Forgiving

Maria writes:

The other day, Rick and I were on our porch, enjoying talking with a friend. Of course, we ended up talking Zentangle. This gentleman was telling us about how his Zentangle practice was progressing. He was proud of what he had accomplished so far, and rightly so.  We got on the subject of how forgiving Zentangle art is, always giving us opportunities to create beyond what we had expected was possible that day.  

The Zentangle "no mistakes" philosophy is a gift that keeps on giving. We all can make so-called "mistakes" in our art (and in the art of life). As tanglers, we know enough to either put a tile aside for a while, or face it head on, figuring that there is always something (new?) we can do to make our creation sing . . . and perhaps sing even more beautifully than if that so-called "mistake" had not occured.

Speaking of which, Have you tried a bronx spear?  

I find this new(ish) tangleation of bronx cheer to be highly adaptive to many situations that call for "Creativity (Wo) Man" to put in an appearance.  Its elegantly elongated shape covers almost any faux pas that we might run into on any given day.  I cannot believe Mother Nature has not followed my lead here and created bronx spears for us all to enjoy.  Seems like such a duh!

Black raspberry on a stick.  mmmmmmmm.

Well, perhaps we should just try them out in black and white, on a tile, when the opportunity presents itself. But, wait!  Why wait? you can always enhance your practice by practicing this tangle before the emergency is in front of you. Just start a tile and when you get to a pause in the rhythm of your tangling, throw a (bronx) spear at it. It's as easy as that. You just might end up throwing spears willy-nilly all over the place.   

But seriously, folks, in my excitement about bronx spears, I got myself off topic. 

What I really wanted to tell you was that in that conversation with our friend about how Zentangle is forgiving,  we realized that it is also . . . for giving. 

"'Tis the season!" . . .right?

If you can part with your precious tiles, they do make amazing gifts just in and of themselves. A simple tile: no frame, no froufrou. The simple act of giving of yourself.

Try it.

It's a beautiful thing.

M