Chinese Characters

When I launched my first solo shows in Chinese ink art, I was surprised to see that I had included so much art in Chinese characters.  Having begun to study character drawing in my mid-century, I'd always supposed it would be a discipline for me to use as a practice - sort of like meditation or speed-walking.  

In my Layered Calligraphy series, I use 2 types of Japanese inks on a beautiful handmade mulberry paper, also from Japan.  Although they are meant to be approachable as an abstraction that can be enjoyed without knowing the characters or meaning, each contains a fragment of personal poetry, hinted at in the name of the piece.