Everywhere I turn, I see little messes (it’s summer and both my kids are home), but also the messiness and hard times of life: loved ones sick, friends losing jobs, family moving to new homes . . .

In art, I love that a mess can become something more beautiful, just by adding a little something creative to it! (click here to view the last blog post about scribbling.) And I won’t lie: this gives me hope when life is also looking a little messy! 

A messy scribble can become a structure. And that structure, although unfinished, can become the starting place for something new, and eventually, beautiful. In the Zentangle process, we call this structure a STRING: a lightly drawn guideline that creates an optional border and space to fill with a pattern (or tangle, as we like to call it.)

Pictured below is an example of how messy and beautiful it can be to fill your heart with patterns and a little quiet time. And it all starts with a heart and a scribble! Don’t believe me? Check out the video links below . . . 

So . . . I ask again, friend to friend, artist to artist: "What’s on your heart?" After two years of a pandemic, we want so badly for everything to look good again. We are sick of dealing with the mess. We may be telling others we are okay, but inside we may still be a little lonely or sad or missing someone or something. And I can’t tell you how to fix that. But I know what would help: drawing a little prayer, bringing your worries to God, taking a moment of silent meditation on a truth, verse or affirmation that your heart desperately needs to be filled with.

Want to try it? All you need is paper and a pen!

Here's some ready-to-go inspiration for you:

1.  Filling My Heart YouTube video: your instant spiritual retreat! Just click and view.

2.  Click here to register for the online recorded class if you would like a little more step-by-step detail and some extra resources.

3.  Private Group or Individual Session: Do you have a group or organization that needs to de-stress? Are you needing some long overdue "me" time?  Or even just you and your teen or friend for bonding time together? 

I have so many more ideas for turning scribble messes into art, so stay tuned for more blog posts coming soon. Especially if you are prone to messes like me :)

Happy Creating!

— Nicole

P.S. The Finger Labyrinth online class also makes a wonderful meditation retreat, and is still available for a limited time. The labyrinth becomes another type of structure to draw for placing words, color and patterns.