Zentangle was created in 2003 by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. Roberts interrupted Thomas, an artist, while she was drawing a pattern one day, leading her to remark on how immersed she'd been in her work. Roberts, a longtime meditator, noticed that the flow she described was similar to what was achieved by meditation. They combined their insight and talents to create Zentangle, a fascinating method of drawing easy-to-learn, relaxing, structured patterns (called tangles).
Zentangle art is spontaneous and free-flowing, so you can focus on each stroke and not worry about the result. You can learn different tangles and string them together to create detailed drawings on small squares of paper called tiles. You can move beyond these small tiles and get creative with bigger drawings or different shapes. But again, the end result is not the point — the process is what lets you achieve a meditative state.
