GENTLE CREATIVITY WITH THE BRUSH
with
KAZ TANAHASHI
SATURDAY, JAN. 3, 2015
10:00 - 4:30. (Vegetarian Lunch Provided)
The art of calligraphy can be practiced by anyone who is willing to draw ideography.
Anyone can take up a brush, follow stroke order, draw lines, and form characters.
By copying ancient masters' samples even a beginner can create a fairly
good piece
of calligraphy. This art does not require great creative endeavor as in painting or sculpture.
On the other hand, because anyone can practice this, people can easily tell
attentively drawn lines from those that were mindlessly drawn. Our presence
should be expressed on each line we draw. Each line is drawn naturally, spontaneously,
decisively, and uniquely. Our artistic, meditative, and life experience is evident
in each line to all viewers. So we learn to render each stroke with total
concentration and relaxation. Please join me and enjoy drawing lines.
Materials needed: A long paperweight or two small ones. Stones will do.
$85 (Sustaining members)
$95 (others)
To register, contact SCZC, 831-457-0206 and mail your check to
Santa Cruz Zen Center, 113 School St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060.
OR, sign up at the zendo and place your check in the donation box.
Make the check payable to SCZC. Please mark check "Calligaphy".
Contact Sally Aguirre if you have any questions at sallyaguirre@gmail.com
BREAKAWAY SUMI-E
with
MICHAEL HOFMANN
SATURDAY, FEB 7, 2015
10:00 - 5:00, (Please bring a Bag Lunch)
Nanga (Southern Painting), also known as the Literati Style of sumi-e has its roots in 12th century China. Many of the early Nanga painters in Japan were 18th century Zen priests of the Obaku sect. As opposed to Northern Style painting which tends to be more academic and focused on technique, Nanga emphasizes individuality and expressive brush work and retains its Taoist roots.
The workshop will be geared toward beginners but could be interesting for artists who usually work with more Western materials. There will be an emphasis on expressive and spontaneous brushwork rather than formal technique. Along with some guided instruction (stroke by stroke), there will be a variety of themes for individual exploration.
In the morning, after grinding our ink we will learn how to handle the brush to create various tones and textures, and simple motifs. One of the themes will be a portrait of Bodhidharma. In mid-afternoon, we'll work with some abstract themes — ending up with collage and inviting serendipity as a partner.
Michael Hofmann moved 4 years ago to Sonoma County from Kyoto, Japan where he lived more than 30 years as an artist and a disciple of the master Nanga painter and Zen priest, Jikihara Gyokusei. Michael has had solo exhibitions of his work in galleries and museums throughout Japan, and has illustrated various Buddhist classics, including The Hojoki and The Sayings of Layman P'ang, as well as The Zen Teaching of Homeless Kodo by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi and Shohaku Okumura Roshi.
You can see his paintings on the sliding of doors of Sowing the Moon teahouse at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. He gives classes at various cultural centers including the San Francisco Asian Art Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum.
$55 (Sustaining members)
$65 (others)
$5 materials fee paid directly to instructor.
Please bring along something from nature, e.g. a simple flower arrangement, rocks, seashells, etc anything that you might like to paint.
Please send your registration to SCZC, 113 School Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 or call 457-0206. The class is held in the zendo. Make the check payable to SCZC.
Contact Sally Aguirre if you have any questions at sallyaguirre@gmail.com.
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