Behind the Scenes at Seminar

In honor of our upcoming online CZT Seminar, we wanted to take a moment to revisit a blog where we shared a behind the scenes look at where we broadcast our online seminars from.

We invite you all to join us online for CZT training seminar. This enriching three-day seminar will be taught by Rick, Maria, Molly and Martha. This seminar is designed to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the philosophies behind the Zentangle Method of drawing.You will finish with all the knowledge you need to teach the Zentangle Method and the tools needed to convey the full Zentangle experience to your students. As a CZT, you will enjoy continued support and inspiration from Zentangle Inc. and from our world-wide CZT network.

'WOW! what a seminar. I was quite concerned that doing training on line would not be inspiring or life changing (as in person classes can be). I was so wrong. I know that I am not alone in having tears at the end…That so many people, from so many parts of the world were seeing the same screen as myself was spiritual. Many of these people were from countries in much more turmoil than our own and they came in peace and community. The world can become a better place one stroke at a time. We just need to remember the Zentangle Method. no judgement, no up or down. no mistakes. Give love, hope, gratitude, and encouragement"

"I am so Happy! Thank you for bringing this to me in my home. Your family and staff has made this a beautiful experience for me!!!"

"I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for completely changing my life by not only offering the gift of Zentangle, but giving me the chance to become a CZT and offering CZT Seminar virtually!" 

 Learn more and register to join us here.

Continuing reading to see behind the scenes...

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Rick writes:

We thought you might enjoy a look behind the scenes at the setting from which we give our online Certified Zentangle Teacher seminars. We broadcast our seminars out of the Singh Auditorium of the Alternatives Whitin Mill facility. The auditorium is on the second floor of the building in the picture in the top of the page.

In the above image you can see the other side of that building on the right. The second floor with the balcony is where our staff manages the customer service and chat forums during seminar.

In this next image you can see the view from that balcony as you look out onto the town center of our small village of Whitinsville, Massachusetts.

And here's a side view looking back from the bridge:

For a bit of history, that building on the left is the site of one of the first large forges in North America which was a part of the American Industrial Revolution. Perhaps it is symbolic that our online seminars originate from this same location.

Maria and I also have some good personal history with this mill. My father, my aunt, and my uncle worked at this mill. My aunt worked there for over 40 years. This is the town in which I grew up and my house was just four houses away from the mill. I remember visiting my aunt in her office or meeting my dad as he punched out after work in the foundry.

Maria's dad was a truck driver and this mill was one of his regular customers. Later (about 40 years ago) Maria began volunteering for Alternatives and our family has been volunteering there ever since. Alternatives began as a project to care for under-served individuals with mental and physical challenges. They repurposed this mill and it is now a cultural center in our town.

Here are a couple views from inside showing our set and our audio visual support team that makes sure everything works smoothly.

That's Julie and Jen in the above images. 

We never thought that we would give seminars online because we didn't think we could have the energetic connection with participants that we enjoy in face-to-face events. However, when travel was restricted recently, we tried our first online seminar. Amazingly, we felt the same energetic connection and this was reinforced by the feedback we received.

We are so grateful to Alternatives and their parent company Open Sky for their support, the work they do, and for creating such a beautiful space.