"Make sure to have enough postage "...
"Mail it, why?"
"Can't find a mail box"
"Make sure you email to me, no better yet just text me."
Stamps, to most people, are something they almost cannot relate to. Honestly, when was the last time I mailed something out. However, I still love stamps, especially the old ones with a mail chop on it. With this in mind, I have decided to send a note to someone, somewhere each week.
My passion for stamp collecting started at a very young age. I remember I was about eight years old, with tremendous curiosity and love for almost everything around me - except for piano practice and porridge for breakfast. Being the youngest, you would think I would have had everybody's attention. Not quite, since all my siblings were at least ten years older than me and were busy with their school work. My time was mainly spent among my late parents and my nanny. My memories about them are very clear.
Mom, a principal, was all about discipline and responsibility; how to have a good posture, how to study, and to never eat on the street.
Nanny was the most important person in my life other than my late parents. We may not be related, yet she was like a grandma to me. She took care of my well being, from breakfast to dinner ( She would put an poached egg at the bottom of my porridge every morning so I would finish it before my Mom asked any questions).
Dad, he was my best friend, the only man I have ever loved whole heartedly other than Kinny, my husband. He showed me all kinds of toys and hobbies, from sword to tea sets. Once a week he would take up the responsibility to pick up items from the pharmacy, with me tagging along. That was when I began to see a lot of Hong Kong. We tried all kinds of food that Mom would say no to. (He would secretly eat on the streets with me.)
Dad also passed on his favourite hobby to me. He loved collecting stamps, and he taught me how to prepare them with care. After all these years, I still love to collect stamps. I find the used ones are so much more meaningful. They embrace culture, art, history, feelings, emotions... Now at the age of 56, I've started to fall in love with my past in Hong Kong again. The tram, ferries, foods, markets... all these are episodes of my childhood. To illustrate all these memories and feelings through pencil crayons and a stamp about old Hong Kong are the passion I wish to share with everyone at this point of my life. It is a blessing if my passion can touch someone's heart.
Colourful pencil crayons and stamps allow me to be on the bright side.
May 29, 2015
Stamp Art
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Looking back at childhood memories in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Victoria Park is where I spent every Sunday morning with my dad and his tennis buddy; I was their ball-girl. It may not be a Grand Stand, yet to me, dad was as good as Agassi or Federer. These were very precious moments. |
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Memories of Hong Kong - old neon sign, dried sea food and traditional wedding pastries remind me of west side of Hong Kong island. |
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I was born in Hong Kong when we still live on Canton Street, Kowloon. Ferry between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon was my favourite form of transportation. Red-bean with ice cream and luncheon meat with fried egg and instant noodle was always my favourite choice. |
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Hong Kong Peak had the best view of the whole Victoria Harbour. My memories were clearly with the restaurant. It was a treat when my parents took me there for high tea. |
Great drawings and pieces Aunty Celine! Can't wait to see whats next! Very Inspiring! :D
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful! I love your stamp series. I'm so glad I found you on instagram and now here. 😄
ReplyDeleteThank you for viewing my work, I enjoy connecting with you on both instagram and this blog. Hope you like my writing too. Just some sharing from my heart.
DeleteAuntie Celine thank you for teaching me all these years. I have learn a lot from you through art and life. I really like your blog it has so much style and character. It truly touches my heart how you share your experiences from childhood to now and your passion in art and life truly illustrate in all your pieces of art. Thank you for being such a great teacher and never given up on me.
ReplyDeleteKenneth
What a happy & fortunate childhood that you had in HK! With only a few years younger than you, I also was born in HK & grew up there. My parents were illiterate so they had worked from morning till late at night to support living. Without nanny at home, so the 12yr old child came home after school would cook dinner, & the 8yr old child looked after the 4yr old sister & would pick her little sister from kindergarten! At the age of 12yr old, I was borrowed my eldest sister ID, ( it only had surname with no picture at those days) & started to work full time as a factory worker. All my secondary education was talking in an evening school. So my childhood memories to me were full of tough moments , & I believed that was the majority population went through in those days. How many HK people would have experienced such luxury treat of having high tea at a restaurant in the Peak in the 60's ?!
ReplyDeleteSorry if that's upsetting you. It's my sharing after reading your blog.
Hi Jackie,
DeleteThank you for reading my blog and taking your time to reply with your honest comment. Really appreciated it from the bottom of my heart. Sharing your childhood with me also remind me of my own. Just because my late parents took me for high tea does not mean they had it easy. They also need to work from morning till night to feed five of us. Nanny was someone who grew up with my mom in Shanghai, therefore they went through escaping the war to Hong Kong and stay with us. She was like a grandma to me. We had to share the work at home, because my parents always believed in taking care of oneself. Just like a lot of family in Hong Kong we all lived in a small unit. The bunk beds kept the bonding among siblings. High tea was always a treat, my mom tried to give us the opportunity to try and see more things, so we can be more knowledgeable. I choose to share the happy moments of my life in my blog because I have anxiety and depression and wish to share some light moments with others. Like my blog and Instagram, their name are “on the bright side”. I just wish to keep looking on the bright side of my pass and present life so I can live the life that God had given me with a positive attitude and keep people around me happier.
I am so upset right now!!! I wrote a VERY LONG response to this blog and it got erased when I pressed on "Publish". 😡
DeleteIt asked me to sign into my google account and when I did, my essay was no where to be found.
I will find the time to remember what I wrote and reply tomorrow.
hi Jackie and Celine,
Deletethank you both for sharing your childhood on his blog. it truly inspired me. i am also from HK and my parents both grew up there at the same time as you both. my mom grew up in a middle class family of a few siblings and her father had to work to provide for the family. like both of your parents, my grandparents taught my mom good ethics. My dad came from a wealthier family, his dad was a doctor. it may sound glamorous but my dad was the son of a second wife. so he didnt have it easy either. Yes, he had food and shelter but he went through different struggles growing up in a housewhold full of hate and bickering. i believe that all of the stories of childhood in HK in the 60s define what was HK at that time... there are lower/middle/upper class people and that made what HK is now as a whole.
Jackie, i admire you and am moved my your story, you sure had it tough and im positive that your experience have moulded you in becoming a very strong hard working lady today!
Celine, i am very thankful for your sharing as well. Your parents have taught you to work hard and be thankful to have a chance to learn about the world outside of your household. Through your colourful paintings i can feel that you truly enjoyed your experiences in your childhood. Thank you for sharing them on your blog. it is very respectful that you share positivity through story telling and artworks! Your blog is a great place to escape from all thats going on in the world :) God bless you for spreading happiness to others that may also suffer from the same symptoms as you.
-Gigi
Thank you for sharing your stories with us. I love hearing about your childhood and what Hong Kong was like, as I've never been there. I feel like I'm getting to know a part of my culture from reading this.
ReplyDeleteYour illustrations are also so bright and colourful; they inspire me to try harder at my own art!
Thanks!
You are truly an amazing artist. I love how each piece is clean, realistic and vibrant. It's unbelievable how a piece of art in such small scale can be so powerful such that it made me feelI was living that moment even though I've never experienced it before. At your exhibition, I was entranced by the tram and rickshaw stamp art in particular, I felt as if I got sucked into the picture and was actually riding them. Thank you for sharing your memories with us, knowing the history and your sentimental ties made the collection very enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteLife is never smooth sailing but the hardships you encountered in the past will make you stronger and help you succeed in the future. You are totally awesome and I look forward to seeing more of your life story.
Cindy