Thursday 31 October 2013

What a strange situation

My dreadful drawing HERE did not receive as much negative comment as the text (see italics below) that accompanied it. I thought it was harmless, based on my own weaknesses at the doodle/zentangle thing, but oh no. Here's the text, for anyone who would like to read it. My post about synonyms yesterday reflected my feelings about this whole business of leaving comments, and I have decided to ban them from my blogs from now on. If people don't understand what I am saying, it's not my problem. The comments on the doodle blog have been deleted. 

Oh dear! By the time I'd chuckled my way through for the most part "uncomfortable" drawings, the truth dawned on me! Zentangle enthusiasts do their best all the time. They throw out their bad (or worst) efforts, and that is - according to the written and unwritten rules - not the point of zentangle. Some doodlers are so versatile that they found it hard to leave their expansive comfort zones. Some hate colour, so used it. Some shade to kingdom come, so left their drawing bare and uncherished. Some hated the black tiles they invested in when that craze was introduced. I could go on. It was like a confessional.  

Since all is fair in war and doodling (zentangle then - one lady studiously avoids the word I just used, so her uncomfortable tile was what she interprets as doodling - in her view negative - admittedly, the tile was not very nice, either!) - I will add my own confessional, numbered for convenience.

1. I tend to avoid patterns of which I dislike the name. So here I used "walp", "sea sick" and "spention". They are all nice patterns when used judiciously, but have rather nasty names (this is only my opinion!)
mini album
2. I dislike the tiny zentangle format. I've never considered myself as belonging to the zentangle society with its strictures and customs. When I discovered the craze and started in August 2012, glad to do something less strenuous than painting as I was convalescing from a heart problem, I decided to do about 100 tile-sized drawings, which was fun, stick them in a photo album, and move on. I did this, and have stuck with larger formats ever since, as anyone familiar with my doodle art knows.
3. I dislike borrowed strings. In my view, anyone who can't draw a squiggle or modest set of lines on a 3½x3½inch square should take up a hobby not involving pencils/pens. But no argument counts here. In zentangle, anything goes, apparently, so your squiggly strings are as good as anybody's. 
4. The 100 tiny doodles I did for the mini album were for the most part not shaded, or even enhanced with the black pen I was using. I was really exploring patterns at the time. But I love shading and colouring to add depth to my efforts, so I've left it out on this tiny doodle (see below), which incorporates all my pet hates, I think!
5. I hate patterns that I can't fit into their space comfortably (that comfort zone again!). I often try a pattern several times to discover what size might work, and just as often ditch a pattern that turns out to be unworkable (at that time). So here I've just bashed away at the patterns I'd chosen (there are lots more whose names I don't like), regardless of whether they fitted or not.  
6. I like to leave space between my drawing effort and the edges and often leave spaces unfilled. So this little bit of paper is crammed full!

PS I can't help getting the feeling that there are some out there in the "Z" circle who would dearly like to squeeze me out of their parallel doodling world, judging not least from the nature of some (now deleted) comments. I find it all a bit tiresome, so I will cut down and maybe even cut out participation in the Z activities and certainly refrain from adding any comments. Anyone who is genuinely interested in my work can find it on Facebook or one of my blogs. I have no intention of ex-doodling myself and will announce any new efforts on my Facebook timeline.