I remember telling my dear friend, and master calligrapher, Kobun Otogawa Roshi, before he passed away, that I wanted to artistically render the places where the intangible became tangible; where emptiness moves into form, and form disappears back into emptiness. Like thoughts, emotions, or spiritual insights, these moments seem so real and palpable at the time, and suddenly they vanish. Poof! The charge of them is suddenly gone! How could I portray those moments with a brush and ink?

I found that when I invoke these moments where the spirit world and ‘reality’ intersect, I feel I am not running the show. The brush becomes my teacher, the ink my blood’s longing, and all I have to do is follow their command. Then the combination of what feels like a rain from heaven and my intention to be tender, true, and on the spot, melt into one experience, and the traces of that are left in ink on paper.