THE TASTE OF MEMORY.11 03/04/21

 

The wonderful Don Lee greeted us this morning, with the terrific news that 80% of Homecrest Community Services’ clients and staff have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Everyone is doing well with no adverse reactions. 

 

After a gentle stretching exercise, we shared our students’ homework from last week’s class, their finished New Year pages. By posting a photo to WeChat everyone had the chance to see each other’s work and offer supportive comments, but the sharing platform in zoom permitted a deeper engagement with the work. Hui Fang’s chickens carrying New Year signs was universally remarked upon and enjoyed as it was a good example of “thinking outside the box”. Her second page was full of the spirit and power of the Year of the Ox. Hui Fang’s husband says she stayed up until almost 2am to finish her artwork. Such dedication! He’s very proud of her.

 

Students remarked on Jing Wei’s style as very precise and detailed. The bottle of wine from Sichuan is very life-like. She uses photos her friends have sent her as the models for her drawings. Her second page is composed like the open petals of a flower and even the dishes follow this floral motif. A detailed lantern and firecracker center the composition. We all remarked on her amazing sense of color.

 

JuLisa is another student who renders very detailed drawings. The hot pot in the center of the composition with chopsticks around it suggests family. The tilted Johnny Walker bottle pouring whiskey is very lifelike. Her second page was inspired by the Sky Lantern Festival in Taiwan during which people gather to write wishes inside lanterns then light them, the hot air sending the wishes aloft. The central image of two silhouettes lighting lanterns awash in golden light was inspired by Valentines’ Day. JuLisa’s humor is evident in the drawing of a rice bowl with her grandson sitting forlornly as he doesn't want to eat it. 

 

Lao Yu composed her dishes a block to suggest a square table. The tumble of red envelopes is diagonally opposed to lanterns. Jing Wei said that you can tell Lao Yu’s happy by looking at her work. Pun reflected that all the food images suggest she’s satisfied with her life. Volleyball features in her second page, an excellent way to document a changing lifestyle as Lao Yu said the young people who used to play have moved away from the village. The composition reflects a volleyball court and even the food resembles the shape of a volleyball and another dish reminds us of a gold medal. 

 

Margaret has a great eye for color and design, reflected in her choice of purple cardstock which acts as high contrast to the dishes. She has overlapped dishes giving the appearance of plenty, while their names are jauntily displayed above like banners fluttering in the breeze. Her humor is evident in the finely detailed crab attempting to eat the dish of prawns. Pun commented that the composition of the dishes looks like the opening petals of a flower. Her page is alive.

 

Miu, although unable to join our class live, watches the video and submits her homework. The students commented on how the composition looks like a flower and Margaret said the strawberry cake made her happy as it appears to be smiling. Pun’s style is unique and immediately discernible. Her choice of bold colors and not perfectly shaped lines makes her work interesting according to Margaret. Her Year of the Ox title of Peace and Safety is reflected in her composition. Pun used to play on the street as a child, sometimes with firecrackers and her lively drawings reflect this memory. These images made the other students reflect on their own childhoods. The image is made livelier with the tiny red odd shapes scattered, suggesting the firecracker exploding. Pun’s dinner table surrounded by smiling faces is drawn from a top perspective.

 

Ru Ping also has a nonrealistic style, but each dish is clear. The composition reflects her writing, “we’re going to be happy and joyous”. Her second page expands this idea - bubbles explode from a glass, flowers reach from a vase, with auspicious names written on each object. She included a black and white photo of herself and her siblings when they were children. She is the oldest and tallest, her brother in the middle with her sister beside him. The clothes she’s wearing, received as gifts for the New Year are too big, so Ru Ping laughed that she could wear them again next year. 

 

So Sim always finishes her homework first the class tells us. It is thoughtful and her stories draw you in. The heart which centers her page includes the story of her mother, who didn’t follow Chinese tradition preferring to educate boys rather than girls. So Sim’s mother sent her to school and after the Revolution, she still had the chance to go to college. So Sim misses her mother and especially during the New Year. So Sim plays with perspective in her drawings, some dishes seem to be drawn from above, others from the side. Margaret noted that the drawings seem to be getting smaller as they approach the corner of the page.

 

Soo Fong’s style is abstract. Her use of overlapping lines which dart off in different directions creates texture giving the page energy drawing you into each dish. The smiling faces in the bowl of buns sets the tone of Stella’s page. There is a sense of joy and action in the lanterns drawn in different directions. She suggests the Flower Market in Guangzhou by including flowers around her writing and more are strewn them across the bottom of the page. Her work is very decorative. Students commented on the smoke she drew under the exploding firecracker.

 

Students will be visualizing their favorite recipe through drawings of the ingredients, the utensils and the steps. They shared their ideas with us; So Sim - pig knuckles with peanuts, JuLisa is yet to decide as she has 200 recipes, Jing Wei - Sichuan signature dish, Pun - soup of dried, white mushrooms, Ru Ping - duck, Lao Yu - roast pork, Sook Fong - seasoned rice, Margaret - rice balls, Stella - roast pork and Hui Fang - tips to make chicken tender and delicious gleaned from her many years working in restaurants. The results will be wonderful!