CZT Family Tree: Kellie Fellinge and Juliette Fiessinger from the TanglePod Podcast

Rick and Maria recently sat down with hosts of the TanglePod Podcast, Kellie Fellinge and Juliette Fiessinger.

The TanglePod podcast began in 2016, inspired by motivating conversations Juliette and Kellie had during regular meet ups for coffee and tangling time.

Looking for a fun way to share their uplifting talks, a podcast seemed like the perfect platform to expand the conversation and share the enthusiasm and benefits of regular practice, encouraging listeners to spend the time without worry about the visual outcome or results.

Their episodes are full of ideas on how to develop a creative practice, find balance in a busy week and add more mindfulness to daily life. As CZTs, they know the key role that the Zentangle Method plays to find focus with regular practice.

Get to know Kellie and Juliette in the CZT Family Tree interview and listen to their conversation with Rick and Maria below.

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TanglePod Podcast Co-hosts: Juliette Fiessinger (CZT #13) and Kellie Fellinge (CZT #16)

Juliette discovered Zentangle around 2012 and, almost as soon knew she wanted to be a CZT. She was certified in 2013 and became the first French CZT. Living in the United States, Juliette offers workshops both in French and English. Embracing the opportunity to promote the Zentangle Method in the French-speaking world, she also provides translation during the Seminars for CZTS who need language support.

Kellie was certified in 2014 after receiving a book and supplies about Zentangle for Christmas. She was so excited about this new artform, she was registered for training by New Years. She loves sharing Zentangle in small groups, and as fundraisers for her favorite organizations.

Both Kellie and Juliette currently reside just outside of Seattle, Washington. The gray rainy sky Seattle is a frequent topic on the podcast as they chat about how to keep up their creativity under cloudy circumstances.

Favorite Tangles: Paradox shows up frequently in Kellie’s tiles and works, as well as a lot of other tangles with plenty of straight lines. She finds the motion and repetition of the basic line to be really soothing.

Juliette also has a soft spot for tangles with repetitive, cadenced strokes. Tripoli is one of her favorites. She enjoys how such a simple tangle (basically a "pizza slice") can help her relax while becoming complex and elegant with a few pen strokes.

Both tanglers agree that it is hard to have a favorite. Many podcast episodes have been full of Juliette and Kellie geeking out a little bit about that day’s tangle, and how they are playing with it. Whether trying new materials with Mooka, Zinger and Fescu or diving into focused breathing exercises with Keeko and Sez, they will never run out of tangles to talk about!

Favorite Places to Tangle: Juliette loves to tangle on an old wooden family desk that moved with her from France. It is a bit weathered and has seen a lot in its long life. Facing the lush green mossy Seattle scenery outside her window she feels inspired by and connected to the two different places - the Pacific Northwest and the far away France. It reminds her that inspiration can come from anywhere.

A tile transformed is Kellie’s favorite place to tangle. Inspired by a new metalworking hobby she created a table out of one of her favorite tiles. The metal tangle is sandwiched between clear glass and is a daily reminder that creativity can take an unexpected path.

How we use the Zentangle Method in our lives: Well, Tanglepod, of course! We love talking about creativity and tangles each week and are constantly delighting ourselves with new discoveries about old favorite tangles, or unexpected ways to approach new tangles. Our conversations also veer to brainstorming creative road blocks, or favorite resources. Sometimes we get really off topic – but always come back to how much we love practicing and sharing The Zentangle Method. Outside of the recording studio – Kellie’s favorite type of class is tweens and teens. They can be so prickly and feel so judged so much of the time, the amount of new appreciation for themselves they feel at the end of class is so hopeful and happy. During a few bumpy years of life’s challenges, tangling has been a great friend and regular practice and definitely helps reduce her stress and burnout.

When she isn’t joining the podcast session, Juliette loves practicing, teaching, and sharing the Zentangle Method. It brings her so much joy to help people develop their creativity and take a fresh look at what is possible for them. She also loves the opportunity to return to the Zentangle seminars for translating where she can meet even more kindred spirits in this warm and kind community.

My favorite Story or memory about teaching the Zentangle Method Witnessing the emotions of people who (re)discover that they can draw is what brings Juliette back to the classroom again and again. She still remembers the emotion of a 6-year-old boy when he was able to tell her “I did it myself!” after a school Zentangle project she taught. There was so much joy and pride on his face. Whether she is teaching school children or adults in a professional setting, there is always a moment of self-discovery for participants during a Zentangle class or workshop. This story and many others represent for her what the Zentangle method is all about: anything is possible, one stroke at a time.

Kellie finds that you never can tell where a class is going to lead you. One class spent an entire hour lost in Bunzo, just happily mesmerized and completely focused on this lovely tangle. In another class a mother and teen daughter arrived at a class fighting with each other and were asked to sit at separate tables to dispel their energy. When the mosaic portion of the first tile came around the mother and daughter were each equally astounded at what the other had created. It was fun to hear them point out ways their tiles were similar, and where their personalities were showing through. It was a joy to witness them find reconciliation and appreciation for each other.

Through my experiences as a CZT, we have learned: Juliette and Kellie love that the very simple act of gathering the tiles in a mosaic both shows the similarities but more importantly also lets the unique gifts and personalities of the artists show through. Humans have a lot more in common than we have differences but we all have something that makes us one of a kind.

Through enjoying moments of shared experience tangling with students or the wonderful Zentangle Community, they both continue to find so much benefit to slowing down, putting pen on paper, embracing the “no mistakes” philosophy, being mindful and present.

If they are not tangling (or podcasting!) you fill find them… Juliette will be hiking the mountains near Seattle or any other outdoors activity. And depending on the season, will explore different creative endeavor such as watercolor. Helping Juliette with fiber art creations is a favorite activity of her two cats.

She may cross paths with Kellie on her outdoor adventures as overlanding and getting out into the woods for some tree therapy is also high on Kellie’s list of favorite Northwest activities. When at home Kellie has constant companions with a dog and two kitties who follow her around, and frequently make a mess with her art supplies.

Listen to their conversation with Rick and Maria here:

Mosaic Name:

• Juliette: JulietteFiessingerCZT
• Kellie: SoundTangle

Website/Blog:

• Juliette/ ArtsAmuse: www.artsamuse.com, @artsamuse on Instagram and Facebook
• Kellie/ SoundTangle: www.soundtangle.com, @sound_tangle on Instagram

Podcast : TanglePod : www.tanglepod.com or your favorite podcast app
@tanglepod on Instagram and Facebook

Join them weekly on Fridays on most podcast apps or www.tanglepod.com