January 5, 2024

Hello Rick and Maria,

2024 marks the 20th Anniversary of The Zentangle Method.

We remember our first public Zentangle workshop in 2004. We taught the Zentangle Method to about 100 of some of the best lettering artists in the United States. The class went on for two hours and pretty much everyone “got it.” The mosaics were awesome. The feedback was inspiring. One of the artists was also an astrologer. She did a birth chart for the moment that we began the class. We could not find it, but we remember that it said that Zentangle would grow up to become well-known and beneficial.

Little did we know how that would unfold.

A worktable in our home dedicated to Zentangle soon became a room. Soon that room competed for space (and time) with Pendragon Ink, Maria’s stationery business. Molly and Martha counseled us that we could not do both. So, Maria made the hard decision to close Pendragon to focus on our new passion, our new mission.

These twenty years have unfolded like a Zentangle tile. We always had a “next stroke” to focus on within the structure of the gentle “string” of our vision, that felt oh so divinely inspired.

Now, after twenty amazing years, we are taking this time to reminisce about our journey thus far and our next strokes. We have some great stories to share. One of our favorite stories is the treasure of the Zentangle community that has grown throughout the world.

What a creative, supportive, passionate, and grateful group it is! Another treasure has been to work closely with family and friends in this exciting adventure.

We thought long and hard about how best to honor this momentous occasion, and ultimately decided we would need to celebrate all year long. Throughout this upcoming year, we will celebrate with blogs, newsletters, tutorials, Project Packs, ideas, memories, and stories. Each month, we will focus on one theme or aspect of the Zentangle Method and the community that has grown around it. We hope that you all will join us!

Today, we have over 7,600 Certified Zentangle Teachers in 80 different countries...all of them speak the language of Zentangle.

A message from Rick and Maria...

20th Anniversary Video with Rick and Maria

We will be journaling our way through the 20th Anniversary celebration. Each month we will fill our pages and inspire you to do the same.Together we will highlight thoughts, ideas, tangles, and tiles – there is so much to celebrate! In honor of our 20th Anniversary, we are offering a special journal bundle for you to journey through this year with us.

We have created a special 20th Anniversary Journal Bundle. Available for a limited time.

January: The 8 Steps of the Zentangle Method

When we had the inspiration that was to become the Zentangle Method, we took a couple days off at a bed and breakfast in western Massachusetts to collect and capture our thoughts and inspirations. We wrote everything we talked about in a small blank book that we took with us. On that trip, we came up with the idea of naming tangles, deconstructing them, step-outs, the eight steps of the teaching method, and . . . the name, Zentangle.

The Eight Steps of the Zentangle Method

Gratitude
Dots
Border
String
Tangle
Shade
Sign
Gratitude and Appreciation (again)

The beauty of the Zentangle Method is that no matter if it is your first tile or your 100th tile, whether you are 7 or 70, the eight steps remain the same.

This month we will go back to basics and savor each of the eight steps of the Zentangle Method.

In addition to celebratory newsletters, there will be blogs honoring this exciting milestone. And, because it's a such a monumental celebration, we will be giving some fun Zentangle inspired things away. Follow this link to our blog where you can subscribe and be notified when new blogs are posted.

Bijou's Favorite Things

When we shared with Bijou the theme for each month of this celebration, he excitedly picked out his favorite Zentangle treasures to help him celebrate.