Colored Paintings Pavilion 1871 - 1933

This small ink tablet called "Colored Paintings Pavilion" by Jian Guzhai is a beautiful object. I love the fact that it is functional and decorative at the same time. I’m thinking about Jian Guzhai holding this small rectangle, carving into the surface. The edges are so ornate, almost baroque. I imagine him carefully delineating the sinuous patterns and floral motifs. It must have been a slow, meditative process, like the actual painting. It's so interesting to think about the intimate relationship between the tool and the art it helps create. Like the dance between a painter and their brush. It reminds me of when I teach. I try to get the students to really bond with their materials. To think sculpturally, you know? Jian Guzhai’s tablet is a reminder that art is everywhere, in everything, even in the tools we use to make art.