the tools

chinese sages used brush. ink. paper . our tools are no more, nor no less sophisticated, perhaps less a part of the physicality.

calligraphy and painting, observant of the shi, the energy force by which they became the instrument, a tool in the making, contained within the energy between the brush and the paper, a part of the whole, allowing themselves to enter the space as a part of it, unseparated by physicality.

the idea of knowing, of entering that space perceptually is one of contemplation, one that we may use, existing beyond the frame of the rectangle, the edge of where we may see but not the true edge of where we see, allowing our knowledge and perception, intuition, to guide us. we learn to trust ourselves, handle the tools, the space, the time with care and respect, becoming one with them. at that point we are in the space, we are of the space.

bridging the spaces between brushstroke, flashing white. movement of line indicates movement of space, the continnum of the energy force

Franscoise Jullien likened the shi to many things, equivalent to weapons, to position, to the power of the energy force, dynamism, an atmosphere of energy, the flow of time and of space that transcends definition, the space between the practice and the theory.

Recognizing and understanding the shi, we may realize our position in the cosmos, as an individual and as a component of the whole.

The Chinese observed the shi in nature, the duality of existence, and the forms of representation were manifested in the paintings and calligraphy which maintained a level of energy and balance, always allowing for the movement of the space

The hexagrams represent levels, components of the whole. the Chinese system based the hexagrams from eight core trigrams, which in combination make sixty-four hexagrams. Each represents a situation, all read at each of the levels. The I Ching associates six critical components with each hexagram, naming them [propensity], numbering [positions in the cycle], representative image [how the aesthetics are related], the judgement [the advice from the sage, moral], the movement of the lines [change in propensity], and the final commentary [the completed hexagram]