| (1) Bamboo pen: The bamboo pen is the Chinese traditional inside-bottle painting tool. The pen stock is select material from soon to mature tender bamboo, a material similar to that preferred by some for their rattan garden furniture. A smooth round stick is tapered to a thin end about 0.5~2 centimeter from the end. It is then heated with the light irons to form a slight arching upward curve. Unlike other art and crafts supplies, the early inside-bottle painters who extensively used the bamboo pen state its characteristic as a brush that produces vigorous, powerful lines but that neat, exquisite lines were not easy to outline. Try using one for yourself to see what they mean, perhaps you could paint some gardens filled with flowers and nice garden furniture, to bring a little spring-time warmth to your shelf. |