You will get a brush, ink cake, rice paper, and felt pad(choice of black or white).
Combination Brush This is a classic Stiff & Soft Hair combined Brush for Chinese painting and calligraphy. This kind of brushes are composed of two layers of hair: the central core is made of relatively stiff hair gathered to form a tapered point; The outer wrapping consists of softer hairs which are selected for their greater water-holding capacity and for facilitating smooth strokes. Perfect for beginner's use of Sumi-e painting and calligraphy.
One Pack of of Japanese rice paper This delicate paper is made in Japan for brush painting and calligraphy. I have used it in many of my videotaped painting lessons as you can see on YouTube. It is very sensitive yet "forgiving"--it is absorbent but does not smear that much compared to other rice paper. So I would recommend it to Sumi-e students and other watercolorist artists to try and hope you will like it as much as I do.
Felt Pad (choice black or white) - 14"x18" This felt mat is called Shitajiki in Japanese. Due to the absorbancy and thinness of rice paper, you need to put a piece of felt underneath. The felt prevent the rice paper from sticking on the table when paint or write. It holds the extra ink or moisture in place but not absorbs that much(that is why paper towel or newsprint won't do the same.) So the felt will not only keep your table clean but also help to bring out the best effects of watercolor and ink on rice paper.
Convenient Ink Cake with Case This convenient ink cake is a perfect mate with BHA piston water brush pens for plein air or outdoor painting. It provides a long-lasting supply of ink. Unlike the ink stick, it does not require an ink stone to grind. To use, simply wet your brush with water and brush the ink cake lightly to load the ink. There is brush adjustment area with a small reservoir inside the box(see picture). The lidded box keeps ink from staining. It is convenient for traveling calligrapher and painter.
Unlike the traditional inkstick, no grinding is required with this ink cake - just brush it off to use with a water brush. Instead of loading ink into the reservoir of your water brush, this ink cake provides variable ink tonality and gradations, without the concern of ink spill.
![2-1/8\" Long bristle Wolf stiff hair brush by Xu Laosan](images/chinese_painting_brush/wolf_hair_brush06_s.jpg "2-1/8\\" Long bristle Wolf stiff hair brush by Xu Laosan")
