Studio practice idea

The first image is one of the practice pieces from 2022. Hydrangea is one of the recurring element in my design. I use it as a symbol of Zen and Buddhism. Hydrangea is usually used in water at the temple for people to clear their hands, which can be regarded as clearing their auras. Also, it is used a lot in Buddha pouring/bathing ceremony(浴佛节）.On the 8th of April, the Buddhists remember the day when Buddha was born and celebrate the spring. On this important day people drink Hydrangea tea (甘茶 ) to celebrate, drink Hydrangea tea (甘茶 ), they also pour it over the Buddha statues in the temple gardens three times to anoint them.

These few weeks I have been doing research on religious jewelry and morning jewelry, and I found out that they are very similar just like death and religion are always tiny together. The similarities between Religious jewelry and morning jewelry show in form, they mostly are lockets, also maybe I can call them both sentimental jewelry. The difference is using different elements. For example, elements of Nepal's jewelry are eight emblems of Buddhism, colorful stones and for people holding items of religion; but elements of morning jewelry are willow, gravestone, black stone, and for holding hair or picture.

While I work on this research, I suddenly realized making art is a process of mental healing, just like how zen and Buddhist philosophy clean my consciousness and bring happiness to me. So I decided to continue to work with the religious theme of jewelry, and I am so excited to make things connect to my culture and religion!

I wouldn’t say I like the means of the flower, this is how humans put it on a plant, rather than that I'm interested in how a person feels about a plant or what is a person's memory about a flower.

flame tree/Poinciana is one of the flowers that relays my childhood memory. The village that I glow up has a Poinciana, it glows at the entrance to the town. I vaguely remembered me and my childhood friend hangout under the tree and using its leaves to make a garland. and tear the calyx tape on our faces. And my family move out when I was seven, and I no longer hang out with those childhood friends after school.

Hong Kong Orchid Tree is also another plant that relays my childhood memory. There was a row of Hong Kong Orchid Tree planted across the street from my kindergarten, and many children were waiting there for their parents to pick up them after class, I sometime hangout with friends for a little while and then walk home with some other friend whose parents also too busy to pick them up. I can't remember since when, the trees were cut down, and my school was also torn down due to urban reconstruction. I sometimes dream of going back to that street.

last summer I was doing an artist residency at Craft Centre Nove Scotia, one day I was taking a break and having my lunch on the parking lot, I accidental discovery there was a plant looks very familiar, it is Greater Plantain, which is a wild edibles plant, and also very commonly glow in my hometown. in Cantonese cousin culture, we believe it carries a lot of benefits for the human body, according to the article Plantain is known for its ability to draw out toxins, and reduce swelling, inflammation, and itching. It can help relieve irritation of the mucous linings of the entire respiratory tract as well as act as an effective expectorant. And my mom use to make soup with Greater Plantain.

In Cantonese culture we(Cantonese) believe, medical plant soup can maintain the human body in a healthy stage if we keep having it, but same of the plants are wild edibles plant. They glow in some spcify area, and not mush young people can tell what is wild edibles plan. And I live in Halifax, a city that doesn't have many Cantonese, so it is a challenge to get the ingredients event on a grocery , so I am kinda losing my culture every day,also other young people . The day that I found Greater Plantain, there are a stong fell hits me , which is from home. But at the same time, I saw the hope of continuing my culture, not all of them, but I'm try my best.

reference: https://todaysabundantliving.com/plantain-a-wild-edible/