Zentangle’s 2026 Mental Health Awareness Month 21-Day Challenge – Chronology

In their now-yearly tradition honoring May’s Mental Health Awareness Month, yesterday Zentangle HQ launched a 21-day “challenge”: the 2026 Bijou Be Well Series.

From Zentangle’s newsletter:

This year, we will be working on a Zentangle Opus tile to create one cohesive work of Zentangle art. We have carefully curated this years Bijou Be Well Bundles to include everything you need for this journey.

Beginning Monday, May 11th through the 31st, we will send a newsletter each day with a tangling prompt, paired with studies, articles and stories exploring the benefits of creativity. We suggest setting aside 10-15 minutes a day for yourself to tangle.

This year, we encourage you to step away from your screen, ground yourself in your space, and create without expectation. We will launch the series with an introductory video to get you organized and informed on the process. Each consecutive day after that, we will release simple instructions and a step-out of a tangle to guide you in filling your Opus tile. 

This article is a chronology containing links to Zentangle’s newsletters, the day’s new video if there is one, and the tangle’s step-by-step illustrations and videos. This page will be updated each day after the newsletter is published.

RESOURCES:

• • Zentangle April 23 newsletter introducing the 2026 Bijou Be Well Series and explaining what to expect
  • Bijou Bundles – available from the Zentangle Store through May 2026 only, while supplies last
  • Zentangle 2026 Bijou Be Well series page
  • Subscribe to Zentangle’s newsletter here

For each day the TanglePatterns chronology below contains:

• the “Day” link goes to the Zentangle newsletter for that day with the topic of discussion
• a link to the tangle of the day’s step-by-step instructions page on TanglePatterns
• each tangle’s page also includes all the available ZHQ videos for that tangle, including the one highlighted in the newsletter
• if the day also has a new video, a link is provided

Be sure to bookmark this page and revisit it around 12 PM Eastern for the daily links.

Day 1 Newsletter – Monday, May 11

Today’s Topic: How Long Does It Really Take to Form a Habit? 

Today’s Tangle: Flux. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

Day 1 video introduces the series as Julie and Molly walk us through the purpose of the series; the materials we might use (this series uses Opus tiles in white, tan, black, and Translucen-Z); (2:03) how to set up an Opus tile with dots, borders, (3:26) and a unique string — the foundation for the 21-day project; how to create strings on each type of tile; (13:01) Flux, the first tangle of the series; and (23:20) a preview of how daily newsletters will deliver prompts, step-outs, mental-health resources, and community stories. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 2 Newsletter – Tuesday, May 12

Today’s Topic: Why creativity is important for success in business

Today’s Tangle: Tipple. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: Today, we share a tangle so simple yet so elegant. Tipple‘s textured appearance is dependent on its beautiful orb shapes tightly nestled together. Explore varying the size of the orbs or maybe aura, and then ink it in to get a darker effect.

Start by nestling some tipple around some of your flux and then letting the orbs layer up in a few places. Remember to stop after a bit, as tipple is so fun to tangle that it is easy to get carried away. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 3 Newsletter – Wednesday, May 13

Today’s Topic: Tangling as Meditation

Today’s Tangle: Crescent Moon. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: Crescent moon screams, iconic Zentangle. It is often one of the first tangles people learn. It teaches aura, offers a little drama, and creates fun, unexpected results. You can plant your crescent moon anywhere on your tile. We recommend finding a space within your string and attaching your initial ladybug shapes right to the string line… then aura away! When you complete your crescent moon, consider adding a little flux or tipple… or both. Then complete the days tangling with a little shading. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 4 Newsletter – Thursday, May 14

Today’s Topic: Zentangle & Adult Well-Being

Today’s Tangle: Florz. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: It is a perfect time for some florz. As a classic grid tangle, florz offers structure with a little touch of softness. Its simple construction leaves plenty of open space to bring balance and drama to a composition. You can explore using very straight lines with your florz or get a little wild and use more wandering, undulating lines. Either way, this tangle can cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. But with open space comes opportunity, perhaps room for some more flux, tipple, or even part of another tangle to emerge. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 5 Newsletter – Friday, May 15

Today’s Topic: Zentangle and Older Adults

Today’s Tangle: Pokeroot. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: Pokeroot is such a versatile tangle. You can draw your berries big or small. It can grow around previously drawn tangles or wander out on its own. It can live happily within a space on your tile, or it can boldly expand beyond the boundaries. Take a look at your tile for a minute and choose a nook or open space to start a stem. Let the pokeroot grow one berry at a time. You can even add some pokeroot in multiple places on the tile. And luckily, pokeroot plays quite nicely with flux and tipple. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 6 Newsletter – Saturday, May 16

Today’s Topic: The Power of Community

Today’s Tangle: Cubine. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: It is time for another grid tangle. Cubine is a classic grid tangle that also offers wonderful drama. Keep your lines straight and evenly spaced, or take a walk on the wild side and make them a bit wonky. Take your time inking in your cubine, and add some flux or tipple if you see fit.

Tangling Tip: Remember that you are working on an Opus tile. Draw your grid a little larger than you would on a smaller tile. Let the tangle occupy some space. You can always tangle on top of the cubine. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 7 Newsletter – Sunday, May 17

Today’s Topic: No Mistakes. Also a blog post here by Molly.

Today’s Tangle: Indy-Rella. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: Indy-rella is one of the few tangles that has only one elemental stroke, and each one of those strokes never touches another. Its gentle c-curves create beautiful shapes that appear to swim across the paper. The shapes can nestle into nooks, and the density of the lines makes it a wonderful texture tangle.

Tangling Tip: If you are feeling comfortable creating your indy-rella, explore adding a little inky weight to one side of each stroke. It is a subtle detail, but it has a great effect. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 8 Newsletter – Monday, May 18

Today’s Topic: Zentangle as Art Therapy

Today’s Tangle: Bales. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: Bales is one of our original grid tangles. Once your initial grid lines are drawn, you can get lost in the process of “tethering” each line segment, allowing your mind to wander. This versatile tangle provides a playground for embellishments through the spaces it creates, which can greatly alter the end result.

Tangling Tip: Try drawing your grid lines with a little curve or unpredictability. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 9 Newsletter – Tuesday, May 19

Today’s Topic: Zentangle and Trauma Therapy – Part I. Also Part I blog post here by CZT Jennifer Marchand.

Today’s Tangle: Keeko. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: Keeko arrived on the tangle scene many years ago. It is a simple texture tangle that always surprises with its simplistic elegance. It is unique in that it is comprised of just one elemental stroke, then aura, and repeat. One, two, three, four… one, two, three, four. This tangle really allows you to let go and let your pen take over. The resulting pattern creates a kind of checkerboard texture. Add shading and WOW!

Tangling Tip: Keeko can be done with straight lines, or you can add a gentle curve to your lines for a more tufted effect. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 10 Newsletter – Wednesday, May 20

Today’s Topic: Zentangle and Trauma Therapy – Part II. Also Part II blog post here by CZT Jennifer Marchand.

Today’s Tangle: Tortuca. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: Tortuca was introduced many moons ago. It is a simple pattern that combines a basic grid filled with printemps spirals and serves as a great beginner tangle. Tortuca can easily occupy almost any space on your tile. You can build this tangle with all of your spirals going in the same direction, or play around and see what happens if you alternate the direction.

Tangling Tip: Experiment with adding bits of weighting to each spiral or filling in the background with ink to add drama and interest. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 11 Newsletter – Thursday, May 21

Today’s Topic: Bijouism: Pause

Today’s Tangle: Shattuck. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: Shattuck comes together by layering perpendicular lines, back and forth, creating a classic, braided pattern. Don’t let this tangle fool you! A quiet focus is recommended to “weave” the lines together. You can construct shattuck in a band or column to create a border, or stack it to fill a string space, resulting in a beautiful woven pattern.

Tangling Tip: Experiment with touches of weighted ink. Once you add shading, the over-and-under illusion really sings! ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 12 Newsletter – Friday, May 22

Today’s Topic: Zentangle as a Lifeline

Today’s Tangle: Ravel. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: Ravel is a delightful, organic tangle that can grow in infinite directions. Start by connecting two dots with a lively line, then add a few tethered auras to create a ravel “pod.” Turn your tile and add another lively line, and so on. The tethering naturally creates rich, inky detail where all the lines come together. Unlike most tangles that use aura, this tangle embraces variation in the aura spaces. You can play around with larger aura spaces, here and there, filling them with orbs or spirals or stripes.

Tangling Tip: You can go back and add some enthatching to accentuate where the lines touch. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 13 Newsletter – Saturday, May 23

Today’s Topic: Anything is Possible, One Stroke at a Time. Also blog post by Julie Willand.

Today’s Tangle: Pepper. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: Inspired by swirly, starlight peppermints, pepper was deconstructed years ago by Maria. It is a wonderful drama tangle that adds both dark and light space to balance a composition. The simple stripes look almost three-dimensional with the addition of inky weighting. Pepper is also a great example of how we can be inspired by something and learn how to transform it into a tangle by breaking it down into simple steps.

Some tanglers think of pepper as a baby aquafleur.

Shading Tip: Shading the outer edge and the inner points that form the organic orb really gives this tangle its POP! ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 14 Newsletter – Sunday, May 24

Today’s Topic: Caring for Caregivers. Also a blog post by Jen Sumner about two CZT caregivers.

Today’s Tangle: Purk. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: There is nothing like an old, faithful tangle to “perk” things up on your tile. Enter, purk! This tangle is one of Maria’s earlier discoveries. Fine aura’d lines create channels for lovely orbs to stack and fill. It is with this tangle that we first learn how to squish a circle into a space. As purk unfolds, you may find yourself wondering if this creation is from under the sea, with its string of pearls and resemblance to shells discovered along the shoreline.

You can use the process of squishing orbs time and again as a filling technique for any empty spaces or reticula on your tile.

Tangling Tip: After placing your initial orb, try layering the subsequent orbs “behind” the first one. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 15 Newsletter – Monday, May 25

Today’s Topic: The Zentangle Method and Recovery. Also a blog post from members of the community.

Today’s Tangle: Cadent. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: Crazy cadent was created as a tangleation of our treasured tangle cadent. Rather than planting our anchor orbs in an organized grid, we take each stroke, one at a time, and connect them, dancing across our tile. Using the technique of take-off-and-land, we link two orbs together with an “S” shaped line. The result is expressive and unpredictable: 3-sided shapes to leave “as is” or fill with a fragment.

Even though this tangle grows in a “crazy” way, there is something about the graceful chaos that is so elegant. Though this may be your first foray into this tangleation, we have a feeling it won’t be your last!

Tangling Tip: To get the full effect, experiment with altering the size of your orbs and stretching the distance between them. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 16 Newsletter – Tuesday, May 26

Today’s Topic: The Zentangle Method and Veterans. Also blog post by CZT Melanie Moore about the Warrior Arts program.

Today’s Tangle: Marasu. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: Marasu, the original spiral reticula, was playfully named after Maria’s three sisters. The four little girls used to weave creations that spiraled out of old thread spools. The addition of thick and thin inky stripes make this iconic tangle a dream to shade and highlight. Marasu is a great dramatic tangle to add to any composition, often inviting other tangles to grow out of its trumpeting coils.

Fun fact: Marasu is also the name of one of our elf characters who join us for the annual 12 Days of Zentangle.

Shading Tip: After adding generous graphite to the edges of your spiral, try using a white chalk pencil to highlight the middle of the spiral canal. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 17 Newsletter – Wednesday, May 27

Today’s Topic: A Conversation with the Reluctant Therapist. An NPR (National Public Radio) podcast with Rick and Maria.

Today’s Tangle: Munchin. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: Munchin is a curious tangle deconstructed by Molly years ago. One day, as she was trying to learn the tangle paradox, something new and exciting emerged. Though her lines did not evolve the way she had initially intended, the “mistake” gave space for the discovery of a new pattern. Munchin begins with a spattering of dots that are then connected with delicate lines. These lines grow and merge in perpendicular ways, one stroke at a time.

Munchin is beautiful on its own but can also be embellished with orbs and dots.

Tangling Tip: As you connect point to line, try adding a little weighted ink where the lines meet. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 18 Newsletter – Thursday, May 28

Today’s Topic: Gratitude. Also blog post by Moly Hollibaugh.

Today’s Tangle: Hurry. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: It is amazing how simple parallel lines, tangled together, can create intricate weaving patterns. The tangle hurry is just that. You start with 2 (or 3!) parallel lines, turn your tile, draw behind, aura, and repeat! The results are complex and resemble a classic “rush” chair seat. Rather than calling the tangle rush, we decided to name it hurry! That said, take your time as you tangle along and enjoy the rhythmic interlacing of your lines.

Shading Tip: Add some bits of graphite to areas where the lines come together. When blended, it further emphasizes the over-and-under effect. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 19 Newsletter – Friday, May 29

Today’s Topic: Creativity and Youthfulness. Article about Global Brain Health Institute study on relationship between creativity and brain “age”.

Today’s Tangle: Rixty. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: It was a few moons ago when Maria created this fanciful tangle as a gift for Rick’s sixtieth birthday. What a fun celebration! Think of rixty as pokeroot‘s adventurous cousin. Borrowing from the same stem and growth pattern, rixty takes a new path with added drama and a 3-sided shape. Watch rixty wander organically around your tile, along a string line, in clusters, or in the round.

Tangling Tip: Rixty naturally plays well with pokeroot and pokeleaf. Consider planting a garden of all three tangled up. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 20 Newsletter – Saturday, May 30

Today’s Topic: The Zen in the Tangle. Also blog post by CZT Miriam Zimms.

Today’s Tangle: Paradox. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: Paradox is one of Rick’s most favorite and iconic tangles. The magical thing about this tangle is that it has only one elemental stroke: traditionally, a straight line. As you repeat that straight line in paradox, it “paradoxically” results in a beautiful spiral. Even when you are familiar with how it comes together, the resulting curved-line effect is a sweet surprise.

Additionally, when paradox elements share a common side, something intriguing occurs… a new shape or pattern appears that transcends the original shapes. We call these new shapes “meta-shapes” or “meta-patterns.” You can also explore this tangle by beginning with squares, rectangles, pentagons, etc. Any shape with straight sides will do.

Don’t forget to turn your tile!

Shading Tip: Add graphite to the curved lines that emerge to further emphasize the effect. ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

Day 21 Newsletter – Sunday, May 31

Today’s Topic: Series Wrap-Up Video.

Today’s Tangle: Arukas. Page includes all the available ZHQ instructional videos featuring this tangle.

From the newsletter: In true Zentangle fashion, the tangle arukas evolves unpredictably. Starting with a simple orb, or other shape that strikes your fancy, add radiating parallel lines. From there, you begin a beautiful rhythm: aura the orb, aura the lines, rotate your tile, and repeat. This layering of strokes gradually fills a space of your choosing, ultimately revealing curious details. This tangle was discovered by Molly during a particularly long phone call with her treasured mentor, Peter O. He worked for many years at Sakura of America, and playfully, Sakura spelled backwards is arukas!

Tangle Tip: You can also try arukas with multiple orbs to start. First, connect the orbs with parallel lines, then start your auras, one “sprocket” shape at a time.

Once you have added arukas to your tile, join Molly and Julie in the 2026 Bijou Be Well wrap-up video. First, Molly will guide you through adding some love to your Opus tile, and then she and Julie will take a look at the Opus tiles created here at Zentangle HQ! ~ Read more at the newsletter link above.

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