www.TwoCrows.co.uk

David Watson Hood, visual artist

Large 5 mountain brush rest (筆山bǐshān)

In serpentine. One of 8 objects made from a single stone. It was an extraordinary stone in the way it showed its history. One can see how the main material which varies from a light green to an almost black dark green has partly hardened before being churned and kneaded again by the movement of the shear zone; then super hot liquid blood red material perhaps jadeite has been injected under pressure into tiny gaps creating capillary like patterns and in places a purple sheen.
I cut this stone as best I could to maximise its yield as it was so much more appealing than most. It has made 8 objects: 2 picture seals (one with a horse one a stag), 3 brushrests (its possible to get them out of the wedge shaped edges), an ink palette (in Mandarin delightfully called a Bǐ tiǎn 筆舔 ‘pen licking’), a double brush washer and an ink rest (墨床Mò chuáng lit ink bed) it stops the wet inkstick from sticking to the table.