Painting a Ki symbol takes a lot of Ki.
My son’s Aikido sensei asked me to make a ki sign for the dojo. No problem. I have painted in Japanese style before. I have incorporated kanji in my art. I am an artist. It’s just one symbol. Right?
Calligraphists in China and Japan spend a lifetime perfecting their hand. And I thought I could just wing it? Ha.
I have gone through reams of paper trying to get one that looks ki like. With all the back story that that implies.
Ki is the symbol for energy, unseen energy. The symbol itself comes from rice and the steam rising off it. Rice being the life blood of Asia. Steam, the representation of the seen and unseen at the same time.
Ki in Aikido can also represent breath – also perfect for that steam off the rice. Maybe I’m not breathing. I’ll try that.
Does all this help me in creating the symbol? I don’t know yet, I haven’t gotten back to it since I learned all this.
I hope it will. So far my attempts feel forced with no ki in them at all.
I’ll keep you posted.
