This blog is now somewhat redundant.

Thanks for finding me!

Kate x

Tell me what you would like to see: jarofbuttons@gmail.com.

If you are interested in submitting to the new site (written or visual): jarofbuttons@gmail.com.

Writing: creative, reviews, travel, cooking, craft, film, art…

Visual: photography, illustration, design…

But… it’s getting easier every day. And the kids are just awesome. They are so much fun and I really do smile and laugh all through my day. And the hours are pretty good. Only working four hours a day with a bit of planning on top of that. I pretty much have the whole day to do whatever I want.

Ah, this is the life!

But, I am starting to crave some writing time so I’m going to start scheduling it in. Hmmm, it seems another project is at hand. It can be very hard for a newbie to find information on, well, anything here in Taiwan. So, as I mentioned in the last post, I’m keen to start up a very simple, grass roots kinda blog, which lets everyone know what’s going on here in Taichung and around the country.

It sounds a bit lame when I read back over what I just wrote but I think that’s because I want to create something that has no pretension. It’s just a few people writing about the things they come across in their area, or the gigs they go to, or the shops they stumble across. I guess interesting writing style and good editing would be the only criteria for submission.

Now to think of a name…

I’m going to take it easy and just make it a simple, photocopied, traditional zine to begin with. Contributors from all over Taiwan are welcome. I’ll accept any style including illustrations and photography. I’m keen to keep the growth organic, just see where the zine goes in it’s own time.

I’m also hoping to do some work for a new lifestyle-type magazine called Soup. It’s still in prototype stage so I can’t link to it yet but will post more details in time. 

Um, here are some pics to fill the space because I haven’t posted in AGES. I am just feeling quite lazy at the moment.

I didn’t think to have a look at what was on at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum before I went to check it out for the first time. And what a nice surprise it was to step right into Mind as Passion, a video art exhibition full of wonderment, simplicity and innovation.

This collection of video installations was definitely the highlight of my three or so hours spent at TFAM and a great introduction to what this part of the world has to offer in the way of video art. Seventeen new generation creators from Taiwan and Japan were selected because their works reflect the conundrum faced by modern humanity, both in the East and the West: obsession with the individual self compared with a drive to challenge stereotypes and highlight issues which affect our society. Throughout the exhibition, themes and feelings were varied and at times intense. Nostalgia, tradition battling or blending with modernity, sadness, dreamlike moments, natural elements, progress, even scents.

Two works that stood out for me were Mami Kosemura’s Flowering Plants of the Four Seasons and Out of the Blue by Hiraka Sawa. Although quite different in style, content and presentation, when I parted with these works I took away with me satisfying feelings of peace and nostalgia. Without doing any research into the works I noticed themes of nature and domesticity, although Kosemura’s art felt more traditional than Sawa’s. I like the way the works really enveloped you with their presence, in particular the use of scent in Flowering Plants of the Four Seasons. You had to duck through a low entrance to enter the space of the piece and were hit with the smell of fresh cut grass and bamboo matting. I immediately fell in love with the bird imagery and wallpaper patterns in Sawa’s Out of the Blue.

But by far my favourite piece, captivating me for its entire run time, was Naoyuki Tsuji’s Children of Shadows. To create this dreamlike, childlike stop motion animation Tsuji draws images in charcoal and pastel, erasing them after photographing each stage. This leaves a trail of faint pencil marks behind each movement, a permanent reminder of both the process used by the artist and the past action of the story. I was absolutely engrossed with this film. It felt as though I was in a dream the whole time I was watching, like time no longer existed and all the action somehow took place in just one moment. The experience was raw, pure, innocent and fluid. A fairytale for adults.

Here are some words from the artist himself, written in 2007. I found the quote here.

“One of the main characteristics of animations created using charcoal is the afterimage. With this method it’s easy to erase or draw over or add details to a previously drawn image, but the previous image never completely disappears. My method is quite simple. I sit in front of the paper and wait for an idea. When I get an idea, I draw it down and click the shutter a few times. Then I erase a bit and redraw and click the shutter a few more times, and so on. So it’s random, yet with direction, ordered towards the future. I start with no set idea for the film. Each image I draw and photograph creates suggestions which lead to the next image, and these images build up inside me as the work advances. I enjoy the unique possibilities of this particular medium, which doesn’t require anything else but charcoal and paper.”

A quick note on Story To… Unfortunately, for various reasons, it’s been necessary to put the project on hold. More here.

Many, many things have been happening for me in the past few months. I have spent some time in New Zealand, catching up with family and friends, swimming most days, soaking up the sun and generally relaxing. Then, I jumped on a plane and come to Taipei (Taiwan) where I have been residing for the last three weeks.

My experiences of Taipei so far…

The pungent and strangely appealing aroma of stinky tofu at our local night market

The blues and greys of the Danshui River

New technology and modernity mixing so perfectly with tradition
People, people everywhere – much of their lives lived on the street rather than in their homes
Skyscrapers abruptly stop where mountains begin (no suburbs here, thank you)
Dancing at a dubstep gig to a DJ from Hong Kong, through clouds of cigarette smoke

Temple dragons peering out from the smallest of laneways or shop fronts

Tofu noodle soups and dumplings, oh how I love you both
Having chilli with everything
Using the pictures on the labels of supermarket products in an attempt to decipher their contents
Runny yoghurt

Fireworks being let off in the street amongst crowds of people

Office buildings holding competitions to see who can let crackers off for the longest period of time
Pulling out a map and collecting helpful locals almost immediately
Public buses being driven like race cars
Never having to wait longer than two minutes for a train
Dehua Street before Chinese New Year

Stone pathways that massage your feet

Butterflies that look like fallen, decaying leaves

I could go on forever but I won’t.

In case you’re interested, I have added my writing and project portfolios to the About page of jar full of buttons.

Go on, have a hunt through your record collection for something that might suit you – your very own sleeveface may only be the click of a camera shutter away.

That is all.

Story To… Issue Two: Pod People will be out mid-November which is pretty exciting. This edition is going to be great as we’ve got some awesome submissions and Chris is working on 1950s horror movie design theme. Great! Beth and I are also busy contacting all sorts of people and places trying to get the Story To… name out there. A few people have been really keen to help out including Bird in the Hand, Fallyrag and Ampersand Magazine.

I’ve discovered the coolest website called We Make Zines. It’s a social networking site for zinesters and currently has over 500 members (and climbing) from all around the world. I particularly like the forums for general ziney information and it’s also a great way to find distros.

I wrote my first blog for The Double Agent. Not sure when it’ll be up on the site though. Mostly happy with what I wrote but I think I’ll do better next time. Simon just emailed saying he’s putting together a writing section for the site and has asked me to be a contributor. This should be great.

The TEFL study is going well now. Since Jonny and I bought the Mac we can study together, one of us on the PC and one on the lappy. So much more fun doing it that way cause we can bounce ideas off each other and work things out together. How terribly geeky! We hope to have it finished before we leave Australia. Hmmm, eight modules in one month? We’ll see…

And lastly, Taiwan prep. Well, we’ve scored an awesome deal on accommodation in Taichung, at the Taichung Hostel. Only $300 AUD for one month for a double room with its own bathroom! That’s only $150 AUD each. For a month. Woo hoo! Imagine what the price of food will be. And there’s apparently a night market right behind where we’re staying so that means awesome street cuisine at equally awesome prices. I’ve emailed a my resume away for a couple of writing positions. Have only heard back from one which was for a technical writer and was not quite right. Found a freelance proofreading position that sounds great so going to apply for that soon. And I’ve contacted a few schools too and it seems like it’ll be pretty easy to get teaching work. If I do have to work as a teacher I really like the look of Season Arts, seems quite progressive and a really fun way of teaching English to kids.

Five weeks to go!