notes from the drifting spaces
Sho calligraphy mark making
Making some marks with fude brushes and fudepen using Japanese sumi ink. Beginning practicing for a series of three Drawing and Painting Studio workshops. Experimenting with the brush stopping and flicking, speed of the marks and energy.
In the first Shodo group the Kanji characters ten – heavens/ sky and shin or kokoro – heart/ mind. I have chosen zen related characters for participants to practice.
Aye Write! Book Festival community art publication – ‘Future’
For the Aye Write! 2017 book festival I was asked to help deliver a project combining art and literacy, working with adult learners and tutors from around Glasgow city.
We came up with a book of creative writing and drawing, experimenting with various approaches that allowed individuals to express themselves to a theme of ‘learning for the future’.
Season’s Greetings 2017
Have a super duper 2017 and all the very best wishes for a peaceful holiday.
Creatively 2016 has been really varied, and has seen work on various visual projects, particularly photography and drawings, both getting more abstract and playful.
Recently I have been running free community art classes in Ruchill and Maryhill in Glasgow for young people and adults. I’ll be growing these into the North West and East of the city in 2017.
www.drawingandpaintingstudio.com
Evolving photography works
Working with nature, plus my own ‘sculptural’ props and my trusty old nikon dslr, and recent smaller digital camera, I’ve been going on to develop various series of photographs and c-prints. The two images I’ve selected here are from work on the Scottish Hebrides. These series have gradually become more abstracted and playful with colour and atmosphere, and are influencing new drawing and painting experiments in terms of colour blocks and composition.
The light will not break – Kusen Collaboration with John Fraser
John’s Kusen
Book Of Serenity, Case 36: Master Ma Is Unwell
The Case: Master Ma was unwell. The monastery superintendent asked, “Master, how is your venerable state these days?”
The Great Teacher said, “Sun face buddha, Moon face buddha”
Commentary: “unwell” is a euphemism. Master Ma (Baso) was mortally ill, and died the following day.
Sun Face Buddha was said to have a lifespan of 1800 years. Moon Face Buddha lived only one day and one night. Baso is talking about two aspects of experience, once our egoic self concern has dropped away.
The Universe can only express itself through each thing. If there were no things, there would be no light.
Sometimes, we are very aware that we are expressing something universal through this fragile, transient body. The Moon illuminates itself, and everything it casts its light on becomes part of it.
Other times, we forget this body, and are simply part of this illuminated world.
The light can only shine through each thing, and each thing will break
The light will not break
More zen articles at Kusen & Notes from John
Beyond Kyoto on the Nishiyama mountain trail
off the beaten track, drawing through the dense foliage
impenetrable undergrowth
seeking colour and light blasting –
near the magical ponpon yama hills
Season’s Greetings 2016
Have a great 2016 and all the very best wishes.
Body of the Ground – Kusen Collaboration with John Fraser
John’s Kusen No. 91
“Those who fall to the ground get up relying on the ground”
Interdependent origination is difficult for us because we have an unexamined idea of time: it is like an arrow, going from past to future, yet past, present and future don’t have equal weight. The past is like an accumulating avalanche, flooding into the empty space of the future. The present is the interface between the two. The ground is invisible.
When we sit, there is the opportunity to experience time in a different way. The head of the present moment is balanced on the body of the ground, and it can go anywhere.
More zen articles at Kusen & Notes from John
Momentary State – Kusen Collaboration with John Fraser
John’s Kusen
Zazen is often called the mountain still state, the balanced state.
What we need to understand is that the state is momentary. It is a quality of this moment.
Not the person, the moment.
This moment rolls in and out of balance. When out of balance, self, world and linear time all arise, together. When in balance, it is not that the self and the myriad things are negated or affirmed but, as the shin jin mei tells us, they cease to exist in the old way.
More zen articles at Kusen & Notes from John