Below is my simple Season’s Greetings card for this year, a sketch of the twisting movement of tilted rocks, including metasandstone, doodled on the west coast of Islay with brush pens and sketchbook.

This year I was delighted (and somewhat relieved) that my calligraphy work was accepted for the 73rd Shokaisha Exhibition 第73回 書海社展 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (situated inside Ueno Park), and received a Special Selection prize (Tokusen 特選). It is the first time I’ve exhibited shodō calligraphy publicly in Japan so it was a bit nerve-racking but all went smoothly. This autumn I have been working on a new piece made up of 160 characters from Bai Juyi’s 白楽天 (J: Hakurakuten) expansive and dramatic 8th century poem detailing a journey to a mountain temple. I have brushed several versions and I’m hoping to complete this process in the coming weeks.

With palms together and best wishes for 2026, Year of the Uma (horse) 🐴

Shōgen Blair