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Word of the Day

Word of the Day

Maria writes...
I woke up this beautiful morning, and one of the first things I did was read my "word of the day."

 A U T O S C H E D I A S M  

What a mouthful of letters! Of course, I had to find out what the meaning was.  I tried to guess: "fear of driving vintage cars" or maybe "International Association of Sketchy Mechanics," or perhaps "extreme self-imposed scheduling." Well, I was not even close.  

It simply means something that is IMPROVISED. You Know... 

  • SPONTANEOUS
  • UNREHEARSED 
  • IMPROMPTU
  • AD-LIBBED
  • HIT OR MISS

Well,  you get the message.   

Rick and I were adamant about Zentangle drawing be just that way. Fresh, exciting, exuberant, confident. There were really important decisions about Zentangle that were made because of this. We did not have you draw your tangles in pencil then ink over them.

We strongly recommended not having erasers in your tool box. No working on scrap papers first...

Go right for the heart and soul of drawing. Learn everything you can on a small (albeit awesome) piece of paper.  

Fall down, get up.  Fall down, get up. As a toddler, this is how you learned to walk.  Falling down was one step closer to walking, and soon after running. . . and then maybe, dancing, climbing, diving, jumping.

As you journey through your Zentangle practice, remember when you  "miss a step", take a deep breath and embrace the opportunity to improvise. Creativity jumps in if you let it.  

All this and more from this little "peace" of paper.

Julie Willand

30 comments

  • Did you mean to spell the word “piece”…..”peice”. I believe you misspelled it.

    Robin on

  • Ah creativity indeed. I was just pondering it’s demise when I decided to read your note today. “…if you let it.” Indeed. I am reminded to “let it”.. Thank you, Julie I’m sitting here in my condo – day 4 with no heat waiting for new furnace tomorrow. Lucky – to have Zentangle and my mom’s condo downstairs to warm up.

    Mary Ellen Ziegler czt33 on

  • Love this word and message. Some days it is so difficult to let go of the results but that is where the the joy lies.

    Kathy Y. on

  • I love this word and it describes Zentangle perfectly.
    I also now enjoy the times that I ‘fall down’ when tangling because that is definitely when I discover new things not only about my drawing but about me.
    Funnily enough each week in my Zenjo Tangle Club I introduce a new and not often known word….isn’t the English language fabulous? (Although sometimes I introduce a Welsh word!)

    Joanna Quincey on

  • As a child my nickname was Booboo because my mom was 43 when I was born. I’m an accident but my parents never made me feel that way. I kept them young, they always said. When I go on a vacation I like to plan tours and special places to see but the things I don’t plan are the things I remember the most.

    CArol MArkel on

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