Chinese calligraphy: Figure iceskating on 4 fingers
Equipped with brush, paper, ink and a lot of motivation I had yesterday my first Chinese calligraphy lesson. As any other Chinese (traditional) activity or art expression, this has always seemed to me an easy activity, to be performed in full relaxation. Well, after the first trial lesson I must admit that exercising shūfǎ (the art of writing hànzì 汉字, the Chinese ideograms, with the brush) is everything but easy. Indeed after 60 minutes I was mentally exhausted.
In calligrahpy every stroke has to be executed with defined movements. Each stroke has a defined start and ending point in one of the 4 parts of the stroke square. During the execution of every stroke, mind, hand, brush and paper must become a unit .
These movements and trials remembered me of the learning of the blades hedges in figure ice skating. As in figure ice skating also in calligraphy the slowliness and the stability of the movement is the expression of the performer’s skills. The slower and harmonious the movements, the higher the skills. It took me years to learn the basic lines and movements of figure ice skating. I suppose that calligraphy will require the same time and dedication. Let’s see how far I am able to go.
***In the picture my name: 米凯拉 (Micaela) which I recently changed in 米凯乐 mǐkǎilè，
米饭的米，袁世凯的凯，快乐的乐
mǐfàn de mǐ, yuánshìkǎi de kǎi, kuàilè de lè
