Plainsboro resident and artist Taiko Lyding exhibits a collection of traditional Japanese watercolor paintings and calligraphy at the gallery at Plainsboro Public Library. A reception will be held Saturday, June 1, from 2 to 4 p.m. The show runs through June 26.
Born in Shiogama City in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, Lyding enjoyed writing and painting from a young age and was a frequent prizewinner in the Miyagi Prefecture elementary school writing contest. She studied calligraphy with Keisho Yokoishi and oil painting under Shichiro Takahashi and has won numerous awards in the national painting competition. She also studied with Shuho Konno, a grand master of calligraphy and the vice president of the Tohoku Calligraphy Association, and soon acquired the rank of full (master) instructor.
Lyding moved to Plainsboro when she married her husband, Chris. While continuing to practice calligraphy, she served as a Japanese instructor at Princeton University, also lecturing on calligraphy in the East Asian Studies Department.
Lyding has introduced countless students to Japanese culture through lectures and numerous calligraphy demonstrations at the Princeton Community Japanese Language School, Wicoff Elementary School, Grovers Middle School, and High School South.
When she visited her hometown of Shiogama City in 2011, an earthquake struck in that very region. In that same year, an unknown disease severally hindered Lyding’s motor skills, including her ability to walk. While she is still undergoing medical treatment, Lyding thanks her friends for encouraging her to hold this exhibition, and says:
“The theme of this exhibition is living. After I started having difficulty walking in 2011, I acquired an acute sense of how thankful I was to have the ability to walk and talk. Additionally, I have been thinking about what it means to be compassionate toward the handicapped and the importance of living life every day with a positive and forward-facing attitude. It is impossible to escape birth, illness, old age, and death, but through Japanese calligraphy and painting, I would like to convey to future generations the importance of happiness and living life to the fullest here in the United States.”
Art Exhibit, Plainsboro Public Library, 9 Van Doren Street. Saturday, June 1, 2 to 4 p.m. Opening reception for a collection of traditional Japanese watercolor paintings and calligraphy by Taiko Lyding, a resident of Plainsboro. On view to June 26. 609-275-2897. www.lmxac.org/plainsboro.
