The freezing rain that arrived as expected over the weekend added a bit of chill to the already warm days. This is how winter is in Canada. It is reluctant to leave, and spring always hesitates before slowly reaching out. However, people living here can always find ways to soothe themselves.
The first session of the calligraphy salon organized by the public welfare organization IgniteSpirit was held as scheduled on this Sunday afternoon. Opening the door, a cup of hot tea, a scent of ink, accompanied by the smiles and familiar greetings of acquaintances, Teacher Long opened the first session of the “Calligraphy Salon”. Everyone was very happy to see old friends. From the elderly to teenagers, as long as they are interested in Chinese culture and especially calligraphy, they can come to this “making friends with words” public welfare activity. What is more worth mentioning is that the lecturer, Teacher Long, not only has profound attainments in calligraphy, but his approachable and eloquent style makes everyone present feel relaxed. Teacher Long’s teaching of calligraphy techniques is even more remarkable. He started with theory, supplemented by personal demonstration, and explained in detail the details of pen, ink, and brushwork. Everyone practiced simultaneously and gave corrections from time to time.
In the first session of the calligraphy salon, Teacher Long started with the basic skills of writing good calligraphy: observing the structure, practicing the brushwork, and mastering the strokes. The basic skills of basic calligraphy include lifting, pressing, starting, moving, closing, and the use of the pen tip, especially paying attention to the position of the pen tip in the stroke during writing. These seemingly simple basic skills are not easy to make the brush in your hand “obedient” to write the way you want. So Teacher Long corrected everyone’s pen holding and pen movement posture while demonstrating. Because the number of people in the calligraphy activity is limited, everyone can get one-on-one guidance from the teacher.
After learning the basic skills of basic brushwork, we can enter the specific stroke practice. Teacher Long started with the Ou style and explained the writing methods of horizontal, vertical, left and right strokes. Don’t look at these commonly used strokes, there are many ways in Chinese calligraphy. For example, there are two types of “vertical” strokes: “drooping vertical” and “hanging needle vertical”; “horizontal” strokes include “long horizontal”, “middle horizontal” and “left-pointed horizontal”. To write each stroke with strength, you need to pay attention to methods and practice. Look, the little sister next to me has written three pages of rice paper without realizing it!
The time of learning always passes quickly, especially Teacher Long, in addition to explaining calligraphy, has also loaded a lot of experience and insights from calligraphy that extend from writing to understanding nature and cultivating the mind. In the tedious and complicated daily life, do we really need to find such time to slow down, taste tea, and write?
The IgniteSpirit Calligraphy Salon Series is scheduled as follows:
Time: Every Sunday from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
Total schedule: 8 times, the next time is April 6, April 13, and April 27
Event location: 3065 George Savage Ave, Oakville
Fee: Free
Auditor seats: 1-2 auditorium experience seats are set up every week.
