deewhytee

Greetings!

I'm a user experience designer living in San Francisco, CA. A UX designer works to make websites and apps easier to use, not just pretty, so it involves both left brain and right brain, technical and artistic skills. I'm here to swap Zentangle tiles, and what draws me toward Zentangle is that same overlap between a defined catalog of patterns and the expertise to use them, and the inspiration to put patterns together in different and inventive ways every time you start a new tile. You never know how it will turn out. I really like the "no mistakes" and forgiving philosophy since there is so much pressure in normal daily life to get things right.

I've been tangling since 2018 when a coworker asked if a doodle I made during a meeting was a Zentangle. I looked it up and have been hooked ever since. I sometimes have long periods when I drop off due to work or projects, and I usually don't complete the long challenges like 100 Day Project because I can't predict when I'll have time to tangle, but my heart is always in it.

I work primarily in black and white on 3.5 or 4 inch white tiles—classic Zentangle, mostly because I'm afraid of getting paralyzed by too many choices if I start adding color or other sizes. There's so much you can do with these basics that I haven't felt a big need to add more variables (or spend more money, haha). I find it to be a great size to be achievable. For me, bigger projects often get left undone, but 3.5-4" feel bite sized and like you're not committing too much when there's a lot going on. I also have a photo album with 4 inch inserts and like being able to store them all together in one place or I will lose them in my cluttered house!

When I'm not working or drawing Zentangles, I am very involved in volunteering for the Parent Teacher Association as my son's school, as I believe education and the early years are key to making the world a better place by providing a better environment to raise better people. I've helped with all kinds of tasks from communications to fundraising to event planning to accounting, but I'm in my happy place designing for social media posts, wielding kick-butt spreadsheet skills, and bringing order to chaotic systems so we can do more with less, since every nonprofit can never have enough volunteers.

I might also be watching Star Trek, laughing at stand-up comedy, or listening to music—a lot of post-rock in recent years.

If I had infinite money and didn't have to work, I'd love to craft all day, help nonprofits with tech needs and design, and get back into playing violin and guitar in bands.