maiji: cold mountain

[image set: 1) Photo of open notebook next to two glass dip pens, one slightly sanded down with a blunt tip. The page shows a haiku written over an illustration of a mountain range, parts of the mountains diffused like ink clouds. The drawing and text are created with three different grey inks, transitioning from a red/purplish-grey to a cool bluish grey to a glittery greenish-silver. 2) Eight swatches laid out in neat rows next to a mini flashcard set being used as an ink colour swatchbook, spread out like a fan. 3) In-progress photo showing an open notebook at an early stage of the illustration, with only the line of the mountains on the page running through the three different ink colours. Around the open book is a sketchbook with rough drafts of the illustration lying on pieces of chipboard, boxes, a ceramic water pot, a tissue blotted with rainbow ink colours, and a glass dip pen hovering over the page. 4) An angled closeup of the illustration showing the silver glitter in the word "sparkles!"]sitting at the footinside cold mountain’s shadowhow the mind sparkles!- Poetry and art by Maiji/Mary Huang, humangray.comThe first kigo of the year, “cold mountain”, is not only a place, but also a person - the poet known as Han Shan (“Cold Mountain”). Tricycle Magazine explained:A note on cold mountain: This month’s season word belongs to the “Landscape” category for winter because it refers to the Earth and its topography. But it is also the name of an 8th century Taoist-Buddhist poet who abandoned civilization to live in the remote Tiantai Mountains of Eastern China. Of the 600 poems said to have been written by “Cold Mountain,” only 320 remain today. These were transcribed by a third party who gathered them from the monastery walls and rocks and cliff faces where Han Shan wrote them, because he never committed his work to paper.Han Shan is a giant of Chinese and Buddhist poetry. So I started off with thoughts around the word “unfathomable” - the idea that a tiny person like me can barely comprehend not only the scale and height/depth of a mountain, but also the perspective of an enlightened, clear-eyed poet.I was actually feeling very sluggish the day I wrote the version I ended up finalizing. I had skipped my usual teas and was getting by most of the day on a tisane (herbal tea), and feeling very much not up to vigorous creativity. I decided I would at least try to clean up and tweak my notes, also look up some visuals of mountains for colour inspiration. I found a visual of layered mountain silhouettes, and two thoughts came to mind: “Wouldn’t it be lovely to do a completely grey piece!” and “It’s been really clouded over and grey lately!” That had actually served as inspiration for a recent meditation I facilitated on buddhanature: the sky is always there, just like the clarity of our minds. It's just that sometimes things are clouded over. As I looked through my grey inks, Mirror Flower Water Moon jumped out at me, and this glittery ink made me think of the word "sparkle". Instead of the intimidating idea of Cold Mountain’s shadow, my mind lit up at the thought of sheer wonder: the ability to touch reality, even for just a moment, through the insights of poetry. Instead of being discouraged by what I can't do, being amazed that it can be done and that I can experience its results. And it just felt right.A reminder sometimes when I don’t feel like doing something, try just taking a step. The smallest, simplest step, like opening a file or writing something. Who knows where it will lead?Inks used  PenBBS #261 Mirror-Flower Water-Moon Pilot Iroshizuku Kirisame Ink Institute Cat At Dusk Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyusyogun