Relax and draw M
anisha Lee started teaching the Zentangle style of drawing with HKFYG’s Living Life Academy (LLA) in around 2015. It’s an easy-to-learn, relaxing way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns but it has unexpected benefits too.
Although the style requires a few basic skills, the patterns it makes can be quite diverse and complicated. “Only the creator of the drawing can be its judge. The criteria are not really aesthetic but they are very personal: your Zentangle drawings should help you to feel calm and give you relief from stress.” Manisha discovered the Zentangle style when a close relative of hers died and she needed an outlet for her grief. “Because I had a background in art and psychology, I understood that this could help me express how I felt.”
an insomniac and he was able to sleep after the second class.” She would like to teach drawing in other media as well, pastels for example. Combined with further studies in art, she thinks this could be merged into mindfulness. “One day, I would like to try watercolours or calligraphy as well.”
Only the creator of the drawing can be its judge.
Zentangle convinced her of the benefits of positive thinking. “There is no clear line between black and white, good and bad. Many people like to judge everything but I think that’s narrow-minded. There are no standards except the ones that you, the creator, sets.” Many of Manisha’s students at LLA are facing problems when they sign up for classes. “If they develop a daily task and keep practicing, they usually find it provides emotional support and people who are psychologically troubled in particular can find a way to relax, suffer less and discover self-healing. One of my students was
Manisha seeks inspiration from other countries and cultures, Malaysia and Taiwan, for example. “The world is changing and we individuals have to keep studying to keep up with change and improve on what we know.” It is also good to learn something that doesn’t relate to your work and the LLA courses and opportunities fill that need. “Look at me. I did surveying at university and then did a lot of other new courses. Regardless of the cost of such courses their benefit is far greater than what you actually learn. The important outcome is that they broaden my mind.”
More details Living Life Academy lla.hkfyg.hk
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