For the fast-forward project, I spent three whole days in the screen printing workshop, and with the help of the practitioners, the result ended up being surprisingly good. But the satisfying art work is not the only thing I gained from this experience.
I’ve never been very confident with teachers or even just someone who’s more experienced than me. And before I came to this country, my relationship with teachers was basically me listening to them talking, instead of communicating. So when I first arrived at the workshop feeling not very sure about my draft, I hesitated to tell the technicians what I really intend to do, which I thought was not achievable and might not look good. However, the technicians were all very friendly and I could tell that they see me as an artist, instead of a kid who doesn’t know anything about screen printing, whose place I put myself into. This is very new to me. It’s not like being treated as a student, a learner does not make me feel good, however, the way they looked at me actually encouraged me to ask questions and speak up about my problems and new thoughts. And when I asked about the old-fashion CD player in the workshop, one of the technicians, Simon, gladly shared a lot of his thoughts and experience with music, which drove away my nerves in the workshop, so that I got to work in a more delightful and casual atmosphere in the following days. And for the first time, I had the feeling of working hard for my own wish instead of working hard to prove the teachers that I’m qualified for something, which I always felt back in high school.
I couldn’t believe it when I heard that people loved my finished work and planned to hang it in the corridor, I felt as if my child grew up and became a wonderful person. And I was very proud that I stuck on the plan which I thought was impossible after speaking to the technicians. I realised I always assume that I’m not good enough, hiding my real thoughts and just humbly listening to tutors, but communicating with them and bravely telling them what I think, is actually the better way of improving and further developing my ideas.