Bagatela

A collaboration with Marco Patiño, Pachuca, Mexico. 

Conversation, sharing ideas, beers, and more ideas. 

Ballpoint, jell pen, and crayons on beer bottle separators.

Venantius** “vouging” Kanji characters

मार दो हथौड़ा 

Stokes as sweeps, slashes, and flicks 

rendered as metaphors, imbued in our minds,

into muscular memory,  sense, sensibility, 
facility, and conviction.applied, expressed, 
and impressed on paper, silk, wood. As also on bodies.

Steatite, clay, wood, rubber stamped—within minds and the sands of time

The word initiated our corporeality and continues shaping us. 
Bringing to us the Eijihappo.

The Eight principles have reached us under considerable influence
via the Seven Powers by Lady Wei Shuo of Eastern Jin.
Madame Wei, or as she was know Maoyi—made it her focus
despite Uncle Wei Heng’s objections to study Shufa;
when it was not considered a female virtue.
Assisting at grinding ink at the inkstone, watching and absorbing
the movement in the characters—practicing discretely in her room.
Upon seeing her work one day Uncle Heng so as to,
“not foil her aspirations” graciously stepped back.
Upon seeing a stone falling; Maoyi desired to capture its thrust!
Drawing inspiration from the spirit of matter and materiality.
Influenced she is said to have Wang Xizhi’s running style.
The principles received praise from Li Zongyuan of the Tang;
Unique metaphors created by Li Puyang of the Yuan.

That stone falling sideways

Spawning a seeing of dots, thrusts of our personhood!  

Adumbrations, mysteries of what is contained within.

Regard the O-hou, the Cho-hou, and Gan-pou
manners that will define your will if you so will

Ancestors, Rinsho practice, and Providence belittle not.

a jade case, abuts an an iron pillar, 
from whose base be prepared to summon 
that jump: grace which only you can summon as your own

an elemental argument with your mortality

pulling away from gravity—weightless,

coalescing into the next movement

a crabs claw, the hook! Raise and lash the horsewhip 

a tigers fang, slashes new meaning to your personhood 
unbounded through sweeps, slashes, and strokes of light movement. 
Be, bringing fluidity to thy being. Incorporate the curve of a rhinoceros’ horn. 

Unite with your fellows in Saado, Kado and Kodo.

Nuances, compressed movements; open up the universe

Aikido, Iaido, and Shodo, 
Kyudo, the way of Archery

Stroke, one flowing into the other.

Seeking our mark—towards eternity from our temporality!

At the swayamvara in Panchala dressed as a Brahmin,
Arjuna stands; taking a moment to focus on the piscean image
set on high, atop a rotating wheel, and reflecting in the pool at his feet.
The arrow pierces. The discerning Pandavas…take to heart, 
and hearth—Draupadi: Panchali, Mahabhaaratii, Sairandhri, Yajnaseni, Agnijyotsna. 
Kṛṣṇə Draupadī, A son with each of the Pandavas—
with the eldest Yudhishthira begat she Prativindhya. 
Likewise Sutasoma from Bheema, Srutakirti from Arjuna, 
Satanika from Nakula, and Srutakarma from Sahadeva


There are laws and there are boons. Shivan no less. 
Understandably, no Eijihappo for them as for the Tamilians…
There are ways and ways, and Ways of ways.
Karikala Chola to Athirajendra. Chola’ all. But philosophies similar…
and rigorous. Kalaripayattu. Dandpattas. and wagh nakkas.
Tanaji climbed Singhagad’s crags aided by the monitor…lizard.
Seek to discern, the tools you shall keep receiving.
The brush was flung. Kobo Daishi made the mark.
Distance must not awe. Its a journey, and remember,
that your tools may be usurped from you.
Eklavya the archer, gave up his thumb, so willed
Dronacharya his guru to maintain the status quo!

Remembering Ki no Tsurayuki from the Hyakunin Isshu…
The depths of the hearts (Hito was isa)
Of humankind cannot be known. (Kokoro mo shirazu)
But in my birthplace (Furusato wa)
The plum blossoms smell the same (Hana zo mukashi no) 
As in the years gone by. (Ka ni nioi keru)

Damayanti of Vidarbha, and Nala. Heera and Ranjha.
Laila and Majnu. Lines and movement in the mind of time.
Abelhard and Heloise. Narcissus and Goldmund—
A wandering towards “a meaning of life.” A Way.
Rani of Jhansi, son strapped to her spine, wades into mayhem—
battling obfuscation by the English…flurry of words. Centered.
Karna looked at the Sun and howled spasms of righteous wrath
Bypass we must those who toil attempting foiling ones path.
Dash through heath and scar. Mark the forehead.

A bird pecking—seeking, 

a dismemberment for real on paper 

and more so when blood was spilt 

Now it remains in metaphor as a wave, 

pressure exerted with focus and we have 

The golden sword that unders, dissects, and rends minds 
and minds.

Dividing space, yet holding it together 
Dissection. More meat on bones or more as Lady Wei

unified yet distinct. Tremors. 

Movement becomes us,

we imbue it, it extends us, 

Radiating minds; extending our being

outside of our temporality the surround. 

See the Eiji Happo,

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/8_Strokes_of_Han_Characters.svg

Rewrite:

The Eight Principles of Yong (Chinese: 永字八法; pinyin: Yǒngzì Bā Fǎ; Japanese: 永字八法/えいじはっぽう,eiji happō; Korean: 영자팔법, Yeongjapalbeop; Vietnamese: Vĩnh Tự Bát Pháp/Tám Phương Pháp viết Chữ Vĩnh) explain how to write eight common strokes in regular script which are found all in the one character, 永(pinyin: yǒng, "forever", "permanence"). It was traditionally believed that the frequent practice of these principles as a beginning calligrapher could ensure beauty in one's writing.

http://www.shodopedia.com/E/EightPrinciplesOfTheCharacter 

Eight Principles of The Character “永 (えい, ei, i.e “eternity”)”; (永字八法, えいじ はっぽうeiji happō)

This calligraphic theory, set forth by a Sui dynasty (隋朝, pinyin: Suí cháo, 581 – 618 C.E.) calligrapher named Zhi Yong (智永, pinyin: Zhì Yǒng, birth and death dates unknown), defines eight out of a total of 37 basic strokes of the standard script (楷書, かいしょ, kaisho). These are:

1. 側 （そく, soku） lit. “vicinity”. It is also referred to as 点 (てん, ten) – “a dot”, or 怪石 (かいせき, kaiseki) – “oddly shaped stone” (from its appearance of a rounded rock).

2. 勒 （ろく, roku）”a halter”, also referred to as “jade table” (玉案, ぎょくずき, gyokuzuki) of smooth and even surface.

3. 努 （ど, do）means “to exert”. This vertical stroke is also known as 鉄柱 (てっちゅう, tetchū) – “iron pole”, from its solid and rigid appearance.

4. 趯 （てき, teki）suggests “lifting”, or “a hook”, also referred to as 蟹爪 (かいそう, kaisō, i.e. “crab pincer”).

5. 策 （さく, saku, i.e. “a horsewhip”）, or虎牙 (こが, koga, i.e. “tiger fang”).

6. 掠 （りゃく, ryaku）. One of the meanings is ‘to graze”, like the non-lethal cut of an expert swordsman. Another name for this stroke is 犀角 (さいかく, saikaku, i.e. “rhinoceros horn”).

7. 啄 （たく, taku, i.e. “a peck”）or “bird’s peck” (鳥啄, ちょうたく, chōtaku).

8. 磔 （たく, taku, i.e. “dismemberment”）, also known as 金刀 (きんとう, kintō, i.e. “golden Dao sword”).

More detailed information regarding standard script is to be found here.

側 soku :: dot, (Japanese) ten
勒 roku :: horizontal stroke, yokoga 

努 do :: vertical stroke, tatega 

趯 teki :: upward flick from a vertical or horizontal stroke,** hane

** diagonal flick from the point where a stoke culminates 

策 saku :: upward right flick, migihane 

掠 taku leftward downstroke :: hidaribarai 

啄 taku leftward downflick :: hidarihane 

磔 taku rightward downstroke :: migibarai

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

http://www.japanvisitor.com/japanese-culture/language/japanese-shodo

Read more: http://www.japanvisitor.com/japanese-culture/language/japanese-shodo#ixzz2kU6xkriO

怪石, 玉案, (鐵柱/铁柱), 蟹爪, 虎牙, 犀角, (鳥啄)/(鸟啄), 金刀 

Guài shí, Yù àn, (Tiě zhù/tiě zhù), Xiè zhuǎ, Hǔyá, Xījiǎo, (Niǎo zhuó)/(niǎo zhuó), Jīn dāo 

Mysterious/strange rock/stone, Jade Case/table, iron posts, Crab piner, Tigers tooth, Rhino horn, (Bird pecking) / (Bird pecking), Golden sword

on Academia.edu

Offering some of my texts on Academia.edu, focussed on drawing through various conduits. Hopefully a new fork in my journey through writing, if not a whole new jtrajectory. 

Speculatio through drawing, is a paper I presented on Sept 14, 2014 at Crossing the Line 2, at the American University in Dubai. 

Thank you all.

UGLY :: Feo :: Gacho :: Culero

In, UGLY:: FEO issue, Combo #7, Pachuca, Mexico. 

Illus: Venantius J Pinto with Pete K. 

Thank you Pete for the interaction and chats. Thanks Marco & COMBO. 

The Pratices in the Practice

Rinsho 臨書
hairin 背臨

Mosho 

Ansho

Hosho 

Jiun

Reflection reveals a lot. Its heuristics really. For instance asking for assistance as happens via social media. 

七転び八起き。Nana korobi ya oki. Lit. means "Seven falls (falling seven times), getting up eight times.” Essentially not giving up.

The flânerie and potlatches of the Itinerant Illustrator

photo: Mo Riza

Seeking minds or states of being is a response, a responsibility, which the illustrator as an itinerant soul simply must embrace to visualize meaning to texts or stand alone visual narratives. The objective of illustrators is to conveys emphatic meanings or visual corollaries. Traversing as they do many spaces, illustrators violate, invigorate, celebrate while dynamically mediating to shape paths that often intercede to create visual entities.

One must make an association with the flânerie of the flâneur walking the streets nonchalantly taking in the sights, the movement and pulse of the city. That aimlessness apparently frees the mind to associate. Being itinerant is not being vagrant. Rather it’s about making conjectures, and associations. An uprooted rootedness. I see the illustrator, as very much a nomad of the mind, a pilgrim, an outsider looking in before appearing as an insider delving into a thought, teasing at form, seeking Ephphata, from the Aramaic — to be opened.

Jeremiah 6:16: Stand at the cross roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.

A pilgrim then? What sustains? The sustenance is as Whiman put it “the tasteless water of souls.”

My artistic labor spans many styles, approaches, binaries, subjects, and movements as in force. This perennial juggling of potlatches, is a giving and gaining from Indic forms, and thought; lines from Kana and more forms of Shodo; seeking depth in language, and reasoning; a vocabulary of mark making from the more severe to the agitated; of employing the illogical to create logical devices, metaphors, characters and characterizations — all towards formulating possibilities and realities. Its all about dynamics and the answering is in the nature of the realizations that come when what is paramount is to give meaning. 

Births and rebirths

My illustration for So, you’re birthing a book!, by Gouri Dange in HIMAL Southasian, Nepal - May 11 2011. The idea being the ferocity with which books are birthed or produced in South Asia. Any and everyone wishes to have their book see print. Towards that end this illustration attempts to reflect the pandemonium of the process seen through a frenetic machine going full steam.  

When work gets selected to appear on a stringently judged site, on a blog, or in a book, the doer can only but take solace in that they are walking with some of the best. For those like me who have seen many rejections on account of certain vagaries, any acceptance sheds light anew to keep going — facing, and accepting the roads ahead. I also believe that no one is doling out favors; and such nods could influence or create a favorable impression in the mind of some other. C’est la vie.