Tag: Nadja van Ghelue

Knitting Projects, a Video, and a Read

Admittedly, most of this past week I have not picked up my knitting.  It’s been rather a busy week with both of us on vacation.  There are also relatives in town, friends to visit, and calligraphy to do and novels to read.  And exercise, and planning meals, and trying to have a life for a bit!  However, I barricaded myself in what was / is my studio (my brother is sleeping in it for now), and closed the door.  No one in the same room, but I do hear the clatter of dishes or whatever.  It’s so nice to just be alone!  Or, a lawn, in the words of Ms. Garbo.

The major projects at present are sweaters for a friend’s twin grandsons, born about 2 weeks ago.  These sweaters are for 6-12 month olds in size, so a bit of a wait won’t harm them any.

Kimono Sweater

This sweater is a kimono sweater.  The design is not original.  I’m not too sure I like it – I think the ribbing is a bit funky, but the yarn is a nice color combo, and it is wash-n-wear.  (In other words, acrylic!)

Hooded Cardigan

Now this sweater is one of my own design, the pattern which I hope to publish once done.  I liked doing this one much more than the kimono, but will admit I am getting tired of it.  That long blue blob under the needles is a hood, which, if my neat side plays out, will be grafted – something I really, really hate!

Finally, the SO has another hat.  This is the Xenocryst hat, by Linda Shelhamer, in the Fall 2010 issue of Knitscene.

Hat - Unstretched

I misread the pattern and put only one purl stitch between the patterns, but it worked out just fine.  The cast on was perfect, too, as it really is stretchy.  You can find out how to do it by watching this video with Nancy Bush.

In fact, I liked this cast on so much, I started a hat using it and cables and bobbles.

Finally, I am reading another book about Chinese calligraphy.  This one is a bit different from many as it goes into some interesting details and makes interesting comparisons to Western art.  I’m up to page 70 with a lot more to read.

The Chinese Art of Writing, by Jean Francois Billeter

Nadja van Ghelue has it on her recommended list of books about calligraphy.  Just by happenstance I found it at our local library, before knowing of her recommendation.  It is quite fascinating because of the way in which Chinese calligraphy is presented, and admittedly, it is holding my interest even though I often find books like this to be more than I can handle – I just look at the pictures! – as I am not especially scholarly in my preferred reading!  (I like spy novels, to tell the truth.)

An August Project

It has been crossing my mind for quite some time that I want to use ink and brush as a means to relax, focus, and ground myself. Traditionally, calligraphy has been one means to do this. For August, I decided I would attempt to do the Heart Sutra.  Nadja van Ghelue has a wonderful site, The Art of Calligraphy, about doing just this – as well as showcasing her own beautiful work – and has published a book with the Heart Sutra in seal script.  On her site, she also shows her work, and that of others, of the Heart Sutra in kaisho, as well as a section dedicated to writing the sutra as a form of meditation.

Van Ghelue is, in my opinion, a very accomplished calligrapher.  Her videos – 0nly three in number – show a lissome flow of brush work.  As you watch her, observe how her brush moves about the paper, up and down, a pause, pressure.  Her wrist remains straight with subtle movements to create the brushwork needed for a point, to turn a corner.  There is a gracefulness and serenity in her movements where other calligraphers may be more dynamic.

H.E. Davey is another accomplished calligrapher from the west.  He writes in his books, The Japanese Way of the Artist, and Brush Meditation:  A Japanese Way to Mind & Body Harmony, about Japanese calligraphy as a form of meditation.  Davey has been involved with Japanese cultural arts his entire life, and is currently the director of the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts in the San Francisco area.  Historically, bushido encompassed mastery in the arts beyond war.

Certainly, there are benefits to focusing on what one enjoys.  Expertise, finesse, internal, external, integration.  Artistry.  Joy.  Self expression.  Moving beyond present skills.  Expansion.  My own project is for meditative purposes, but it is also a journey into refinement of my own skills – an exploration of my own adventures in ink, brush, and line.