made a “mistake” but because I was not trusting the process.

Here I am over ten years into my tangling journey, and I recently experienced this again, where the vision was not taking shape on my tile and I felt that familiar sense of frustration. What is different now is that I know anything is possible. I did not shove the tile in a tile graveyard to sit unfinished for months or years to come. I kept going and I trusted the process. I took things one stroke at a time and really appreciated each line, curve and orb. Each one drawn slowly and deliberately. I took my time with shading, adding layers of graphite and white charcoal thoughtfully.

When I finished, the tile still did not look quite as I had originally envisioned, it was better!

When you try to rush through a tile to get to a forced result, you miss so much along the way. You miss the relaxation and calm you get from drawing simple and repetitive strokes. You miss the opportunities that you did not (could not) originally think of. You miss the journey itself.

It is no secret that before my Zentangle journey, I did not consider myself an artist. I often wonder if this might be why this philosophy took so long to sink in and why it has had the most profound impact both on and off the tile.

I encourage you, that the next time you are feeling stuck or in a rut, frustrated or discouraged or not sure where a tile is taking you, just trust the process, enjoy the journey and remember, anything is possible one stroke at a time.