Japanese Calligraphy

This past week we have been blessed with the visit of Yoshiaki.  My son 

is in a Japanese Exchange Program.  Matthew stayed with Yoshiaki's family near Osaka last summer, and now Yoshiaki is staying with us.  In honor of Yoshiaki, I thought I'd share a little shodo or Japanese calligraphy with you today.

I hope you are able to view this video Matthew took last summer while attending Yoshiaki's school, Seikyo Gakuen.  Matthew and the American students were treated to shodo instruction. Here is the shodo sensei, Mrs. Shiono, demonstrating proper form and the ductus or stroke sequence for the kanji depicting "love."

                                     

Matthew's chaperon was very kind to bring me Mrs. Shiono's practice sheets. Yay! 

Love:

Kindness:

Friendship:

Shodo - an incredible art form!  I find the process very interesting and inspiring.

Hee Haw

I was in charge of table decorations for a country and western themed event held this past weekend.  Here's a peek at what I dreamed up. The calligraphy was done with a brush marker. There was plenty of square dancing (and line dancing) - I can barely walk today!  Sad, it's true.  I think everyone had a great time, even though I'm pretty sure most of us hadn't been square dancing since junior high P.E. class.

I added a gingham ribbon and bow to a food can with the label stripped off for the vases.  I special ordered the daisy style mums from Costco for cheap.  The hats and bandannas are from local Kipp Brothers, but they ship anywhere.  Giddy up!

Calligraphy and Woodworking

Several weeks ago my sixteen year old son asked if I would letter his initials for him.  He wanted a specific size and style.  He was designing a chess board and case in his Manufacturing Processes class at school.   His class was learning veneer and inlay techniques, and he wanted to include his initials on the bottom of the case.  I thought he might abandon the idea once he got started.  It is hard enough for me just to cut curved letter forms out of heavy paper let alone wood, but he did it. Here is his result:

I think he did a great job.  He stayed after school many days to work on his design.  He is fortunate to attend a public school that has a varied curriculum.  The art and design departments are extensive, and it is difficult to choose from all the great courses offered.

I think Matt has been bitten by the handcrafted bug!  He took two years of ceramics and loved it.  Now in this class, he is learning woodworking and metalcraft. He was so excited to show us his work and talk about the different woods and tools he used.  His case is now being displayed in the Principal's office.

I am on the hunt to find some chess pieces to match his board for his birthday next month.  His class has moved on to learning about assembly line construction by designing and creating Adirondack chairs!

Drafting and Calligraphy in Full Circle

My dad gifted me his old drafting set. (Let's just say he can take a hint...)

He used it during his undergrad days at Purdue University and then as a Professional Engineer. I've played with one of the ruling pens before just to try some expressive calligraphy, but this week I've been using the compasses for some wedding calligraphy pieces.  As I was working, I remembered that in elementary school I could never remember which was the compass and which was the protractor. 

Here is a peek at one of the calligraphy pieces on which I'm working.  I say it's wedding work, but I think the text would be applicable to many relationships not just marriage.  I have put the "love is" verses of 1 Corinthians 13 in my own words and am lettering the text on a round of watercolor paper.  I'm going in circles, but enjoying every minute of it.

Here is a peek at another piece on which I am working.  Lately, I have received many requests regarding Quaker style marriage certificates.  For this type of certificate, the guests at the wedding sign the certificate as witnesses and supporters to the union.  I think it's a beautiful tradition. I decided I needed to have a sample on hand, so I am using my husband's and my wedding information for the text.  I am going to do the border with off-hand flourishing.

It was wonderful to use my dad's compass for the border line and then to letter his name on the certificate.  It was a coming "full circle" kind of moment for me!

Calligraphy and Bookmaking - Patience Required

I took a bookbinding workshop with Bonnie Stahlecker a few weeks ago.  We made four different structures in less than 8 hours.  I love it when I leave a workshop with finished pieces. Of course it helped considerably that Bonnie had done most of the measuring and cutting before class. I'd love to have a studio elf whose sole purpose was to get all my supplies ready for me. Unfortunately, I do not have a studio elf.  I had hoped to start and finish 3 books this past week for a calligraphy book exchange in which I'm participating, but I didn't even get close to finished.  You can see what will eventually be my covers and text block.  It is frustrating for me, because I really want to jump ahead and bind the book.  I'm restraining myself, because I need to do all the lettering first.  More patience please!!