What’s a Zentangle?

There’s been a lot of chatter about zentangles in the last year or so. I have yet to explore them but they are just popping up everywhere.

Simply explained, zentangles are structured doodles. The copyrighted term, Zentangle, was coined by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas when Maria was describing the meditative state she experienced while drawing on a manuscript.  It has grown into a large creative movement with instructors teaching the process throughout the country. The concepts have inspired artists in many different disciplines, including polymer.

Julie VanDuren explains the components of this piece:  “Here is another recent Zentangle-inspired piece. Lots of canework, some component caning and some small loafs or complex canes.” It is one of many on her Flickr page that explores Zentangle-inspired structure.