The method he used is called Zentangle. The Zentangle Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It is a combination of dots, lines, simple curves, S-curves and orbs. The best part of this method is that anyone, at any skill level can create beautiful pictures.

The Zentangle Method website goes into further detail  and shows a variety of zentangles to get started;  it can very relaxing to ‘doodle’ with this art form.

Popular today are the adult coloring books for relaxing, learn how to create Zentangle art via their founders Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas to relax while creating calming patterns and shapes instead of just coloring them in.

When starting a line project like this, students draw an organic line on the paper. The organic design line that is left on the paper has enclosed areas that can be filling in with any sort of line or repetitive design. For example, fill and enclosed area with lines that converge in the center.

Continue this process with different zentangles until the entire page is filled. Mars did a great job in using this technique. I asked the second-year art students to put a picture in their design and he completed his art work beautifully.

As Mars continues creating art and drawings, he has the potential to work in the art  and/or design field creating pretty much anything he can image. He is very talented and pays attention to the fine details.

Design, relaxation and art merge via line art by Mars Hou

At the beginning of the art class, the teacher gave us a blank sheet of paper. She said that let us first sculpt a long line with a pencil on this white paper, and then add a regular and repeated pattern according to the position of the long line.

Art teacher Vickey Belmont gave us some examples of graphics, and we fell into thinking. My friends came to me to seek my opinion, I shared some ways with them. Unintentionally, I saw a picture of a squirrel the week before. On our campus, I often see little squirrels crawling on trees. They are lovely.

I picked up the paper I drew a line and looked at the picture of the squirrel. I instantly decided my work. I used squirrels for comparison and then slowly restored them to squirrels with repeated patterns.

The squirrel holding pine cones in the work represents nature, and the surrounding shape represents the grass and the leaves. I like small animals, cute animals can calm my irritability.

Many times our life is like Tetris, and every piece of graphics is a trivial matter in life. If you are irritated and arbitrarily fiddling, your things will only be piled up and cannot be completed.

And I suggest that you can go out and feel the nature, I believe that you can calm down, and finally calmly and conscientiously sort out the cumbersome things and complete the task faster.

For previous art posts, read Feature art No. 2, 2019-20 — Visual art sketchbooks and Feature art No. 1, 2019-20 — Art elements. Read Mars Hou’s personal journey in his latest article: COLUMN: International student strives to improve English skills, communication.

For some recent Feather articles, read BREAKING: Fall concert introduces chamber choir, new music, Oct. 21 and Ezekiel Fuller displays work ethic through on campus, off campus activities.