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Greetings!
All aboard! Join us on the Zentangle Time Machine as we journey back to CZT Training through the years!
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Maria writes…
In the dawning of this beautiful art form, Rick and I, in our unabashed enthusiasm, thought that we would simply teach the world about our newfound passion. If someone invited us to teach, then we would go and teach. We jumped at every opportunity. We did that for a couple of years, until one day we found ourselves in the lovely state of New Hampshire at a meeting for the Women’s Caucus of Art. There were about thirty animated teachers of various types of art. Lovely people they were, and so hungry to know more about our Zentangle Method of drawing.
We had the best time, tangling together, excited to see the mosaics, hear the comments, revel in the smiles on everyone’s faces.
The woman that invited us, Bette Abdu, wanted more. She said these fine people wanted to teach others this magical method AND, would we teach them how we would like it to be taught? Duh! Of course. How could we even think that the two of us alone would be able to teach every eager student in the world the Zentangle Method? We wouldn't even have time left over to tie our shoes.
Well, we decided then and there that we would have trainings to teach people how to teach the Zentangle Method. In no time, we had our first CZT Seminar here in our tiny town of Whitinsville, Massachusetts. We rented an old estate to host the event. We had people from China, Europe and beyond travel all the way to our tiny town to become what we decided would be called a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT).
Five of the ladies from that class in New Hampshire joined us at that first training.
And that, dear friends, is the story of the first CZT.
Ironically, Rick and I are not CZTs, as there was no one to teach us. Oh well. Maybe someday. . .
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CZT Seminar #1 February 2009
New Hampshire graduates with Rick and Maria
L to R Sandy Bartholomew, Bette Abdu, Maria Thomas,
Catherine Rogers, Rick Roberts, Donna Conroy, Kathy Freeburn
| | CZT Training Through the Years | | |
Over the years, Certified Zentangle Teacher training has grown and evolved, one stroke at a time. We are taking a look at some of our favorite memories over the years.
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July 2008: Rick and Maria announce the first CZT Training. In true Zentangle fashion, Rick and Maria wrote..
"We'll figure out costs, times and other specifics as we go along. Any
questions, suggestions or requests you might have, please let us
know"
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February 2009: Zentangle, Inc hosts the first CZT Training in Whitinsville, Massachusetts. Over 50 people joined them, including attendees from Belgium and Hong Kong! The early seminars were held at a local retreat center, including a reception in Rick and Maria's home!
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April 2011: The retreat center being used for training was sold, and CZT Training found a new home in Providence, Rhode Island!
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July 2014: The tangle ING was released at CZT Seminars 14 and 15. This tangle was taught by our youngest CZT Training Instructors ever. Martha's sons, Wyatt (11 years old) and Ramsey (9 years old) Huggins!
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July 2014: Guest speaker and CZT, Laura Harms, joined us to share her story. For many years, Laura ran a popular Zentangle blog, IAmTheDiva, and hosted tangling challenges. The tangle diva dance was a gift from Rick and Maria to Laura.
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August 2015: Guest speaker and CZT, Jason Poole, joined us to share his story. Jason performed the Zentangle Hula for us.
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July 2018: Three special guests joined us at CZT31!
Pierra Giudetti, a representative for Fabriano Papers. Fabriano is the oldest continuously running paper mill in the world, still running after over 750 years in central Italy. Pierre gave a presentation about how and where our beautiful "Tiepolo" paper, which we use for our Original White Tiles, is made.
Katie Vanoncini, owner of General Pencil, the oldest (and only) pencil manufacturer in the United States. General Pencil supplies all our graphite, white charcoal, pastel and watercolor pencils.
"Turtle Wayne" (an artist who almost exclusively draws turtles!) was there as a representative of Sakura of America, which has supplied all our pens since the very first days of Zentangle.
| | Left to right: Maria, Pierre, Katie, Turtle Wayne and Rick | |
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May 2019: The first CZT EU Training seminar was held in Frankfurt, Germany by our CZT Training partners, Conzentric. The training was presented in German with live English translation. Since then, Conzentric has also offered live translation in French and Spanish.
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November 2020: In a year that pushed us to embrace the "No Mistakes" philosophy and look for opportunities in places we may not have before, we hosted the first-ever online CZT Training! 500 people joined us from all over the world for CZT 36! Since then, we have hosted several online and hybrid seminars, allowing the Zentangle Method to reach more people and communities than we could have ever imagined.
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October 2025: CZT 43 found a new home in Mystic, Connecticut for the first time! We cannot wait to go back (more information on that below!)
Do you have a favorite CZT Training memory? Share it with us on the Zentangle Mosaic app or other social media sites! Post a favorite tile and share your story with us with the hashtag #CZTMemories.
| | Interested in becoming a Certified Zentangle Teacher? | | |
CZT 44 Registration is Opening February 9, 2026 at 2:00pm EST!
Join us for CZT Training in Mystic, Connecticut, or online
October 25-28, 2026
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Register by July 1, 2026 for Early Bird Pricing!
Attend In Person: $2325.00 (shared room) - $2695.00 (private room)
Attend Online: $1500.00 (returning CZT) - $1995.00 (new student)
Complete details and registration information will be available on Monday, February 9th. We recommend registering as early as possible, as we expect in-person spots to fill quickly. Our next in-person CZT Training will not be until spring 2028.
For more details about our CZT Training program and training opportunities in Europe and Asia, please visit our website.
| | Get to Know a Certified Zentangle Teacher | | | | One thing that we love about Lady Aura is that she loves to repeat herself. In 2026, Lady Aura will be sharing blogs, newsletters, and products that you may have missed. Be sure to check them out! | | |
With Gratitude and Appreciation,
Rick, Maria, Martha, Molly, and everyone at Zentangle HQ
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