moebius: strips, strings, syndrome

Back in September, in Providence, at CZT training, Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas spent some time discussing different applications for Zentangle. I was especially intrigued by one idea: using Zentangle as a brainstorming tool for business people.

I came home to Waukesha, and my job in Milwaukee where I am one of the creative people working in the midst of bottom-line, numbers-oriented business people. Our CEO used to be the VP of Finance. I imagine getting the bunch on the board to tangle on a topic and come up with new ideas and understandings. Then I chuckle and shake my head.

How, I thought, can Zentangle, which tends to be very much in the now for me, be used to focus on one idea? The answer came with this week’s diva challenge from lovely Laura Harms.

Every week, Laura shares a bit of her life with us in addition to a tangle prompt. We’ve come to know her life with B-rad, her husband, Chewie, her older son, and Artoo, the youngest, who has Moebius Syndrome. It’s a rare congenital nerve disorder. The tangle challenge this week is to use a string made from the Moebius Syndrome Foundation’s logo (I abstracted it a bit).

I found that my brain didn’t do its usual wandering-all-over as I tangled. I didn’t stray far from thoughts related to the symbol, and the syndrome.

I’m an occasional knitter, so I thought of patterns related to the moebius strip. I have always liked the idea of that one twist in a loop causing all of the surfaces to be continual.

Then I thought of the challenges of a young family, and how you make your way through, day to day. Artoo got his life-challenge when he was born, and has a loving family to help him through.

When I was done tangling and shading, I felt I could empathize more with people who face big challenges. I admire how they take everything in stride. I also began to understand how focusing on a symbol or an idea can help generate new thinking.