Sam

On March 21, Casual Art Chats visited Teacher Zhang Shuyu. I have known Teacher Zhang for a few years, and our connection began through pottery. However, due to my busy schedule, I had not visited for a long time, though we stayed in touch via Line and Facebook.

This time, I made a special trip to visit him and learned about his life journey. He has undergone two major surgeries, was once completely paralyzed, and currently requires dialysis. Despite everything he has been through, whenever he has free time, all he thinks about is creating art.

When I previously visited Teacher Cai Shixian in Chiayi, I found the same to be true—after experiencing a serious illness, all he wanted was to complete his unfinished works. This shows how deeply artists are committed to their creations.

In Teacher Zhang’s works, particularly in the expressions of his clay figurines, one can see a strong sense of vitality. His art also contains profound metaphors for his own life experiences.

Becoming an artist is truly not easy. Every artwork is created through personal hardships, struggles, and tears—it is like an artist’s own child. No wonder artists often say that they pour their very life into their creations.

3/21藝術隨意聊拜訪了張舒嵎老師，和張老師大概認識了幾年，緣分在於捏陶。後來因為忙碌的關係也就一直沒再過去，但彼此在Line和FB上都還有聯系。這次專程去拜訪張老師才了解他的生命歷程，動了兩次大刀，曾經全身癱瘓過，目前還要洗腎。一個藝術家在經歷過了那麼多的事情之後，一有空閒的時間想到的都只有創作。上一次在嘉義拜訪的蔡世賢老師也是如此。生過一次大病以後都只想將手裡未完成的創作完成，可見藝術家對於自己創作的堅持。張老師的創作，從捏陶人物的表情可以看出非常有生命力。其中更可以看到個人生命的隱喻。成為一個藝術家真的非常的不容易，創作每一件作品都是自己的辛酸血淚，都是自己的小孩。怪不得藝術家都會說是拿自己的生命在創作。