THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 8, 1996 TAG: 9602070159
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
Concentration. Focus. Discipline. A steady hand. A stone from the banks of the Yangtze River in China.
These are among ingredients of the Sumi-e artist. Sumi-e is Chinese for ink painting.
LEE GERRY WERTHEIMER, a master of ancient Oriental brush-painting, will conduct an Oriental greeting card workshop, for children 7 to 11 years old, on Saturday, then return Feb. 15 and 22, to teach Chinese brush painting for adults at the Suffolk Museum.
The Virginia Beach resident has a master of arts degree from New York University, where she also taught. A New York Regents scholarship enabled her to study at the University of Siena, Italy, and the Academy of Art in that city.
For more than 25 years, the New York-born artist has been teaching at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center in Newport News, Charles Taylor Center in Hampton and d'Art Center in Norfolk.
Four years ago, Wertheimer visited the Peoples Republic of China to learn more about Oriental painting and calligraphy. While there, her work was exhibited in four cities and shown on Chinese National Television.
Wertheimer's work, in her words, is ``a water-based medium, using permanent Chinese pigments which I hand grind to paint with on imported, handmade Japanese or Chinese rice paper.''
That's also the way it was done about 2,500 years ago. Then, as now, paintings include such traditional Oriental subjects as bamboo, orchids, chrysanthemums, plum blossoms, horses and landscapes.
``You become very centered when you do Oriental painting,'' she said. ``You have to concentrate on your strokes as you paint. You become meditative - similar to playing piano - a special rhythm for a particular stroke.''
Wertheimer's interest stems from childhood. ``Mom had Oriental paintings and porcelain art,'' she said. ``I used to sit and imagine I was part of a Chinese court. I was in awe of the fine ladies on a rose bowl she had and thought it would be wonderful if I could do something like that.''
She has - well enough to participate in many prestigious shows, to win important awards and receive widespread recognition.
``Oriental is much harder than western,'' she said. ``You have to discipline your hand to hold the paintbrush just the correct way for each stroke.''
Wertheimer, soft-spoken mother of two, explained, ``It's similar to the way a ballet dancer has to position her body in just the correct way. You can't make even one incorrect stroke. You must be right the first time.''
The materials also are demanding.
Some of the brushes, made from sheep, wolf or goat hair, are as thin as a strand of human hair, some as thick as bamboo.
The hsuen paper they stroke is crafted from the finest rice products. About 20 minutes is spent grinding the ink, which is formed into sticks, in a shallow stone bowl; the stones, following tradition, come from the base of the Yangtze River.
The Chinese Culture Center in Virginia Beach is a source.
``With Oriental painting, you learn patience,'' Wertheimer said. ``I can work on one painting for 10 to 12 hours.''
Wertheimer is a yoga practitioner. ``The work is based on Zen Buddhism philosophies. You have to know Confucionism, Taoism philosophies. You have to understand the use of the symbols you're painting.''
She said, ``You must balance the yin and yang.'' Yin is female; yang, male. Yin is empty space; yang, painted space. Yin is the landscape; yang, the mountains, clouds, trees, people, animals.
The results are beautiful. And getting those results, she will teach her Suffolk students, is a form of relaxation. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
``Oriental is much harder than western. You have to discipline your
hand to hold the paintbrush just the correct way for each stroke,''
Lee Wertheimer says.
AT A GLANCE
What: Chinese brush painting
When: 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Feb. 15 and 22
Where: The Suffolk Museum, 118 Bosley Ave.
Fees: $30, Art League members; $35, others
Call: 925-0448 or 925-6311
by CNB