Living in a fairy tale

Once upon a time. The most common line to start a fairy tale.
So my first fairy tale Zentangle starts with this famous line and with the first Disney produced fairy tale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).


Next to the animated fairy tales there are real life movies and series about fairy tale such as Once Upon a Time (2011). In this television serie fairy tales are embedded in real life story's. Despite it's poor special effects in the beginning I enjoyed watching it. You learn more about the stories around the people which once lived in another dimension (far far away) and are placed into the real world.

In two weeks I used fairy tales as my inspiration. This came from a writing class at the place were I volunteer. The assignment was to create your own fairy tale and anything was possible. I was not present at this class but the clients were telling about it and I got inspired to pick a theme for the next two weeks.

Since december I volunteer at Amarant. An organization which provides all sorts of care for persons with disabilities. I work at two different locations. Once a week I volunteer at Koningsvoorde and three weeks ago I also started to volunteer at Artenzo. At Koningsvoorde I teach clients (elderly with a disability) how to create a zentangle. Next to this activity their daily activities are to make all sorts of handmade crafts like bracelets, necklaces, birthday cards and slings.

At Artenzo I help at the 'digitaal groep'. During the activities most of the clients work draw or write stories on their computer. My job is to help them with their assignments and give them new ideas and assignments to draw and write about.

In the first week I kept myself busy with Disney's classics. Next to snow white, I used Pinoccio (1940), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Dumbo (1941), Bambi (1942), The Little Mermaid (1989), Peter Pan (1953), Rapunzel (2010), Lady and the Tramp (1955) and Sleeping Beauty (1959) in my drawings. In some of the zentangles more than one fairy tale can be seen. Like zentangle number 25, is it Rapunzels hair, or spaghetti from Lady and the Tramp or is the wall of thorns that the prince must break through to wake up sleeping beauty Aurora...?

                           

                  

In the second week of the theme I used my two fairy tale books Grimm and Andersen. The first is an Anderson tale with a twist. I discovered that in the Indo-Dutch culture fairy tales were told a little different.

Next to the typical Indo-Dutch accent from Johan Fabricius Malaysian words were used in the stories. So instead of the Pea the princess feels a peanut (katjang) under her mattresses. Also Cinderella's sisters are described as ugly persons, one with a nose as big as a rotten banana (rotte pisang).

The other fairy tales are less famous or even unknown to the most. Like Thumbelina (Duimeliesje) from Andersen or the Three Black Princesses (De Drie Zwarte Prinsessen) from Grimm.

I tried to use more zentangle-like patterns in my drawings. During the Japanese theme I found it difficult to come up with zentangle patterns so some of them looked more like illustrations or tattoo sketches. I googled for patterns and use those in my fairy tale zentangles.

      

     

Earlier on and also this week I had discussions about what a Zentangle is. Is it a way to get your mind cleared from the day or is it conscious drawing? I am not sure. When I set up my drawings I am busy with thinking about my drawing. Because of the themes it has to point on some elements to the theme.

Next weeks theme: winter. This season is not over, but so far no snow has fallen here, no chaos is created because of the cold and snow and I cannot walk in fresh snow with my snow boots!

The first theme

To spice up my challenge to make a Zentangle every day in 2014 I introduced themes in my Zentangles. In the third week I let myself get inspired by Japan and the Japanese culture.

There are different things of the Japanese culture that inspire me. Next to the upcoming sushi hype in my city, other things give me inspiration for my drawings.

While searching for some inspiration I found images of the Japanese geisha. I remember that I painted a geisha once. I searched in my pictures and found it.  In 2008 I started this painting but I never finished it. Together with elements of other images I made Zentangle number twelve. It shows a geisha with a fan under some bamboo branches. To get the Zentangle technique into my painting I filled up the space between the branches with Zentangles. I was not happy about this drawing because it is out of balance. Without the Zentangles it would be just an illustration, or not?

 

The rules of Zentangle are not completely clear to me yet. Since I have started this challenge I am searching for a good balance between just a drawing and a Zentangle. Not all my Zentangles can be named a Zentangle, I think. Zentangle literature states that it is a way to meditate and calm you down. Your unconscious have to take over and repeat patterns in parts of your drawing. My unconscious mind does not take over, but i am very busy (conscious) with the way I draw my Zentangle.

The flowers (#13) is a fragmented Zentangle and exists out of separate parts. It is not a unity like I want it to be. The Fish (#14) is not a repetition of patterns, but does score on the Japanese theme. The Koi fish is next to the dragon (#15) very popular in Japanese drawings and Japanese inspired tattoos. Also water waves and splashes (#16) are common use in Japanese drawings. Numbers 15 and 16 are more Zentangle, I think. There are Zentangle-like patterns and there there is more fragmentation.

 

This week I had some sushi at the blooming sushi centre in town. Number seventeen is a sushi inspired Zentangle. Just google 'sleeping sushi' and you see where some of my inspiration came from.    The last Zentangle in the Japanese theme is an bonsai tree. When I was younger I always wanted one just like my grandpa and father. They both loved those miniature trees. After the passing of my grandpa my dad inherited his tree. Unfortunately this tree died. Now my father has two trees of his own left. I tried and I am still trying to create/grow my own bonsai tree.

Enough about the Japan. During my volunteer work I was inspired to next weeks theme: fairy tails. More about this next week. I will elaborate some more about the discussion about what a Zentangle is and the discussions I had about this during volunteering at daytime activities of people with disabilities.

Suggestions about themes and all what I discussed here are welcome!

The first eleven Zentangles of 2014

In 2013 I picked up an old hobby of mine. Zentangle. It is a form of meditation where you draw patterns based on your intuition. It is also known as doodling, sketches or just simple drawings.

Traditional you draw Zentangles with black fine liners. You can first use a pencil to sketch the basic lines and proceed with a fine liner.

My first Zentangle of 2014.

There are many different patterns to draw. In the centre of my second Zentangle there is the pattern known as mushroom. There are (to) many names introduced by different authors of Zentangle masters and can be confusing. I don't think it is important to use names for Zentangle patterns.

         

It is possible to enter a detailed element such as an animal, a face or a tree. You can also put words in your Zentangle.

 

You can experiment with different forms and lines. You can start with a chain and divide this in smaller parts or work with thick and thin lines. This spices your Zentangle a little up. You can also use one form like a drop and fill you paper with it.





       

There are endless sort of forms you can use to create a Zentangle. You can create your own Zentangle as long as you use your own imagination, creativity and intuition.

For some inspiration you can google Zentangle or look on Pinterest or Instagram.

From now on I will post a blog about my daily Zentangle once a week. To spice things up I introduced themes in my Zentangles. If you have ideas please share!