Seeking lessons from within one’s interior

    

Helen Pinto’s response to a post by Smita Shah Shetty’s on Facebook brought to mind thoughts on interiority. It may seem like an extrapolation, but some consideration to my thoughts will be appreciated.

Smita Shetty posted the following:

I asked myself how to handle life. 

My room gave me the perfect answer.

Roof said: Aim high.

Fan: Be cool.

Clock: Value time.

Calendar: Be up to date.

Wallet: Save now for future.

Mirror: Observe yourself.

Wall: Share other's load.

Window: Expand the vision.

Floor: Always be down to earth..

Have A Good Day.....

The directness and sincerity of Helen Pinto’s response to Smita Shah Shetty: Amazing is it not - lessons can be learnt so close to home, only if we care to…, struck me as a quality utterly lacking in many of us today. This ability in a response to greet, touch, to celebrate the other at the same time, from wherever we may be—by giving words consideration, seeing the meaning in them is a waning quality. 

Over the years I have seen too many of my compatriots as being less in personhood and more individualistic; where anything uttered from the opposite mouth does not matter and is regarded as inconsequential. Often we but cannot see that it is the simpler conduits that show us where within wholeness we belong. Reason gives meaning to reality, and the power to understand it, alongside the experiences we encounter and attempt to process. 

Only someone who is silent is listening. And only the invisible is transparent. To be sure, a deeper silence than mere abstention from speech and utterance is required. There is also interior speech which must also become mute, so things might find their proper utterance (Pieper, 1991).

Within a more secular frame of seeing: The ability to make analogies is in a way a gift; which of course can be learnt. However, applying any understanding, and maintaining the focus and fortitude to do so—nay, the resolve, is a whole other struggle. It is as though one has little choice but to shape a personal pedagogy (since we tend to slip and we do often slip); one that addresses the need to ceaselessly look within or glean meaning from within. That awareness changes how we see the outside, learn from the surrounds, and mesh ourselves with those thoughts and energies. 

____________________________________________________________

Pieper, Josef. 1991. A Brief Reader on the Virtues of the Human Heart. San Francisco: Ignatius.

images: In the Distance of Affection; calligraphy: Seikou Kaneko

Shodoka Michiko Imai: Embrace your treasure/s

When I learnt via FB that the Shodoka, Michiko Imai would have a demonstration at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston—my mind was made up to go to Boston. In the West, there are few opportunities to be in the presence of persons practicing any form ardently and persuasively—breathing it, so to speak. Experience teaches us what is and what is not. Having observed her manner in the virtual world that is Facebook, and having had the opportunity to appreciate her works, there was no hesitation in making a decision: Tat tvam asi (Sanskrit) That thou art.

We had planned to get there early from New York on the 6:50 am bus, and stay the length of the demonstration. I along with Noriko Miyawaki were there for only one reason—to see, meet and greet Shodoka Michiko Imai. Thats still one reason! Unfortunately, our bus was very late (not one but two breakdowns on Megabus). 

 

But we were glad to get to see her brush three pieces: Sei Shonagon’s, Makura no soshi 枕草子 (Pillow book)/the winter section, in Kana; the charcater Ai 愛 (Love) in Gyosho (semi-cursive); and Ryu 辰(dragon), which is in the zodiac calendar 干支 (Kanshi/Eto) in Sosho (cursive). In the Pillow book piece, Michiko brought out/made extant the sound contained in the section relating to snow very admirably. Shodo has many components, and its Ways may be paralleled with being and existence itself. This becomes evident when one learns to see what a shodoka’s unique ability, and sensibility to manifest consciousness through line, with its two principal attendants—nijimi 滲み (blotting, blurring…) and kasure 掠れ (brush traces) among other inflections, can convey to a character, a line, and certainly to a body of text. In that sense, and solely in my opinion, a Shodoka and the way of Shodo is closer to Iaido and Aikido on the one hand; and Chado/Sado (Way of Tea), Kado (Way of Flowers) and Kodo (Way of Incense) on the other. It is decisive yet deliberate—honed through ones being over time. The mind through all of this is clear and tranquil.

Michiko Imai was born in Nara. Her calligraphy studies began at the tender age of four at the Baikou Calligraphy school; she subsequently gained membership to the Tenshin Kai, and later to the Cho-ko Guild. Her work has been displayed at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Osaka Municipal Museum Of Art, Nara City Museum Of Art and the Kyoto Municipal Museum Of Art; and she “is among the few to have won multiple best of category awards in national competitions (Japan).” More information may be found on her site.

Her setup for the demonstration was in the Druker Family Pavilion, Community Room 159 at the MFA Boston—a lovely space fronted by glass and open to viewing from the expansive corridor which had some people doing just that while relaxing in lovely chairs. Michiko looked resplendent working on red felts; in a dark kimono, a compact obi, and spotless tabi. Above all she moved well, and in her movement, both in her Sho as well as her artistic deportment, and overall comportment—in turn moved her audience. She spoke about the totality of her art practice (the materials, work and presentation), relationship of space to the brushed characters, a bit about brushes and absorbency; her choice of a particular brush and relationship to paper—for writing the character Ryu. she explained why it is essential for her to mount her own kakejiku (scroll). Ms Imai is also an artisan artist (Hyougushi)—one who mounts/makes scrolls; which she learnt during her apprentice at Mizuno Hyougu-ten, while she also taught calligraphy. The piece she spoke about (see image below) was well constructed and had a unique sense of balance and space dynamics. These are aspects that take years to imbue and I could not stop sharing the nomenclature of the various parts of a scroll with Noriko. That happens when one enjoys such pursuits.

Ryu (dragon) in Sosho

 

It was also good to see the other pieces around the room, which she has calligraphed earlier, alongside various other study examples. At the back of the room, there were adjoining tables with all seats taken with visitors/afficionados keen on trying their hand at Shodo. The overall energy was very palpable and a credit to Michiko Imai. 

It was soon time to leave. We managed to get an earlier bus back to New York—happy that we had availed of this opportunity. Embrace your treasure/s, thats besides: inkstone, inkstick, paper and brush for sure! Thats what happened, except that it was Ms Imai who graciously reached out and embraced, a hug in American parlance—a circle completed, the line taken back to the Big Apple.

PS: Excuse the poor angles of the images. 

These links may be of interest: 

http://www.michikostudio.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanji

http://earlywomenmasters.net/soundings/index.html

What is Drawing? Towards wholeness…

Drawing though the agency of line is a vehicle to express emotion: implied or explicit, however fragmented the sensation received from the subject, which gets formulated into consciousness upon contemplation. The outpouring consciousness from the experience seeks expression in its own way, through marks: uneven, thick, thin, curved, jagged, rolling, reluctant or swift lines articulating a particular emotion where the line makes the layers of emotion whole. The experience is memorized as real and the drawing surface harmonizes into a whole; in unity with one’s reality.

To engage with thoughts, and those of others

a larger consciousness. Sympathetic space.

The why of things, occurrences, stirrings, evocations,

the space between one's legs, a visage, the tilt of a head,

Spaces that certain people simply seem to inhabit.

(excerpted from my unpublished essay Speculatio through Drawing. 2011)

The Middle Kingdoms keeps playing Oppugner

This may come to haunt me someday, perhaps in getting a visa, or worse perhaps a distant future in calligraphy connected with Chinese calligraphers; but Chinese leaders truly fight some of the most inane battles, now including race issues—and worse on issues related to Buddhism which in any case reached China from what is now India. China with its resilience, its brand of capitalism grafted onto communism as well a highly inculcated sense of patriotism—has so much going for them. But still it continues to oppugn—in a continuum of opposition to India, which is on its own trip anyways.

http://tehelka.com/story_main51.asp?filename=Ne101211Battle.asp
The Battle for Buddha: The latest Indo-China spat is just another chapter in the ‘Great Game with Buddhist characteristics’, says Ashok Malik
“Beijing tried to convey,” a Ministry of External Affairs official then said, “that China, South Korea and Japan being nations of Mongoloid people were closer to East Asia, while India, Australia and New Zealand were not.” The target was India, which China wanted to keep out of the ASEAN inner track.”

Johnny ML on Ramdas Tadka (1968-2010)

Ramdas Tadka goes Behind the Shadow of Big Bose

http://johnyml.blogspot.com/2011/11/ramdas-tadka-goes-behind-shadow-of-big.html

An incisive piece that respectfully gets into peering within the persona artists create and pass off as having been integral to their beginnings. It is awesome to see Macwan bring, The Other JJs together to showcase Ramdas Tadka. This is certainly very rare in India, and Johnny ML has also done a splendid take by writing about the book. Johnny ML is compassionate, yet lays bare human/artistic mores, concerns with their individual trajectories—in seeing how the artists invited to speak of Ramdas Tadka essentially use the book, perhaps inadvertently as a platform for themselves. In a sense, I dare add—it succeeds in a very christian and gracious vein in the manner of acknowledging Tadka’s being, drive and hopes, much as Julius Macwan set out to do. The invited artists have all been there, done this that and the other, yet clarity is missing. The reason for their being part of the book seems to be clouded. Essentially success has not eluded them, but something called “Kalatmik manuski” has. Having said that this is not an affront but rather a nod to the survivors an African proverb, “until lions have their historians, the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”

Having your ace and eating it too

 

Nothing worse than being regarded as an ace in the hole. Basically, being set up to be  manipulated instance by instance, among the many when your guard is lowered. The reasons ranging from living with certain values—a belief in goodness, compassion, grace, even the graciousness in permitting the other to tell you what you mean to them—although nothing of recent vintage will be offered to back up those acclamations of praise, gushed out in uneven breaths. Something is amiss, and it is not rediscovering affections raised by old memories; it is the realization that their worlds are incomplete. Jealousies too: that others are walking upon paths which they themselves have ignored. 

Some need has surfaced and their sights are set. Furthermore, no cordiality; warmth; affability; nor reciprocity, even if only to mask/soften selfish reasons. All such is anathema, as one very politically aware activist individual who years ago displayed fangs when I mentioned the congruity to be courteous/show courtesy. 

But all this matters not in the back stroking world, yet every attempt is made to commandeer anybody from outside, of qualities lacking within their fawning fraternity! The belief is that there is always someone who will stroke the most coarse backs. The idea is simply—that whatever you have is something that can be capitalized on, albeit projected as: you too can gain something. Essentially about owning/being owned: feudalism. 


Image details from, So Shall You Reap
http://www.flickr.com/photos/venantius/231316724/in/set-72157594350797294
Original size: http://www.flickr.com/photos/venantius/231316724/sizes/o/in/set-72157594350797294/

Reinforcing drawing; Learning about line via drawing and by carving it

Over the years I have been drawing quite a bit in ballpoint. It gives me an immediacy and reinforces an ongoing practice in terms of a sure line. Anyway, these are a few drawings for a seal design for a young woman with an unusual name: Kazusa. Normally, I would be using a brush and sumi/boku, rather than ballpoint/biro. Unorthodox but works for me. These designs will be finessed later or perhaps directly when carving. It has been a little over a year and a half since I began carving seals and have carved 73 or so stones, some on multiple sides, Carving seals has made me see line in ways that I would perhaps not have seen by only drawing on paper and other surfaces. More on this later.
 

The notes below correspond to the styles of seasl scripts as drawn in the image on the right.Right, top down:
1. Koukotsubun Oracle bone script (Chinese, Jiaguwen) 甲骨文
2. Kinbun (Chinese, Jinwen) 金文

Middle: 

1. Kinbun 金文 

2. Moushikei kun boshi 孟敬訓墓誌 (Chinese, Mèngjìngxun mùzhì), from the 新書道字典 Shin Shodo Jiten (A New Dictionary of Shodo/New Calligraphy Dictionary). This script is taken from the tomb stone of Moushikei. The Chinese have a tradition of absorbing various inputs in the pursuit of refining their calligraphic abilities, including copying from grave markers and stones; and this goes back many centuries. 孟敬 (Moushikei, a name), 訓 (teaching), 墓 (grave) 誌. collectively epitaph 墓誌 as on the grave “marker/stone.”

Left: 

1. Tetsusenshoten 鉃線小篆 (loose trans. Iron line Small seal script) 

2. Daiten Big Seal script (Chinese, Dazhuan) 大篆 

[btw, Smaller seal script Japanese Shoten, 

Chinese Xiaozhuang 小篆]

3. Kaninten 漢印篆