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Event Description
"KAKIZOME" the First Writing of the Year at Arts Mid-Hudson
1/6/24 “Kakizome” calligraphy workshop at Arts Mid-Hudson Gallery, Poughkeepsie
This was the first time after the pandemic that this Kakizome workshop was open to walk-ins. That gave us a sense of “freedom” and like “the bright sun has finally come up” – the kind of feelings symbolic of the New Year!
Seeing new faces came with new challenges. We had to figure out long-forgotten Kanji characters that translated to or fit the resolution words of the guests who asked us to write in Japanese. As many, or most likely all, of us no longer use a calligraphy brush to write on a daily basis, even giving instructions on how to use the brush requires some skill.
But thankfully, once you learn the technique when young, your body remembers without your consciousness and the memory of the movement can rise from decades-long dormancy as soon as you start writing - it just happens naturally. However, translating and remembering Kanji characters needs a different skill from the brain.
So, every year, we can relearn old things and learn something new along with our guests. It’s quite an awesome experience and that is, I think, the best part of this wonderful event. Kakizome is the first writing of the new year, with new challenges and new hope.
We sincerely thank Arts Mid-Hudson and their director Elinor Levy, Ph.D. for supporting this great program. I also want to thank to our volunteers for their efforts in making this event successful.
Midori Shinye
Kakizome program team leader
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