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Lost and Found
Had been worrying all night that I may have dropped my keys on the street yesterday. There was nothing I could do until the next morning and I knew worrying wouldn’t help the matter one bit. Prayed, helped a little, but still didn’t sleep too well throughout the night.
I can’t describe how happy I was finding the keys in the studio today! This song had been ringing in my head all day “… I once was lost, but now I’m found… how sweet the sound…”
I also recall the biblical story of the prodigal son and how happy his father was seeing him return home after wasting all his money. And there’s also the story of the shepherd who left his 99 sheep in the pen and then go out to search for that one lost sheep. How happy he was when he found it! Finding my keys today helped me understand a little better of how God must feel when we leave our sinful lives behind and return to Him.
Typhoon Hato
Typhoon Hato hit town today, it’s the third time typhoon n0.8 or above was hoisted this year. It’s not difficult to remember because the first time happened on my birthday, the second time on my studio’s birthday, and the third time exactly one month afterwards.
I decided to stay home during this crazy weather. The construction site near home wasn’t operating, so I had an unusually quiet morning to do my daily devotion. The quietness continued in the afternoon, I read up on the many online articles I bookmarked last week and then took an unusually long afternoon nap. Felt rested and refreshed, it’s as though God is making up for the weekly rest I missed due to the long fellowship committee meeting on Sunday.
After the long afternoon nap, I did a little cleanup. After setting up my studio more than 3 years ago, I hardly spend time working from home. Sitting in front of my cleared up home desk, a strong sense of nostalgia hit me.
Short Okinawa Trip
Joined my sister and brother-in-law on a short 5-day trip to Okinawa last week. The trip did recall memories of my trip to Hawaii 4 years ago, that’s still one of my best trips thus far. I once again got to see the boundless horizon of the ocean, which is becoming somewhat of an annual summer tradition for me. I also got to see some stars on a clear night in a somewhat less light-polluted area, but it’s nothing compared to what I saw at Hawaii! Will I ever get to see the Milky Way with my naked eyes again?!
Japanese people seems to love coffee, we came across many cafes on our trip, but never tried them as my sister and brother-in-law were more interested in traditional and authentic Japanese food like sushi and ramen. Nevertheless, I got some inspirations from the cafe culture and my recent dream of opening up a cafe became clearer.
Feeling somewhat rested and refreshed after the short trip, I’m now slowly getting back to my daily and weekly work routine with a seemingly more purposeful and hastened pace.
(Starving) Artist, seriously?
It was back in April when I attended my first ever Maker Faire in HK. I took the opportunity to explore the late Zaha Hadid designed building, slowly strolling and ascending the floors before stumbling upon a workshop for DIY bookbinding. One of the instructors gave out postcards she designed, and it just so happened that I had some postcards I prototyped earlier at hand, so we did a postcard exchange. Months later, that instructor asked me to do an online artist interview on behalf of a non-profit organisation. Artist? Me? I double-checked with her about my qualifications before trying to fill out the questionnaire. Here’s my first ever (starving) artist interview.
I later found out that the DIY bookbinding instructor and interviewer also studied in Ontario, small world!
Yesterday, I submitted at the very last minute an application for a resident artist opportunity. Never tried applying for resident artist before for I never really considered myself an artist, but this particular opportunity seemed like a match in heaven. I could apply my knowledge in environmental science and sustainable design and dedicate a couple of months full time to create art for a good and important cause!
Oh Lord, if You really want me to be a (starving) artist, please continue to guide my steps and give me the serenity, courage, and wisdom to humbly walk with You each day. ??
Creative Monday
Tried doing brush and ink portraiture of real people instead of animals. It seemed more difficult as minor misplacement of the facial features can easily render the portrait untruthful of the person being drawn. And it took much longer to draw people, more than twice the time I need to draw animal portraits, as I had to start with a pencil sketch first. I suppose more practice would help. ??
R.I.P. Liu Xiaobo
The recent media is flooded with news of 2o10 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Liu Xiaobo. I have been following the media and caught glimpses of the deceased Liu Xiaobo’s photos, couldn’t help but remember my uncle who also died of liver cancer just a few months ago. My uncle is also around the same age as Mr. Liu Xiaobo (give or take 1-2 years).
I must admit that I’m not too much into politics and don’t know too much about Mr. Liu Xiaobo, so I read up on some links I saved about him, his pass interview before imprisoned in 2008/09 and his view on Christianity.
Saddened to know of Mr. Liu Xiaobo’s inevitable death. I don’t know if he welcomed Christ as his saviour before he died.
Oh Lord, please be merciful to Mr. Liu Xiaobo’s soul, and may You comfort his wife and family during this difficult time.
Creative Monday
Spent the evening on this Creative Monday relearning how to do portraiture, but instead of using conté, I tried using brush pens and without initial pencil drafts. Skimmed through the old life-drawing textbook and tried drawing the many facial features on it. I was able to sketch them out much quicker, more precise, and the result looked even more life like! My self-conducted training of using the brush pen for the pass year or so seems to be paying back! Thankful.
I think I’m almost ready to start drawing portraiture/caricature for my fellowship b/s, it’s one of the things I thought I could do to use the gifts that God has given me to serve b/s and help them get to know each other at a deeper level. Oh Lord, please bless this work if it’s good in Your eyes. ??
Goodbye First .5 of 2017
Another quarter’s gone and the first half of 2017 passed. What have I done with the time that God had entrusted me with?
For the last couple of months, I had finally met up with all the friends I promised to meet and catch-up with during CNY. I planned to meet them earlier, but my uncle’s passing away in March pulled me into a withdrawal state for at least a month. Feeling much better now, but I don’t think I’m entirely out of that state of mind yet.
Work has been stalled for many months for me now, my uncle’s passing away made me realized what I’ve been trying to establish in the studio seemed rather meaningless. I felt a bit lost.
I resorted to reading books, watching movies, and indulging in art (daily calligraphy and portraiture practice) as a way of healing the soul and finding my way out. I also managed to keep up with my daily spiritual devotion with God over this period, for I know I’m nothing without Him.
After the 2nd quarter of 2017, I think I’m more or less healed from the lost of my uncle. I’m also more clear of God’s purpose in me. It’s about time for me to leave the state of withdrawal behind and actively start life new again! Oh God, please let me continue to humbly walk with You daily, to act justly, to love mercy, and to use the gifts You have given me to serve others as a faithful steward of Your grace in its various forms.
