Ink Painting

On Saturday we took an sumi ink painting course, it was so much fun! You start with Bamboo, as it is relatively easy, then I painted a fish, and Alison a Buddha. I liked painting more than calligraphy, Alison prefers calligraphy. When it came time to sign my paintings I said my name was Matthew, or マシュー (Mashu), but you can't sign your name in Katakana (used for Western words) you have to sign in Kanji (Chinese words). In Kanji, many characters can make the same sounds so you generally try to pair two together that have a good meaning. I don't know any Kanji so the two Senseis and and an older Japanese student huddled together and came up with Mashu in Kanji meaning "Real Excellence," a little egotistical for my preference, but I couldn't say no! (They really liked my paintings.)


At the park to day I was fortunate to see a Japanese Dragon! Now, you may look at the photo and think, "that's just a flock of black and white birds," but I am sure it was the glittering scales of a dragon... Even though it was cold, it was nice to walk around in the quiet and have a little think outdoors.