SETTING THE INTENTION - INKTOBER
While the title of this blog post might sound banal, I wish not only to set the intention. Instead, I would like to describe the role that the Zentangle® Method played in my personal development and how I changed my self-description from “unreliable” to “good at keeping promises”.
Many times, it seems very challenging to put into words the impact that the Zentangle Method has had on my life. It has been truly transformational. I think about it as a vehicle that helped me introduce many positive changes to my life.
Struggle With Consistency
I was always easily triggered and motivated by different challenges and projects. After diving right into whatever was a subject of my interest with great enthusiasm, I would soon find myself driven towards something new. My motivation would decrease until it would vanish completely. I was great at starting anything, but terribly bad at maintaining the pace and finishing things.
It was pretty much the same with my Zentangle practice. While I was drawing quite consistently for years (that in itself was a surprise), I would jump into challenges just to give up after a couple of days. I labeled myself as inconsistent, and I thought that I would just stay the same, old, unreliable myself.
However, things started to change. First, Zentangle was the first of my many hobbies that stuck for a longer stretch of years. Second, after a few years, I noticed that I would finish the Project Packs that I would start. Last year when I started Inktober (for I don’t know which time), I felt an urge to commit to it publicly and set a semi-serious intention to post daily videos and share them with my following. I completed the challenge and it made me really proud of myself.
Other Changes
I began to question my “unreliable” and “inconsistent” self-imposed label. Which led me to the next challenge, which was seemingly not connected to Zentangle. In November I started doing face yoga. I didn’t commit to a huge load of exercise, just some 15 minutes a day. Surely, I used to start many similar challenges before, but I would always “drop out” after several days, weeks or months. A month after that I added a 20-ish minute yoga practice to my morning routine. Today I feel proud to report that I’ve been consistent to this day, which has been more than 9 months of doing both for 5-6 times a week. Yay!!!
I am absolutely sure that my Zentangle practice and experience has been crucial for all of that. My career changes left the door open for organizing my life in a different way. Surely, it came with some sacrifices, but what I’ve got from it was much more meaningful than what I’ve lost. It is not only about much more flexible time-management options but also about a more focused and empowered state of mind.
Inktober 2022
It’s needless to say that this year I feel much more certain that my intention of doing the Inktober challenge will result in finishing the challenge. Doing a video for each day of October is much different than just committing to a daily drawing routine. It’s about filming, editing, publishing in time… And if there are some other life events on the schedule (and there always are), there needs to be some planning. But, I feel ready to tackle that! 🙂
As always, I will follow the Inktober tangle prompts that were kindly prepared by a fellow CZT, Stephanie Jennifer. Thank you, Stephanie!
In 2021, I decided to choose a simple format, that would allow me to accomplish my goal easily. That meant – one tangle a day (instead of one full drawing a day), with minimal video editing efforts, to keep it manageable for me. Below is a photo of the finished Inktober 2021 project.
This simplistic approach was a success, so this year I’ll to something similar. I decided to use square Renaissance tiles, but you can use whatever you prefer.
Main Focus
Many times people look at my drawings and ask questions about the composition and choice of tangles. Inktober is a lovely example of what I’m always trying to prove – all tangles go well together. I will just add one tangle from the list after another and try not to overthink it. Instead, I will trust the process and let my pen guide me. The result might be stunning, or perhaps not. Does that even matter if drawing and sharing the process with you has brought a lot of joy into my life? I choose joy over perfectionism every day!
The first video will be published on October 1 (what a surprise, right???). They will all be available for free on my YouTube channel. I hope that you’ll feel inspired to join me. 🙂
September, 2022
Written by Anica Gabrovec CZT
I don’t have a comment section under my blog posts because it’s really demanding to moderate them due to many spammers. Do you have any questions or remarks? Suggestions for my next blog posts?
Feel free to et me know by emailing me at info@zen-linea.com.
Check out other blog posts.