D+P Studio News

Here is a wee bit of news from the D+P Studio!

Try some springy nature photography Creative Time

25 March 2020

If you are able to do this take a photo which is spring or nature-themed, for example if you have any flowers (we were given some free by our local supermarket!), or if you have a garden, or you can see the sky and safely take a photo from your window. Of course it’s ok to use your older photos as well 😊

Laura’s shiny green house plant looks very sturdy!

Thanks Laura for your refreshing and light photo of someiyoshino sakura cherry blossoms, very peaceful 🌸

Here is a delightful and very feeling poem by Matsuo Basho from Laura inspired by cherry blossoms.

“Sunlight that gives nature its blessing.”, such a nice description of the rosy pink type of cherry blossoms. Thanks for all the info and inspirational photos Laura 😊

More of us are being at home now, so we are bringing you some regular fun and relaxing activities – Creative Time – to encourage you to have some creative enjoyment and stay in touch!

It would be great if you would like to send us an image of anything you make, for us to show online if possible, please either 1. post on our Facebook page or 2. email us your image.

Category: Art Tags: Community Groups, Creative Time

Let’s write Spring Equinox

20 March 2020

Try out writing spring (or vernal) equinox – Shunbun 春分 – using Japanese Shodo calligraphy, or in your own style in any language!

These two kanji on their own literally mean spring and segment/part/share.

March Equinox – this is the time equal day and night, when the sun is directly above the Equator. In the Northern Hemisphere it is the Spring Equinox, and it’s called the Autumnal Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere.

Find out more about the Spring Equinox https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/march-equinox.html

Laura, thanks so much for writing spring equinox, your piece looks great and we can see how much you’re enjoying the mizu de kaku water paper – you did well to photograph it before the watery brushstrokes disappeared into the mists! Love the poem, it is so tranquil and soothing 🍃🌱🦆

Nice one Ken thank you for sending your image to us by email, great idea to try out using the procreate app on your ipad, that’s interesting you told me you used abstract ‘Triangulum’ brush on the app, it gives a 3D marky feel 🥰

More of us are being at home now, so we are bringing you some regular fun and relaxing activities – Creative Time – to encourage you to have some creative enjoyment and stay in touch!

It would be great if you would like to send us an image of anything you make, for us to show online if possible, please either 1. post on our Facebook page or 2. email us your image.

Category: Art Tags: Community Groups, Creative Time, Shodo calligraphy

Join in our Creative Time fun activities to do at home

20 March 2020

Love is in the air, with satellites whizzing by the stars

More of us are being at home now, so we are bringing you some regular fun and relaxing activities – Creative Time – to encourage you to have some creative enjoyment and stay in touch!

It would be great if you would like to send us an image of anything you make, for us to show online if possible, please either 1. post on our Facebook page or 2. email us your image.

Category: Art Tags: Community Groups, Creative Time, Young people's art

Soothing sounds and flowing rhythms

17 March 2020

Last week at Clydebank art group we enjoyed a carefree evening of painting. We’re sorry to say that this night marked the end of the project for the adults group for the time being (please note for updates on the Wednesday afterschool art group for young people please contact Centre81).

Many thanks to the funders West Dunbartonshire Council and Flightpath fund (Glasgow Airport) and to the fabulous Centre81. This has been a wonderful group with so much creativity and very relaxing and inspiring to be part of 😄 It is a lively and close community.

Recently we were inspired by the textures of stones from hills and seashore, as well as the spaciousness of clouds and water, and we developed this with by exploring sea shells too. In this group there was always lots of freedom to go your in different creative directions, and lots of help and encouragement when needed 🤗 and help to make participants feel settled and enjoy a sense of wellbeing. Thanks to Centre81 Steering Group for all their support co-organising this group.

Exploring the fun world of painting whilst relaxing at Clydebank art group, inspired by nature and the soothing sounds and flowing rhythms of the sea.

Category: Art Groups Tags: Clydebank Art Group, Community Groups

Peering into the spacious textured worlds of stones

11 March 2020

Recently we were inspired by the textures of stones from hills and seashore, peering into their worlds, as well as the spaciousness of clouds and water.

We’re sorry to say that we’ve reached the end of the Clydebank Art Group project so this is our last evening for the adults group for the time being (please note the Wednesday afterschool art group for young people will continue weekly, for updates contact Centre81).

Many thanks to the funders West Dunbartonshire Council and Flightpath fund and to the fabulous Centre81. This has been a wonderful group with so much creativity.

Category: Art Groups Tags: Clydebank Art Group, Community Groups

Seal carving and blowing stone dust at the Japanese Garden at Cowden

10 March 2020

On a blustery day with the March sun shining through the clouds into the garden and our cozy workspace, we enjoyed practicing Tenkoku 篆刻 seal carving to create our own stamps or inkan (more commonly known as hanko).

It is a captivating process and was wonderful to see everyone embracing it, from the design of their stamps on paper to the stone carving technique and the method of inking and pressing the stone onto Japanese paper.

We learned about the history of Japanese and Chinese stamp making and looked at varied examples and the ways of numerous of working with the tensho style of characters, and working with names or making natural designs.

In the quiet moments while everyone was working we could hear the echoes of the chipping sounds of the cutters on the stone and also of the participants enthusiastically blowing the dust off the face of their stones!

It was inspiring to be surrounded by the elemental trees and hills with all the textures and colours and breathing the fresh woodland air.

The Japanese Garden at Cowden
https://www.cowdengarden.com/

Category: Art Groups Tags: Japanese and Chinese stamp making

Mysterious universe calligraphy at Zen Heart Brush

5 March 2020

the heavens and earth
are dark and yellow
the universe and time
boundless

Senjimon 千字文
thousand character classic

We continued to work from the Thousand Character Classic 千字文 – Senjimon this time at the last Zen Heart Brush, working with genkou 玄黄, partly inspired by the delightful calligraphy of Chiei 智永. It was intriguing seeing how the shapes together with meanings of the characters originated and having fun with the very varied styles.

千字文 Thousand Character Classic
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Character_Classic

Category: Art Groups Tags: Shodo calligraphy

Save the Maryhill HUB

26 February 2020

Well done to the young people and workers at North United Communities we saved the Maryhill HUB (from threat of reduced opening days) with our fabulous banners 🙂

Category: Art Groups Tags: Community Groups, Young people's art

Atmospheric tree painting night

26 February 2020

Last week we had lots of fun with different pens, pastels, pencils and paints, tree landscapes guided our imagination 🌲🌳🌴

More fun arty workies from last week at Clydebank Centre81 art group!

It was a lovely atmosphere with everyone enjoying and trying out the combinations of art materials with watercolour paints🎨🖌️, whole heartedly having fun with the process without worrying about the result 👍😀

Kindly supported by West Dunbartonshire Council and Flightpath

Category: Art Groups Tags: Clydebank Art Group, Community Groups

Inspired by the examples of calligrapher Chiei

19 February 2020

At the last Zen Heart Brush we explored the Kaisho and Sosho styles of shodo calligraphy, working with tenchi 天地. We were inspired by the examples of calligrapher Chiei 智永 from his version of the fascinating Thousand Character Classic 千字文 – Senjimon.

His name means wisdom eternal – in Buddhism this wisdom is jnana (pronounced gyana in English) pure awareness unrestricted by concepts. Chiei is from the 7th Century Sui dynasty. He is the great great great…..great grandchild of Ogishi ( 王羲之 4th Century, one of China’s four famous calligraphers).