On 15 September, I participated for the first time in an art market held around the castle Fraeylemaborg in Slochteren.
When I exhibited at the Nienoord art market last year, I got some invitations by the Fraeylemaborg art market management.
The timing is just right, as Nienoord is structured so that you cannot exhibit for more than two years in a row.
sing Japanese poems
Every time, I come up with something.
Last year in Nienoord, I tried ‘writing and singing’ for the first time.
This time, I wrote a waka(old Japanese poem ) in kana, added a tune to it and made it into a song. I also tried to translate it into Dutch’ (laughs).
The colours of flowers change…
The poem was selected from the Hyakunin Isshu(百人一首), but there were many sad poems. I was troubled by them. But in the end, I chose a poem about ‘the beauty of things’ (?).
花の色は移りにけりないたずらに、我身世に降るながめせしまに ～小野小町～
The colours of flowers change, with unexpected speed. While I was looking at myself and the world
– Onono Komachi-
I found myself making it with ‘this’.
It was another waka poem that I had written down in my notebook, but… why (laughs)?
Practice writing fast
In the past, the demonstration was a slow writing process, as the priority was to produce a copy of a masterpiece.
This time, however, I am writing an original piece.
So I had practice to write faster and more rhythmically.
The first step was to do the idea of ‘write one song and sing one song’!
For this reason, I did not create many works to be displayed this time, but displayed the remainder of the orders I have received so far as examples.
In an open-air market in autumn weather.
I was given a place in my tent near the entrance for my first outdoor activity!
Thankfully, it was a beautiful autumn day.
Demonstrating in the rain is difficult for both writing and singing.
Well, I’m doing it on my own (laughs).
I was worried about singing and playing guitar in an unplugged state as well as writing in the open air, but fortunately the tent had a wall at the back, so hanging the works and singing were not so much of a problem.
The tent was almost completed ‘just like that’ with my husband setting it up!
I can’t do any housework as the date and time gets closer, but my husband accepts that, and I’m really grateful to him for that!。
The art market is…
Fraeylemaborg is an old castle (probably) with a stunning garden.
In the garden behind the building, if I remember correctly, there were about 200 tents.
I was too busy to look around at all (laughs).
My friends told me that ‘Nienoord has a lot of professional artists, while Fraeylemaborg seems to have a wide range of stalls, from professionals to amateurs.’
The tent next to mine was a professional bag artist who seemed to have a lot of fans for her funky work. She was very friendly and interesting.
Other artists were oil paintings, pottery, jewellery, etc….
They all seemed to know each other and greeted me, a newcomer, in a friendly manner.。
Showtime!
To the Dutch, the calligraphic works are ‘What’s this?’ . So I started by explaining the works and talking about calligraphy, and told them about showtime.
Friends and students also came to see the show…
Now, this time, because the demonstration was the main focus, I practiced more and I think I wrote more calmly than I have ever done before.
I had written this the day before with a slightly sentimental tune.
I think it fits the lyrics, but I couldn’t imagine singing it outdoors, live sound with no microphone, in a market where people are passing by…
Suddenly, ‘Hmm? This is Bruce!’ ‘ and I made it a bit funny, blues-style. (Well, maybe everyone laughed a bit…)
Reactions and reflections
I could feel the concentration of the people watching me when I was writing the calligraphy, and people stopped to listen to me when I was singing, so I guess that’s a good enough mark for a show.
It was a challenge that made me feel like I could see further in which direction I want to move in the future.
I thought it might be a little of a problem to write ‘calligraphy’ in such a way that it looks ‘too easy’ (laughs).
When I think of the time it takes to become able to write, I think of Picasso’s anecdote, although on a different level.
When someone asked Picasso to draw a simple picture, he drew it quickly and handed over a million dollars, and the person who asked him said, ‘It only took you 30 seconds to write this now.’ He replied, ‘Thirty years and thirty seconds’.
I’ve been doing this for over 35 years (laughs).
I sometimes receive requests for character orders, but it’s always very difficult to tell them ‘around there’.
I can’t charge a million dollars, but it takes a reasonable amount of time to make the work. Also I have to make more work in case there are any mistakes in the ‘Urauchi’ process (wetting Japanese paper once and gluing it to other Japanese paper to reinforce it and make it wrinkle-free), which in Japan can be left to professionals.
Calligraphy is especially a one-shot game, so it looks easy to write (laughs).
I want to be able to convey this to others… and I have reaffirmed my determination to do so.
The more people who are interested in calligraphy and understand it, the more it will be connected.
I’m secretly thinking that next year I’ll do a full-fledged song and calligraphy show somewhere…
To all those who have visited us
To those who happened to see us
Thank you very much.
We hope to see you again somewhere…