Seasons of Tangling

In 2007, we started BLOG Zentangle and began our enjoyable series of conversations within our Zentangle community.

In reading through these blog posts with their insightful comments, we decided to bring a few of them to your attention from time to time. It is easy, for me anyway, to sometimes think of old information as stale information. But these insights and conversations are anything BUT stale!

We invite you to enjoy this post from 2019...

At the end of Molly’s blog, The Dog Days of Summer, she asked us to think about how the seasons affect our tangling and creative flow.

As I thought about this summer, I realized that I have tangled quite a bit. The Dog Days of Summer made me slow down. There were many days I found myself sitting in the shade in my backyard tangling away. On a vacation, our house had a spectacular view and it called for me to bring my tools and journal out there.

Or, early in the morning when the birds are chirping, and it hasn’t reached that day’s high temperature yet. All of these moments inspired me to put pen to paper. To slow down in the middle of a busy summer and take a moment for myself. In each of those moments I thought, “This is the perfect time to tangle.”

I concluded that summer is the season for tangling.

But, as I write this, I am sitting on the deck of my house and in the shade, the air is crisp. For the first time in months, I am wearing a sweatshirt and wrapped in a blanket. It will be autumn soon here in New England and then winter.

Update August 2022: the air is not crisp and I am not wrapped in a blanket, but doesn't that sound nice?

I also tangle quite a bit during the winter months. Snowstorms that keep you cooped up in the house. Cold wind howling and snow-covered roads that make it so you don’t want to go anywhere. Everything is still, and the winter gives me permission to be still. I love curling up in the corner of my couch with a lap desk and my tangling tools. My dog, Albus, snuggled up next to me and I think to myself, “This is the perfect time to tangle.”

So, is Winter the season of tangling? Or is it a crisp fall day or rainy spring morning?

I believe every season is the “perfect time to tangle” because each season inspires something new and something different. In the summer months, I take my tangling outside – to my back yard or to the ocean. The heat and humidity remind me to slow down. I listen to the sounds around me – the lawn mower, the waves crashing or birds chirping. In the winter months, it is the cozy comforts of home that spark my creativity. My favorite spot in the house, a cup of warm coffee (or is it red wine?) and familiar tangles dancing across the page.

The reason that every season is the season for tangling is that when you sit down, be still and appreciate your surroundings, it becomes “the perfect time to tangle” every time.

An afternoon at the beach? The perfect time to tangle.

A snowy blizzard that lasts for days? The perfect time to tangle.

The doctor’s office waiting room? A long flight? When you have only 5 minutes to yourself? The perfect time to tangle.

When is your perfect time to tangle? What is your season for tangling?

--- + ----

Thank you to everyone who shared your favorite tangling trend, technique or tangle on our last blog. what a wonderful resources for the Zentangle community! We have randomly selected Janice to receive a Zentangle Project Pack No. 18! Please send your snail mail address to julie@zentangle.com.

Janice asked about one of Molly's tiles in our last blog. The tile used a technique we call Romanancy and you can learn more about the technique in this blog.