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I had a calligraphy performance at the UN in a collaborative event with Sahoko Sato Timpone ( Mezzo-Soprano ) on Friday, June 16, at 1-3pm. This was the third event of “Peace is … ” and I selected the words “Peace is Unity “.

Part I: Waves (Blue Ink) Kana style

– Classical Japanese poem evoking images of ocean waves

Part II: Flow (Black Ink) Contemporary style

– Various kanji representing different aspects of the sea:  波 ( Wave ), 流動 ( Flow ), 風 ( Wind ),光 ( Light ), 影 ( Shadow ), 希望( Hope ),源( Origin )

Part III: Light and Wind (Gold Ink) Manyogana

– from the classical Japanese anthology of One Hundred Poems, which expresses love with metaphors relating to nature.

After the performance, guests wrote their messages of peace in their respective mother languages on Japanese “washi” paper and on stones/seashells which will be thrown onto the “paper ocean”.

I felt peace when I taught my first calligraphy class. There my student brought his grandmother, as the lesson was for her birthday. Since English was not a native language for either of us, our way of communicating was through calligraphy. She wanted to write ” love” for her grandson as a sign of appreciation. So I took her hand and guided her through the movements.

This is how I teach with unity and why it means peace to me.