I5 Minutes of Fame/Challenge 17

This week, the Diva's challenge was to create a tile in 15 minutes, from start to finish.  When Rick and Maria created Zentangle the tiles were designed small so that you could complete one in 15-20 minutes.  When I started doing Zentangle, I could do this because I picked easy patterns (tangles) and didn't spend much time on shading.  Now, I rarely get one done in 15-20 minutes.  It's more like 30 minutes (sometimes more-yikes).  Why is that?  I think that now I make my Zentangle time more of a ceremony.  I love to get my cup of tea, relax, get out my tile and pen, breathe, draw my string and ponder what tangle I want to start with.  I take a lot more time deciding which tangles to use, sometimes flipping through my binder of official tangles, and my other binder full of tangles by other designers.  It can be a process some days, but it doesn't feel that way.  To me it is part of the relaxation process, being in the now.  I have no time limits!  If I want to take an hour, I can.  Of course, whenever I get done.....I smile! 

So, this week's challenge was the total opposite of my norm.  I sat down, looked at my cell phone time, and drew fast, while my brain was saying do easy, fast patterns, certainly no time to ponder.  Of course the first tangle I thought of was Hurry, and that didn't calm me down at all!  I got done and looked at the time, 2 minutes, quick throw on some shading.  Time's up.  Okay, let's try another and this time relax, go slow, let it just happen.  Although I went a little slower, I still felt the time crunch and it was hard to relax and do whatever came to mind.  Hmmm, maybe this exercise did teach me something.  Maybe I shouldn't depend on looking at the books so much and go with whatever tangle I think of more.  More importantly, it reminded me of the value of breathe, relax, and smile!