Tangle with SuZen - Creating moments of Calm

when life seems too busy.

Hello dear friends,

We are living in an uncertain world, so much upheaval and trauma and pain in the news. We each live with our own difficulties and stresses which often we carry without anyone being aware. It can be hard to keep ourselves resilient and our well being can suffer. There are times when we need to stop and think how we can bring a moment of calm into our lives. I left my corporate job back in October 2026 and my life feels so much calmer. I know how lucky I am to be able to do this, and not everyone can, but we can all find moments of calm within our day.

I may be close to retirement age, but I am not ready to stop working, so I trained with Zentangle inc and I am now a Certified Zentangle teacher, who can teach the 8 step Zentangle method; so now I have set up my own business, Tangle with SuZen, to do what I love, and in that I have actually found my creative soul. It had been there all along and just waiting for me to listen to it and take action.

So here we are at the end of January and I don’t quite know where this month has gone and its been a busy month.

This month saw the launch of my new website Tangle with SuZen, and I have to say a big thank you to my amazing daughter who has created this for me. I am beyond proud, as it’s not her main job! We worked hard to get it just right, I’d love to know what you think, here is the link www.tanglewithsuzen.co.uk, do take a look around it and see what we have on offer. 

I know it can be a bit intimidating when you are considering starting a new hobby or need something to help you relax after a busy day, to overcome stresses you may be facing, but at Tangle with Suzen, our philosophy is one of care, connection and calm all put together in accessible mindful creative art sessions for even those people who think they are not artistic or creative, or creatives who just need to slow down.

I,ve created an online Introduction to Zentangle course. You can find out about Zentangle, the philosophy, the benefits, the Zentangle method, and learn some basic tangles and techniques as a starting point, this is available on my website.

I also created a Taste of tangling online session for a charity event and worked alongside 21 other facilitators to participate in a 3 day event supporting wellbeing for women, it was a beautiful gathering of like minded individuals supporting each other.

The event, winter online Women only wellness, WOWOW gathering ran from 16-18 January. I had 3 sessions of a taste of tangling. It was a super event with facilitators sharing different wellbeing sessions, masterclasses, wellness experience such ans meditations and sound baths and creative workshops. The WOWOW gathering was in aid of two UK women’s charity with funds from the tickets for the event going to them.  It was good to connect with so many wonderful women, in ways that enhanced self care. If you missed it, you can still get the WOWOW on replay for a year ( until Jan 2027). So being able to replay sessions and wellbeing experiences, do consider buying a ticket, imaging being able to enjoy them over and over for a nearly a whole year, I particularly enjoyed the Tai chi Qigong, which I aim to try and continue!

❣️If you want WOWOW - On Replay For A Year❣️this is the link https://wowow.heysummit.com/?sc=oHpbwTdU&ac=hiKpx9iQ, which gives you all the information of the facilitators and their sessions and where you can buy a ticket. I must mention that I am an affiliate, but have made the decision to donate all affiliate earnings back to the charities, as I want to support as much as possible.

What else happened this month, well I fell foul to a scam, I ordered a lovely knitted jumper from a social media advert, only to receive the most tacky polyester top with a printed image on it, something I wouldn’t have paid a fiver for let alone being charge £45 for the pleasure!!. I can’t believe I ‘ check reviews first, well Lesson learnt!! It saddens me that, some people feel the need to be deceitful and dupe others into giving up their hard earned money. I could go on….. but I think the best thing to do is to stop and think. I must admit, I did need to sit and do some tangling to get over my frustrations- its amazing how getting into the flow of creating something using repetitive strokes can take you away from the negativity of situations and help reduce anxiety, bring a sense of calm and a new perspective, with each stroke of the pen. So I definitely live the Zentangle method and would love to share it with you.

So what do the months ahead hold for me and Tangle with SuZen?

Well on a personal note, we are moving house in the next couple of months and we relocating to Essex, to be closer to family. This is exciting as we wait for our little house to be built and all that comes with that, the planning and the mood boards for room colours and interior design. I have got my dream of living near to the sea, I have wanted this for sooooo long and now the universe has opened up the pathway for me. My heart is full!

So I will be needing a new studio and as we are down sizing, I feel a little garden studio coming soon. The garden is quite big, so that is a bonus, although I am no gardener really, I have my ideas of how I want it to look already in my minds eye, so planning how I want the garden and studio room to be is quite high on my agenda. I need to be able to record video tutorials and run live on line sessions and tangle circle get togethers. So it has to be big enough to house all my arty supplies, have space to create, plus I need a quite writing corner and plenty of book shelves and of course a comfy sofa. My husband is exasperated by me at the moment though, when we had house viewing I decided to declutter my little office/ sanctuary space and I boxed up the majority of my books into big plastic crates, but now…. The shelves are being filled again with new books to be read and perused, can anyone else relate? I saw a quote the other day, which made me smile and one I can certainly relate to.

“Think not of the books you’ve bought as a ‘to be read’ pile. Instead, think of your bookcase as a wine cellar. You collect books to be read at the right time, the right place, and the right mood.”

― Luc van Donkersgoed

Dont you just love that!! I know I am going to need a fairly big studio to have all that I want in it but that’s the exciting bit writing out the wish list.

So, any suggestions of reputable companies ( reliable and good value) who do garden studios, I’d love to know your experiences.

In the tangle with SuZen studio right now ( aka little office, kitchen table, lounge etc, I am planning some more advanced course for tangling and also weekly sessions for the circle. I am getting to grips with technology for editing and I am hoping to do some live sessions too. So there is not a lot to share right now, but I saw an IG post earlier which piqued my interest, it was of the rune Fehu, which symbolises prosperity ( wealth and health) and I decided to tangle it with the Zentangle tangle of the year - tripoli. So I share this with you too, in the hope it bring some of the same your way too.

I now can see me creating a little set of these too, just for the simple pleasure. I haven’t much knowledge of runes, but always fancied having some as I love the idea of being inspired by what can turn up and I am a tactile person, so handling them will be so yummy.

I do like using oracle cards and this year I’ve done a spread for the year. It was very insightful and helps me think about things in a different way. As I develop my creativity, I am finding that spiritual growth ( and I am not talking religion) is something that comes through, being in nature, at one with the elements and taking time to listen to those quite whispers of our soul, that we often miss when busy and chasing our tail. I am grateful for having the time now to listen more, to understand and really relax into who I am meant to be and not what titles I’ve been given throughout my life. This is also helpful, as I want to expand my writing and poetry. It has has suffered a little with everything else that’s going on and perhaps I haven’t made space for it; but again I see lots of new inspiration coming as we settle into our new home and community and I am sure it will bring out new ideas. I am still in the process of collating my poetry and I am working on a collaboration right now, so watch this space too. I think I’ve rambled on far too much, and that’s probably enough from me for now. I hope that this has given you a little insight into my world, and here’s to more news in the coming months.

If you have read this far, I thank you, I hope too that you feel inspired to grab a pen and tangle too!!

With gratitude

Sue

Until next time……