Art for Healing
Art has an amazing power to heal. We may not be the celebrity artists and writers but we can still write, draw and create to express our inner self and share positivity with others.
"Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,
But these are transient all;
If the shower will make the roses bloom,
O why lament its fall?"
An extract by Charlotte Brontë's poem, Life (1816-1855)
Art in Life
1st Term 2023-24 Aug 2023
What can you see?
What can you hear?
What can you feel?
Drawings on the nature by Ms Yu
Students and I were really glad to see Ms Yu at the graduation dinner. She asked me for my well-being and shared with me about her retirement life. I am truly inspired and touched by her passion in life and surroundings. She is now into hobbies like hiking, photo-taking and drawing. She reads the Bible in different versions, meditates on His words and continues to apply them in her life. Million thanks for her lovely drawings for the journal and bless her all the good wishes! Isn't life blissful when you can meet people full of care, love and passion?
Art Through Traveling
Many F.6 students finished their DSE and went on a graduation trip to relax themselves. Let's read what they say about their post-DSE days.
Photos taken by Karin Leung
那是一潮溺進雲煙的殘陽，潑過點僅餘的筆墨，染上所謂「美國小鎮」的東京，圈了霞光。朝遠方眺望，嫳屑佇立他國風中，不知怎的，總有種難以描繪的感慨與茫然。
自日本旅歸，夾在DSE與放榜的交界，彷如落日，茫茫浮盪在晝夜之間，不上不下，或許這就是別人說的忙忘茫。
但眼見排得滿滿當當的行程表空出大半，偶爾虛度一日，總是忍不住想抄些筆記，忙點什麽。靜謐的房間內，我總能聽見隔壁傳來排球陣陣的碰撞，又抑或是師弟妹放學經過的笑語盈盈，彼時火焰木恰好盛開。
然後想着想着，便能抬頭看見白天降下，前方的路一片模糊——像那未知的未來。
編排好的日子已經過去了，而我意識到自己失去了目標。
工作，那就工作吧。
打卡，改文，迎面人潮洶湧……再重拾剛即鬆手的DSE。上司的一字一句篆刻筆記，被初出茅廬的頑石奉為圭臬，我開始磕磕巴巴地講解起十二篇範文。職場的言行舉止中，透露的提醒訓勉，亦如同腳下高跟鞋的蹣跚，磨去菱角良多，讓我學曉跌跌撞撞地爬行。
至於大學面試，穿戴整齊，一踏入，未曾設想要在沒有準備的情況與四方八面的對手唇槍舌劍。教授語畢，時間倒數，我一愣，面對着「香港獨特文化」六字無從入手，不禁懊惱連連，後悔過於輕敵，只能在過後倚窗空守。
我突然想起那時望着窗外的晚霞，沒有什麼特別的，操場飄來燒烤的炭香，山上的枝鳥依舊吵個不停，而我發呆聽歌翻着書，恍惚覺得六年青春，短得只有一瞬間。
在黃昏沉醉的瞬間，
燈光從東京迪士尼的中心升起。
Karin Leung Ka Yuet 6C 2022-23
Travel, Preach and Feel
These days, Rev. Lo travels around and preaches. He is not young in age but always stays young for God and his life.
天朗氣清，又是美好的一天！萬里無雲，小白鷺自由自在地飛翔在水面上！ 這是天父世界，我靈必得自由！
Rev. Lo Lung Kwong
The nature is what we have from God. When we look up, the sky is high above and then you take a deep breath of air. You feel you are so small. The sun is always there though it may hide its face behind clouds sometimes. There is the ultimate power behind.
Photos taken by Rev. Lo
Everyone can be an artist.
A balloon art workshop for F.4 students held by the professionals together with VA panel in early July.
A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist.
Louis Nizer
‘Boom!’ A big bang noise popped into our ears all of a sudden. Everyone was staring with narrow eyes at the suspicious student. ‘Anyone fainted away? If not, just let my helpers lend her a new one.’ The hall was full of laughter. Instead of making the student feel awkward, Wilson used his own hilarious way to calm us down. You may wonder what we were doing. Who is Wilson? This was not a crime scene, mind. It was a balloon twisting workshop and Wilson is a local balloon artist. He is not a normal balloon twister at all. Winning numerous awards in balloon twisting competitions, Wilson showed his passion in balloon twisting.
Prior to this activity, I had never ‘twisted’ a balloon before. The major reason behind was the sound of a balloon bursting. Balloon was a dangerous toy to me. When it became bigger and bigger, the fear inside my heart creeped over me. Until…it burst!
Holding the long balloon that was already pumped with air, my hands were shaking unconsciously. When Wilson told us to twist the balloon into small parts, I tugged the balloon so hard that it almost burst. ‘You can release the pressure of the balloon by squeezing the balloon from the knot with a little force. Not just humans have pressure, but also the balloons. This can prevent the chance of the balloon bursting.’ That familiar voice cleared all my doubts.
Twist, twist, twist! The balloon turned into a sword, a puppy and a ginormous teddy bear. Wilson even taught us how to build a balloon arch for different ceremonies! The ultimate task was given by Wilson, to build a class arch within the shortest period of time! Exhilaration rushed in.
‘3! 2! 1! Go go go!’ Everyone was busy. Pumping balloons, tying knots, fixing the position of the arch. In the blink of an eye, a two-metre tall garden style balloon arch was finished! I was bathed in a warm sense of accomplishment.
Seems like I’m not afraid of the sound of balloon popping anymore…
‘Pop!’
‘Ahhhh - Cherry! Don’t freak me out!’
4A Tsang Yuk Ting Jessica (2022-23)
Our Words
Balloon art, once confined to children's birthday parties or a magic show, has now evolved into a captivating form of artistic expression. I had never thought we could make a piece of artwork with those balloons that we can commonly see in our daily life and it could be as complicated as a castle, a motor bike or different kinds of animals. In simple words - everything. But it was what Wilson, a balloon artist, had done.
As I have chosen Visual Art as my elective in senior form, I'm glad to meet Wilson to explore more about the possibility of art. I could really feel his passion for spreading and inheriting this form of art to the youngsters. Perseverance is the most important thing when doing an artistic creation. That's what I learned from Wilson. Sometimes it is boring and you may feel lonely. Take balloon art as an example. An enormous piece of artwork is made of a lot of small parts. Keep repeating the steps of blowing up balloons and tying up balloons. Sometimes it is really boring but after countless failures, your accomplishments are more than that.
4C Uji Wong (2022-23)
Have you ever imagined that a balloon can be changed into a teddy bear? Have you thought of engaging an art project can train your collaboration skills?
Not only teddy bears, but also dogs and swords, we can twist balloons into many different shapes by our magical hands. It seems like an easy task, but actually not. Without any past experience, it was quite arduous for a novice to follow the teacher’s pace. I am not good at craftwork and I am slow in reaction. I couldn’t finish a step but the teacher started to teach the next step. To be frank, I wanted to give up when I encountered the first obstacle. Fortunately, I received much help and support offered from other classmates and teachers, which acted as a motivation to drive me forward. Finally, I finished making a colourful and an adorable balloon teddy bear with my classmates. You see, persistence, courage and patience are the crucial elements for not only solving problems, but also successfully twisting a balloon into a beautiful toy.
All four classes of us were required to make four balloon arched doors. Although it was our first time making it, we soon assigned all the jobs. For example, someone inflated balloons; someone tied four balloons together; someone put the tied balloons on the door. For me, I took up the position of inflating the balloons with a special machine which could make a balloon become filled with air in only one second. Everyone in my class pulled out all the stops and collaborated with one another. Although my class had the least number of students, we were the first ones to finish the balloon arched doors. As the old saying goes, unity is strength. Teamwork is always the most significant key to success and overcoming all the obstacles. Overall, the whole experience was truly fun and relaxing!
4C Tracy Tsoi (2022-23)
Of the visual arts lessons, I do remember the lesson on paper quilling. It was the most creative topic I had ever gone through. At first, I was wondering how paper quilling could be a great work of art, but when I saw the example of it. It literally cast away my doubts. I think it is even more impressive than normal artworks. I thought visual arts just included painting and modeling. But after learning paper quilling, it has broadened my artistic horizons. Although my final product wasn’t that amazing, I enjoyed the whole process of making it. It was really interesting and enjoyable. It's worth giving it a try.
3D Issac Wong (2022-23)
3D Jasmine Shum (2022-23)
In the paper quilling lesson, we used the technique of stripping paper like rolling, shaping and gluing to create our artwork which is about flowers. It was such an unforgettable lesson as I had never done 3D artwork before. When I was doing the artwork, I found it was easier than I thought as it did not require any drawing skills. You only needed to quill the paper by using the needle quilling tool which helped to roll the quilling paper and create different shapes using our fingers. After the paper quilling lesson, I think it is a good way to practise our eye-hand coordination as well as develop our creativity.
3A Ravi Cheung Tsz Yau (2022-23)
Paper quilling requires a lot of patience, practice, and materials. You also need creativity to figure out which paper-quilling pattern best suits your masterpiece. Take my work as an example. As Valentine's Day was coming around, I decided to make a rose that best suited the festival. But I underestimated the complexity of quilling the flower pedals and the amount of paper and glue that I needed to use to complete my work. But at the end of the day, I finished and that is what matters. People always say, "Practice makes perfect." I believe that's how all amazing artists were born.
Paper quilling is an activity that can calm our emotions and cultivate our life sentiment. I am grateful to have an opportunity to try and gain some related knowledge about paper quilling in VA lesson. For me, not only can paper quilling be done in school, we can also have it for fun in our spare time at home, just because of the following reasons. No. 1.: it doesn’t cost lots of money. With just several coloured paper strips and glue, we can create exquisite artworks. No.2: by using simple techniques, we roll, pinch and paste the strips. The coloured strips are then made in various forms, and an extraordinary piece of artwork can be formed. When we are full of trouble, the craft work can be the medicine for our souls.
3A Chan Hoi Lam (2022-23)
Art Through Sharing
2nd Term 22-23 Jan 2023
What are you passionate in?
Elise Li 2018 STMC graduate
An aspiring occupational therapist and a professional ballet dancer in Australia
A Dialogue Between Two Dancers
Dance is a poem of which each movement is a word
Mata Hari
For me, being able to express my thoughts and emotions through movements is intrinsically satisfying. Not only does it serve as a vehicle for discharging negative emotions, but it also promotes self-awareness of personal strengths and a sense of identity. Just as a famous ballerina once said, ‘learning to dance gives you the greatest freedom of all, to express with your whole self the person you are.’
While it is graceful and aesthetic, ballet is known to be physically demanding and requires strong discipline and commitment. As dancers, we could spend hours in the studio just to perfect a turn or a jump, or to practice how to finish an exercise properly. Yet, this is how ballet inspires me to always stay humble and strive for improvements so that I can become a better dancer. It also helps me reshape the way that I view the challenges in life. It reminds me that failure is not just a series of potential setbacks within our efforts towards success, but it is literally part of what makes up the very fabric of success. Just as we need to take a deep plié before a big jump, we have to go low before we can shoot upward.
Latin dance,also known as Dancesport,is a competitive sport which includes sporty and artistic qualities similar to gymnastics. I think that Latin dance helps me to improve my musicality, physical coordination and communication skills. It has also made me more sociable as I have made lots of friends from different competitions. I think the hardest part for me is to find a good studio. I once learned from a very famous dance couple . Initially they were very kind to me and taught me lots of dance techniques. Yet, some other stronger dancers became their students and they had no time to teach me any more. I was worried and frustrated. Luckily I found another dance studio and now I have improved a lot. I think the most crucial thing to help me grow is to forget the past and keep moving on to another stage instead of trapping myself in apprehension. Leave the comfort zone and progress further. This may be one of the life mottoes.
Anson Wong 2A 2022-23