What do you do when you find a stack of blank cards the size of business cards?
I started drawing pattern instructions on them, the kind often associated with the Zentangle Method. This was not a matter of practicality, as I have most of these pattern stored on my smartphone anyway for ease of access, but rather an attempt to break out of a rut. I have been stuck drawing the same patterns and lines over and over for the last several months and I thought it was time to break out of that box and get more creative. This project may not seem that creative – after all, I am copying other people‘s work – but my mind is already buzzing with ideas and just yesterday I went and drew something other than a mandala for the first time in weeks.
This is a fun project that could go on for ages, as there are endless patterns, many of which come in endless varieties, and there are new ones constantly being added.
How I did it:
I drew instructions on one side of the card, simplifying whenever I thought it would work. On the back I drew the pattern, with variations that popped into my mind when I was drawing them and ones I saw on the web and wanted to remember.
I don‘t do Zentangles any more – the meditation part of my doodling/drawing works in a similar way, but I have fewer constraints than the Zentangle Method – but to make classification easier I decided to use the names given to the patterns by the Zentangle instructors and enthusiasts who wrote the original tangle instructions. When I have filled a couple of binder rings I plan to classify the cards according to a system I thought up and put each basic type of pattern on a separate ring to make them easier to find.
Then I laminated them with my trusty laminating machine, cut them apart and evened out the size (I‘ll probably round the corners when I have the time and feel like it). You can get nine of these cards inside an A4 laminating pouch, or four into an A5 pouch.
Finally, I punched holes in one corner of each card and slipped them onto a binder ring. I made the holes in any corner where they wouldn‘t mess with the instructions, so not all the backs face the same way, but that just adds variation.
I wrote down the name of each pattern in a Word file, along with a basic classification (filler, frame, string, etc.), a short description of the pattern (e.g. leaves, lines, geometrical, etc.) and whether it resembles any other pattern.
Should you want to do such a project, you will need:
- little cards. I am using the blank cards seen in photo 1. They are about the size of credit cards and come in strips. You could use blank business cards, or you could cut some out of thick paper. Filing cards would work if you want bigger ones.
- drawing pens in a couple of colours (I used several for variation)
- a pencil to add highlights
- a laminating machine and laminating sheets OR self-adhesive laminating sheets
- something to cut the laminating sheets, e.g. scissors or a hobby knife with ruler and cutting mat
- something to punch holes in the cards: I used a one-hole paper punch but you could use a leather punch
- individual binder rings
-Optional: a computer file or notebook with a list of the patterns you have already drawn (I recommend this)
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