An Afternoon with Ed Young

On Saturday, March 29th from 1:00-5:00-pm artist Ed Young will be presenting an afternoon workshop at the Troy Community Center, 3179 Livernois in Troy.

The suggested fee is $40 for the afternoon. Students and seniors are offered a discounted fee of $20. If the cost is difficult, please pay what you can at the door. Payment can be made at the Troy Community center between 12:30-1 pm, or made in advance. Reservations are recommended. The workshop can hold 120 people and will begin promptly at 1 pm. If you have questions or would like to reserve a space please contact Book Beat at 248-968-1190.  

Ed Young was invited to present here by Carol Yamasaki, who has been his t’ai chi student and good friend since they met in NYC  long ago. Carol has been teaching t’ai chi in the Detroit area for 40 years. The Book Beat will be attending and will have books for sale at the event. Ed Young will be available to sign books in the lobby at the conclusion of the workshop at 5 PM.

Ed Young is the Caldecott Medal winning artist of over eighty published children’s books, sixteen he wrote himself. Ed is also a beloved t’ai chi teacher, storyteller, and a lifelong student of Chinese art, calligraphy and wisdom. This afternoon’s workshop is geared for educators, artists and those with curious minds who enjoy creative play.

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Young won the 1990 Caldecott Medal for illustrating Lon Po Po, his version of a Red-Riding Hood story from China.

“In a long, distinguished career, Ed Young has often conveyed the depth of apparently simple stories through his illustrations.” -The New York Times

Ed Young has been coming to teach in Detroit since 1973. His workshops are always different, spontaneous and engaging. Carol Yamasaki explains, “Ed might do some art first, and maybe have a shadow puppet play time. There might be a Chinese character study in which seeing how the pictograms are combined to form characters helps us to understand more deeply the ideas they represent. There may be stories about learning t’ai chi with Professor Cheng*, and as Ed suggested, stories about stories. It’s impossible to say what the afternoon will bring exactly. With Ed, everything is art, spontaneously arising and woven together.” 

“Do what you love. Over time it will set you free. Love what you do and you will leave the world a better place than the one you’ve found.” -Ed Young, Interviewed at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Ed Young & Mark Reibstein’s Wabi Sabi (2008)

“The practice of Tai Chi is about discovering yourself. It’s about forces of the world — both natural and unnatural and how one relates to them. It’s about focus and about balance. It’s the understanding that things change and knowing how to stay centered throughout the changes.

Art is about the same thing — find out about yourself. How do you produce something that is satisfying? How do you state something in the simplest manner for the maximum effect? How do you use a moment? How do you wait for the opportunity?

I think they’re both about the same thing — being patient, being trustworthy. Doing what you can for the moment. ” -Ed Young Interview at Teaching Books.net

* “Ed met Professor Cheng Man-ch’ing, Master of Five Excellences, in 1963 and became one of his earliest and closest students in New York. He was Professor Cheng’s interpreter while Professor taught t’ai chi forms and push hands, treated patients with traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, lectured on Taoism and Confucianism, painted, taught calligraphy and flower arrangement, all infused with the same principles. In the 10 years that Ed translated and studied with Professor in New York, he gained a wealth of information about Professor Cheng and his arts, and a deep understanding of Professor’s teaching and spirit. This understanding continues to deepen and grow.”