You may or may not have noticed but I often create art with an Asian aesthetic. As well as, or including, art with buddhas in it. And you may well wonder why.

The simple answer is I don’t know.

I’m neither Asian nor buddhist. I just really really like that aesthetic, and have done so for a long time now. Back when I used to make jewelry, there were buddhas galore in most pieces. Or buddhist symbols. Or shaped in an Asian architectural style.

I love a red, black, ivory and white combo, with shapes suggesting Asian symbols or architecture. Or not. I just love the color combo.

And I love love love buddhas. If you ever visited my home, you would attest to that. There are buddhas galore – at least 5 in the living room alone. Just the way I like it.

I also love asemic writing because it looks like Asian writing without having the potential to insult someone. And the asemic writing comes directly from my hand and my subconscious so it’s my personal language. Or yours, depending on your interpretation of the symbols. As Wikipedia says “Asemic works leave for the reader to decide how to translate and explore an asemic text; in this sense, the reader becomes co-creator of the asemic work.” Cool, huh?

I’ve never really understood why I have this desire to create in an Asian style, but if you believe in reincarnation as do I, my thinking is that I was probably an Asian and/or buddhist in another life or two. That’s my best shot, and with 60% of the planet’s population being Asian, that’s probably not a bad shot at all.

I think if an influence calls to you, and strongly in my case, you should enjoy expressing it as much as you need. And hopefully you’re delighting others with it at the same time. But if not, at least you’re being true to yourself and answering that call.