Meet the Hong Kong calligrapher who makes every stroke count for good
A desire to keep the craft alive and accessible fuels the former public relations specialist
When Rita Lee Ka-sin picks up her calligraphy brush soaked with black ink, her full attention shifts to the tip of the writing instrument as she moves with great delicacy to make sure every stroke, curve or dot is perfect.
From lucky festive messages to contrasting couplets, the 26-year-old Hongkonger has produced several thousand Chinese calligraphy posters.
As computer keyboards and electronic devices fast replace conventional writing tools, Lee says good handwriting appears less important and more irrelevant in today’s technological age. To many, having good penmanship may seem somewhat old-fashioned and outdated. Yet she insists on putting her brush to paper, one character at a time, to keep the craft alive.
More than revisiting the basics, Lee is passing on the tradition of Chinese calligraphy for a good cause. The freelancer now sells her works for charity while instructing children and adults at her studio called Keep Calm and Practise Writing.
“All the money I make from the calligraphy key chains goes straight to local charities and it’s a different organisation every time,” she says.