Happy July!
Happy July, everyone. I am so glad that you are here reading my blog. I have some news about my wonderful project called Katrina’s Zen Kin® Cousins Project. I initially announced that the end date for the project to be July 15. I am extending that deadline.
It has come to my attention that many more people wish to send a Zen Kin® Cousin for my wonderful wall of cousins from around the world. I have 556 artistic Zen Kin® Cousins for the wall as of today. There are cousins from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK, and the USA. Below I show you how many from each of these places and I show how many from individual states in the USA. I am missing some cousins from a few states. They are very important to me so I hope they will show up soon. And of course, there may be some from other countries that are yet to arrive.
| Argentina | 1 | Italy | 50 |
| Australia | 19 | Japan | 32 |
| Belgium | 1 | Mexico | 6 |
| Brasil | 1 | The Netherlands | 23 |
| Canada | 29 | New Zealand | 1 |
| Croatia | 1 | Singapore | 1 |
| Denmark | 2 | South Africa | 1 |
| Estonia | 1 | Spain | 30 |
| France | 49 | Switzerland | 6 |
| Germany | 8 | Taiwan | 2 |
| Hong Kong | 5 | UK | 9 |
| India | 4 | USA | 274 |
| Total | 556 |
Recently, I have given permission to a few CZTs to teach the project online in languages other than English which I speak in the video for the project. I have received positive feedback from that experience and am glad to have done that. I have decided to give permission to a few select CZTs from the USA to teach this project in English also. Those CZTs have contacted me directly for permission to teach it for free to their students. If you are a CZT and wish to teach a free session to your students, please contact me at katrinathiebautczt@gmail.com. You must contact me for permission. It is only with my permission that this can be taught. I appreciate all of you following this guideline of which I have thought long and hard. CZTs are not allowed to teach Zen Kin® Cousins without permission. Don’t hesitate to ask me for that permission.
Below is the chart showing the states and the numbers of cousins I have from each. If you could help me in any way to get a cousin from the states listed with zero cousins, I would be so happy. Thanks for helping.
| AL: 2 | HI: 2 | MA: 2 | NM: 3 | SD: 0 |
| AK: 21 | ID: 0 | MI: 12 | NY: 24 | TN: 7 |
| AZ: 8 | IL: 11 | MN: 2 | NC: 10 | TX: 13 |
| AR: 0 | IN: 4 | MS: 1 | ND: 2 | UT: 2 |
| CA: 24 | IA: 1 | MO: 0 | OH: 3 | VA: 9 |
| CO: 13 | KS: 1 | MT: 1 | OK: 0 | VT: 2 |
| CT: 8 | KY: 0 | NE: 0 | OR: 3 | WA: 11 |
| DE: 1 | LA: 1 | NV: 3 | PA: 10 | WV: 0 |
| FL: 17 | ME: 1 | NH: 9 | RI: 6 | WI: 5 |
| GA: 1 | MD: 12 | NJ: 2 | SC: 3 | WY: 1 |
| Total | 274 |
So, when is the new deadline for this project? I have decided to extend this July 15 deadline to October 1, 2021. Some have asked why I don’t have the project indefinitely. To this, I say that I will always be glad to add any Zen Kin® Cousins to my wall. I will continue to do this for as long as I am able. For the project, I am being methodical in keeping track of the cousins. I write an email to each creator, and I take a picture of the front and back of each piece of art. I plan to publish the names of the creators of this project and their artwork. This needs to have an end date so that it is a true project with a beginning and end with the participants being acknowledged. I will continue to appreciate each one of the additions after the October 1 date, but I won’t publish that cousin as part of the original project. I may still occasionally post an update with the added cousins, but not as a completed project. I may do more creative projects in the future also. I appreciate your understanding.
After the October 1 deadline, I will assemble all the cousins onto the wall and then publish this wall on my social media. For those of you that thought it would be in August as I originally planned, I am sorry that there will be an additional wait time to see the whole wall. I think that with advertisements being just Facebook groups etc. it has taken a long time to get the word out. An additional consideration is the amount of time it takes to receive mail is extended because of the international aspect and COVID 19 delays. This project is amazing, and I want to be able to give a chance for many more to participate.
Gratitude for those of you that have participated already, for those that plan to participate, and for those of you who appreciate this project comes from my heart. I am moved by the joy that is being spread by this project and the sense of community that is felt with the creators of these whimsical characters. I must thank Rick and Maria and all the Zentangle® family and staff for the opportunity to express myself through tangling and especially my Zentangle® Inspired Artworks of Zen Kin®. To extend that joy to others through the making of Zen Kin® Cousins, and now having this community of creators during a time of a worldwide pandemic is more than words can describe. This is huge to me. My gratitude is overwhelmingly felt.
I often say to a Zen Kin® Cousin creator, “I appreciate you.” There are no truer words. I appreciate each and every one of these lovely Zen Kin® Cousins and I appreciate each and every one of their creators. I do love this project and as I said before, it belongs to all of you who participate. If you have not participated and wish to see what it is all about, please watch my video and draw a Zen Kin® Cousin of your own.
I hope you all have a safe and happy July. I am grateful to you for reading this. Don’t forget about the Facebook group where many share their project Zen Kin® Cousins and additional cousins that they create. It is Katrina’s Zen Kin® Cousins Community. Thank you. I appreciate you.
Katrina
This continues to bring a smile to my whole being! This is a happy place indeed! ❤️