Saturday, October 10th, 2 - 4:30 PM at the Gallery at the Park, Richland, WA

For ages 12 - 17

In this hands-on workshop, artists will explore Chinese calligraphy as a visual art of movement, rhythm, space, and meaning. Guided by artist and educator Yidan Guo, students will discover how selected early Chinese character forms retain visual connections to the world around us, while learning that Chinese writing developed through more than pictures alone.

Students will first experiment on reusable water-writing cloths, using pressure, speed, direction, and moisture to create different kinds of marks. They will then choose one traditional Chinese character that feels personally meaningful — such as mountain, heart, dream, courage, art, or horse (2026 is the Year of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac) — and practice its structure and brush movement before working with real ink and paper.

Each participant will complete one large, original one-character artwork and a small personal meaning card to take home. The goal is not perfect copying, but learning how meaning, movement, ink, and space can come together in an individual work of art.

No previous knowledge or experience required! All materials are included.

Students will take home one finished traditional-character ink artwork, presented with a small card identifying the character and its English meaning.

COST: $55