three

Yesterday we moved from Taipei to Taichung. I slept for almost the entire busride over, and when we got to Taichung we met up with students from NCKU.  The hostel we are staying in is very nice. They prioritize sustainability in their design, but they don’t skimp out on beauty. The entire space is so beautiful, especially the lounge. Floor to ceiling views of taichung, repurposed Japanese room doors as room dividers, native Taiwanese plants surrounding the entire window and low moody lighting. 

Last night, I didn’t sleep well. The room was insanely humid, so I had to leave the insanely loud dehumidifier on throughout the entire night. Not only this, but my room has a window facing an inner area of the building that constantly has lights on. Since the curtains aren’t blackout it felt like it was bright outside the entire night. None the less I got up to face the day.

Today, we went to the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute (NTCRI), a national level institution dedicated to the preservation, exhibition, and advancement of traditional and contemporary craft arts. We saw art exhibitions of ceramics, bamboo work, weaving, and other traditional Taiwanese crafts. I thought it was interesting that there was a whole building dedicated to showing off how these crafts can be integrated into modern life, combining modern human centered design with Taiwanese traditional crafts. I also learned a lot at the live workshops. Above the coffee shop, there are actual workshops of “masters” and their assistants practicing their crafts.

I talked to two assistants who explained the process of traditional lacquer art (all natural made from tree sap) and trinket creation from natural materials. It was amazing to learn about how lacquer and wood 古琴 are made, how 30+ layers of thin lacquer are applied and then sanded. We also learned about insanely light lacquer sculptures. In the other workshop about trinket making, the assistant explained all the creative ways of using natural materials to make cute trinkets for peoples homes. She explained how a special drying process to leaves can make them flexible and retain their shape, able to return to their natural flat state when sprayed with water. She also showed us this almost unbreakable bookmark decoration made from the inner bark of a tree. All these assistants were super eager to share about their masters expertise. I was with Helen and a student from NCKU, Heather, and so we all spoke Chinese. The people in the workshops were intrigued by our study abroad program and our “familiarity” with Chinese.

Global Times - Picture of a 古琴