I sometimes doodle.

I am sure you do too.

Who doesn’t – right??

When I was a teen I starting doodling on HUGE poster size pieces of paper – using a black fine tip marker and repetition. Building an entire page full of tiny parts into something kinda cool.

Some years ago ‘zentangles’ became the rage and I just looked at is and smiled – I recognized it. It’s what I had been doing all those years ago!

It rekindled the doodle desire in me.

I began fiddling with it in my small sketchbook

It is really just repetition of lines and simple shapes.

Sometimes the shapes are recognizable or combined turn into something recognizable

and sometimes I will start with a ‘thing’ and then work out from there.

and sometimes they turn into something very weird…..

don’t ask — I have no idea.

here you can see that it’s nothing fancy – it’s just repetition and filling the space ‘tightly’

Some time ago someone mentioned that it would be great to transfer to metal.

I agree.

It’s been in the back of my mind ever since.

Should I stamp, etch, engrave..? And I just never did decide.

Well, yesterday I decided to play a little.  I decided to stamp….freehand. I don’t have many stamps – it’s not something I do a lot, so I was limited in what I could do. If I continue to explore this I will make some custom stamps for myself (or etch a design)

If you want to learn more about zentangles – There are books and classes and more.

I have to say that I haven’t read any of them so I can’t really comment but it would be interesting to SEE the drawings and to hear their connection with doodling as a meditative exercise. I know it calms my mind. And I don’t think you have to know how to draw, or that you have to do it like I do, or like anyone else does – just DO it!

So. give it to me straight – do you doodle? Will you try?