Susan Perry

The re-creation of the self occurs most with age and barriers. Like water moving around a large rock, we embrace change to continue to move forward. The result is many life stories: I have had a few from mother and wife to magazine Editor-in-Chief and philosophy professor. Now I am enjoying my life as a Zen Brush artist and teacher of Aikido. Asked what I am I say “I am a lover of the beauty of natural movement;” this is one important thing that continues to be a part of me. The beauty of nature provides me with both a philosophical understanding of life as well as a spiritual framework by which to live.

Trained in many artistic mediums as a young girl, nothing really grabbed me until I was introduced to Zen brushwork. This is a particular form of brushwork which has no form - the form of no form. Zen brushwork rests upon the movement of the artist’s breath, a natural whole body breath coming in from the earth through your feet and connecting you to all that is. So, a good Zen Brush piece will express the beauty of nature as it travels barrier free from the artist’s feet through the body and out the brush. Before I pick up the brush I take a breath and clear out the day’s stresses. Often a finished piece is made with one stroke, one breath - simple, but not easy. The versatility of the brush enables the artist to express life in a stroke. It is a brush with life.     www.Susanperry.info