Besides Mandala, Zentangle is an easy to imbibe art form, a meditative art form which helps in augmenting our concentration by designing structured patterns and contriving alluring images, write DISHA PRASHANT.
A pronto peep out of your window and all you can witness is the fast moving world, refraining you from even blinking your eyelid for a microsecond. We all are inbred into living a monotonous life which begins with you rushing for the local train, to catering to bossy cribbing, to the humongous changes on the global map and so on. In all this, what we practically have forfeited our peace of mind and to catch a glimpse of a colorful life. And this is where ZENTANGLE is born. To elaborate it a bit, zentangle can be delineated as an easy to imbibe art form, a meditative art form which helps in augmenting our concentration by designing structured patterns and contriving alluring images.
The concept of Zentangle art was developed around nine years ago to help people engage their minds into something creative without making any mandatory structures. It is all about making one stroke at a time and connecting it to a few other strokes thereby creating mesmerizing figures. Whether you be a kid or an adult this is just the thing for you. We all in our childhood had been fond of scribbling designs and have been bashed up for doing so. But today we have this art form in its fill vigor along with a touché of healing power.
The best channel to calm down your pumping nerves is zentangle feels Disha Khemchandani, a professional zentangle artist. Elucidating her experience of zentangle art she said, “The sans pareil part about zentangle art is that you need not follow any particular pattern to draw these images. The first thing that ignites in your mind is something what you will draw on the paper. Hence it lends you the complete freedom of creating your own composition. What begins with just a stroke comes out as a resplendent image. This art form is flexible and easy to learn for all age groups.”
Sharing the optimistic results of this art form she said, “All that you need to make this is a micro pen and a paper scientifically known as a tile. For a beginner a small tile is enough to scribble his design. Once you are confident you can keep on increasing the size of the tile and create as many designs as you want. Doing it on small tiles in the initial stages helps you in building your confidence level as well as encourages you into creating newer patterns. It helps you in enjoying the sense of completion and is also beneficial in relieving stress. You tend to witness the rise in concentration level. It makes you feel peaceful and calm and look on the brighter side of life. Zentangle is the best remedy for people suffering from chronic depression and anxiety.”
Zentangle has infinite design patterns to play with and create your own unique design out of it. They say that an empty mind is a devil’s workshop. So the best means to pop this devil out of your workshop is getting one with the zentangle world. Zentangle art goes much beyond just drawing strokes. It helps you build your intelligence quotient, keeps your anger pangs in control, helps you find solutions to your problems, helps you in creating a holistic approach towards events, and is a best addiction therapy tool and so on.
We all believe in the power of meditation and the healing that it gives to a troubled soul. It takes approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour for the completion of a single zentangle design depending upon the concentration. Zentangle is one such pattern of meditation to brush your mind off keep unwanted worries at bay feels Sandhya Manne a certified Zentangle art teacher.
Sharing her insights on this art form she said, “Zentangle is a meditative art form and is an abstract process of being present in the moment. It is a slow and mindful art form designed to help strengthen concentration and disengage the brain from the outside world. As a start up colors are confined to black and white as it becomes easy to design. In the progressive stage one can start experimenting with colors giving another edge to its designs. Attempting colored zentangles in the beginners’ stage can be slightly complicated.”
Elaborating on the process of designing a zentangle she said, “It is extremely important to pay attention to what are you trying to create. One needs to finish all the lines and circles drawn to complete the design and avoid leaving them midway. Nothing in this pattern creation is pre-planned. One has to delve into his or her mind and come out with a sui generis design. There is no age barrier to learn this art. As a teacher we hold three hour sessions to adults and kids and explain them this art. In this we teach them basic methods of how to focus on lines and connect them with the rest. An unmarried combination of practice and concentration helps you delve into the depths of this art and explore novel techniques.”
We have all heard of de-addiction centers for people who are victims of varied kinds of addictions. Zentangle is an outstanding technique to detaching oneself from addiction says Laghima Nayak. Laghima has been working as a freelance volunteer for drug de addiction for kids and is also a zentangle artist.
Sharing her artistic story she said, “I randomly came across this art form and learnt it out of pure interest. As and how I started developing on the designing I felt numerous changes in my outlook towards things. And then I decided to holding these sessions for kids who are into drugs. We tend to witness that many kids these days are engaged in drugs and tend to destroy their lives. At the drug de-addiction centre we hold these special zentangle art sessions for such people and help them in keeping their minds and hands off drugs.
She further stated that, “I feel that addiction is more of a mind game and zentangle is an excellent medium of engaging your brain in creative activity. Initially it was a little tedious into convincing these patients to attempt this art form but gradually the freedom for creating your own designs helped them disengage from their addiction.”
