Today, we went to Liu Li Chang, the Chinese art street. Here we wandered through the Hutong-like street, talking to shopkeepers and peeking through store windows, ate a TREMENDOUS feast at a Sichuan restaurant, and went to a Chinese printing company to learn the history and method behind printmaking.
Whilst wandering through Liu Li Chang, I admired the architecture of the buildings. Chinese traditional architecture is one of my favourite types of architecture, because of it’s small additions and decor – especially on the roof. I also found the small alleyways to be amusing, seeing as they too had arches on top to match the neighbouring buildings. The alleyways almost serve as a window into the residents’ lives, allowing us to see into the smaller details in their community.
After lunch, my group went to the printmaking company. Since the history explanations were all in Chinese, and mine is quite limited, I was only able to learn that there is an extensive history and because some people don’t want to buy expensive paintings, they will pay someone to carve the painting into a piece of stone and print it onto a smaller canvas. Printing also requires softer paper, so the ink doesn’t run or look ugly. After the history lesson, we were able to print characters ourselves. We were told to get “action-shots” of students, but instead I took action-shots of Mr Selkirk, since there was less of a crowd. I would say his end product turned out nicely. The later picture is one Jaslyn and Emily took with the store owners, as they noted that Emily looked like an “ancient Goddess,” and we couldn’t resist to have a fun addition to the “best store owner picture” contest (last photo:credits to Clarence).
