8th Grade - Zentangles!

This week 8th graders are nearing the final steps of our Zentangle group project. If you don't know what a zentangle is - it is a newer style of free-form doodling that uses repetition, pattern and rhythm. The idea is to approach a zentangle without a pre-meditated plan and keep the pen moving spontaneously creating different patterns within each given space.

For some students, seeing zentangles looked overwhelming at first. So to take the pressure off and give us a little practice we started with a thumbnail sketch sheet where students were challenged to fill 16 boxes each with it's own free-form doodle.

After we felt more comfortable creating zentangles, we split into groups of 4 and created a symmetrical design that we would fill with zentangles. Students collaborated their ideas together and once they agreed upon their design divided a large sheet of paper into fourths and laid out their plan.

 Working towards our final piece involves a lot of collaboration and communication while simultaneously allowing independent work. Where each individual students section met with another they had to work together to create a zentangle which in the end creates a balanced, united and seamless composition.

Some groups are just beginning the final step of this project of mixing paints to fill in the negative space around the zentangle. Last year I did zentangles simply on a sheet of A4 and last semester I switched it up by adding in the additional elements of design, symmetry and color mixing. The students seem to really respond well to it and are excited to work on it and proud of their final project. The only thing I need to figure out now is what to do when they all want to take the finished piece home for themselves. Within the next week these should be finished up and I'm excited to show off the final artwork!