I've been slowly prepping a care package for a friend who's on the verge of getting her doctorate degree. I made her an etched glass plaque, and I'm shamelessly sticking some merch into her care package: a 2023 Kevin's Walk tee shirt (I'm guessing she's a medium) and a copy of my tiny book (or booklet), Think Like a Teacher. I also drew her two little brush-art pictures: one of my crazy, laughing horse; and one of Dalma-daesa (Bodhidharma) which, admittedly, is not my best work, but that'll do, pig; that'll do.
I wanted to make the brush art into scrolls, so I went to Insa-dong, the touristy art district, Saturday afternoon. The sky couldn't decide whether it wanted to clear up or piss down hard; I got a bit of both, but I kept my art well protected from the weather. The old scrollmaker's place I had visited years ago was long gone; I found another shop devoted to a variety of arts and crafts. It was run by a friendly old couple, and I was told the scrolls would cost me W70,000 apiece to make (I paid on the spot), and that I could pick them up late next week, around Friday. I get the impression that the scrolls aren't put together on site; the store seemed to be exclusively for selling wares; any atelier was probably somewhere outside of Insa-dong.
There's little else to do with this care package, which is almost totally prepped and ready to be sent out with a "Don't open until graduation!" warning. I hope my old friend, whom I haven't seen in decades, appreciates the gifts.
Before I forget: the distaff half of the old couple is a talented artist. She showed me one of her pieces, which looked a bit like a collage done in a style that married traditional imagery with modern techniques. It was amazing work, and I felt a bit ashamed coming into her shop so presumptuously to talk about getting my cartoonish brush art turned into scrolls. She complimented my images, but I think she was just being polite. My scribbles don't hold a candle to what she produced. I didn't think to do it on Saturday, but next week, if I remember, I'll try to get a photograph of her work when I pick my scrolls up. Part of me wanted to buy the lady's work then and there, but it wouldn't have been cheap. It's not so much that I admired her work (truth be told, I did admire it) as that I was humbled by it.
"It's not so much that I admired her work (truth be told, I did admire it) as that I was humbled by it."
ReplyDeleteI can relate. That's how I feel about your mastery of all things grammatical.