One Zentangle a Day

several metallic colors.
    Aquatone Water-Soluble Watercolor Sticks
    These watercolor sticks are woodless, give great coverage, and come in twenty-four vibrant lightfast colors. They are also available in open stock so you can select the number of sticks and colors you want. Also consider using Sakura Koi watercolor brush tip pens.
    INKTENSE COLORED PENCILS
    These colored pencils combine the intensity of a pen and ink with the versatility of a drawn line of a painted wash. The colors are translucent and vibrant when used dry or wet with a brush. They come in sets or individually. They are permanent when dry and work well on textiles.
    WATER-SOLUBLE WAX PASTELS
    These work like crayons and can be used either dry or wet with water to create beautiful washes. Projects in the book used Caran d’Ache. They come in sets or individually. If you choose to buy them individually, keep them stored in a plastic pencil box because they are soft and can get on anything they come in contact with.
    WATER-SOLUBLE OIL PASTELS
    These work like the wax pastels but have a different texture. Their creamy consistency makes them easy to dry-blend as well as to dissolve with water into a vibrant watercolor. The projects in the book were completed using the Cretacolor set.
    COPIC SKETCH MARKERS
    Each of these markers has a chisel end and brush tip end, come in incredible colors, and are versatile to use. The markers will last a long time provided they are kept capped when not in use. They come in sets or can be purchased individually. Select a small, twelve-color set or create your own by getting three primary and three secondary colors and a blending pen. Optional: The Copic markers have an airbrush system that uses the pens. There is no messy cleanup, and the easy color change of just changing the marker make it one of my favorite tools. I use Liquid Pencil by Derivan in the tube Grey 3 and ArtGraf water-soluble graphite for shading drawings.
    AMPERSAND CLAYBORD
    This is a hardboard surface that has been prepared with a clay material. Claybord comes in a 3 1/2" × 3 1/2" (8.9 × 8.9 cm) size with four per package. It also comes in artist trading card size—a great platform for mixed-media ZIA. It would be good to have a pack of the 3 1/2" × 3 1/2" (8.9 × 8.9 cm) size or a package of ATCs. Mica is available at some art stores or online from Dan Essig. Light colors work best for the drawing techniques in the book. Try Susan Lennart’s ICE Resin or Gel Du Soleil resin.
    In addition, you will need:
    • A 3 1/2 × 3 1/2-inch (8.9 × 8.9 cm) piece of Plexiglas—the width is less important than the thickness; it should be at least 1/8-inch (3.2 mm) thick.
    • Gum arabic (a watercolor medium) and a small jar.
    • A protractor (the kind that holds a pencil so you can switch from graphite to an ink pencil).

GETTING STARTED
    ZENTANGLE CAN REALLY BE DONE ANYWHERE, as long as you can hold your tile, pencil, and pen. I always have a mini kit in my purse in case I feel inspired, need to alter my mood or stress level, or want to alleviate boredom. Tangling on the run is a great idea for getting through the events of daily life while bringing a little beauty to each day, but it’s not the ideal way in which to learn a meditative art form.
    To get the most out of your Zentangle journey, create a time and space where you can spend thirty minutes creating your daily Zentangle tile. This does not require setting up a studio. Find a space you enjoy being in. Make sure you have good lighting, a table or hard surface to work on, and a place to sit. The area should be free of interruption. Background music can be great for drowning out irregular interruptive noise. Choose something that will allow you to relax but stay focused and not put you to sleep.
    The art evolves from a border, string, and tangles that are drawn on the tile.
    To get all the benefits from Zentangle, it is important to follow the process. Simple steps naturally progress from one to the other with no need for planning. First a pencil is used to draw a dot in each corner. The dots are connected by a line to create a border. Next the string is created with the pencil. A string is an abstract shape that divides the area inside the border. These divisions are filled with tangles that are drawn with a Pigma Micron pen. Tangle patterns are made from a series of repetitive, easy-to-create, deliberate pen strokes. The process is very rhythmic, centering, and relaxing. By following the same