The art of Japanese Calligraphy goes back for hundreds of years. A large amount of members of the Samurai class and Zen masters of the past devoted their lives to the study and practice of this form of art. Famous Samurai who were also master calligraphers include Musashi Miyamoto and Yamaoka Tesshu.
Shodo, as is known in Japanese, is to its fullest extent a form of self expression; a way to transmit your KI (inner spirit) into the paper through brush and ink.
Now you have the opportunity to be introduced to this beautiful art and start your practice. In this Intro to Japanese Calligraphy Workshop I will be teaching the fundamentals of Japanese Calligraphy. I have been practicing Shodo since 1998. For 10 years I practiced alone and taught myself, but my calligraphy was always off— I could never get it to feel “right”. That was because I didn’t know the fundamentals and didn’t understand the way of writing. It wasn’t until I studied directly under a Japanese Calligraphy teacher that I was able to take my calligraphy to the next level. Through a long series of personal lessons under Maki Sensei, I learned the basics of Japanese Calligraphy and beyond. The methodology of this workshop will be similar to the way Maki Sensei instructed me.
In this 6 hour workshop I will teach:
✓ Basic guidelines for reading and brushing Japanese Kanji
✓ How to use the basic materials for calligraphy, including ink and paper
✓ The 8 basic calligraphy strokes
✓ How to use the Japanese calligraphy brush and the proper posture for writing
✓ Calligraphy composition
✓ How to brush your first calligraphy: a two Kanji word that means “Forever Spring”
✓ And much more!
Schedule
10:00 am - 1:00 pm - Morning session.
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm - Lunch break. There are numerous places within walking distance or a short drive where you can grab a quick lunch.
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm - Afternoon session
What do you need to bring to this workshop
Basically, nothing! Included in the price of the workshop is a calligraphy brush that you will get to keep so you can continue your practice after the class. I will also provide other materials needed for practice such as ink, paper, etc. These other materials will be shared among everybody. However, it would be helpful if you can bring old newspapers. We will use newspapers as practice paper, and also as drop cloths to catch any ink spills.
Now, this will be a very intimate class where I will give careful attention to each student, so space is limited. This workshop is open ONLY to 15 students. If you wish to attend after tickets are sold out, please email me immediately and I will add you to a priority list for when this workshop runs again. If you are on the priority list it means you’ll have access to buy tickets for the next workshop before they go on sale to the public.