fude
Rykk Adams
I have a question about the proper type of brush to use as a fude.
My friend bought me a calligraphy set which has 6 brushes of
different colors. Each tapers to a point. here are the questions.
1. I saw a picture of a fude with a square end. Do my brushes
have the wrong tip?
2. The bristles of the brushes are quite stiff. Should I break up
the bristles to make the brush softer? Or should I keep it stiff
so I can write thinner characters?
Right now I'm only working on hiragana but I don't want to start
any bad habits. I checked out the web first, which did answer
several other questions I had. These two are all that remain.
Thanks,
Rykk
Charles Eicher
<ish...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I have a question about the proper type of brush to use as a fude.
> My friend bought me a calligraphy set which has 6 brushes of
> different colors. Each tapers to a point. here are the questions.
>
> 1. I saw a picture of a fude with a square end. Do my brushes
> have the wrong tip?
No, writing brushes always come to a point. There are a variety of brushes
used for painting that have flat or square tips. There is also a series of
brushes called known as a "hake" that are flat and wide, like a brush you'd
paint your house with, but these are not really used for calligraphy. I saw
a video demonstration of chinese ink-painting using a flat-tip brush with a
round barrel. I've been looking for one ever since (years now) and I've
been totally unable to locate one, or even discover what it is called. If
you have information on these squared brushes, I'd be especially interested
in hearing it.
> 2. The bristles of the brushes are quite stiff. Should I break up
> the bristles to make the brush softer? Or should I keep it stiff
> so I can write thinner characters?
Almost all brushes are dipped in gum arabic and shaped to a point, before
being sold. This is merely to keep the bristles from being damaged in
shipment. The coating is water-soluble, and it will disappear the first
time you dip it in water. Don't break up the brush with your fingers while
dry, you could actually break some of the bristles this way. Rinse it in
water first.
If you want to write thinner characters, just get a smaller brush.
----------------
Charles Eicher
cei...@inav.net
----------------
Mike Wright
>
> Hello,
>
> I have a question about the proper type of brush to use as a fude.
> My friend bought me a calligraphy set which has 6 brushes of
> different colors. Each tapers to a point. here are the questions.
>
> 1. I saw a picture of a fude with a square end. Do my brushes
> have the wrong tip?
No. The tip should not have a square end for calligraphy. You proably saw some
kind of painting brush. Of course, there have been calligraphers who have
written with all sorts of brushes, including chewed twigs and pieces of rope,
but they were either very advanced or very eccentric.
> 2. The bristles of the brushes are quite stiff. Should I break up
> the bristles to make the brush softer? Or should I keep it stiff
> so I can write thinner characters?
The tip of a new brush is stiffened with starch (or maybe hide glue in some
cases) to help protect it and preserve the shape. The brush that I used in my
shodou lessons had about a 5 cm. tip, and we softened up only about half of
that to write kanji that were about 10-12 cm tall. The diameter of the middle
of the tip was about 1 cm., maybe a bit more.
Soak the portion to be softened in lukewarm water and squeeze out the starch.
After using the brush, wash out the ink carefully, trying not to wash out the
remaining starch, and reshape the tip to its original point before setting it
aside to dry--preferably tip-up in a glass or similar holder. There's a kind
of brush holder that you can insert the tip into to keep it wet with ink if
you're going to write with it again soon, but if you ever let the ink dry on
the tip, you can pretty much kiss the brush good-bye.
We used a much smaller brush to write hiragana that averaged about 1.5 cm.
tall, and I think that the entire tip was softened. (All this is based on
20-year-old memories. I didn't keep up my brush writing after I left Japan.)
Leaving the starch in the base of a large brush helps maintain the shape of
the tip.
There are also many different kinds of fude that are used for different
purposes in painting. I have some rather small Chinese brushes, about the same
length as my hiragana brush, but with needle-pointed conical tips and much
wider bases, that have only the very end softened, which I use for painting
things like pine needles and other small objects. I have others that are a lot
like my kanji fude, but the entire tips are softened. Some are used for
"boneless" styles of ink painting, and others are used to apply color washes.
Many different kinds of hair are used, too--goat, badger, wolf, deer--each of
which has its own characteristics.
> Right now I'm only working on hiragana but I don't want to start
> any bad habits. [...]
Good luck. I had already developed lots of bad habits by the time I took
lessons. There's nothing better than a good teacher--or at least someone who
can show you how to get the basic shapes, and what those shapes really should
look like--especially if you don't have good samples of brush calligraphy available.
One thing I discovered was that when I began, I had no clue about when
something that I had written was "good" and when it was "bad"--or why my
sensei picked one of my pieces over another. Then, during the lessons, nothing
about overall character composition was ever explained explicitly, though a
lot was said about how to form various stroke shapes. As a result, once I left
Japan and no longer had the guidance of my sensei, I had no way of judging my
own progress, so I soon lost interest. I think that I had absorbed quite a bit
in the area of taste by the time I got to shodan, but I still lacked
confidence.
Something similar happened to Sensei's younger daughter, who was showing good
progress on the 5-string banjo, but gave it up soon after I left--though she
had less excuse than I had, since there are lots of good Bluegrass musicians
in the Tokyo-Yokohama area. (For a twenty-year-old photo of me playing guitar
on stage at the Yokohama Spring Wind Bluegrass Festival, check out
http://www.mbay.net/~darwin/springwind.1.jpg . The one on the left is Sasabe
Masuo, festival producer and still active in Bluegrass, and the one in the
middle is Jim Bryan, at last report teaching Japanese in Florida. To see the
same guitar twenty years later, and me with even less hair, try
http://www.mbay.net/~darwin/d35patio.jpg .)
--
Mike Wright
http://www.mbay.net/~darwin/language.html
_____________________________________________________
"Is that your own hair, or did you scalp an angel?"
--Bob Hope in "My Favorite Blonde"
Charles Eicher
> Rykk Adams wrote:
> > 2. The bristles of the brushes are quite stiff. Should I break up
> > the bristles to make the brush softer? Or should I keep it stiff
> > so I can write thinner characters?
>
> The tip of a new brush is stiffened with starch (or maybe hide glue in some
> cases) to help protect it and preserve the shape.
definitely not hide glue. That stuff doesn't dissolve until its nearly
boiled. I have seen some brushes that have their ferrules sealed with hide
glue, though. Generally, they use Gum Arabic which is the most common
binder used in watercolors. Gum Arabic is watersoluble and nontoxic (its
largest industrial use is as a coating for pills and other oral
pharaceuticals).
> Soak the portion to be softened in lukewarm water and squeeze out the starch.
> After using the brush, wash out the ink carefully, trying not to wash out the
> remaining starch, and reshape the tip to its original point before setting it
> aside to dry--preferably tip-up in a glass or similar holder.
I disagree. I always wash out ALL the brush hardener. It is just used to
protect the brush before sale during shipping, and to show the natural
shape of the brush so you can select the appropriate shape without dipping
it in water. If a brush is manufactured correctly, it will retain its shape
without any stiffener, the bristles are positioned in the ferrule with
their natural direction working to form the intended shape. For example, I
have a huge brush about 2 inches in diameter, made from really coarse hairs
(of unknown origin) about 5 inches long. When dry, it looks like a mop. But
when wet, it magically shapes into a beautiful point, and makes wonderful
lines about 2 inches wide.
I also disagree with drying brushes point-up. If you lay a small brush down
on its side, the bristles should not droop to make contact with the table,
they should be stiff enough to dry in their natural shape despite the
forces of gravity. It is preferable (IMHO) to dry brushes on their side, or
for long bristles that WOULD droop, I'd dry them hanging point-down. Most
large brushes have a little cloth loop on the top of the handle that is
intended for hanging. It is highly inadvisable to store any brushes
point-up, since gravity would push the remaining water into the ferrule.
You generally aren't supposed to wet brushes as deep as the ferrule (the
point where the brush hair is mounted in the handle). I only do that when
cleaning the brush. I always clean brushes by a quick rinse in a deep glass
of water (immersing the ferrule for only 2 seconds or so) and then
vigorously flinging the brush to drive the water out to the point. Then I
reshape the brush to a point, then set it down horizontally (or hang it up
with a tack on my wall).
Oh, BTW, NEVER leave brushes sitting immersed in a cup of water (a common
practice for painters). This will cause the bamboo or wood to swell and
split. Its the fastest way to ruin a brush.
Mike Wright
>
> In article <366C5F90...@mbay.net>, Mike Wright <dar...@mbay.net> wrote:
>
> > Rykk Adams wrote:
>
> > > 2. The bristles of the brushes are quite stiff. Should I break up
> > > the bristles to make the brush softer? Or should I keep it stiff
> > > so I can write thinner characters?
> >
> > Soak the portion to be softened in lukewarm water and squeeze out the starch.
> > After using the brush, wash out the ink carefully, trying not to wash out the
> > remaining starch, and reshape the tip to its original point before setting it
> > aside to dry--preferably tip-up in a glass or similar holder.
>
> I disagree.
Well, when Sensei gave me my kanji brush, he made a little mark on the
bristles and told me to only soften it up to that point. Since he was an
experienced shodou teacher, I followed his advice.
> I always wash out ALL the brush hardener. It is just used to
> protect the brush before sale during shipping, and to show the natural
> shape of the brush so you can select the appropriate shape without dipping
> it in water. If a brush is manufactured correctly, it will retain its shape
> without any stiffener, the bristles are positioned in the ferrule with
> their natural direction working to form the intended shape. For example, I
> have a huge brush about 2 inches in diameter, made from really coarse hairs
> (of unknown origin) about 5 inches long. When dry, it looks like a mop. But
> when wet, it magically shapes into a beautiful point, and makes wonderful
> lines about 2 inches wide.
One effect of softening only a portion of the tip is that the tip is springier
and easier to control. I did wonder why they didn't just make brushes with
shorter tips. Perhaps different styles require different approaches, so that
the same brush can be used in different ways.
> I also disagree with drying brushes point-up. If you lay a small brush down
> on its side, the bristles should not droop to make contact with the table,
> they should be stiff enough to dry in their natural shape despite the
> forces of gravity. It is preferable (IMHO) to dry brushes on their side, or
> for long bristles that WOULD droop, I'd dry them hanging point-down. Most
> large brushes have a little cloth loop on the top of the handle that is
> intended for hanging. It is highly inadvisable to store any brushes
> point-up, since gravity would push the remaining water into the ferrule.
> You generally aren't supposed to wet brushes as deep as the ferrule (the
> point where the brush hair is mounted in the handle). I only do that when
> cleaning the brush. I always clean brushes by a quick rinse in a deep glass
> of water (immersing the ferrule for only 2 seconds or so) and then
> vigorously flinging the brush to drive the water out to the point. Then I
> reshape the brush to a point, then set it down horizontally (or hang it up
> with a tack on my wall).
I do the same thing with flinging the water off the tip of the brush, followed
by a careful shaping against a paper towel or hanshi, which doesn't seem to
leave enough water in the tip to run down into the ferrule. I have several
painting fude, with the tips completely softened, that I have been using for
over twenty years, and I've never had a tip come unglued as a result of
storing them point up. (These are mostly brushes that are used exclusively for
washes, so they don't get the harsher treatment that outline or boneless
brushes do, which is why they have lasted so long.)
I only have a couple of brushes that have loops for hanging. Since I do my
painting on the dining room table, I can't leave my equipment spread out for
any length of time.
> Oh, BTW, NEVER leave brushes sitting immersed in a cup of water (a common
> practice for painters). This will cause the bamboo or wood to swell and
> split. Its the fastest way to ruin a brush.
Now this I'll agree with. I made this mistake when I first tried using a brush
to write Chinese. Even if the bamboo doesn't split, the tip is almost sure to
come out. Even Western-style watercolor brushes can't take this for too long.
I have a couple that I used for painting ceramics where the wood swelled to
the point that the lacquer coating cracked and peeled off.
Mike Wright
>
[...]
> An important point of calligraphy is to hold the brush upright almost 90
> degree from the paper.
Yes, for kaisho, but I was taught to hold the brush with the handle pointing
slightly to the right and away from me (toward the upper right corner of the
paper) when writing gyousho and sousho.
--
Mike Wright
http://www.mbay.net/~darwin/
Lei Tanabe
Charles Eicher wrote in message ...
>In article <366C5F90...@mbay.net>, Mike Wright <dar...@mbay.net>
wrote:
>
>> Rykk Adams wrote:
>
>> > 2. The bristles of the brushes are quite stiff. Should I break up
>> > the bristles to make the brush softer? Or should I keep it stiff
>> > so I can write thinner characters?
>>
starch.
>
I also wash out all the hardner and make the brush soft to avoid rigid brush
stroke.
There are some already fluff brushes specially among big ones are sold.
However I know some teachers prefer a partly stiff brush. I think it's
according to their writing style.
Also sometimes they suggest the biginners to do so for the manageability.
For small brushes (ko-fude) I usually soften about one-third of the tip in
order to write small charecters.
An important point of calligraphy is to hold the brush upright almost 90
degree from the paper.
Lei
Charles Eicher
> One effect of softening only a portion of the tip is that the tip is springier
> and easier to control. I did wonder why they didn't just make brushes with
> shorter tips. Perhaps different styles require different approaches, so that
> the same brush can be used in different ways.
Well, I think that's the core of this issue, everyone has a different
approach to calligraphy, and there are an infinite number of ways to handle
even just one brush. And then there are thousands of different brushes..
and if that isn't good enough, I can hook you up with a brushmaker who will
whip something together that customized to your style..
Gerald B Mathias
: In article <74gihr$d...@bgtnsc02.worldnet.att.net>, "Rykk Adams"
: <ish...@hotmail.com> wrote:
: > 1. I saw a picture of a fude with a square end. Do my brushes
: > have the wrong tip?
: No, writing brushes always come to a point. There are a variety of brushes
: used for painting that have flat or square tips. There is also a series of
: brushes called known as a "hake" that are flat and wide, like a brush you'd
: paint your house with, but these are not really used for calligraphy. I saw
: a video demonstration of chinese ink-painting using a flat-tip brush with a
: round barrel. I've been looking for one ever since (years now) and I've
: been totally unable to locate one, or even discover what it is called. If
: you have information on these squared brushes, I'd be especially interested
: in hearing it.
I indulged in a short evening course in shodoo a few years back.
The teacher recommended trying all kinds of things for brushes,
and demonstrated the use of the hairy kind of monkey pod nut.
But while that might be fine for a kakemono, I'd hate to write a
letter with one.
Bart