Our Local CZT Group

Local CZT Group

I was very fortunate to attend the 28th Certified Zentangle Training (CZT) in Providence, RI, in June. I was extremely happy for the entire four days, sitting in a large room with 108 other fanatics enthusiasts, drawing beautiful Zentangles guided by Rick and Maria and their daughters Molly and Martha. After 10 months exploring Zentangles on my own and with the kind and inspired guidance of my teacher (CZT16 Cheryl Wilson from Grass Valley), I was very excited to find a large, world-wide, supportive and positive Zentangle community.

On Day One, as I entered the very first class of our seminar, I took an empty seat between two friendly looking women. I introduced myself as Mary Helen from Auburn, CA. The woman on my right turned out to live in Placerville, just an hour's drive from me. And the woman on my left lives in Rocklin, a mere 20 minutes away. As far as I was concerned, this was something between an amazing coincidence and a sign from the Angels of Zentangle.

About two months later, remembering how much I enjoyed the larger Zentangle community, I looked these same women up on the CZT Index and contacted them. We ended up forming a group of five local CZTs. (Local in California means within an hour’s drive.) The group includes myself, Cheryl, Lynne, Chris and Alison. All are artists and/or craftswomen par excellence. It's a thrill to be in a group with them. We meet monthly, rotating through one another's homes, with the hostess providing a project for us all to do.

Yesterday four of us met way out in the country at the studio of one of the women. She had attended Rick and Maria's recent Zentangle: Beyond the Basics seminar at the new 1440 Multiveristy, near Santa Cruz. She wanted to share a project that Maria had guided them through. Maria had used a Zendala (round) tile, but otherwise the project was very similar. My result is above.

In advance, our hostess had prepared for each of us two Zentangle tiles, glued together. The Renaissance tile (beige) had cut outs so that you could see the black tile under it. We drew kissing Mooka in the middle between the cut outs, and tangled in white Sakura Gelly Roll pens on the black to make the black and white grid of Knightsbridge. We added some auras, and the embellishment of small circles around the border. We filled in around the Mooka with a brown 01 Micron pen. Only three tangles, but such a lovely result. Here is the mosaic of all our tiles. I feel so privileged and happy to be part of this dynamic and creative group! What an inspiration!