I’m Sara Harlan
I am a certified Zentangle Teacher, artist, writer, and surface pattern designer nestled in the magical wildlands of the Pacific Northwest. I love to learn and think, create interesting images through artful practice, and spend quality time with friends and family.
I have a passion for bringing the practice of Zentangle to students, young and old, and have been teaching this method of drawing since 2013. The mission of Zen Valley Tangle is to provide instruction in the Zentangle drawing method, and in doing so, help students achieve
- A calm mind
- Confidence as an artist
- Better control of fine motor skills (like handwriting)
- Awareness of patterns all around
- Some really cool artwork!
It is important to me that my students feel empowered as artists, safe to explore mark-making, and honored as courageous practitioners of something that might be new and even a little frightening at first.
My main goal is to provide instruction in Zentangle so that every student feels successful. I have never been disappointed.
I would love the opportunity to share everything I know about the Zentangle method of drawing with you, and help you extend that knowledge into a fulfilling pursuit of daily joy and artful living.
My Zentangle Story
In 2013 I was a middle school art teacher, the best teaching job in the world! Except for that one class at the end of the day: papers flying, running with scissors, overwhelming volume … It was chaos, and I had exhausted every tool in my teacher toolbelt. So I went to the logical next place to find a solution for managing this class: Google. I searched for “calming art activities to settle down an out-of-control class of middle schoolers.” The results populated onto my screen were gorgeous black and white drawings, what I soon learned were Zentangle artworks. I was reluctant to believe that this class of middle schoolers could create something that required calm focus, something so gorgeous. But decided to give it a try, and learned what I could on line.
The day I brought Zentangle to that class of rowdy young adults was magical, for me and for them! In minutes the entire class had settled down, focused their attention and drew silently for the entire period. At the end of class, they were shocked that so much time had passed, and they didn’t want to leave. Did I continue to practice Zentangle with them? You bet I did! I also booked my reservation for the summer institute in Rhode Island to become a Certified Zentangle Teacher.
I learned so much from that rambunctious class of middle schoolers:
- They were amazing artists!
- They had the capacity for focus and calm!
- They finally felt confident enough to create fantastic artwork.
With Zentangle, everyone is an artist! The confidence-boost these students got from practicing Zentangle created a behavior shift so that by the end of the school year, they had gone from being the class I dreaded to the class I most looked forward to every day. They loved me for making them artists, even though I told them it was in them the entire time. Zentangle made it visible.
Learn more about Zentangle on their official website
