Wow! It was extremely difficult to limit my pictures to only 30 from this trip!
We did and saw
SO much! These pictures only show a tiny portion of what we accomplished
in 3 weeks, in Taiwan. We did a lot of work while we were at the
University and the people we had the pleasure to work with were
extremely hospitable. The country was beautiful; the people were warm
and friendly; the food was FANTASTIC; the bugs and plants were HUGE; and
the toilets were interesting!
Squatting may
be the healthiest way to use the restroom but it’s not the most
comfortable for a 58 year old woman that did way more walking everyday
than she was used to. I’m not complaining. I actually expected to find
squatting toilets and I was grateful for anything I could find when I
needed it, but it was one of the interesting differences that we found
in the Taiwanese culture.
The
Taiwanese people are well educated and interested in being their own
country so, I believe, they have developed customs that are bound to
make this tiny island known throughout the world in the arts and in
education. The women are well educated and treated with respect – as a
matter of fact, it seemed to me that all people are treated with
respect, and as a tourist (that didn’t speak the language) this was a
welcome entity. We didn’t have any problem communicating in Taiwan,
mostly because we had our own personal interpreters for most of the
trip. But even when we were on our own, I found that most people there
understood at least a little English and were very grateful to have a
chance to try it out on us. Most signs were also printed in English and
the city’s Metro system was surprisingly easy to figure out.
We
worked a lot while we were at TNNUA. We had classes from many
Taiwanese, Japanese, and our own American teachers. We learned many new
techniques in ceramics along with new skills in “felting” and “metal
working”. I let the new experiences and things that I found in Taiwan
dictate my artwork there and discovered things that I hope to continue
to try to make better. I was looking forward to doing the wood-fire kiln
but found myself ill pre-pared for the type of work it entails. Hard
work was difficult in that type of heat and humidity and a wood-fire
kiln uses TONS more energy than I found in myself. Fortunately, for me,
my 6 hour shift at the kiln was at the end of the firing and I only
helped to clean up for
a few hours and got to go back to my (air-conditioned) dorm room and
sleep off the heat and humidity before heading back to the ceramics
studio (also air-conditioned).
The
place where the wood-fire kiln was located was our chance to see the
HUGE bugs and centipedes in Taiwan. There was a spider the size of my
head in a web the size of a small room, near the pathway to the kiln and
as we stacked wood, before loading the kiln, we disturbed a few
centipedes that were at least 6 inches long. I’m sure the heat and
humidity have everything to do with the size of the insects – they seem
to thrive on it!
I
turned out work that I am proud of despite the fact that I was not as
fond of the wood-fire kiln as I thought I would be. I enjoyed the
porcelain and shop clay that I worked with and loved everything that
came out of the gas and electric kilns. I guess I’m just a control freak
when it comes to my artwork… I also loved felting and metal working and
hope to do more of both.
The
work was intense, while we did it, but the fun was also intense. I
don’t stay out late anymore but we had so much fun at the Night Markets
and in the cities, shopping and trying new foods. I had the best lemon
chicken in the world at the Night Market, on a stick – about $1
(American) per stick! I also tried an octopus eyeball but I couldn’t
even get near the stinky tofu!
The
museums and art galleries are beautiful and chock full of artwork from
so many talented Taiwanese artists – and I’m so proud
to be able to say that I know and have worked with (even if only for a short time) some of them!
I
think we built some strong bonds with our Taiwanese friends and I hope
our communication with them never ends! I will plan on returning
sometime soon and hope that all of them come to visit us here at SNC. I
will always have a place for them at my house and in my heart.
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