Zentangle® – the art of meditative doodling

Zentangle is an easy way of learning how to create beautiful art that also has the ability to bring in calm, focus and a relaxed state of mind. Reshmi Chakraborty meets Dilip Patel, an expert in this beautiful world of tangles.

Imagine learning to draw beautiful patterns in a very simple, easy way. Now imagine being so engrossed in your artwork that you experience a sense of timelessness and calm, almost akin to meditation.

That is the power of Zentangle, an easy way of creating beautiful art by drawing structured patterns using simple, repetitive strokes on paper. It is an activity that can be learnt by anybody and has several benefits, says Bangalorean Dilip Patel, engineer, IITian, Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT) and corporate trainer. Mr. Patel strongly believes that Zentangle has the power of impacting lives and can also have a positive effect on the elderly.

What it is

Mr. Patel discovered Zentangle through his wife KN Malathi, who found it on the internet, while looking for ways to keep herself busy after her retirement. Likening Zentangle to meditative art, Mr Patel says he found it to have a positive effect on his wife who was busy looking after her ailing mother and sometimes upset. He researched further online and found that his wife’s positive experience (a sense of calm, stress reduction, etc) was echoed by many others.

The term Zentangle was coined by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, the creators of the Zentangle Method. Mr. Patel explains how they came upon it. “Maria, a calligrapher, was doing calligraphy strokes and experienced a complete sense of losing track of time. Rick, who had a background of being with an Ashram for years, felt that what Maria was describing was like meditation. They decided to create a structure to make the process simpler and easy to learn for others.”

The term comes from Zen or a state of meditation and tangle or doodles.

How it’s done

Doodling is a process that is sub consciously done by many of us and the creators of Zentangle thought of turning this into a conscious structured activity. “We start with no planning or judgement,” says Mr. Patel as he demonstrates the process for us. “You create four dots in four corners of a square (Mr Patel was using thick Italian textured paper) and then connect the dots to make a frame. Within that frame take your pencil on a walk and create strings. Now use a pen to fill up space with a tangle that you learn beforehand (there are several websites where you can learn these). It takes about 20 minutes.”

It’s the repetitive act of creating small strokes and filling in gaps that keeps your mind focused and concentrated. We have a short video of Mr Patel’s demo to give you an idea. Click this link to watch.

How it helps

Zentangle helps with stress reduction and has a relaxing and calming influence. It can increase attention span and concentration and help with anger management. It can also help to develop creative abilities and rehabilitate fine motor skills. More than anything, it is probably the joy of creating a beautiful work of art, using simple strokes.

Mr. Patel trained with the creators of Zentangle in US, a course that he was able to attend with sheer serendipity. As part of his resolution to teach people after his training, Mr. Patel has taught Zentangle to several people, including senior citizens. He shared some benefits he has witnessed among seniors with us. “I taught my wife’s aunt who is 78. She had lost her husband, was lonely and had a natural tendency to go back in the past. Zentangle helped to keep her in the present moment. What is amazing is that because of Zentangle she started drawing and now also makes cartoons, a talent she never knew she had!” 

Mr. Patel also taught the Zentangle method to a 64 year old lady who had cancer and was going through chemotherapy and radiation. She was depressed and Zentangle helped her stay focused. “In fact, she was so much into it that she asked for used a piece of paper and started doing Zentangle right after an operation. It was the one thing that kept her away from bad thoughts,” Mr. Patel mentions.

Malathi, Mr. Patel’s wife, says the benefits that she felt while making zentangles was that it was keeping her occupied. “Like gardening, my main interest, drawing is soothing and kept me focused.”

Mr. Patel points out that while making a Zentangle, your mind is completely focused. Over a period of time it has a calming effect and can improve self confidence and self esteem. “It’s a process for getting your thoughts together and for corporates can help with team building and stress relief.”

Mr. Patel specially stresses the advantages of Zentangle for senior citizens and anyone convalescing. “It’s an easy to learn method of creating beautiful images using repetitive patterns and can help seniors in many ways. It helps to keep them in the present moment and away from negative thoughts. It also helps in modifying behavior and increasing patience, among other benefits.” More than anything, you learn to create truly wonderful artwork that can keep you engrossed and occupied for hours.

How to learn ZentangleTo learn Zentangle or to buy a kit, you can contact Dilip Patel. He is based in Bangalore, India. Here are his details:

Blog: http://z-inspirationind.blogspot.in/

Email: dilip.patel@gmail.com

Tel: 91-9845025812