Get to Know Bijou

Last week, we announced that beginning on May 10th we will be hosting a 21 Day Zentangle Journey. Our dear friend Bijou has offered to help, and we are so grateful for his assistance.

Some of you might know all about Bijou and the fanciful tale about his humble beginnings, which you can read about here, but we realized that for many of you, this adorable snail might be a bit of a mystery. More than just the namesake for our small tangling surface, Bijou has served as a fun and whimsical mascot for the Zentangle Method. His insightful Bijouisms serve as gentle reminders for our Zentangle practice and our lives.

While we usually talk about Bijou in a light and playful manner, his presence in our practice is much more profound. Bijou represents the philosophies that are at the core of the Zentangle Method. Today, we are sharing the story of the deeper and more purposeful development of Bijou, what he means to us and what he does for the Zentangle Method.

His very inky beginnings came from the tip of Maria’s pen many years before the birth of the Zentangle Method. Unnamed and unsure of his future, he remained adored and cared for, but his life’s purpose was still unknown. As the Zentangle Method came to be, and Rick and Maria began to caretake the Method and all its amazing community, they quickly learned more about the journey they were on. They soon realized they were not alone; they would need to welcome and lean on others to help them on this amazing path of sharing the Zentangle Method. Their first stroke in this process was starting the Certified Zentangle Teacher training program. This was a wonderful start, now there was a growing group of amazing ambassadors out there sharing and inspiring others to create with the Zentangle Method. We cherished our small group of CZTs sharing the Method and honoring its philosophies, but we also saw so many others that had not learned from us or a CZT. They were eager about the art form and diving in to create, but we noticed some of the key components were lost. From a distance the work created looked like a piece of Zentangle art, but through written words and conversations we learned that many of the Zentangle philosophies that were so near and dear to our hearts were left behind.

We immediately put our minds and hearts to work brainstorming how we could remedy this. At some point someone suggested a mascot to help us. We all agreed that this was a fabulous idea, but what to choose?

Maria knew right away, “He is slow and deliberate. He is quiet, yet thoughtful, and he encourages others to come out of their shells. Oh and he loves spirals!”

She quickly dug out the drawings of the adorable snail and we all agreed, “That’s it!”

The name Bijou was stumbled upon, as this all occurred after Rick and Maria had taken a very memorable trip to Paris. The name and the fanciful tale came naturally from that. Bijou quickly became very real in our world at Zentangle HQ. His personification of a two-dimensional, ink drawn snail to real life ambassador of the Zentangle Method was immediate. He was hired to help us bring awareness and share all the philosophies that are so near and dear to us in a fun and fanciful way. Over the years we have been lucky to let Bijou take the reins in many Zentangle projects, and this year we are thrilled to have his assistance in honoring Mental Health Awareness month.

Join us … and Bijou.