Revisit Your First

 

Do you ever wonder if you are making progress in your art journey? Do you wonder if your skill is improving, if there is even a reason to continue with the art you make? Have you learned anything that would help take your skill to the next level? Don't worry, you are not alone. About twice a year I ask my FB group Tangle All Around to test these questions out for themselves. Today I would ask you to join me. 

I cringe every time I look at this piece. Hahahaha! I ask you to bring out the very first tile you tangled. This is my first tile. My absolute, very first. No shading, lines all wonky, and writing on the front of the tile. In case you can not tell, those tangles are hollibaugh, crescent moon, printemps and static. The four basic tangles you learn first in a class with a Certified Zentangle Teacher. Once you have pulled that tile out, I want you to grab a new, fresh, clean tile. Draw the same string you used on your first tile onto the new tile. Then tangle the same patterns in the same spaces you did on that very first tile but draw the patterns the way you draw them these days. This is how you see the difference and see what you have learned. 

Here is the tile I did last night. It's been about 11 years since I made that first tile. I draw the same tangles different nowadays. My style has evolved and changed.For example, look at the lower right section. Those are called printemps and they have become my signature tangle. I start just about everything I draw with a bit of printemps. Lower left is static. I really dislike that tangle and I never use it except when I do this activity. It has not changed. Upper right is crescent moon - I draw those aura lines differently now. Upper left is hollibaugh - it was a hot mess in my first tile. Hahahaha! Totally different now. 

The point is you learn and advance. Kind of like life. One day you are rolling along a big hot mess and then one day you have your act mostly together and you have learned and advanced. My skills have changed over the years. Oh, I don't write on the front of my tiles since people started asking to publish them in books or online - I write on the back. My signature is in there - my chop - it's a mash up of my initials. I would love to see what you do - don't be hard on yourself. We all start somewhere. And now you see where my somewhere was. Don't have a tangle base? Come join us on Tangle All Around. We are one big happy family, encouragers, supporters, and all learning together no matter what our tangle skill is. 

You can find Tangle All Around by clicking here.