Zen Kin Cousins are Spreading Joy Again

Hello Cousins,

I am happy to see you here. My brand-new project, the Zen Kin Cousins Postcard Art Project, has launched, and I already have 13 wonderful works of art in my home. Many of you have told me you plan to join this endeavor to spread joy and foster a sense of community among us and around the world. I had pondered doing another project for a long time and was waiting for the right inspiration. This project became postcard art: art made to look like a postcard. At first, I thought about having everyone draw their Zen Kin Cousins on real postcards, but I felt that was too risky for these precious pieces of art. Sometimes mail can get dropped, damaged, or lost, and I wanted them to arrive safely. So, we are making art that looks like postcards instead.

After my previous projects, I began noticing all the wonderful stamps attached to the letters I received, and I wanted to include that same beauty in this artwork. Each piece will have a colorful stamp added to it, helping it look like a real postcard and giving the whole project a connection to the wider world.

Most important to me, all the cousins are joining together around uplifting words they want to spread to the world. I provided the words to choose from, and each one carries a positive message. Together, these words will help each postcard share a little more kindness, encouragement, and joy.

I can already tell the artists have put a lot of thought and care into creating their Zen Kin Cousins Postcard Art, and I am so grateful to gather these cousins here in my home. It feels like a big family reunion, with many cousins meeting for the first time. Each new cousin that arrives makes this family feel more complete.

I think of the Zen Kin Cousins as cousins to one another, and I feel like we, the artists who create them, are cousins too. The word cousins has always felt full of love to me because my own cousins have meant so much in my life. Family is particularly important to me, and this family of Zen Kin Cousins has brought me so much joy. Growing up in farm country in Indiana as a young farmer’s daughter in the 60’s, I never imagined that something I created would connect me with people from so many states and countries around the world.

I always want to thank Rick and Maria at Zentangle® for creating this wonderful drawing method. Zentangle has enriched my life and the lives of so many people around the world. Its creative community makes joyful projects like this possible. Many of us, including me, never believed we could draw until they showed us an easy-to-learn, easy-to-follow way. If you are feeling reluctant to join because you lack drawing experience, please know that this is a very approachable project to complete.

So, if you haven’t joined the project yet, I invite you to do so. Your cousin will be one of a kind, created in your own personal style, and it will add something special that only you can offer. I have heard such positive feedback from people who have followed my step-by-step video, spent time with uplifting words in mind, watched their Zen Kin Cousins come to life, and sent them to my home to join the others.

Every cousin that arrives carries a little piece of the person who created it, and I feel that presence when I welcome it here. Without each of you sharing your time, creativity, and kindness, this project would not be possible.

You can find the video with all the instructions on the front page of my website. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at katrinathiebautczt@gmail.com

Many of the newly created cousins are also gathering in my Facebook group, Katrina’s Zen Kin Cousins Community. We are having a wonderful time there, and I hope you will consider joining us.

My first Zen Kin Cousins project included cousins created in 31 different countries, and I would love to see this postcard project reach even farther. Social media is the best way I know to spread the word, so if you know someone in another country who might enjoy joining us, I would be so grateful if you would share this invitation with them.

Wherever your cousin begins its journey, I will be waiting to greet it here in Ada, Michigan, USA, with warmth and kindness.

Thank you and happy tangling,

Your cousin, Katrina