Choplifter

Julie writes...

We were recently asked about chops and how we develop them. Rick and Maria wrote a great response in this blog post.

After reading their blog, I naturally began to think of my own chop. I have always had a love hate relationship with my chop. I have tried many different ones over the years, but never really happy with them.

After a while, I eventually settled on this combination of j and b (my initials before I was married) with two dots. Even though my last name has changed, I still often go back to this chop.

Since the beginning of Zentangle, my mom has tangled here and there but she really started to pick up her practice when she became a CZT a few years ago.

Her initials are also “JB” and one day I was looking at her tile and I saw that she used a combination of j an b with dots. Identical to my chop. I looked at her and said (with love), “Mom! You stole my chop!” she denied this saying it was her chop first. We bantered back and forth about this for a little bit before my mom pulled out some tiles from the very early years of Zentangle and sure enough, she was using the chop long before I was. I don’t know if great minds think alike or if I was subconsciously inspired, but if there is anyone, I’d want to share a chop with, it is my mom!

One of the things that I love about the Zentangle Method is that there are so many great minds thinking alike all over the world. It happens all the time – two people (or more?) in different parts of the world will come up with a similar tangle or technique. Sometimes we develop a project pack and right before we release it, we see a CZT teaching a similar teaching a similar concept or theme. We have a saying when things like this happen… “there must be something in the air.” It is so much fun being a part of this community of great minds.

PS.

After writing this blog, I realized that my (little) brother, also a CZT, uses a similar chop to my mom and me. He definitely copied me though!