MULTI-TALENTED PEOPLE

Had a one-to-one Zentangle® class this morning with Nancy, who lives just up the street from me.  She only stumbled across Zentangle about a month ago, and was eager to know more.  When I arrived at her house, my mind was boggled by her truly original and lovely quilts.  I only had time to see 3 of them, but she is a serious quilter and I know she had a lot more there.  (Nancy, if you read this, I just loved that concentric circles quilt; it had "pennies" in the name, I think...wow, was that wonderful)  She was gracious enough to let me photograph her holding her first tangle, and I tried to get one of the her quilts in the background--here it is; I just loved these colors and the wonderful rhythm and contrast of the pattern.  You can't really see her tangle here, but I have a better photo of it coming up after this:

Thanks, Nancy, for letting me get this picture.  Every time I look at that beautiful quilt and the way you put those colors together, I find myself predicting that you will be able to do anything you want with your tangles.

Like many tanglers, Nancy does other crafts.  (I'd really prefer to call them "arts," because I think that is what they are.)  Quilting, beadwork, etc.  I've noticed that people who do more than one art, as she does, know a lot more than they may at first think they know about how to tangle.  They understand patterns, and Zentangle is all about patterns!  They understand contrast, the importance of having light areas and dark areas (referring back to the quilt).  They understand value and the importance of gradations of light and dark.  They understand placement.  They understand risk, trial-and-error, and experimentation.

And they love art. 

Of course, no one needs to be artistic to love art.  To make art, you only have to have courage and be willing to take risks.  Talent is not a requirement!  Talent develops through practice, practice, practice.

So do you have to be "multi-talented" to learn Zentangle?  No way.  People who say they have NO talent at all learn every day...and lo and behold...discover they DO have talents they didn't even know about.

But I digress:  Here is the multi-talented Nancy's first tangle:

Beautiful line work.  Of course, my old iPhone doesn't show the shading very well.

All her quilting will server her very well in working with Zentangle.  Can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

Focusing on "beginning" today made me think of the following quotes:

Do not grasp the brush before the spirit and the thoughts are concentrated. (Anonymous Chinese painter)

You don't have to see the top of the staircase to take the first step. (Martin Luther King, Jr.)

All serious daring starts from within. (Eudora Welty)