I had the unique opportunity to go on a week long retreat at Blue Cliff Monastery in upstate New York with my boyfriend Charles. His mother paid for my donation in exchange for two paintings. I couldn’t imagine a better trade!
Blue Cliff follows in the tradition of Vietnamese Zen Buddhism and is dedicated to the Vietnamese teacher, monk, and Zen master Thich Naht Hanh. The first book I read by him is called “Being Peace.”
Throughout the long days of deep contemplation within an enclosed community practicing sitting, eating, walking, and working meditation and much noble silence, tea, and yoga, I touched a profound peace within me and around me in nature at almost every moment of every day.
A coworker gave me a Japanese rice paper notebook from his ski trip visit to Japan. I filled the first side of it, about twenty small pages in an accordion style binding, during this retreat. I painted the streams, creeks, ponds, and wet rocks with black India Ink and my bamboo calligraphy brush. Thich Naht Hanh has his own style of calligraphy that inspired my mark and letter making. On my last fews days I would walk past a large stone that had the phrase “Go Like a River” painted on its front marking the trail to the stream in the woods. I painted this phrase on the last two pages. I found that this medium complimented the tone and pace of the retreat so perfectly and now have an entirely new relationship to ink and water based painting mediums.
If you are interested in this particular practice here is the websit for more information:
https://www.bluecliffmonastery.org/?gclid=CMDMkOTF1tMCFRWBswodNk0IwA
