Whimsy Calls: The Zen of Brush Calligraphy

View from my room at the lodge at Shambhala Mountain Center.

It was fortuitous that Susan, Suzette and I were in an adventurous mood one morning several months ago.

By day's end we were signed up and enrolled in "The Heart of the Brush," at Shambhala Mountain Center.

The open meadow that connects "Downtown" to the Red Feather neighborhood.

We decided to embark on something new--to learn a different aspect of art--to widen our perspectives--and to have fun!

A quick perusal of the courses offered at Shambhala Mountain Center gave us the ideal weekend workshop--"The Heart of the Brush," taught by Kazuaki Tanahashi, based on his book, Heart of the Brush, The Splendor of East Asian Calligraphy.

The Shambhala Mountain Center is about 10 miles from Red Feather Lakes in northern Colorado not far from the Wyoming border.

It offers courses in Buddhism, meditation, mindful living and yoga. There are meditation retreats, mindfulness getaways and quiet personal retreats with time and space to walk the land, unplug from the world and visit the Great Stupa.

Once we selected our program we had several lodging options. Susan and Suzette decided to embrace "the great outdoors" and selected single tents with a bathhouse just a short trek away in the Red Feather neighborhood.

Susan loves her tent!

Suzette easily moves into her tent!

As for me, I'm a real fan of electricity, a comfy mattress and LOVE the idea of a private bathroom complete with running water--hot and cold!!

The Lodge Single option was just right for me!

Not only that, but the lodge is in the "downtown" neighborhood, not far from the dining tent!!

We arrived early Friday afternoon to register and move into our lodging choices--and to give us time to visit The Great Stupa, which is an unexpected and beautiful sight to behold nestled in the trees of the Rocky Mountains.

It was built in honor of the Center's founder, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and stands 108 feet tall.

It is dedicated to world peace and is a reminder that as human beings our nature is inherently good, pure and sane.

In a month filled with Charlottesville and Harvey, it was an uplifting walk to visit it and take a few restorative minutes inside.

Prayer flags line the path to The Great Stupa.

Inside the Great Stupa is a quiet sanctuary, open to the public.

Our classroom in the Red Feather campus.

Following dinner in the dining tent we hiked across the meadow to our classroom for opening orientation and two hours of instruction in the 3,000 year old art form of drawing ideographs.

Our first character, "Two."

Kaz, our venerable teacher, passed out a guide with characters to show how they are drawn, pronounced and what they signify. Each character is presented in classical/formal script, semi-cursive and cursive script.

Each of us had a stack of paper, a brush and a small bowl of ink.

Our first character was "Two," created with two lines, a shorter line over a longer line.

Our class, 35 in total, took a deep breath and dipped brushes into ink and began.

My first attempts at "Two."

One wouldn't think this would take too much effort, being that it's "just" a couple of lines. Yes?

For two hours there was silence as we all tried again and again to match the lines.

I tried to imitate the entrance and exit of the line, how it widens and narrows and the spacing between the two lines.

At first glance, it looked like a simple enough character to draw, but as I practiced I was pulled into a path that lead me into noticing fine details I had not observed when I began.

By 9:30 p.m. we were exhausted by two little lines and ready to enjoy our lodging choices.

Instruction for creating "River."

The next morning we gathered after breakfast to spend two more hours on "Two."

Finally, gratefully, we turned the page to create the character for "River," consisting of three vertical lines.

Three lines in variable lengths and thicknesses--yikes!!!

Again, we drew our lines with great patience and persistence, celebrating small successes and realizing that clumsy lines are important in "failing forward." Anyway, that's what I told myself.

One of a bazillion practice sheets for "River."

This is a unique and creative art form and one that I found challenging and restful at the same time.

With each stroke I gained more confidence and my eyes began to "see" the line as the art form that it is.

With each stroke I felt a relationship between the brush, my hand, arm, eyes and the creative spirit I call upon for creating my art.

It was exhausting and exhilarating!

Suzette creates a character using a giant brush and ink.

By Sunday morning we were ready to embrace a variety of large and unique brushes with metal bowls full of ink.

With steady hands we were gleeful in creating our favorite characters on watercolor paper.

Each brush had its own "heart" and produced calligraphy unique to each student.