Ajari Jomyo Tanaka, September 2012

The Challenge of Shodo, #1

"Facing the paper and reaching for the brush I experience a calm, relaxed feeling.  My whole being is concentrated on the small square of paper and as I contemplate the possibilities of form, balance and rhythm open to me, the paper seems to grow in size.  I write one copy and then another and soon the brush has become an extension of my inner self.  The brush translates into black and white through the simple medium of a line, a form many artists cannot express even with a rainbow of colours on their palette.  Being totally engrossed in the potential and the problems of constructing the character, the sensation of time just slips away.  I write thirty or forty copies and my subconscious quietly ascends a crescendo of excitement as I near the goal.  Finally I have it.  A copy that is perfect in form and bursting with energy.  Each time I look at it I see that my feelings of the moment have been put down on paper for eternity.  This feeling communicates itself not only to me but to others as well.  The better the writing, the more understandable my expression.”

Christopher J. Earnshaw,

From his work, “SHO, Japanese Calligraphy”

(Earnshaw 1988, p. 1)