Sometime during the pandemic, a friend sent me some beautiful artwork she had been creating. It was abstract, yet not; Escher-like, but something different; complex but soothing; and like nothing I’d ever seen before. My friend explained she’d created it using something called the Zentangle Method.
What is the Zentangle Method?
Basically, it’s a structured process of meditative drawing that encourages people to tap into their inner creativity. It was created by partners in life Maria Thomas (an artist) and Rick Roberts (who meditates). They drew on elements of her illustration and calligraphy work to create a process anyone can follow to make eye-catching artwork—all while fostering that elusive state that creative types call “flow.” Here’s how Rick and Maria explain it.
I was so intrigued. In particular, having spent most of my life thinking I have zero artistic talent whatsoever, I was drawn to the Zentangle Method’s promise that anyone could do it.
So when I saw that Stone Manor Studios in Newboro was offering back-to-back introductory Zentangle workshops, I eagerly signed up.
Why Stone Manor Studios?
I’d met Stone Manor Studios’ owner Kim Lulashnyk a few years ago, when I was travelling around Eastern Ontario researching my book Ottawa Road Trips: Your Weekend Getaway Guide. She’d given me a tour of the studio, located in a 19th-century former carriage house backing onto woods in the Rideau Lakes village of Newboro. Next door is her gorgeous stone home, which gives the studio its name.
Kim’s background is in pottery. When she and her husband purchased Stone Manor in 2021, her first inclination was to set up a pottery studio. However, she soon realized that she wanted to offer classes in a wider range of media.
Today, she teaches some classes herself, while others are led by guest instructors. The schedule includes classes at introductory, intermediate and advanced levels. And she changes the mix of topics regularly. “You have to keep things fresh,” she explains.
Ever since seeing the studio, I’d wanted to take a workshop there. Since I was already interested in Zentangling, these classes seemed like the ideal opportunity.
A side trip for breakfast
If you’ve been following this website for any length of time, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that I was the last student to arrive for the morning session, which began at 9am.
It wasn’t because I hadn’t left home on time. In fact, I left Ottawa at 6:45am, and the drive to Newboro takes about an hour and a half, largely along pretty rural roads.
However, I wanted to make a side trip en route (of course). The Bastard Coffee House in nearby Delta had good reviews, and I figured I could grab some breakfast and still get to Stone Manor with oodles of time to spare.
But when I arrived in Delta, I realized that the lighting was perfect to take a few new photos of the Old Stone Mill, a national historic site.
And then I got chatting with the cook at the Bastard Coffee House as she rang up my order and disappeared back into the kitchen to warm up the grill. (I was the first hot-food customer of the morning.)
Of course, I also had to take some pictures of the very Instagrammable coffee shop. It’s housed inside the Jubilee Block, a row of shops built to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
And, because I know social media loves a food photo, I had to snap a few pictures of my breakfast sandwich for posterity. By the way, this sandwich was a steal. The basic sandwich—a fried egg, cheddar and bacon on an English muffin—was cooked to order and cost a princely $5. I glammed it up with pesto, a slice of tomato and caramelized onions, which brought the price to a still-reasonable $6.50. I enjoyed it with a big cup of Earl Grey tea ($3.25) and felt I’d received very good value for money.
But … I was also running late.
Keeping to the speed limit but also keeping an eye on the clock, I zipped out of Delta and off to Newboro. I pulled into a parking spot down the street from Stone Manor just in the nick of time. (Do not follow my example. Leave yourself enough time to enjoy the drive and to get to class with at least a few minutes to spare.)
I bolted up the stairs, into the studio and into the last empty chair.
My morning of Zentangling at Stone Manor Studios
Given that this class was taking place on a weekday morning, I wasn’t surprised to discover that my fellow students were mainly retired or semi-retired people. Interestingly, we were all women.
What did surprise me was the large geographic region from which they hailed. Like me, some had driven to Newboro that morning from Ottawa. One came from north of Perth.
Studio owner Kim says her clients come from a wide swath of Ontario and Quebec. It isn’t unheard-of for a group to make the trip from Toronto for an artsy rural getaway. (Stone Manor Studios offers lots of weekend classes, including multi-day retreats.) “I’m blown away by where people come from,” she says.
In all, 10 of us were gathered at tables for two set in a semi-circle. I sat with Kim, who was taking the class along with us, as Zentangle was a new technique for her as well. We all faced the front of the sunny studio, where certified Zentangle teacher (and former high school teacher) Melissa Fregonese had set up her materials.
On each of our tables were small fabric bags of supplies, as well as squares of paper that we would learn to call “tiles.”
Melissa’s introduction put my mind at ease. First, she asked if any of us had ever believed that we couldn’t even draw stick people.
I was among the sheepish people who raised my hand.
Don’t worry, she encouraged us. “There are no mistakes in Zentangle.” That was exactly what I needed to hear.
Soon, we began our adventures. I won’t go into all the details, as that might discourage you from taking the class. And you really should take the class, if you’re interested, as Melissa will walk you through each step in the kindest way possible.
In a nutshell, you divide the small paper tile into free-form sections with a pencil (sometimes working within a stencilled outline), then fill in each section with a different “tangle.” A tangle is just a shape or a pattern that you repeat over and over until the entire small space is filled.
It sounds easy, but I really benefitted from Melissa’s clear guidance. Her work was projected on a big screen on the wall above her head, so we could easily follow along.
In what seemed like five minutes but was really almost 90, it was time for a mid-morning break. And that’s when the morning got even more artistic.
Not your average coffee break
We headed down the stairs from the studio and along a short path to Kim’s home, where a door led into a gorgeous sunroom. Once we were settled in chairs, Kim disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared with trays loaded with antique teacups, small glasses and gold-rimmed goblets. The teacups were filled with yogurt and fresh fruit, the glasses with granola, and the goblets with iced green tea.
Kim made all of this lovely hospitality look effortless, but I knew it involved a lot of thought and care behind the scenes. “I’ve done a lot of reading and research into the art of gathering,” she says. “It adds to the whole experience.”
After our break, we headed back to the studio to finish our Zentangles. Here’s how one of mine turned out.
I was astonished at what I’d been able to produce with Melissa’s help. Truly, I’m so bad at art that once, while playing Pictionary with my family, my attempt at drawing a bunny elicited the guess “coyote?” So having made something that looked like more than scribbling was a big win for me.
Lunch, then more Zentangling
The morning class wrapped around noon, and most of the students headed out. Four of us had signed up for a second Zentangle session in the afternoon, where we’d learn some additional techniques.
Those of us who were staying for the second class were treated to a delicious lunch of flatbreads, salad and homemade cake in the dining room of Kim’s 19th-century home.
Kim says she and her husband feel they are stewards of the Victorian structure, with the task of preserving its history for future generations of Newboro residents to enjoy.
After lunch, we enjoyed another three-hour class, where we made new Zentangles using a butterfly stencil and learned more about shading.
One of the most fascinating moments of the day happened when Melissa asked everyone to put their Zentangles side by side on an easel. Even though we had all been following the same instructions, each finished artwork was quite different, and all were eye catching.
Overall, it was a great day, partly because it gave me the chance to get away from my computer.
Kim’s goal for the studio is to inspire everyone—even the art challenged, like me. Here’s how she explains her vision for her students: “I want to elevate your ability to create, to rest, to see that you can not only create things with your own hands, but you can also leave relaxed and enriched.”
Mission accomplished. I’ve already signed up for another Zentangling class at Stone Manor in August.
If you go to Stone Manor
Stone Manor Studios is located at 11 New Street in Newboro. Classes are offered in a wide range of artistic disciplines, including painting, weaving, pottery and, yes, Zentangling. They vary in length from several hours to multi-day retreats.
The studio is about 90 minutes southwest of Parliament Hill, give or take. Here’s a map.
If you’re taking a multi-day class or if you just want to build a relaxing getaway around your workshop, you’ll need a place to stay. A bit surprisingly for a village of its size, Newboro has lots of accommodation options, including B&Bs, cottages and fishing lodges. Kim has a list of Newboro accommodations on the Stone Manor website.
If you’re looking for additional choices, you can use the map below. (Disclosure: If you book accommodations using the map below, I’ll receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my website!)
For more information on things to see and do near Newboro, you can check my guide to Westport and Rideau Lakes Township (which I’m in the process of updating) or go to the 1000 Islands Rideau Canal Waterways tourism website.
As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.
