A mult- medium card

 

I made this 5″x7″ card by combining three different medium, silkscreen, paper cut and paper sculpture.

I printed the silkscreen on both side then add the paper cutting and finally with the paper sculpture inside the card.

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A book of three seasons

During the recent move of my studio, I unearthed  some of my old art works which were  done my art school days. One of them were the little  booklets of how to use the school l library. One day, I found them outside the library in a boxful of them as discard. They are less than six inch square with twelve pages. I immediately attracted to them because of the size and picked up a large handful as not to let them end up in the landfill.

I created a different screen images for each page and  printed in one color except for the centerfold with two. My finished remade booklets were popular with my classmate which I had given most away.

I was delighted to found the few remaining copies of the booklet  in my studio. Right away, I wanted to give it another make over.

My slow studio move took over six months started in winter, spring and into summer. During these times, each night after supper for relaxation I would work on my paper cut on the little booklet. Sometimes, I would worked on it few night in a row but then stopped for days or even week without  touching it.

Eventually when my move was done  I was able to finished the little booklet as well.

paper cut on book

 

The meaning of true wealth

Scene one;
Two days before I moving out of my studio. I was cleaning and packing some odds and ends in my almost empty studio. Another artist on my floor stopped by my door and started talking to me. We haven’t talk for years because I had had an argument with her. One time, she was hosting an open house and asked me to pay her $160 as to help part of expenses. Her reason was many of her wealthy friends come to her open house might buy my paintings! When I turned her down she became rather abusive after I closed the door on her, she started to scream at me. She is a very wealthy woman constantly staging shows at the vanity galleries all over the world but few were sold.
It didn’t take long to find out her real purpose: she wanted some of my frames I have (the last few months, I been leaving out some items I did not want outside my studio, all my neighbors been happily pick them up) While talking, she noticed the few picture hooks I haven’t removed from the walls and asked for them as well. She told me she is preparing for an upcoming exhibition and anything would help. I was surprised as those hook which cost less than $2 and been used!

Scene two:
A few hours later, I was on my way home and I went into the small convenience store near my studio. I had been buying the Chinese newspaper for my mother at the store for years. The Chinese man works there speaks little English so I would speak Chinese with him, everyday we make small talks when he was not busy with customers. He works from 10am till 10pm seven days a week. A few times when I entered the store he has fell asleep, I quietly left the money for the papers on the counter not to awake him.
Today, I wanted to say goodbye to him while we were talking he reached over to his right and produced a lottery ticket and wish me good luck! The ticket cost $4 and for some it just a small amount but it likely half of his hour pays. I wanted to pay for the ticket but he insists it was a gift. I was very touched by his generosity and found the meaning of true wealth..

 

I moved the mountain

A month ago, I wrote about my reasons of relocating my downtown studio back to my home. My original plan was to move out at the end of April but all of sudden I had been flooded with commissioned paintings and my move had to be postponed three times.
Almost everyone came to my studio for the first time would comments on the arts and the stuff I had. They wonder aloud how on earth I would ever move as my studio was packed with thousands of art books, paintings, frames and stuff which I had collected for over 23 years.
Growing up I was told the Chinese fable of the foolish old man who moved the mountain. “A ninety years old man and his family lived behind a mountain and everyday he walked over the mountain to do the field work on the little piece of land he owned. One day, after a hard day working in the field an idea came to him: he would dig up the mountain and move it. Everyday, he spent countess hours digging up the dirt and moved it. Everyone would call him foolish as he would never accomplish his goal however he said if I could not finish my task in my life time my sons and my grandsons would continue my job and one day the mountain would be moved. When this reached the Jade God he ordered his sons to move the mountain for the old man”

Right after last Christmas I started to take my books and paintings home via the public transit. Everyday I carry heavy bags of books on the bus and subway and on the weekend when there were fewer passengers I would take the paintings with me, usually two or two the most. Once I got home I would find spaces for them. I even took apart my bookcases and took them home this way
Often my studio neighbors would check on my slow moving progress and none believe I would able to move out in time.. .
After four months of moving by the public transit, a good friend offered to dive me. For the whole month, we made countess trips with her little Toyota. I was able to move my larger items.
During all my packing and moving I was still painting up to the last two weeks, I had sold four paintings and completed 51 commissioned paintings, all without any efforts. Finally, I gave my landlord the final notice I would move out at the end of June. However on the day of my big move both the passenger and flight elevator had broken down. I had to cancel my move one more time/ Yesterday, I was finally completely moved out after more than six months moving. I had moved my mountain with no more rents to pay and little expenses.