I had my final class up in the mountains of Wulai with these creative kids this week. They were thrilled to get all of their individual finished projects back. We also finished up our group tree project and got it installed at the school. The tree is now growing on the wall of a stairwell. This was such a fun collaborative project to do with this class.
I made the trunk out of cloth that is is normally used in garden beds, it was twisted to create a textured trunk and branches, then I wired to a mesh framework to hold it in place. The kids and their art teacher helped attach the leaves to the tree with wire loops until it was all filled up. At the end of class I was given thank you notes, lots of hugs and high fives from everyone. So grateful for this fun experience!
I loaded up one of the big electric kilns this week with the majority of the work I’ve made since being here. It’s a mix of some bisqued pieces, some pieces that will be once fired and a few tests that I’ve got high hopes for. Fingers crossed that it all survives the high fire ride!
Art adventures this week included a trip to the northernmost tip of Taiwan to check out crazy rock formations along the Pacific Ocean in the seaside village of Yehliu. Then onto a cat village in the mountains where the residents now rely on cat tourism after their mines closed down and they lost their main income. And then dinner and a walk through the iconic town of Jiufen with its old street lined with red lanterns.
Hard to believe that I’m in my final four weeks here, I feel like I’m just getting used to everything being a new normal and that there’s still so much more to do but I am looking forward to my husband Nate arriving in just a few more weeks! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you celebrating at home!
