Breathe

One of my students in Japan was an excellent calligrapher, she was in her 70s and had been learning the art for years and years. She was also a very lovely person and invited me to her home on many occasions to practice. On her walls she had some of her art, some of which contained 100s of characters, all perfectly written. Just gorgeous.

I found the process enjoyable yet very demanding, not being too familiar with writing kanji making it look beautiful was a bit tricky. For her it was effortless and wonderful to see her brush strokes. So confident and relaxed.

I have tried to keep in contact with her but her email address is now not in use and I have no way of getting in contact that I can think of (other than visiting her house! Presuming I can find it..) The last I heard from her was when she sent this character through the post. It means "breathe" and is something very special to me...