G U S: art

"Calligraphy-in-Stone"

"mei" (beauty)

"mei"

"ping" (peace)

"an"

(tranquility)

"ho" (harmony)

"yong" (balance)

Each of my stone calligraphy works is unique in design and rendered by hand (i.e. not sandblasted, or otherwise mass-produced) and incorporates research into the historical origins and evolution of the Chinese characters, brushwork on paper to explore calligraphic interpretations, and collecting materials with care to both the stone’s “character” and the environments in which I find them, before finally undertaking the carving itself.

   Within each and every one us, I believe, there lies a sublime and creative "heart-center". It is no less than the inner home of the divine spark which is the source of all that we experience. The visual artist then, I feel, is most fortunate in the opportunity to reflect this innate creative spark tangibly, giving expressive form to its divine source.

   One of my most cherished roles in fulfilling our communal creative nature has evolved, inseparably, from my spiritual life, leading me to consciously seek the execution of each piece as a “working meditation”. As such, the theme of the Calligraphy in Stone series is deliberately chosen to represent - and perpetuate - the values in characters such as those depicting Peace, Harmony and Balance.

   In that same spirit, at the end of March, 2015, I've begun my first meditative rendering of a "Mani Stone", carved in Tibetan "Uchen" script, and reading: Om Mani Padme Hum