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Tangled Tuesday No. 87

Greetings from your very own, very happy, newly-minted CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher), fresh from Seminar 25 in Providence, Rhode Island and thrilled about a future that includes both tangling and teaching my very favourite art form!

Laurel Regan, CZT

Laurel Regan, CZT

Today’s Tangled Tuesday post is a little different than usual, as I wanted to carve out some space here on Alphabet Salad to reflect on my time at the seminar and share some of my thoughts and feelings about the experience.

Hope you enjoy!

The seminar, held at the lovely Hotel Providence, was bracketed by registration on Sunday and “graduation” on Wednesday, filled to the brim in between with opportunities to learn, explore, experience, and connect, and sprinkled lavishly throughout with a plethora of goodies, treats, and surprises (about which I will keep quiet so as not to spoil the experience for future CZTs!).

The attention to detail throughout the hotel specific to Zentangle was delightful. Even though I was weary after a long day of travel, one of the first things I noticed while checking in was the labels under the row of clocks behind the front desk – Los Angeles, Paris, Beijing, Chicago, and… Zentangle!

Hotel Providence keeps Zentangle time!

Hotel Providence keeps Zentangle time!

I was very, very impressed with the professional yet warm approach of whole Zentangle team – Rick, Maria, Molly, Martha, Sue, Julie, and the lovely woman in the Zentangle store who tallied up the items after all three of my shopping trips but whose name I didn’t catch as I was so dazzled by the goodies I was buying that I neglected to pay attention. (Who am I missing? I’m sure there are more!) Their commitment to excellence, loving attention to detail, and clear communication in their approach to delivering knowledge and value to each of the attendees was truly beyond all my expectations.

Here’s a taste of some of the things I learned and produced during my time in Providence.

My CZT Seminar 25 tiles

My CZT Seminar 25 tiles

Since I was traveling alone and wouldn’t actually know anyone at the seminar, I had been a trifle anxious beforehand, concerned that my natural shyness would kick in and make it difficult for me to meet people. I had visions of myself as an uncomfortable wallflower, wishing I could join in and be a part of things but held back by self-consciousness.

Well, I needn’t have worried! Without exception, everyone I encountered was friendly, open, approachable, and accepting. And they were interesting, too – I found it so fascinating to see the diversity in our backgrounds, careers, and interests, and to explore how we were going to incorporate teaching Zentangle into our own individual worlds. We had some great conversations, and in several cases some side-splitting laughs (if you’re reading this, you know who you are!), and I feel as though I brought many lifelong friends back home with me in spirit.

What an amazing week I had!

So now what?

Since arriving home I’ve been sorting out all the goodies I received, tangling (of course!), reading my newly-acquired Zentangle books, and thinking ahead to how I’m going to use my newly-acquired CZT designation to bring the joy of Zentangle to others.

One of the practical tasks I did was to set up a special Laurel Regan, CZT Facebook Page, which I invite you to “Like” if you so desire.

I’m looking forward to seeing where my newfound skills and knowledge take me. In the meantime, on to a new week of tangling!

P.S.

The Zentangle® Method was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas and is copyrighted. Zentangle® is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.

Previous posts in this series are all tagged Tangled Tuesday.

For background on how I discovered and got involved in Zentangle, and links to further information and resources, check out my blog post For the love of tangling.

You can browse my entire tangle gallery at Ten Thousand Tangles.

And, if you’re interested in having a little piece of my art for yourself, please visit my Ten Thousand Tangles portfolios and shops on ArtofWhere, DeviantArt, Etsy, Redbubble, Society6, Spoonflower, and Zazzle. (Pssst… links to my international Ten Thousand Tangles shops on Zazzle are on my “shop!” page – just click on the appropriate flag and you’ll get to the place you need to be!)

How have you been creative this week?
Please share!

Laurel Storey, CZT – Certified Zentangle Teacher. Writer, reader, tangler, iPhoneographer, cat herder, learner of French and Italian, crocheter, needle felter, on-and-off politics junkie, 80s music trivia freak, ongoing work in progress.