MAKING OF A MON

Hobby of keeping ranchu isn't something you can attend to when you want to. It becomes an occupation. Keeping any animal requires a commitment, but keeping fish takes it to a different level. Humans and fish live in two different states of matter, gas and liquid. Unlike many other "pet" animals that share gas environment with us, fish must be in its own "liquid habitat". Creating that habitat and understanding how it effects the fish is a challenge that makes this hobby unique and exciting.

So, I am excited and wanted to recognize the beginning of my hobby with my own emblem, or a MON (紋). I used the best tool I know - Photoshop, to create the mon by using only circles and half circles. This allowed me to stylize a top view ranchu with minimal lines, yet displaying most of the attributes of a priced fish.

Ranchu mon by Alexander Vasiljev

I also made my first attempt to write RANCHU in hiragana characters らんちゅう. Shodou or Japanese calligraphy, or any calligraphy for that matter, is an amazing art form. I consider shodou to be one of the most complex art forms that mind and hand can produce together. The brush stroke can not be redone and calligrapher gets only one chance for a particular piece of paper to write a statement. That writing will reflect the calligrapher in that very moment in time. Below is my humble attempt to write the name reflecting on bold and graceful movement of a swimming ranchu.