by Oj Hofer
From crafting elegant couture for the country’s most powerful women to finding enlightenment through the fluid strokes of calligraphy, my journey has been one of artistic transformation. In this deeply personal reflection, I share how I transitioned from fashion to ink, discovering that the ancient art of One-Stroke Calligraphy was the true medium of my expression.
I picked up a paintbrush at six, unaware that this small act would shape my life. Art became my language—an anchor through college and beyond. I earned a Fine Arts degree from the University of the Philippines, Diliman, enthusiastically pursuing creation.
But life has its rhythm. Shortly after graduating in 1988, I was swept into the fashion world in Cebu. The shift was unexpected yet inevitable. Before long, I dressed some of the country’s most powerful women—former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Senator Pia Cayetano, politicians, society mavens, and celebrities. My name became synonymous with elegance, precision, and artistry in fabric.
Yet success can feel hollow when the mind is restless. In 2013, I was invited to design costumes for Siddhartha: The Musical, a project that reignited my natural inclination for pure creation. What I didn’t expect was how profoundly it would reshape me. Traveling with the production, I encountered the One-Stroke Calligraphy of Venerable Master Hsing Yun—fluid, unbroken lines that carried wisdom beyond ink and paper. In his strokes, I saw something ancient yet immediate, a silent transmission of truth. This art form had been what I had been seeking all along.
For six years, I immersed myself in Japanese ink painting (Suiboku-ga) and Kanji calligraphy (Shodou) under Sensei Takeko Nagai. I practiced relentlessly—failing often, learning constantly. Language was no barrier; the brush, the ink, and the movement spoke in a way that words could not. In 2016, I took the Bodhisattva Vow and then embraced my art as a practice of the Six Paramitas. Inspired by Master Hsing Yun’s Travel Like Cloud and Water, I mounted three exhibitions, donating part of the proceeds to the Hsing Yun Educational Foundation. Each brushstroke carried my intention—that the viewer might be awakened through the ink.
Seeking more profound understanding, I pursued a postgraduate certificate in Humanistic Buddhism at Nan Tien University in 2022, where my practice and study converged into something fuller and more intentional. The Buddha once raised a single flower in silence, and in that gesture, Zen was born. Venerable Master Hsing Yun continued this tradition with his One-Stroke Calligraphy. Now, in my way, I follow in their footsteps. The Master is gone, but his ink still speaks. And so, I pick up my brush—not explaining, not translating, always trusting that those ready will see the truth with their heart and mind.