Sometimes our tangles have stories or tales behind the pen strokes, and sometimes our pen strokes inspire stories or tales. When Maria posts a tile on the Zentangle Mosaic App she almost always shares with us some sort of creative narrative. Her words range from inspiring thoughts to fanciful tales. We thought we would share with you some of these parings in a blog series we are calling Maria’s Meanderings. -- + --- From April 2026...  This tile has been sitting around the house for some time. I love the elegance of the ellish curves (a bit loopy... like moi)....

Rick writes: I came across these gems while sorting through files of old pictures.  About eight years ago, Maria and I were in western Massachusetts. These beautiful manuscripts were in a restaurant where we enjoyed a lovely dinner. I took these pictures with the intent to share them with you. Well, better late than never. (Or, maybe I already did and we all get to enjoy them again!) I estimate that these manuscripts are from the 17th or 18th century. They are all hand-lettered on vellum, probably a sheepskin or a goatskin. The pen strokes were beautiful, so fresh and crisp, you wonder if the...

Maria writes... My lifelong love of letters began around the age of five or six. I absolutely knew I was to become a commercial artist... I even had a green velveteen beret I would wear to prove it. I began selling my art soon after (albeit very reasonably!), and the rest is history! Before Zentangle appeared and changed my life, I was a professional calligrapher. I spent my days studying graceful forms, flowing lines, and the rich history of hand-lettering. Little did I know all of that would lay the foundation for what would become the Zentangle Method. Letters were...