Happy Zen Kin® Spring!
It is now springtime in Indiana where I live. The grass is greening and the birds are singing their beautiful song of springtime joy. We have had a wonderful winter. I was able to do a completely new activity for myself. I made Zen Kin® in the snow. It almost makes me sad to see winter go as I really had fun with it. It will bring joy to me when the first snow falls again. If you have not seen my videos of making Zen Kin® in the snow, you might want to take a few minutes and watch. It may give you some ideas for what to do with snow when it comes to you! But for now, I will enjoy the greening of the grass and the blooming of the spring flowers.
I have been enjoying drawing my Zen Kin® as usual. The peace that comes from drawing them is hard to explain. I love to watch my whimsical characters come to life with their hair of tangles. I can make them as detailed or simple as I wish and they give me joy every time.
While sitting in a waiting room for an appointment, I can create beautiful art using the Zentangle® Method of drawing and the time just flies. When sitting in front of the television here at home in the evenings with my husband, I can be creating characters that have a personality that makes me happy. When I have a moment with my grandchildren, we can create together and find joy in the common act of creating a Zen Kin®. They like to be the teacher sometimes, and that is so much fun to hear my instructions reflected in their little voices. There are many times that I can reach for a pen and paper and draw something that brings me joy. In times when I can’t draw, I have been known to imagine drawing tangles in my mind. (Comes in handy during dental visits and other times like that.) I sometimes dream of drawing Zen Kin® while asleep at night. Each experience is unique, and each Zen Kin® brings me happiness.
As you may know, I am doing something that I never have done before, and with it comes a lot of gratitude and appreciation. I have learned a lot during the last few weeks after announcing and starting my project Katrina’s Zen Kin® Cousins Project. I decided that the joy of drawing Zen Kin® could no longer be contained within me and that I would be even happier if I were to spread the joy to others by doing a project where I teach others to draw a Zen Kin® Cousin. I am going to make a wall of cousins from all over the world using the art that is sent to me by mail.
The project involves the viewer watching my video and drawing along with me a Zen Kin® Cousin. It is a character designed by me for this project using four Zentangle® tangles, which are deconstructed patterns. The tangles used are Hollibaugh, Printemps, Crescent Moon, and Bales. Then the Zen Kin® Cousin is named with a first and middle name by the artist, given a DOB, and the artist clearly writes the words Zen Kin® Cousin on the front of the artwork before signing their chop or initials to the art. They draw an additional Zen Kin® Cousin following my instructions, and then they send one off to me and keep the other at their home. The goal of the project is to spread joy and foster community. I set the whole project in motion on February 15.
Sharing my creative process and giving permission for others to label their own art with my name Zen Kin® plus the word Cousin has brought about so very many feelings. It was sort of unnerving when I first gazed upon these new Zen Kin® Cousins. I felt like I had given something away that I wasn’t sure I wanted to have given. I had worked hard to establish a style and a type of drawing of faces with tangled hair that was recognized by many. Now I was showing the world how to take my instruction and make something that would be connected to my brand and my art. It felt joyous and I also had a reluctant feeling. Would they represent me in the way that I wanted to be represented? How would I feel about them sharing this with others? I have worked hard to make sure that no drawing of mine ever offends or alienates anyone. I hoped that those that now drew Zen Kin® Cousins would respect that and draw accordingly. I wanted to spread joy and foster community but now I would depend on others to do that with me.
I am by nature a giver and I find so much joy in making others happy. Those feelings of loss were real but the feelings of gratitude, community, support, and love that I have gotten by sharing has been something that I can’t even begin to explain. I am honored to have so many find joy in something that I created and shared. The joy that I had in recognition of my own work now comes back to me tenfold as I feel proud and happy about each and every new Zen Kin® Cousin that I see. I have had comments from people that have told me that this project has given them joy at just the right time in their lives. I have heard some say that they had lost interest in creativity during this worldwide pandemic and that it was reignited by their taking part in the project. I have had so many people thank me when I feel I should be thanking them. The gratitude and honor I feel for the artists that have taken my instruction and then their time to make a Zen Kin® Cousin is immense. I am filled with joy and gratitude, and I appreciate the gratitude that others have for me. I thank myself every day for giving this part of myself away. It was a gift more precious than I even imagined.
But, it doesn’t end there. They are sharing their Zen Kin® Cousins on my Facebook group, Katrina’s Zen Kin® Cousins Community, and are bringing joy to each other. There are 473 members in the group already. (I would love to have you become a member if you have not already done so.) One of my goals for the project was to foster community. It is happening and it is real. I have a community of people who are supporting one another and getting to know one another.
The Zen Kin® Cousins have been made in Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Taiwan, Australia, UK, America, India, Croatia, Italy, The Netherlands, and more. This website has been visited by people from 57 different countries and my YouTube video has been viewed 1,479 times!! This is much more exciting than I even imagined!
Knowing that there have been so many involved makes me hope that I will receive many more than the 134 Zen Kin® Cousins that I have at my home now. I dream big and would hope that it will spread and spread and that I could end up with many many more for this wonderful project of coming together through Katrina’s Zen Kin® Cousins Project. This project is not about how “good” the art is. It is not a place to compare or critique. Zentangle® itself emphasizes that there are no mistakes, only opportunities and that using the Zentangle® Method of drawing is a relaxing and fun method of drawing. I hope if you are reading this to the end you will consider joining in this project that seems to no longer belong just to just me but to the world. If you have already sent me a Zen Kin® Cousin, would you consider telling a few friends about the project? I want as many people as possible to be able to get the feel of being a part of a project like this that connects us all simply while spreading joy to ourselves and others. This is bigger than me now. I freely gave away something that now is spreading joy and becoming something meaningful.
I can never talk about my Zen Kin® without talking about Zentangle® and Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts. The founders of Zentangle® have made it possible to reach across the world with this project. There are Zentangle Enthusiasts everywhere and the rippling effect of this wonderful method of drawing and its ability to bring us together is unending. I am forever grateful to Zentangle® for bringing this art form into my life and enabling me to create my Zen Kin®. I did not feel I could draw a thing when I first encountered Zentangle®. Now I am an artist. I think you will thank yourself often if you give this method of drawing a try. It is about so much more than art!
I would like to thank my family again for all the help and support they give to me. Chelsea is helping me with the Facebook group and I talk to her daily about all things Zen Kin®. There are a lot of decisions and things to discuss when deciding the direction of this group. My son, Chase helps me with all things computer. My husband and another daughter help me with support and encouragement. My husband is just now going to help me start on the wall. I have been waiting until I get a sense of how big the wall needs to be before starting to hang the art. I am excited about this!
Thank you for reading my blog post, and thank you for whatever part you are playing in Katrina’s Zen Kin® Cousins Project. I appreciate you. For those of you who do not wish to participate in my project, I respect your decision to sit back and watch as I reveal more and more as time goes on. For those of you that participate, you have my gratitude for that. We are truly connected to each other and for that I am thankful.
