Doodling is Now Acceptable, Mrs. Ringle!

Over the last month or so, I've been having fun with Zentangles. Yes, I'm a few years late to the game, and as many of you already know, Zentangling is a controlled method of doodling, something that I've done, well, FOREVER! 

Case in point: 1st Grade, 1961-ish. We had the metal desks with the laminated wood-look tops that were hinged at the back. One day, at the end of a lesson, I beat everyone else in opening my desk to get to the next task. So, even though I was way at the back of the room, my desk top was in full view of the teacher. All I heard was "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YOUR DESK???" I shut my desk in puzzlement and saw the teacher (who I'd really liked a lot, up until that point) bearing down upon me.

The next few minutes are more hazy in this memory. All I remember was crying ashamedly (though not sure why) while the teacher and every other first grader crowded around to look with wonder at my desk top which was almost entirely covered with black No. 2 pencil doodles! I don't consciously remember creating them. They must have "just happened" over a series of days (weeks?) building up to this climax. The only other memory that I have of that particular experience is spending the next recess with those horrid brown paper towels and a can of Comet cleanser (borrowed from the janitors closet) scrubbing off my works of art.

Well, nah-nah-nah Mrs. Ringle - now my doodles are condoned, and even encouraged! So here are my first two attempts beyond the basic Zentangle "tile". I sort of like them, and am already planning an incorporation into a current polymer piece. Stay tuned.....