The Story behind the foundation

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On Tuesday, September 15, 2015, Judy called the Zentangle office to speak with Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. Judy was a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT) who taught the Zentangle Method of drawing. In 2003, Rick and Maria developed the Zentangle Method, an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. 

After Judy had used their method of drawing as a life-line through the suffering and depression of her cancer treatments, she attended CZT training so she could teach others the method which had helped her so much. Judy detailed how the Zentangle Method had helped her and how it helped so many of her students. She told us about all the friends she made in the Zentangle community and how she would travel two hours one way each month to attend a Zentangle drawing club with her new friends. Learning and teaching the Zentangle Method had been such an important and integral part of her life and her healing and she wanted to help those less fortunate to be able to attend CZT training. 

“Do you have an organization that can receive my donation?” she asked.

“We will,” Rick and Maria answered. 

That afternoon they called their attorney to begin establishing this organization, The Zentangle Foundation.

Judy’s gratitude for and appreciation of the benefits of the Zentangle Method began the process that led to this foundation. Our mission is to support community outreach to help share the Zentangle Method, support research studies to validate and quantify the benefits of the method,  and to support people in becoming certified Zentangle teachers. 

We are truly grateful and honored by Judy’s extremely generous donation that gave us the foundation to build upon.