First of all, I would like to thank all who visit my site, and say that I greatly appreciate all the positive feedback and support that I am receiving, whether it is in in regards to my art and learning materials on the Japanese and Chinese calligraphy, or the artistic projects that I am developing.

As you can see, I have completely overhauled the Ryuurui's Art Studio website, and gave it a new look and feel. I did that for a few reasons. One was that I have created so many calligraphy and photography art for past few years, that it was simply too much to post it all, and too confusing for you to navigate through. So, I removed all the galleries and created a portfolio tab instead, which shows the scope of the art that I create. All the artwork that was in my art gallery is not gone from the internet forever. I will be republishing my art in the blog section, with educational articles and interesting information for all of you who wish to learn more not only about Japanese and Chinese calligraphy, but also the art photography.

In regards to the learning tab of this website, I will keep all the information as it is, but I will reorganise it in a way to accommodate some room for photography tutorials and tips. It is highly possible I will also start sharing some information regarding photography post processing, software and so on, especiall;y that I am venturing now into the HDR photography, photoshop art, composite photography, and so on.

In addition, my art will also focus on merging the ancient world of Japanese and Chinese calligraphy with the digital photography and digital art. Naturally, I am still involved in studying classical calligraphy and research, calligraphy exhibitions in Japan, etc., so there is no change in this area, it simply gets expanded.

I had some questions regarding my publications. My book on etymology of Chinese characters and Japanese kanji is complete (volume 1), and my Japanese literary agent is in the process of suggesting the book for publishing houses in Japan. My poetry book should be published this year, I have the entire text ready, I am now deciding on which calligraphy art I should add to it. In regards to my calligraphy book - this will have to wait, for two reasons. One is that I have two calligraphy books written. The first one is more philosophical and the other one is more factual and history related. I am considering combining them both into one volume, and at the moment I simply do not have the time to do this. I plan on finishing it after I am done with publishing the poetry tome.

In regards to other projects of mine. The Japan in photography now has a new blog. It will be a daily photo blog with pictures of my travels around Japan, and short articles with interesting facts regarding Japanese culture, traditions, interesting places, events, and so on. Majority of those photos can be purchased in a form of fine art prints at my store on Fine Art America. I have large plans for Japan in photography in motion, but it is still in early stages, so I will share more when it is all ready to go. The digital art store area will also be expanded.

Ryuurui Foto Studio is a site exclusively for my work as a commercial photographer in Japan, which purpose will probably remain unchanged.

Last but not least, the Ink Treasures project, which we have started last year with the ink painter Mariusz Szmerdt. The project was on hold for a while, but we are already discussing its future, including rebuilding the site to give it a new look and more focus on the artwork.

This will be a very busy year for me, but since it is The Year of the Horse, I think it should be. If anyone has any suggestions, ideas or wishes to share his or her thoughts in regards to any of my projects, please feel free to leave you comment below, or contact me at ponte@ryuurui.com.

Together with Mariusz, we are working very hard on creating new exciting content for the Ink Treasures website. At the moment our focus is history related articles, as well as articles regarding the co-created art.

Our aim is to create a comprehensive website network, with easy to understand and follow articles on the subject of ink painting and calligraphy.  There are several new ideas in preparation, and although I cannot give you all the details yet, I can reveal a few things.

First, this month we plan to launch our store, with all kinds of items for purchase. That will include art, custom art, designs, commercial and private orders, prints, and so on.

Next, on May we are launching the forums, where people will be able to exchange their knowledge, experience, ask questions, share their art, or simply socialise.

We have also started a cooperation with several institutions and artists in Japan and Europe. This year looks very promising, and we sincerely hope that you will enjoy what we are both preparing for you. Many thanks for your support!

All updates are published on our Facebook fan page (see below), please give us your LIKEs!

Ink Treasures is an artistic project that I am currently working on together with an accomplished ink painter, Mariusz Szmerdt.

We decided to combine our efforts, and not only co-create a series of artwork that would merge the traditional and modern ink painting and calligraphy art., but also tell you more about the history and secrets of both, and share some of our knowledge with those who are willing to study them.

Our goal is not a specific genre, but a wide spectrum of themes, subjects, and techniques. The aim is to inject some new life into the traditional arts of ink painting and calligraphy. Our works will span from martial art motifs through female acts, abstract or fantasy art (you may expect a lot of dragons), to very traditional and subtle creations, such as you can see in the above picture., or even philosophical themes, such as Buddhism, Zen or Taoism.

We will be opening a store with out art, too., which will be for purchase in various formats, be it electronic, raw (prepped for framing), or framed (modern or traditional, including Japanese hanging scrolls). We also except orders for commercial use, such as advertisement, books, posters, stock photos, business cards, concept art, etc.

Please visit us on www.ink-treasures.com    /    facebook  Ink-Treasures   /   Google+ Ink Treasures

Our contact: info@ink-treasures.com  /  szmerdt@ink-treasures.com   /   ryuurui@ink-treasures.com

You can also mail me directly at ponte@ryuurui.com

This haiku launches a new project, that will involve three people, Yuki Mori, Mariusz Szmerdt, and myself. I am afraid I can't reveal all the secrets at the moment, but we assure you it will be worth waiting for. We anticipate that the final result should be ready within a few months.

Pictured work (left) reads: 雪だるま、星のおしゃべり、ぺちゃくちゃ（夜)と, i.e. "A snowman sits there, under the whispering stars, a cold winter night" (translation Yuki Mori & Ponte Ryuurui).

I wrote the third hiragana character や ("ya") as manyougana character 夜 (also reads "ya"), which means "evening", and perfectly emphasises the meaning of this haiku. Big thanks to Yuki for finding it.

The author of the haiku text is Takashi Matsumoto. Calligraphy is of my authorship. Silver ink on Japanese hand made calligraphy paper, written with a small size weasel hair brush. Size: 22x35cm.

Together with Mariusz Szmerdt, an accomplished ink painter, we have launched a new series of art work, related to martial arts. Currently we are working on several pieces, and some of them are already uploaded to our Facebook page: Ink treasures.

Soon, we will be releasing new websites, www.ink-treasures.com and www.inktreasures.com. We plan to build a blog, where we will be posting articles on the subject of Japanese and Chinese ink painting and calligraphy arts, also forums, to help all those who struggle agaisnt the language barrier on their path marked by ink and paper, or simply anyone who shares the same passion for the unique beauty of brush strokes.  We hope to see you there!