quillife
Ahh, first-times never fail to feel sooo damn good. First time blogging here, guess I needn't say more. :)Anyhows, certainly hope you all had enjoyed your few days of hols after the CTs! (june wasn't a holiday, just a very well disguised study break) For those who had also taken time out during our pseudo holiday to engage in some meaningful artistic giveback to society, I'm certain it was as fulfilling for you as it was for me.
Getting all the prep work done was quite a feat, so thanks to all who helped in one way or another, even nat, who unfortunately couldn't come down for the CIP itself.
Once everything was down pat and we were happily settled into our booth at SGH, or cheerily spreading cheer to the patients by going round the wards, things started out promising, and we never looked back since.
HOO... that the participation rates were seriously SOME BOMB. If you were there you'd understand why i totally had to say that. Man, crowds were flocking to our booth like we were giving out good free stuff, a la the kiasu Singapore way. And actually, come to think of it, we were.
Quilling is such a joy. If you haven't tried it, you totally should. The aunties lapped it all up, they were absolutely fascinated with the beautiful samples we had and so many enthusiastically expressed interest in sitting down and having a hand at it. My, and could those aunties quill! Some of them were really skilled. Ownage, man.
Besides the older generation, how could I forget them kids. (pun not intended :p) Setting up a booth to do art totally translates into childcare centre. Kids were left to our care and we had to amuse them with strips of paper, which is not easy but fun and funny. They really tried their best but it was then that realisation dawned on many of us how we took our artistic talent for granted. Some things may look simple, but surprise surprise, not everyone can do it.
Yet seeing those kids walking away clutching a handmade flower or rocket with a big grin on their face, all ponderous thoughts are dispelled and we can only smile back with genuine happiness as we wave the kids goodbye. The warmth you get when you care and share is really not something one would understand unless you've felt it for yourself.
Besides all the hubbub at the booth, groups also went around the wards and outpatient clinics to do some on-the-spot quilling, which was pretty successful too. It's an excellent feeling when you can make someone smile and it never fails to amaze me how so people find quilling so beautiful, and it is! But there were also those who shyed away from giving it a go, which was well, a curiousity. Seems like you can never please everyone, huh. Not even with art.
There were also those people who were too busy or there were no available seats, so they just grabbed a bunch of paper and the instruction sheet and left. Though we'll never know, hopefully they'll share it with more people, then this project would have a greater outreach and that would really be a wonderful thing, won't you agree.
Other than quilling, a french artist also left her handiwork with us for a week. We ended up sewing quite a bit, and so did a few extremely enthusiastic and skilled participants, mainly in their 40s to 60s. They were so skilled and enthusiastic they even returned on several days to sew. Or they would sit and sew for a really really looong time. Which is cool, and they were good chitchat partners to boot.
It's really quite therapeutic to sit down, do crafts, sew... plus listen to music. Oh yes, there was busking you see, it's part of the ArtsFest, so we benefitted as well. :D
And that I suppose, sums up our CIP. We packed up our things on friday, and though we might heave a sigh of relief that finally it's over, we've undeniably enriched our own lifes as well as touched others and I guess that's enough to bring a smile to our lips as we walk home from SGH one last time, hoping of course we'll never have to visit it for the wrong reasons anytime soon.
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All this recounting of past events, they got me thinking. And since I'm on the topic, might as well share my thoughts. Quilling you see, is a lot like life. It's amazing, really. You see, each individual shape looks pretty ordinary. They only become something extraordinary when they are able to come together to form a picture and make people go wow. And that's great.
But then again, when these shapes have all come together, people often focus on going gaga over the big picture and they forget to inspect each shape carefully. Either that, or the tiny shapes are overlooked while the flamboyant center pieces get the most attention. But it seems unfair when you come to think of it because without all the tiny shapes to add vibrancy and vivacity to the big shapes, would people still go wow over the picture? Probably not.
Quilling also invovles rolling paper into tight circles, which can be loosened, unless they are glued and stuck for good. If you have done enough quilling, you'd find that often, the best shapes are formed when you have a slightly loose shape. Strips that are extremely tightly rolled often produce very stiff and unpleasing results. However, if the shape is too loose, it looses body and can't hold it's own. Perhaps people work like that too. It's always important to find a balance. Tight shapes spoil a picture, similarly, too loose shapes make a picture flimsy and fragile. Guess getting the right amount of looseness is still an area worth exploring for many.
After rolling strips of paper into circles, pinching is required to form shapes like hearts and teardrops or squares and diamonds. Yet if you'd tried quilling, you'll realise that pinching a shape too much makes it look worse for the wear. Especially when we have a shape in mind and are trying our best to pinch the circle in our hands into something in our mind's eye. But sometimes we pinch too hard and it turns out ugly when it could have been a very pretty shape. Or we try too hard, and we end up screwing the shape up. Strips of paper may be easy to discard, but if these were people.. now sometimes I wish we could, but reality states that we can't jolly well just toss screwed up bits of our life away, can we? We've just gotta live with it somehow.
But it can't be pleasant. And why live life unhappy? Imagine you couldn't throw your overpinched or ugly shape away. And you have to stick it onto your picture somehow. It ruins the whole effect, doesn't it? You wouldn't be happy with the result, and if the shape could talk I'm sure it wouldn't have like being treated in that manner either. Handling paper strips are tough. It's ever so important to use the right amount of force for circles of differing looseness. Pinching a shape in the right way takes skill, and it's way more crucial than most people like to think.
Only when we are able to get nicely loosened and prettily pinched shapes can an outstanding final product be produced. Of course, you could form a harmonious picture will all shapes tightly rolled of loosely rolled, but the final product will never be as astounding as one with all the shapes having just the right amount of space in them. It makes everything so much less rigid and so much more flexible, don't you think? Ah, how it parallels life. In any case, aside from the philosophy, seriously good stuff, quilling. Very damn inspiring.
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Do pardon me and my overzealous-ness if you find this lengthy. It's just that when I blog, I don't narrate; I much prefer to think.
Also, in support of what YiHui posted, the Chalcography collection for the Louvre is exceptionally exquisite. Go visit it like, right NOW if you haven't. XiaoXue can testify it's wow factor. We met there today. (:
More good stuff awaits opposite SAM at the National Museum with Banquet in Stone, a delicious collection of precious rocks shaped to look like food. It's a small one-roomed collection, but cool to take a look at all the same. It's reportedly worth a fortune. Just don't go there on an empty stomach. You'd salivate. And if that's not enough reason. There is a slab of chocolate rock being exhibited there as well. Not only is it natural, it looks like chocolate and it SMELLS LIKE CHOC too! I am so not scamming you, please go take a look, or whiff rather. It's worth the trip.
Talking about scam, the Mint Toy Museum tickets we got from the SGH CIP was quite a scam. The bottom part of the ticket (with a barcode) is torn out and without it, it becomes a used ticket, and is no longer valid. Good job. But nevertheless, go ahead and take a look. It'll just set you back by $8.80. Revisit your childhood and amuse yourself with 4 levels of vintage toys. :)
I do realise this is an absurdly long entry. Ohwell. Now that school has started, don't forget to leave space in life for some fun. Looking forward to bigger and better art projects to come, I'm sure you are too. Alright, peace and till then. :)
posted by A @ 11:10 PM
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