Sumi-e

In this eagerly awaited treasury, the Japanese "living national treasure" and renowned master Shozo Sato offers his own personal teaching, in convenient book form! Step-bystep, photo-by-photo instructions guide U.S. learners in the correct form, motions, and techniques of sumi-e. Sumi-e--a style of painting that's characteristically Asian--has been practiced for well over 1,000 years. As enthusiasts like to say, it's been transmitted from teacher to student across 110 generations. And the hundreds of sumi-e classes that take place across the U. S. on any given week attest to its popularity here. "Sumi" means black ink, and "e" means painting. Although it's sometimes confused with calligraphy--the tools used are the same--sumi-e instead tries to capture the essence of an object or scene in the fewest possible strokes. Features include: * Explanations of the tools, and how to choose what you need to set up your own "studio." * 16 step-by-step landscape paintings to try, from traditional waterfall scenes to the Salzburg Castle in Austria. * 19 step-by-step plant paintings to try, from bamboo to colour-drenched star gazer lilies. * Exercises to improve your technique.

Shozo Sato is a master of traditional Zen arts. His areas of expertise include ikebana (flower arranging), chanoyu (tea ceremony), and Japanese theater, as well as sumi-e. He conducts workshops on ikebana and sumi-e throughout the U.S., Asia and Europe and is the author of numerous books including Ikebana and The Art of Sumi-e. He was the founding director of Japan House at the University of Illinois, where he is Professor Emeritus. Sato resides in Fort Bragg, CA.