New Guidelines, zenAgain, Zen Kin® Kith Project and Me

Hi! I wanted to share a little bit about my amazing experience at zenAgain, along with providing an update on some new guidelines for drawing my Zen Kin® Cousins, Zen Kin® Kith and Zen Kin®Rellie.

First, I want to start this blog post by telling a little about myself. I know that many of you already know these things, but if someone is reading this blog post and it is their first impression of me, then I want them to have a little background. I am Katrina Thiebaut. I am a Certified Zentangle Teacher. I teach the Zentangle Method of drawing. The Zentangle Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. I have gone to three seminars where I received three certificates to teach. I have also gone to 4 events called zenAgain, where I was further trained by the founders of Zentangle. I am CZT 22, 32, and 36. I am grateful to have stumbled upon the Zentangle Method in 2014 and have had this amazing form of drawing in my life since. I can’t imagine life without tangling.

I do many non-representational drawings using the Zentangle Method but my first love is drawing ZIA which is Zentangle Inspired Art. I created and draw Zen Kin®. Zen Kin® is my registered trademark name for the characters that I draw with tangles for hair. I am also the creator of Zen Kin® Cousins, which I designed to be drawn by others who follow my guidelines. If my guidelines are followed, the creators are allowed to use my name Zen Kin® with the word Cousin after it. I also am the creator of Zen Kin® Kith characters designed to be drawn by others who follow my guidelines. These characters are made by “making mistakes” and my instructional video encourages the creators to make as many mistakes as possible while drawing them. My latest creation is Zen Kin® Rellie, which is a different style altogether. Creators are allowed to use my name Zen Kin® followed by the name Rellie if they follow my guidelines.

There is more information on this website about projects that I have done and my past blog posts might keep you up to date. Please look for guidelines for drawing these characters. The following is an update:

Zen Kin®Cousins, Kith, and Rellie Guidelines I am expanding my boundaries of guidelines for drawing my characters. I have previously said to draw them on paper only. I am relaxing a bit here. I always want to keep some things for myself but also let the joy spread far and wide through the drawing of my characters. So, as of today, I am saying it doesn’t have to be on paper only. Draw to your heart’s content but always label your drawings with the words Zen Kin®Cousin, Zen Kin® Kith, or Zen Kin® Rellie. Please tag me in any posts that you post on social media with these characters and remember that you are not allowed to sell any products with that name on them. Please respect my designs and always give me credit. Do not copy my style and labeling without giving me credit. I want these Zen Kin® designs of mine to fill the net and the world with joy. I find so much joy in drawing them and sharing them with all of you. Please know that I appreciate each and every one of you! I am so grateful that you love these characters and want to draw them. I would love to see this group become very active with cousins, kith, and rellie filling the feed! Thanks, cousins!!

I mentioned zenAgain here and I want to tell you that it is such a wonderful experience to go to Zentangle-sponsored CZT zenAgain events. I just returned from one and my heart is overflowing with love and gratitude. I met so many wonderful CZTs there and also connected with some that I had met previously. It is such a loving group of people who have tangling in common and an appreciation for all things Zentangle. At the event, there is plenty of time to visit with other CZTs there and is plenty of inspiration and great lessons from the founders of Zentangle.

The Zentangle founders, their daughters, and the whole staff of the organization are very generous and caring people. They are passionate about their method, the art created, and the tanglers from all over the world that use their method in their lives. Rick, Maria, Martha, Molly, Julie and all the staff at Zentangle are such a joy to know. At their events, they make themselves available to all the attendees and they are more than willing to hear your stories and answer any questions you may have about their method. They have a respectable business and their devotion to their CZTs is exemplary.

This method of drawing has attracted people from all over the world. I am not a world traveler and so I have very little chance to interact with others from other countries. That has been made possible through my involvement in Zentangle. At zenAgain, I deepened my friendships with four CZTs from France. It was lovely to spend time with them and the laughter and joy came easily when we reconnected at zenAgain. I also made some new friends from Mexico and we shared ideas and thoughts about our countries, our art, and our families. The group that was there from Spain was full of loving smiles and we also connected. I met and enjoyed the company of a CZT from Germany, and enjoyed talking to the two CZTs that sat near me from Taiwan. There were familiar and new faces from across the USA. My seatmate was from North Carolina. It is a community that feels like family to me. We won’t all be in the same spot on this earth as this particular group, but the next zenAgain will have some of the same CZTs and many more new friends to enjoy. While at zenAgain, I felt joyous for so many reasons and I will be grateful always to the founders of Zentangle. They set the stage for these wonderful opportunities for us all.

I published the project Katrina’s Zen Kin® Kith before the end of October. I enjoyed this project very much and I adore all of the creative Kith that were created by the artists that participated in the project. If you go to the menu at the top of the site, you will see both projects listed. Please take some time to enjoy these wonderful and joy-spreading artworks.

My artistic goal in drawing and sharing Zen Kin®, Zen Kin® Kith, and Zen Kin® Rellie is to spread joy and foster a sense of community. I have been told that these things have brought joy to many and it gives me such joy to know this. I hope you have found some joy in my creations and those of the artists that participate in my projects. I do not have a project going right now but since I heard from so many at zenAgain that they wanted to participate but didn’t get around to it, I am considering my next project now.

I hope you will be on the lookout for any announcements I make of new projects and that you will consider joining. I am guessing that I may get around to a new announcement after the first of the year. I truly appreciate each of you and I am so glad that many of you are members of my Facebook group called Katrina’s Zen Kin Cousins Community. You may post on this not only the cousins but the kith and rellie too. I would like to encourage you to draw and post there as often as you wish. It brings me joy and it fills the group feed with wonderful artwork to enjoy.

Until next time, do what makes you feel joy, and please feel like you are part of this wonderful community of Zen Kin. We are all cousins, kith, and rellie and you are all important members of this big and wonderful family.

Katrina