Sally Hammel

Walking in the rain

Lake at TNNUA

Who is that masked lady?

Oh Boy! We're going to get wet!

Snorkelers

Food & Company - always good

Loading the Wood-fire Kiln

Rainbow over city

Lilly Pond

TNNUA

Sheri and Rick's demo

Attentive students

Night Market Sharp Shooters

Relaxing day

Metal workshop

Hsu Yunghsu's Kiln

Try to use THIS toilet...

Altar at Confuscious' Temple

Ornate buildings

I think I'm turning Taiwanese

Big American tourists trying to eat
tiny Taiwanese students

Heath at the Tree House

Great friends!

Scooters at TNNUA

Lots of work done

Metro map

National Palace Museum

Classmates

Taipei 101 from the Misty Mountains

Spider Man & Taipei 101

            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.  

Just one more picture…