When I started my Blog in October 2020 I fully intended to continue blogging, however it is now 2022 and here I am with my second blog post since 2020.
It was in October of 2020 that I decided I needed to change how I was spending my time creating art because up to that point, I was doing a lot of art shows and involved in a lot of arts organizations. It just wasn’t working for me anymore, I needed a break from that life. So I took a long look at what I wanted and focused more on my art I wanted to create, teaching Zentangle and my website.
In March of 2021 I decided to create a trademark using my business logo I previously designed in 2002 when Bolen’s Survival was born. I found that since the beginning of the pandemic, more people were turning to art to fill their time at home. Many people were making art a priority so I added ART FOR SURVIVAL to Bolen’s Survival Inc. logo for the trademark.
I had a vision for my business that included designing art supplies for the artists who were taking my Zentangle classes. Many artists who were taking my classes loved the tiles I was using that I created myself so I thought why not offer those same colourful tiles for sale on my website?
So many ideas came out of my vision to create art supplies specifically paper tiles to use for Zentangle Art! My dream to sell my own line of tiles I call “Escape To Zen” has come true! I have created a full line of different sizes, styles and types of tiles with different names, made from a variety of paper types and uniquely made to suit my Zentangle Art classes I teach. Each tile package comes with a Zentangle Art class included in the price so that artists can start creating right away once they receive their designer tiles in the mail.
I was not interested in duplicating the kind of tiles already on the market. I did a lot of research (that is the reporter in me that has to know everything there is about a subject) so that I could try lots of paper types to find the best paper for my tiles. I colourize my tiles with special methods altering my design methods to suit the shape, size and type of tile I am working on. My tiles are not mass produced because they are created in small boutique batches so that they keep with my vision I had to create a new way for artists to use colour with confidence!
I believe I am the first Certified Zentangle Teacher in Canada to design my own line of tiles! I want to help artists use colour in their art in a new way with my designer tiles. Some of my tiles will be colourized with my unique method of adding colour and other tiles will be cut from specialty paper. All paper and tiles are tested by me to ensure quality in all my products. I specialize in creating 3D Zentangle Art so in the near future some of my Zentangle Art Classes will feature a 3D tile project.
I first launched my packages of 12 colourized Moonscape Tiles (5” round) with “Tangle Mountain Ski Village” Zentangle Art class as a free gift, they sold out quickly! My Heartscape Tiles with “Trust Your Heart Song” Zentangle Art class included launched after Moonscape Tiles sold out. I changed up the package for Heartscape Tiles so that there would be a new mix of tiles included, colourized and some new surprises for a total of 14 tiles. All Zentangle Art classes that are included in “Escape To Zen” tile purchases will be in PDF. I had some artists tell me they do not have reliable Internet so I thought why not create a format for my classes that would be easy to use and be accessible to more artists.
My dream to teach art has come about in a different way than I thought it would. That’s the way life is, just because I had a dream when I was younger to teach art and it didn’t happen the traditional way didn’t mean I ever gave up on my dream. Teaching art has given me so many opportunities as an artist. I have been an artist for over 40 years. All those years of taking classes from other talented artists and learning from everyone has made me really listen to the artists who take my classes. I am always looking for ways to make artists feel confident and proud of their creations. The best part of teaching art is knowing I made a difference in an artist’s life, helping them on their journey just like so many artists helped me on mine.
We all learn from each other, I am still learning! Life long learning is important to me, helping other artists achieve their goals makes me happy and learning from other artists will always be vital to me. My love for Zentangle Art has taken me to so many places! My dream to provide a new product for Zentangle Art enthusiasts has come true! I am grateful for all the support I have received!
Dream big, you never know where your dreams may take you!