The art of Chinese calligraphy is in the fine detail; the difference between a well-drawn figure and a bad one may be as subtle as the consistency of a line, or the shape the brush leaves as it is pulled from the paper at the end of a stroke.
It takes years of practice to master, but apparently, the basics can be conveyed quickly enough. On Saturday, ArtSpace had a one-off introductory class on Chinese calligraphy. By the end of the 90-minute session, the students had successfully painted a complete character.
The teachers were Ashley Yang Liu, who grew up in the Shandong province of China, and Jack Fox, who is from Greenfield. These two met in Beijing, where Fox was studying abroad and Liu was at art school. Now, they travel a lot — most often in China and Southeast Asia, but also Central America — and work through the internet as “digital nomads,” Fox said.
When they visit Greenfield, they always try to host a class, like this one, Fox said. ArtSpace, coincidentally, is trying to offer more one-time classes, as compared to semester-long classes, said Steve Hussey, the president of ArtSpace’s board of directors. It is easier for beginners to sign up for a single class than commit to several weeks or months of learning something they’re not sure they’ll be interested in, he said.
“If she (Ashley Yang Liu) were to come back and offer a semester class, I bet she’d fill it,” Hussey said.
Most of the class time was spent on learning to draw four different lines: vertical, horizontal and the two diagonals. The simplicity is exactly what’s so hard about it, Liu said. A character made of many short strokes is easier to draw well than a character made of only a few long strokes. On a long stroke, she said, there’s more space to make a mistake.
“Calligraphy is hard because you get one shot. It’s like a Sharpie,” Fox said.
The quality of the line has a lot to do with controlling the pressure on the brush. With more pressure, the brush is pressed flatter and the line becomes thicker. Drawing a line of consistent thickness is difficult for a beginner. Good calligraphists can control how thick the line is at every point.
As her students became more comfortable, Liu showed them how to add subtle details. Twisting the brush at the start of a stroke makes a point at the top of a line. At the end of a stroke, pulling the brush away gently but quickly leaves a stylish trail. Releasing pressure slightly at the middle of the stroke — in an arcing motion, Liu said — gives the line curvature.
“Try to feel it,” she explained to her students.
Liu started learning calligraphy in elementary school. In China, students start by learning “clerical script,” one of the easier styles of calligraphy. The differences between the scripts are somewhat comparable to the differences between print handwriting and cursive. The hardest script is ‘running script,’ where all the strokes are linked. Liu, who studied art in college, said that well-drawn running script is like an abstract art.
Liu’s field of study was Chinese painting. This is a specific painting technique, not a regional category, she explained — like watercolor painting or impressionist painting, not like French painting. Chinese painting uses many of the same techniques as calligraphy, she said: the same brushes, ink and paper.
Now, she makes video art lessons on YouTube, with episodes in English and Chinese. Her channel is called Yang Travel Art.
Fox said they expect to do at least one more public class in Greenfield at some point this year, but don’t know when yet.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 261.