Taipei Pottery Class

Recently, I mentioned to Fred that I had a hankering to take a pottery class. I wasn't expecting much, maybe just an opportunity to sit at the back corner of a community college and fumble my way through with my limited Chinese.

One evening, Fred asked me to meet him after work in the Zhongshan area. He had a surprise for me. I had a hunch it might be a pottery class, probably at the Museum of Contemporary Art which was in that area. But my suspicions were dispelled when we headed into the shady little lanes off the main street. So curious!

The studio, when we found it, was a pleasant surprise. It is tucked away on one of the many unassuming, non-descript Taipei lanes with no sign, lighting, paintwork, nothing to distinguish it from anything else. It is not big inside, but the space is used economically and comfortably. Everything has its place. The walls are lined with shelves of work in various stages of completion. There are three pottery wheels, a kiln, a sink, bins of clay and glazes, and a work table.

We spoke with the teacher and got a run down on how the classes worked. Simply, you could come in once a week and work on whatever project you wished. He would walk you through the process. He suggested starting with the basic pinch pot and working toward throwing pots on the wheel. This was exactly what I wanted. The only problem was that he couldn't speak English. So Fred was roped into coming along as well. We signed up there and then, and started our classes a week later.

We've been attending our classes for a couple of months now. It is a welcome escape from the tedium and toil of the working week. Just last week, Fred took home our first completed piece, a vase. For an absolute beginner I'm impressed with his skill.

Fred's first two pieces were a mug and bowl using the pinch pot method. Great shape for only using his fingers and thumbs.

Finished pieces set out to dry.

I made a tea set for my first piece. I am in Taiwan, after all.

The tricky part, attaching the spout.

T.Loafer

Inspiring Venues IV

This little cafe/bar was a lovely surprise. Unassumingly tucked away on one of Da'An's many lanes. T.Loafer is an incey wincey place that is big on coziness and charm. It is owned by a group of young friends who share the responsibilities of running this sweet little venue.

Primarily it's a hang out, a place to have a cup of tea, coffee, a beer or a bite to eat. They also sell the wares of local creative types like, jewelery, zines, potted plants, postcards, etc.

The main design feature of both the exterior and interior is the mosaic mish mash of windows. There's something about the ramshackleness and the cosy glow from inside that feels fairy tale-ish. Like you've discovered Red Riding Hood's house in the middle of Taipei.

You can find T.Loafer here: No.20, lane 141, sec. 2, Jinshan S Rd, Taipei.

Inspiring Rooms V

Margaret Shiu's Residence - The Bamboo Curtain

This beautiful space is currently where Margaret Shiu, the director of The Bamboo Curtain (previous post) resides. It will soon be converted into living quarters for prospective artists in residence at the Bamboo Curtain when Margaret moves into a new home nearby.

I fell in love with the potential of this space. It has a rough and ready warehouse conversion feel to it, high ceilings, open plan, exposed steel framework, industrial style drop pendants, plywood cladding. It has huge windows that let in lots of natural light, which is such a rarity in Taiwan. They also permit fantastic views of GuanYin Mountain.

With a little nurturing during its tranformation this place could blossom into quite a special artists' haven. I'd love to get my hands on it and provide some interior design TLC.

Fred contemplates the Goddess' profile (GuanYin Mountain).

Wooden Chinese chairs with a simple modern table, and a grizzly bear on the toilet.

Open. Tall. Light.

A peek into the bedroom. The window ledge beckons, 'grab your book, sit down!'

Huge windows in the bedroom, overlooking the mangroves of the Danshui River.

Little Cookin'

I've been involved in writing new 'Fun Time' lesson plans for Kindy. The last half hour of every Kindergarten day is devoted to 'Fun Time', an opportunity to learn English by doing. For the teachers, it's an opportunity to be creative, inject their own personality into the lesson, and have some fun doing it.

The objective is to augment and expand upon the English they've been learning, and also to provide a well rounded education by teaching and developing other skills like P.E., Maths, Art, Drama, Social Studies and Food.

I was assigned the Social Science and Little Cook lessons. Social Science was no problem, but the Little Cook lessons threw me at first. I'm OK in the kitchen, but definitely no chef. I was a pleasant surprise to find that when I applied myself, it wasn't hard to get the creative juices flowing.

Theme: 5 Food Groups. Make a picture of your teacher using food from all 5 food groups.

Theme: Occupations. What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be a dentist.

Theme: Natural World. Do you want to play in the snow? Yes, I do!

Theme: Animals. Yummy fruit peacock.

Theme: Space Travel. Watermelon juice rocket fuel.

The Bamboo Curtain

Fred started a new job a few months back, he is the Marketing/Communications Manager of an Arts Centre called The Bamboo Curtain. The site used to be a chicken farm until it fell into the hands of Margaret Shiu. She has transformed it into a friendly and peaceful venue for artists to create and share their work.

The goal of the venue is to promote cross-cultural exchanges in the Arts by providing artists with spaces and tools to pursue their work. Not only can artists use the studio spaces, but they can also set up a temporary home in one of the artists' residences for short stays.

It sits beside the mangroves of the Danshui river and the Danshui line of the MRT runs along the other side. The Danshui River bicycle path runs right by it. From the venue you can admire the profile of the the Goddess' face in the outline of Taiwan's holiest mountain, GuanYin Mountain, which sits across the river in Bali.

Secretly, I am rather jealous. I would love to work at a venue like this.

Bamboo Curtain is home to permanent residents Sunson Theatre, a percussion performance and workshop group.

A sweet little herbal tea stand set up in 'The Lab', one of the studios available to artists for residency.

Permanent resident, Chen Cheng-Hsun's ceramics studio.

Birthday Treat

I had a fantastic birthday this year. We had people over in the evening for our T-Shirt party (previous post), but that was merely icing on the cake. For lunch, Fred took me to a beautiful gourmet Tonkatsu restaurant. Possibly the most delicious Japanese meal I've had.

After, we wandered over to DunHua, to Undercover. It's a trendy fashion retail store with a sexy bar/cafe attached. The most striking element of the design is the use of recycled timber doors as cladding on the walls. Throw in some classical French furniture revamped in shiny black, a few well chosen retro treasures and a touch of kookiness here and there, and the whole effect gives the place the feel of a modern-day Alice In Wonderland.

Fred reposes in a Jacobsen-esque retro armchair.

The window behind is made up of a mish mash of recycled window

frames.

My favourite Taiwanese dessert, DoHua. A soft tofu, sugar syrup and peanuts.

This recycled timber table is the standout piece of the establishment.

The wall-cladding doors in the retail area have been left their original colour. Whereas, as you move into the cafe/bar they're painted black.

Black glass chandaliers juxtaposed with a kooky neon teddy bear.

Sleek black surfaces of the repro Louis furniture reflect a violet glow from the neon teddy bear.

Behind, the punch of colour from the fruit and the natural tones and texture of the huge, chunky timber countertop of the bar offer a contrast to an otherwise sombre palette.

You have to duck your head as you enter the bathroom. Inside, you find a mosaic collage of disproportionate checkerboards on the floor. Another well-used recycled timber door for the bench top. And a couple of quirky characters to keep you on your toes.

Inspring Rooms IV

Beautiful Chinese Hostels

My sister, Kristy and I travelled through China in November 2010. We stayed in some lovely places. We stayed in two hostels, one in Beijing and the other in XiAn. I'd thought I had crossed a line, having left my cheap hostel dorm room days way behind. The pics on the websites looked fantastic, but I was dubious. We were more than pleasantly surprised when we arrived.

Not only were both hostels very reasonably priced and situated, but their interiors had me swooning.

The Peking Youth Hostel in Beijing was situated in one of the city's historic Hutong Neighbourhoods, five minutes walk from the Forbidden City. Originally, it was a traditional courtyard house and they've managed to maintain its charm whilst providing modern conveniences and a cosy atmosphere.

Some of the design features that stand out in my mind are; the glass conservatory style extension of the common room, the heavy army style 'doona doors' hung over entrances to help keep out the cold, the blue and white patterned ceramic basins in the bathrooms, red and green tones and lots of timber. I could have stayed here for our full three weeks, calm and comfortably tucked away in our haven from the sharp Winter cold. Oh, and their lemon honey tea was to die for.

Similarly, Shuyuan Youth Hostel in XiAn was originally a traditional courtyard house, though on a larger scale with three interior courtyards. It is a stone's throw from the city's South Gate and walking distance from the Bell Tower and Muslim Quarter.

Features of the Shuyuan Hostel; the generous proportions and natural light, the luxury of the lounge setting in the foyer, simple and elegant traditional chinese furniture, grey tones on the walls. The foyer lounge setting was my inspiration for this post.

The common area of the Peking Youth Hostel.

The lounge setting in the foyer of the Shuyuan Youth Hostel.

One of the three interior courtyards at the Shuyuan Youth Hostel.