Massachusetts. It now has gone global, through CZTs spreading the art method. Butler incorporates Zentangle into her teaching to help other people alleviate their personal causes of pain and avoid over-dependence on pain-killing medications. “My favorite part of Zentangle is that it can help everybody in a different way,” Butler said. “Whatever you are struggling [with] the most, you can use Zentangle as a mechanism [to deal]. It’s not a magic pill or snakeoil remedy, it’s a way for you to control your body by focusing any kind of depression, stress or any kind of pain into art.” Diane Tai, a CZT from Taiwan who now resides in New York, inspired my friend to embrace Zentangle as a coping mechanism. Tai said rather than focusing on perfecting the results, the process of creating the art echoes the life process and enables balance. “It’s kind of like introspection with myself,” Tai said Tai’s teaching has helped many in Taiwan to find peace. Kaiserine Ho, one of Tai’s students was one of the lucky pupils who benefited from her teachings. “Like life, there is no right or wrong in Zentangle, it’s just about how you perceive things from a different perspective,” Ho said.
Above: author’s own Zentangles
Tess Imobersteg, a Wisconsin CZT, shared albums of her work with me over coffee and expressed a goal she holds with Butler to expand the art method to younger people. She said most people are tentative to try it, but by “jumping in with both feet and trying it”, they can create a close and intimate relationship with the powerful art form. I am mesmerized by how the simple process acts as a medium between the human psyche and emotional balance. I find the passion the CZTs have to enable others to improve their lives impressive. We are all a bit lost, amidst the variety of challenges posed by modern society, but according to the Zentangle slogan, “anything is possible, one stroke at a time.” Mindfulness takes over and navigation out of our stress is made possible. The official zentangle website (founded by Rick & Maria): www.zentangle.com
Diane Tai Zentange November 2015 | 33