Rick writes: I am fascinated with the tangle paradox. It has only one elemental stroke – traditionally a straight line. As you repeat that straight line in paradox it “paradoxically” results in a beautiful spiral. When paradox elements share a common side, something intriguing occurs. A new shape or pattern appears that transcends the original shapes. We call these new shapes “meta-shapes” or “meta-patterns.” I often tangle paradox inside adjacent equilateral triangles. You can arrange equilateral triangles so that all the sides touch and there are no gaps on a flat surface. That’s called a “Tessellation.” Tessellation: the tiling of...

Rick and Maria write...  You cannot focus on tangling and cultivate your fears at the same time. The Zentangle Method offers you the chance to set aside your concerns and fears, even if it’s only for the time it takes to tangle your tile. The same scary thing may be there when you finish tangling. But you will be more relaxed and better able to deliberately respond to whatever is going on. So, pick a time, perhaps right now. Get out your pen, your paper, your pencil. Get comfortable. Find something to be grateful for. And tangle.  When you finish, take...

When Maria and I knew we were going to Taiwan for zenAgain-Asia, we wanted to introduce a new tangle at that special event. While we were in Germany for the first Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT) seminar in Europe, we took some time to visit friends near Munich. While there, we visited museums and cathedrals and architecture in that beautiful city -- always with an eye out for patterns and possibly a new tangle. As you may know, we found just such a pattern on some china (appropriately).  That pattern became a new pattern we named hollis. The other day, I noticed the...