Tallahassee was the scene for the 54th Annual Juried Sumi-e Society of America Exhibition over the weekend. It was hosted by the LeMoyne Center for the Visual Arts and was a real celebration of Oriental culture.
Tallahassee's own Kikio Tanaka conducted an ancient Japanese tea ceremony while her husband Genzo explained the ritual. Also at the LeMoyne gallery, about 100 paintings from all over America. Executive Director Ann Koziliski said the brush and ink technique used to create them is tough to master.
"It's very hard for our western minds to 'seat in' that you can be that free, but I'll tell you that it's a very releasing art form; very Zen and very relaxing."
Tallahassee resident Ryan Sullivan plays Japanese flute and studies Zen. He sees the philosophy as an eastern expression of the Golden Rule.
"If I'm treating this person over here bad, it's like I'm cutting my left arm," he explained. "And if I'm treating this person over there bad, it's like I'm cutting my right arm and how can I be happy if I keep cutting myself?"
Workshops and other celebrations of Oriental art and culture continued throughout the weekend.
