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Greetings!
Welcome to Day 12 of the 2026 Bijou Be Well series!
Each year, in support of Mental Health Awareness Month, we share our Bijou Be Well series. This is a 21-day Zentangle challenge designed to encourage you to pause, breathe, and make space for yourself through small, meaningful moments of creativity.
In this year's series, alongside a daily reminder to tangle, we will share a collection of studies, articles, and stories that explore creativity and its benefits for mental well-being.
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Today, we investigate the topic of...
Zentangle as a Lifeline
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Let Your Pen Soothe Your Soul - Vol. 2
CZT Jessica Abresch writes...
"My Aunt Martha, visiting from Texas, showed my daughter a way of drawing called Zentangle. My daughter wasn't very interested — but something in it spoke to me. What I discovered was that when I repetitively drew the patterns, my mind grew quiet. Tangling became my breath of fresh air. It began with a tangle called paradox and went from there. It was the only thing that helped me truly rest my mind — even if only for a few minutes — when grief and anxiety had otherwise taken over.
After both of my parents passed, I felt deeply called to share this gift with others. Since 2020, I have been going live on social media 7 to 10 times a week, free, teaching the Zentangle Method — but with a twist..."
Read, or revisit, Jessica's Zentangle story on the blog today.
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This year, we encourage you to step away from your screen, ground yourself in your space, and create without expectation.
We will begin the series with an introductory video to help you get organized and familiar with the process. Each day that follows, we will release simple instructions and a step-out of a tangle to guide you as you build your Opus tile... one tangle at a time. If the step-out is not enough, and you would like additional guidance, we will also provide a video of each tangle from some of our previous Bijou Be Well series (we are in a Time Machine this year, after all!).
Now, take a deep breath, stretch your arms over your head, roll your shoulders away from your ears, take a deep breath, and join us in today's prompt.
| | Bijou Be Well Series 2026 - Day 12 Step-Out | | |
Ravel is a delightful, organic tangle that can grow in infinite directions. Start by connecting two dots with a lively line, then add a few tethered auras to create a ravel "pod." Turn your tile and add another lively line, and so on. The tethering naturally creates rich, inky detail where all the lines come together. Unlike most tangles that use aura, this tangle embraces variation in the aura spaces. You can play around with larger aura spaces, here and there, filling them with orbs or spirals or stripes.
Tangling Tip: You can go back and add some enthatching to accentuate where the lines touch.
We will add a little each day, one tangle, one stroke at a time. Take your time and trust this process. Now it is time to take a deep breath and a moment for yourself to tangle.
We will continue tomorrow with a new tangle and more suggestions to carry you through the series.
Are you just joining us? You can join us from the beginning on our website, here!
| | Each day as we go along, we will share Opus tiles created by different members of Zentangle HQ! We encourage you to take progress photos along the way so you can look back and see how your tile unfolded. | | Renaissance Opus by Julie Willand | | Translucen-Z Opus by Molly Hollibaugh | | Share your progress photos on the Zentangle Mosaic App and other social Media sites with the hashtags #BijouBeWell2026 and #BijouBeWell2026Day12. | | | | |
Shop Bijou's Be Well Bundles here.
Bijou's Be Well Bundles contain 2 Opus Tiles and assorted tools to tangle with specific for each surface. Each glassine envelope also contains three Bijouisms selected just for you.
Choose from white and tan Opus tiles, black Opus tiles or Translucen-Z Opus tiles.
| | The purchase of these supplies directly supports the overall production of the full 21 days of tangling in the Bijou Be Well series. We are grateful for your thoughtful support in helping make this meaningful offering possible for our community. | | |
The Zentangle Foundation is a non-profit organization. Due to the community's generosity, the Foundation can provide monetary support to organizations and individuals to share the Zentangle Method in their communities, support research studies to evaluate and quantify the benefits of the Zentangle Method, and support people in becoming Certified Zentangle Teachers by providing scholarships. The work to spread the Zentangle Method is essential to our recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month.
If you would like to learn more, and consider a gift, please visit the Foundation's website. Donations to The Zentangle Foundation may also be made on YouTube by clicking on the Donate button located on each video page. We thank you for your support!
| | Learn more about our upcoming events here! | | |
With Gratitude and Appreciation,
Rick, Maria, Martha, Molly, and everyone at Zentangle HQ
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