Student Response Regarding the Scrollmaking Class

If you would like to schedule a class or order my book contact to sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com or go to www.shop.customjapanesecalligraphy.com

To Mr.

Jonathan Maples

St. George/Utah                                                                                   February, 19th, 2011

Scroll making class February 7-9, 2011

Dear Jonathan,

Thank you very much for the wonderful chance of studying with you the making of a wall scroll. Indeed it was a tough time for me – measuring over and over again, cutting the pieces and gluing them together – all this to be done kneeling on the floor!

I especially appreciated your calm and relaxed attitude and your deep and profound knowledge of this Japanese craft. It is of high value if one is quite familiar with all the Japanese names as described in your book: "How to Make Handmade Wall Scrolls”, because I noticed that I started to get puzzled with all the new expressions from day two on.

The work of these 2 ½ days was a highly concentrative task. As it follows the rhythm learning by watching and then doing by oneself, one surely has some time to relax from work, but as you already mentioned in your blog, one or two coffee breaks would have been lovely for me.

I appreciated your helping hand anytime I wasn’t skilled enough to handle it alone. Especially the very last step of bringing the final layer of urauchi onto the almost finished scroll is very crucial. Then it will be obvious how carefully one has worked because all the little creases will show after drying it. So this was the part where I was very grateful for your experienced and profound support.

With your introduction, assistance and support I am highly satisfied with the wonderful scroll I could take home to Germany. It will get a special place in our Zendo where we perform our Buddhist meditation. The Kanji on it is MU, which means Nothing, Emptiness or Boundlessness. Right now I was asked to embellish our Ikebana exhibition with it by hanging it there.

Besides I am very grateful that I could take home the scroll you were demonstrating the whole procedure as well. It will hang in the corridor of our house. The Kanji on it are from the Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo (Ten verse sutra of prolonging life) and mean: eternal, joyful, intimate and pure.

In future I hopefully will be able to recall all these little steps of building such a scroll and am happy that you offered your assistance for arising questions.

I am also very pleased with this traditional and wonderful silk and brocade cloth that you provided me with. 

I hope that many people will find the way to your lessons and be able to learn these special skills from you.

Yours sincerely

Regina Oberndorfer

If you would like to order a custom scroll there are three ways to get started: 1. Go to my shopping site at www.shop.customjapanesecalligraphy.com 2. Download my scroll design workbook from my website at www.customjapanesecalligraphy.com to read about the concepts behind kakejiku or wallscroll design. 3. E-mail to me directly at sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com