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Greetings!
Welcome to Day 5 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 & Older Adults
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Can tangling in a group setting for one hour just once a week have an impact on anxiety, happiness, and dexterity? This study looked to evaluate just that.
The research setting was a nursing home facility in Australia,
where a small group of participants was matched with a control group.
. The experimental participants attended at least four and up to eight weekly, 1-hour, Zentangle classes in person with an instructor. Meanwhile, the control group participated in other group activities, such as exercise classes, games, crafting, and movies.
The results showed that the experimental group experienced statistically significant reductions in anxiety levels along with increased happiness. Although there was no significant improvement in fine motor skills, there was a notable difference in the decline of these skills between the control group and the experimental group. This suggests there may be “a protective effect on fine motor skills in the Zentangle group."
Although more research is needed, this study offers a great reminder that taking a little time to put pen to paper regularly may just bring a little more peace to your life and a smile to your heart, all with the added gift of creating something beautiful along the way!
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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 5 Step-Out | | |
Pokeroot is such a versatile tangle. You can draw your berries big or small. It can grow around previously drawn tangles or wander out on its own. It can live happily within a space on your tile, or it can boldly expand beyond the boundaries. Take a look at your tile for a minute and choose a nook or open space to start a stem. Let the pokeroot grow one berry at a time. You can even add some pokeroot in multiple places on the tile. And luckily, pokeroot plays quite nicely with flux and tipple.
Shading Tip: The larger you draw your pokeroot berries, the more shading opportunities you will discover within the tangle. Some options include: putting a dark layer of graphite right along the edge, or try leaving a little white space along the edge and then adding graphite. You can also leave a void of unshaded area to give the illusion of a highlight. If you decide to tangle your pokeroot smaller, try using graphite over a section to push it back or tuck it under other tangles.
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 guide you through the series.
Are you just joining us? You can join us from the beginning on our website, here!
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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. | | White Opus by Molly Hollibaugh | | Renaissance Opus by Jen Sumner | | Share your progress photos on the Zentangle Mosaic App and other social Media sites with the hashtags #BijouBeWell2026 and #BijouBeWell2026Day05. | | | | |
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. | | Over the past few years, Bijou has shed his wisdom in the form of "Bijouisms." They have been a great way for us at Zentangle HQ to bring light to all the little philosophies behind the method that are so important to us. These cute little 2" square cards are great to use for inspiration, to make a tile around, or to use as reminders to Breathe, Create, Enjoy, and Love Your Work! | | Make sure to use the dropdown menu to select which deck you would like to purchase. | | Take Bijou and his gentle reminders with you with our collection of custom Bijou apparel. | | There is more Bijou apparel at the Zentangle Store. Take a look! | | This apparel is made specifically for you as soon as you place an order, so they will ship separately from any other Zentangle products and are not returnable. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions! | | |
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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