Season's Greetings

(click on image to enlarge)

Just in time, the Christmas Cactus begins to bloom!  . . . one minor miracle in the spirit of the season.  

and . . .

in the evening,

my grandson visited . . .

lifted by his dad
he lays the porcelain child
on the bed of hay . . .

May your holiday season be filled with hope and wonder in all the little things as well as in the joy of giving.

Peace and all blessings to people of good will. 

Thin Places

(click image to enlarge)

"Crater Dream"

A tiny climber finds his way and begins to climb the west rim. Light shines upon the far cliff-face, revealing its vitreous surfaces, which could only be wrought by fire and ice.

Dreams of mountains sometimes show where we rise above the commonplace or where we meet the challenges of life's difficulties. Throughout the ages, humankind has sought out thin places, those places where the air is thin and the earth seems to merge with heaven. Perhaps we will meet our version of God there... or maybe we will find the divine while sailing or surfing the boundary between the sea and sky. 

In this dreamscape molten rock melts away the loneliness of cold snow, exposing new vistas. 

A sumi-e and color experiment

The Hall of Dancing Brush

"Hanko" or Seal for a painting

Years ago I ask my Sensei if a hanko could be made for my studio - "Dancing Brush Studio". The seal shown above is the result. Lately I wondered about the seal script (an ancient Chinese pictographic form) as to what elements compose the derivative meaning, so I asked about it among people interested in all things Japanese.

A very accomplished calligrapher, Ponte Ryuurui, joined the discussion and did some research (there are about 90.000 potential characters to consider). 

Ponte Ryuurui wrote: 舞(dance)筆(brush)之(possesive particle) and last kanji I am not sure of.

Hideo Suzuki wrote: The latter means corridor or hall....and 篆刻体 of which looks alike?

Ponte san replied: Thank you, Hideo san, this is 廊. So the radical in question was 阝. So the full phrase goes 舞筆之廊 - The Hall of Dancing Brush. Chinese: wǔ bǐ zhī láng, Japanese: まいふでのろう mai fude no rō (I think).

Hideo san concurred: 舞筆之廊 looks perfect! and "mai fude no rō" sounds nice!

Thank you, Mr. Ryuurui and Mr. Suzuki. I am grateful to you both for helping to clarify the meaning. And thank you to others who shared in the conundrum of deciphering the seal's meaning. 

See also: http://www.beyondcalligraphy.com/

Wit & Wonder

Today's blog is about the penchant to turn
"War and Peace" into a novella.

Our byline:

a small space

between wit and wonder

left vacant



Two kinds of haiku plus image combinations: 

Haiga: haiku and painting
Sha-hai: a haiku and photo image: