Mindfulness of Chinese Calligraphy Art 

 Carry Hornby  

Article published on 6th January 2025 @ Elysium Magazine

The enjoyment of practising Calligraphy art grows in me to this day.  I was born in Taiwan into a respectable family tree of Huang. Being educated in a traditional Chinese school, I was introduced to Chinese Calligraphy art when I was at my primary school. My teacher Mr Chou Shen Ching took me as his student and I learnt with him until I left Taiwan to come to England where I now live with my family. With support and encouragement from Mr Chou, my steady progress on calligraphy has brought me to numerous exhibitions, competitions & receiving recognition from awards and prizes both local and international levels over the years.  Now,  I exhibit regularly and accept commissions work. Apart from exhibitions and commission projects, I lead classes and workshops at different venues including gallery, museum, schools, libraries, churches, corporates, and educational institutes.

I love the smell of the burnt pint wood ink stick releasing in the air when grinding the ink stick. Traditionally, there are four treasures in the calligraphy art, including brush, paper, ink stone and ink stick. You will need water to make your own ink. Mr Chou used to guide me to move the ink stick in clockwise direction and check the consistency of the ink I made. With the bamboo can & wolf hair brush, your teacher will teach you step by step how to hold the brush and move your brush to create your calligraphy art. It might take you several attempts before you get used to hold the brush. Nowadays, you can get brushes in different sizes & lengths as well as types of hairs too depending on the purpose of use & personal preference. Once your muscle learns the new ways to move with brush, you will begin to experience the smooth silky movement with the ink on the Xuan Paper. Interestingly, there is also an important linguistic element in calligraphy art, that you will learn the meaning of your art creation. Your teacher will teach you what you will be working on initially. Over time you will build up your knowledge of strokes and marks, then you will begin to take decision on what you would like to work on. The more you practise, the easier you will learn to enter the zone of mindfulness.

I enjoy the feeling of lightness and crystal clear focused mind at the end of  each practice session. The joy of practising Chinese calligraphy art has brought me  to share it with you here. The nature of the calligraphy art practice is a meditative process & mindful journey of personal growth, discovery and discipline. There are many benefits that Chinese Calligraphy Practise could bring to you. These benefits are directly link to the steps take to carry out the calligraphy practice from the stage of preparation, set-up, to the execution. Regular calligraphy practice will increase your awareness of your own feelings, visibly calming the busy mind, slowing down the pace of your thoughts, improve the clarity of your mind, the physical hand-eye coordination, and the state of mindfulness to ultimate relaxation & rejuvenation.

Get in Contact If you are interested in learning more about Chinese Calligraphy Art or would like to attend one of the calligraphy class or to have an private calligraphy class or event, please email to  Art@hornby.org.uk  you can also follow me on Instagram @Artcarryhornby

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