String Theory & Composition Lesson

Art Clubbers and I tackled an interesting lesson to start understanding Zentangle String Theory combined with Composition. This is a tricky subject to cover, and much has been discussed about it in traditional art, with many rules and regulations, but I prefer to have a more practical approach that I use in my own work.

I started the class by covering a very brief definition of composition and string — and I kept it purposely VERY short, so that we could dive into more practical drills.

We did several practical quick exercises on how to draw strings, starting from the random, intuitive process.

Then understanding conventional composition structures with several examples.

We covered how to modify those structures to create interesting string variations.

We then proceeded to evaluate our previous work, using the THUMBNAIL method and even a digital version using our phones.

Using this Thumbnail method, we evaluated our own pieces and extracted the focal power of a few pieces.

Also using this method of evaluation, we were able to clearly evaluate the string and focal power of our own work.

We also covered a concept which I call “Strong vs. Diffuse” , and used that framework to continue to understand our work.

And another concept I like to use comparing Static versus Dynamic compositions.

We closed the class with a short discussion on the Rule of Thirds and why I think it’s important!

We had about 60 plus participants. After the formal class, half the class spent another hour discussing everything we learned and shared. A SUPER fun class, very different than usual Zentangle class.

The recording of this class will become part of the permanent collection available for Art Club members.

Feel free to pin or share these pictures if you like.

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