03 ꩜

Dragens År Lunar Calendar

The 2024 Year of the Dragon Lunar calendars are here 🌑🐉

The Wood Dragon epitomizes charisma and confidence. Their ambition and determination drive them to set lofty goals and pursue them tirelessly, displaying remarkable resilience and adaptability in the face of challenges. If my introverted self has felt apropos of these traits, I’m sure you have too. Out with the old to make space for the new.

There’s a Chinese idiom, 畫龍點睛, that roughly translates to “the finishing touch” - the final mark applied in just the right way and place to bring an entire work to life. A tale about caution as much as it is about mastery - In the 6th Century CE, A painter named Zhang Sengyou was commissioned to paint four Dragons on each wall inside the Anle Temple in Nanjing. But when completed, the monks couldn’t help but notice he missed the obvious - the eyes were pupil-less. “The eyes are the spirit of the dragon,” he explained. “The other parts are just the form. Once you dot the eyes, you give it life force, and it will fly away.” But at the insistence of the artist's patrons, the eyes were dotted onto only two of the dragons. With the final brushstroke, the thunder did sound, the lightning struck the wall, and the two dragons flew off into the sky. The monks ordered him to stop, leaving only two dragons to remain in the temple. Zhang insisted on leaving the works incomplete, and even painted locks on the Dragons to keep them grounded.

The artwork is hand drawn and type-set by Kimberly Bager.

︎︎︎ 11x17” in 
︎︎︎ Printed on Neenah Classic Crest 80lb. Cover
︎︎︎ Edition of 50