"...One stroke at a time."™

This morning I was reading a devotional that was published in Daily Guideposts 2012,  written by Daniel Schantz, a college professor in Missouri. Daniel was commenting on the expression, "It's simple," and how, whatever it is, it sometimes isn't simple. He expressed the thought that rather than saying to a student, "This is easy; you can do this," he should rephrase and say, "This can be challenging at first, but you can learn it." What is easy for one person may not be so effortless for another.

This concept really stuck with me as I continued to mull it over all day. How much more affirming and encouraging this word choice is. I want to remember this tenant whenever I have the opportunity and privilege of teaching something new, whatever the subject matter may be, and whatever age the student.

Which brings me around to the blog topic at hand. I truly do believe that using the Zentangle® method to learn tangling does make the initial effort pretty easy (though the results more rewarding with frequent practice...but I digress).

While I do believe "anything is possible, one stroke at a time,"™ for some people it is particularly helpful and reassuring to start out with a trained teacher to assist. A teacher can share her/his experience and tangling hints, as well as the teaching method developed by Zentangle founders, Rick and Maria. I certainly benefited from this sharing when I first attended a class with a CZT.

If you are interested in learning more about the artful practice of Zentangle, please contact me for class information. I'll be posting class details on this blog eventually, but in the meantime, I'd love to hear from you with any questions.