Zentangling for Relaxation and Focus with Certified Teacher Brian Crimmins

Have you heard about zentangling? Zentangling is a self-help drawing therapy practice to enhance relaxation and focus. Today's special guest, Certified Zentangle Teacher Brian Crimmins says that, "Just as in meditation we focus on the breath, in Zentangle we create by focusing our attention on one pen stroke at a time."

"There is an element of ceremony to the Zentangle method that calls us to settle in, become present, express gratitude for our fine materials, establish the spaces in which we will place our tangle patterns, draw, shade with graphite and tortillon, and lastly, take a moment to appreciate our designs.

There are terms that are sometimes used to describe Zentangle but, in essence, are inaccurate. The most commonly used is “doodling.” When we sit down to doodle, we let our pen mindlessly wander on the page. We do not know what we are going to end up with, and we have no real plan on where we are going with our drawing. The Zentangle Method is an intentional, mindful practice in which we thoughtfully plan out how we will use the space we have to fill with patterns, and as we draw, we breathe, we take our time, and we focus simply on the pen stroke. The difference is mindful and intentional (Zentangle) versus mindless and unplanned (doodling).

Brian Crimmins is an artist, writer, and Certified Zentangle(R) Teacher. On the heels of graduating with a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from University of Central Florida in 2014, he discovered Zentangle through a class offered at a local art store.Since becoming a CZT in 2016, Brian has taught at conferences, museums, cafés, tea houses, and in private homes. In addition to Zentangle, he is inspired by typography and lettering, organic patterns, and decorative arts, which sparked his personal passion and interest in printers’ ornaments and decorations. Brian is also a life coach, an avid theatergoer, and a world traveler.