The character I painted here 萩 (hagi) is composed of three radicals (components that bear meaning), grass above, rice plant to the lower left, and fire to the lower right. The two radicals below combine to form the character for autumn, which combined with grass above has the meaning of bush clover. But the image it calls forth is autumn grass.
The word hagi means specifically a shrubby bush clover of the species lespedeza, which grows profusely on mountains and fields. In Japan it is a symbol of the fall season, autumn.
As a word, it is simply the name of a plant, albeit with poetic associations. However, when the character is painted with a brush, it takes on a new dimension of meaning, both visual and emotional.
Autum grass foretelling winter in the way it hugs to the ground with shrubby tenacity.
Personal associations with my favorite season, even as it fades into cold weather.
The way that the brush strokes themselves seem to penetrate and cling to space itself.
The thin stroke cutting across the lower left, like a sharp blade of grass shooting forth, with firelight dancing to the right.
The fire radical suggesting the reds, yellows, and burnt oranges of autumn.
Perhaps autumn rushes by to remind us to slow down and appreciate life in the moment.
If this flight of fancy does nothing more than slow down your busy monkey mind and help you become more aware of autumn's beauty all around you, then it has served a useful purpose.
Calligraphy is the art of painting resonant words.
Another reason that I chose this particular piece of calligraphy is that with it received the recognition of Bronze Sommelier from Carre MOJI, in calligraphy for the modern interior. A Sommelier is a wine steward, and by extension a connoisseur of other foods. For Carre MOJI, it is a Connoisseur of Calligraphy, both in painting and display for the modern interior. The Sommelier test is conducted twice a year, in the Spring and in the Fall.
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