Leni Wiener

Some final thoughts on my experience in Tainan–

I have never been treated so nicely in my life!  I received all sorts of wonderful gifts from the organizers, the sponsors and the students.  The Taiwanese people are so kind, so giving, and so generous.  They have an appreciation for nature that embarrasses me as an American.  Every tree, every plant, every bird, frog–are all treated with respect and reverence.

One funny story about Tainan, while Fred was wandering around on the day of my second workshop, he saw a garbage truck making its rounds.  As the truck stopped, people came down from their apartments with their bags of garbage to put it in the truck (nothing sits out waiting for the truck, like here).  But as the truck was waiting, a recorded announcement in English said “are you hungry”  “No, I am not hungry” which was baffling to Fred.  He asked about it at dinner, and we were told that these announcements are used to teach people English and to make announcements for various upcoming events.  The quilt show was “advertised” in this manner before we arrived.  Strange.

Everything the Taiwanese do, they do with an eye towards aesthetics.  From the cakes in a bakery window:

I particularly like the cake that looks just like a hamburger–in a country where they don’t EAT hamburgers!

To this vegetable dish we were served on our last night in Tainan–it is lotus root wrapped around some sort of dried fruit and arranged to look like a flower:

Even a plate of fruit is cut into shapes and beautifully arranged.  Everywhere we went, there were beautiful–but simple–floral arrangements:

The next morning we took the high speed train straight through Taiwan to the northern capital of Taipei.  The high speed train makes the trip in just under two hours, instead of the four plus on a conventional train.  The trip is beautiful–but too fast for any real pictures:

We passed mountains that looked just like those in Chinese Brush Painting to me:

And fields that had beautiful temples in the middle:

Hard to see, but it is there in the distance.

We arrived in Taipei in the late morning and found it to be a very large, cosmopolitan city (where there still are not too many people who understand English, although more than we encountered on the streets and in the shops in Tainan).

Having only one day in Taipei, our goal was to see the renouned National Palace Museum (with the most complete collection of art and artifacts from the Forbidden City anywhere in the world), and one of the famous night markets.

We opted for a guided tour of the museum with a lovely woman who obviously knew her stuff, and clearly had a great passion for the art she shared with us.  We got an amazing overview of Chinese Art from neolithic times to the 20th century, (even though I studied it in college) a great comprehensive education and exposure to the beautiful ceramics, metal and fine ivory carvings in the collection.

When we came out of the museum it was raining–the only rain we encountered despite the daily forcasts for rain–but we went to the Shilin Night Market anyway.  Under the main tent is a carcophany of sounds, people, smells, and a wide variety of unrecognizable foods.  The night markets are mostly about food–but the surrounding streets fill with people selling all sorts of other merchandise.  The inside of the huge tent was a bit overwhelming, but we did have some traditional bread dough rolled around fresh spring onions and cooked on the inside of a giant metal barrel that was awesome (as was the line of people waiting for each batch to come out warm and soft:

Our one day in Taipei ended and first thing the next morning, we flew off to visit Hong Kong, somewhere else we had never been.

Workshop day two

I arrived at the venue early enough to set up and take a few more photos of the exhibit.  I was surprised to find so many students already there.  A few brought their husbands in to meet me.  All seemed excited about the things they had learned the day before.  Mostly the group was the same as day one, with a few changes.

I noticed on the first day of the workshop that the students seemed very serious.  They were almost too respectful, and I wanted them to relax and enjoy the workshop.  So on the second morning, I told them that this wasn’t school and they didn’t have to be so respectful of the teacher.  They thought that was funny, but it also allowed them to loosen up a bit, and the second day they all seemed more relaxed and seemed to be having more fun.  I guess they needed permission.

Day one had been “faces in fabric”–a raw edge machine applique technique; and day two was “faces in thread”–thread painting.   Since they all had free motion quilting experience, the jump to thread painting was not difficult, and they were all going strong in a very short time.

Towards the end of the second workshop I offered them a diversion from the curriculum.   Remembering their comments from the symposium two days before, I decided that they may benefit from looking at some of the pieces in the exhibit with an explanation about color, mood, composition, theme, techniques and other design elements.  When I first suggested it, the interpreter obviously just asked if they wanted to see the exhibit again, and most said no.  But then one woman said that if I would talk about the quilts, that would be different.  I told them that was the whole idea, and all the hands went up.  So we went down to the exhibition floor to talk about some of the pieces in the show.

I really just picked pieces at random, some that I particulary loved, some that beautifully illustrated certain things that I wanted to talk about.  The size of the tour quickly grew, as the volunteers all came from everywhere in the building to join in, as did many of the attendees at the time.

Just a few of the pieces we discussed were:

This one by Jette Clover, beautiful because of the subtle use of color and the inclusion of writing–and that the spikes of color are carefully (what I call controlled random) placed to pull the eye in and around the piece–as well as the asymetrical compostion.

This one by Tiziana Tateo, which illustrates that art can be art without always having to be so serious

One of Jill Jenson’s–which is a wonderful example of saturated color, complementary color, and repetition of forms.

We also discussed how art can make a statement, like these powerful pieces that comment on war from a series by Bella Kaplan:

and a series by Mirjam Pet-Jacobs:

and how the colors chosen support the power of the theme and the work–tranquil greens and blues would have set an entirely different mood than the orange and red they both used.

We also discussed how the size of a piece can effect the perception, like these works by Noriko Endo, so large that we almost feel as if we could step right into them.

Many people asked questions, and lots of them took notes.  At one point, they did complain that I walked too fast–I told them that was because I am from New York.  The interpreter laughed and told them I talk fast, too.

Back to the classroom and, of course, the awarding of prizes and the taking of photos:

It all ended too quickly.  What a great experience, what a wonderful group of women who were so anxious to learn everything I could teach them.

While I was teaching the first day workshop, my husband Fred was treated to a tour of the local sights by Hsin Chen’s husband, Wu.  He was taking Noriko and her husband touring, and was nice enough to include Fred for the day.

from the left–Noriko, her husband, and Wu.

Fred saw some amazing temple architecture:

He said what surprised him was that for a civilization and country as old as Taiwan, there is nothing that is really more than a few hundred years old, and most of the landmarks are relatively new.

Fred also got to see some unusual sights, like the hill of salt–yes, that is a gigantic hill of salt these people are climbing…

and what is called locally the “tree house.”  The tree house is a house that was abandoned for about 40 years, and the banyan trees literally moved in.  Banyan trees send out feeder roots that look like hanging moss, that take hold and grow everywhere if unchecked.

this photo is inside the house…

here it comes through a window–like something from a science fiction movie, right?

it even came in through the ceiling.  Must be pretty incredible to see in person.

Wu also took them to see the Chihkan Tower and surrounding park–a location that was often the theme for work by the Taiwanese art quilters–

here is Fred’s photo, and below is how a similar scene was interpreted by Chun Hua Chen

Or this scene of the famous vase shaped door–first Fred’s photo:

and as interpreted by Taiwanese art quilter, Hsiu Hui Cheng:

The graceful and beautiful rounded arch entryway:

and as interpreted into an art quilt by Chi Hsiang Lin

and by Mei Hui Lin:

Fred told me that there is a reverence for nature–for plants and animals that we just don’t see here.  The Taiwanese appreciate every little flower, every little frog, every bird.  We could learn from this attitude.

That night, we were treated to dinner in a very unusual restaurant.  A Taiwanese artist with no building experience decided to create a building entirely from found objects–she used driftwood, shells, reclaimed phone poles–all sorts of strange things, and created a truly incredible environment for some equally wonderful artwork:

Here is a pattern on one wall made up of shells:

And the large sculptures–also check out the mosaic pattern on the ceiling, and the reclaimed door in the background:

Just to give you an idea of scale, here Fred and I stand next to of one of the sculptures (there are dozens of them all over the restaurant):

The first day of my workshops, I was a little nervous.  I had no idea what to expect of the students and their supplies.  I had sent supply lists–in fact, I sent photos of the supplies just to be sure they knew what I was talking about.  I was afraid that they would come with the wrong things, or that they wouldn’t understand my instructions.  My worries were unfounded.  I was surprised to see that they all showed up with new, high end machines, tons of gorgeous fabrics, and notions (mostly from Japan) some of which I had never seen before.  They also hit the ground running–already skilled at piecing, applique and free motion sewing, we spent some time talking about fabric choices and the importance of value, and they were ready to go.

Even the fact that there were 35 in the class and that few of them spoke English, things went smoothly.  Here is the interpreter talking to a student in the first row.

Unlike many US students, these students were willing to embrace the process and take chances–often making bold fabric choices–without being too overly concerned that their final product resembled my sample.  I had been told that it was my depiction of faces that was so appealing to the organizers, so day one was “faces in fabric” –a fabric collage/raw edge machine applique class taught by doing a face.  I chose the face from the famous painting by Ver Meer “Girl with a Pearl Earring.”

Three people were assigned to my classroom just in case I needed anything.  They brought me tea and coffee, kept me supplied all day with water, and handled anything that came up.  I could get used to this kind of treatment!

At the end of the day, some of the students put their work up for others to see.  They were all excited about what they had learned, and I was impressed with their first attempts at faces in fabric

Of course, the day ended with the drawing for prizes and then the class picture (that is me and my husband who became a celebrity by association in the center of the group):

My husband took this picture of students standing in line to have their pictures taken with me.  I felt like a rock star!

After visiting the exhibit, we were brought into a small conference room where we met several people.  The organizers of the exhibit, Hsin Chen and I Ying were there, and I met (for the first time) Japanese artist Noriko Endo (whose work I have admired for a very long time) who had been teaching workshops for the prior two days, and her husband.  I also met my interpreter, Wen Ying Huang, a weaver and head of the fiber department at the Tainan National University of the Arts; one of the sponsors of the exhibit (who presented me with some Taiwanese fabric rolled in bamboo and in a tote bag made of similar fabric); and Taiwanese artist (and interior designer), Chun Ching Liao.  We were all to participate in a symposium and panel discussion.  We had a box lunch and got to know each other, and then proceeded into the symposium.

First we each talked about our own work–what influences us, what is important to us as artists.  Then the audience was allowed to ask us questions.  It was clear to me that many of them are insecure as artists, asking about how to choose colors, and basic questions about composition–and many had misconceptions–like that only those with degrees in art could enter juried shows.  But their enthusiasm and passion for art quilts was obvious.

Here Wen Ying translates for Noriko Endo (center) with Chun Ching on the other side of her.

my turn…

Exhibit organizer and president of TAQS (the guild which ran the exhibit) Hsin Chen Lin also spoke about the importance of stretching and trying new things in order to grow as an artist.

I encouraged the audience members to find their own voice, Noriko talked about the beauty of nature and how it inspires her, and Chun Ching also discussed taking chances and trying new things.  The syposium ended with what would become a pattern for the next few days–first the presentation of little gifts from a drawing (each of us chose several names from a box and as each winner came to the front to receive their gift, we would each bow, then pictures were taken, then more bowing.)  Then came the picture taking.  The Taiwanese love to take pictures–first the whole group:

And then all sorts of combinations–each of them with each artist, combinations of them with each artist, combinations of the artists…they even wanted pictures of my husband.

When the symposium ended, my husband and I were escorted back to the hotel, which happened to be next door to the large Mitsukoshi Department Store (they called it a department store, we would have called it a mall).  We wandered around a bit and found ourselves in the downstairs food court, where everything looked really interesting, but without speaking the language (or being able to read the signs) were were wary about what things were.  One place–Aunt Stella’s Cookies–did have english signs and the cookies were quite unusual–next to the chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies were cookies labeled tomato, rosemary, assam tea, and other flavors that didn’t seem cookie appropriate to us.  No one spoke english and we really stood out as foreigners.

That night we were invited to an 11 course chinese banquet by our hosts.  Chinese food in Asia is not like chinese food in the states, and some of the courses were a bit surprising to us, like eel and jellyfish–thank goodness Wen Ying was sitting next to me so I knew what things were.  More pictures, of course!

from the left: my husband, Fred; Hsin Chen’s daughter and husband (standing); I Ying; Chun Ching Liao; Noriko Endo; me; Hsin Chen Lin; Wen Ying Huang; Hsin Chen’s brother in law (who lived in Japan and enjoyed speaking to Noriko and her husband in Japanese); and Noriko Endo’s husband.

Then off to bed.  What a first day!

I arrived back in the states last weekend, after a truly amazing experience teaching art quilting in Taiwan.  I have so much to share that I will do it in a series of posts.

After over 25 hours in transit, we arrived at our hotel in Tainan City in southern Taiwan.  Tainan is an interesting ciy, not like any other I have ever seen.  The storefronts are all like garage doors, so that when they open, the entire storefront is exposed to the outside.  The shops and restaurants literally spill into the street, making walking around difficult.  Scooters are the primary mode of transportation, and they are everywhere–and parked everywhere.

Randomly mixed in together are restaurants, hair salons, and mechanics shops, and interspersed with the occasional (and beautiful) small temples.

and some larger and more elaborate temples

Our first day in Tainan, we had an amazing breakfast in the hotel–a huge buffet of chinese, japanese and western breakfast items, and then went to see the Taiwan International Quilt Exhibit held at the National Arts Center.

The show takes up two floors of the building, and includes the work of many well known artists from the US and abroad, plus the work of Taiwanese artists.  The international artists were all invited to participate, the Taiwanese artists were juried.  Most of them are working in a style that combines pieced backgrounds and hand appliqued trees, nature scenes or local historic architecture.

Here is the exhibition coordinator, Hsin Chen Lin, president of the guild that organized the show (TAQS) next to one of her beautiful quilts.  On her right is I-Ying Lin, excutive director of TAQS.

One of the Taiwanese quilts that depict nature is “When Spring Returns” by Mei Hiu Lin.  Shu Chin Liu depicts this historic building (a popular theme in the show) in “Glory of Ancient Remains”

Another beautiful nature quilt is this one by Chen Chu Chen called simply “pond”

watch this blog for more daily posts about teaching in Taiwan.

visit the website at http://www.taqs.org.tw/tiqe2009/

watch this blog for photos of the exhibition and workshops when I return home.

Here is my quilt included in the exhibit: