In August we invited four talented designers of Asus Design Center to participate in the ASUS Cultural Education Foundation’s, with Intel as a co-sponsor, 2020 Dream Character Art Camp. These designers served as art assistants in the camp, helping young children think, create, and apply. Two weeks before the event the designers, Flyer, Henry, Claire, and Jenny traveled to the Foundation Services located in Taipei. Here teachers and workers carried out orientation and pre-session training. In addition to understanding the tasks for the upcoming event, they also learned more about the history and goals of the Foundation. Taipei Orphan’s Welfare Organization was formally established in 1968 and Taipei Orphan Welfare Foundation in 2007. 14 offices were established throughout Taiwan with over twelve thousand cases served.
The foundation’s goal is simple: to help orphans bravely face sudden difficult life changes; to inspire them to solve problems in the face of adversity; to encourage growth through happiness and healthiness; to cultivate a hard-working spirit and independent nature while counseling employment and entrepreneurship.
There are things in life which you need to experience yourself to fully understand. The chairman of the foundation is Baohui Huang. When she was in grade school, she lost her mother to cancer. During that time she was distanced from her remaining family. From her early life experiences, she knew she wanted to use her struggles to help bereaved children.
Our four designers were deeply moved by the history of the foundation and had a sense of mission.
(Lizejian Activity Center in Yilan)
(Four teaching assistants of the design center, Clair, Henry, Flyer, and Jenny)
On the first day of the event, the four designers arrived at the Welfare Foundation for Bereaved Children in Yilan to meet nearly 60 children from different regions of Taiwan. Activities were designed by volunteers and teachers to allow everyone to get to know one another better.
The first activity of the day was to work in groups to create a painting. Together they painted, named it, and shared it with everyone. Through these paintings, it was easy to see the potential of the kids’ creativity.
(Groups collaborated to create, name, and express creative ideas.)
Next was a speed drawing activity. Teachers divided the venue into three areas: Toys, Nature, and ASUS. Groups cycled through each area. The final product was charming.
(Toys area)
ASUS Design Center prepared products and materials for children to use as drawing subjects. Assistant Teacher Clair also acted as a model for the children to practice figure drawing.
(Clair assisted as a model for children to practice how to draw portraits and computers quickly)
(The children were captivated by the computer parts and designer-inspired objects prepared by the design center for this event)
In the outdoor area, everyone listened to the teacher’s instruction while painting in the sun. Very relaxing.
(The teacher patiently helped each child.)
(Canoe was drawn by children)
(Our designers almost always use computers or tablets. They seized this opportunity to enjoy drawing by hand once again)
The foundation invited three additional guest teachers: Yuanzi Ji, Juncheng Qiu, and Yaowen Lin. These experienced artists shared their expertise with the children. Our designers also took the opportunity to learn from and exchange ideas with the other guest teachers.
The final project for the kids was to write and illustrate a full book. The teachers knew this would be very difficult for the children to complete in such a short time. But they decided to move forward with their original plan and encourage the children to all finish.
(The three drawing masters of the event: Qiujen Cheng, Linyao Wen, and Jiyuan Zi)
(Teachers gave drawing lessons to help the children complete their first picture book)
In addition to drawing, the teachers also instruct children how to turn their ideas into scripts and express them in a story.
The assistant teacher Clair said that during the process, some children knew very well what they wanted to communicate and how they wanted to communicate it. Some didn’t even need to write a draft and just painted directly on the picture book. Clair believes if a child isn’t great at expressing their ideas, teachers and teaching assistants are responsible to teach them.
(The children work hard to draft out their scripts)
(Each group of kids received a laptop to aid in their search of information or reference material. This helped them express their ideas in a more specific way)
Before the teachers knew it, the day of the activities was finished. Once the children went to sleep, the four teaching assistants continued to review the students’ work and prepare for the next day. At 9:30 in the morning, the students would being to paint cement pots. The cement pots took on vastly different personalities once in the hands of the children. Some were bright, simple, or elegant, and eye-catching. On the final day of the event, the children would conduct a charity sale and sell these with plants inside.
(The children carefully planted small succulents into the cement pots.)
(The small cement potted plants carry the children’s infinite)
This year the foundation also invited three special guests from different creative fields to share their own experiences with the children.
(Pastor Zhang Xinchuang from Toucheng Lingliang Gospel Center, Jenn Lee, the costume designer who created the 30th-anniversary special edition of ASUS, and Mr. Lin Zhengtai, Director of Tegel Creative Design)
Among them was Director Lin Zhengtai of Tegel Creative Design. Mr. Lin has extensive experience in spacial design. He carefully designed an activity for the children to design layouts of the sky, forest, and ocean. This gave kids the chance to exercise their drawing skills and learn how to consider space.
(Each object is drawn by the children and then cut out as the element for the layout)
(The teaching assistants also took part)
(The space design exercise was a complete success and became hotspots for taking pictures. )
Our four designers were touched by the four-day and three-night art camp. Afterward, they commented on the experience.
“During this process, I have been thinking a lot about my past self. I saw myself in the children. It reminded me of when I was a child. I found a sense of accomplishment in the paintings. This event allows the children to express creative ideas relevant to their age.” – Flyer
“After participating in the vent, I came to see everyone’s expertise. We know how to draw and design, so it is easy for us to help people with that. But we can also learn so much from others.” – Henry
“My participation in this event was very meaningful. I was quite nervous to go and didn’t know what to expect. But I saw so many different ideas and opinions from the students. They freely inspired each other and discussed their work in a very open manner. Exposing students to professionals at an early age is a worthy investment in the long run.” – Claire
“Each child has a different story. A different personality. And a different expression. The kids already have a great teacher for painting, and I wanted to help them open their hearts. Joy is contagious. I hope that every child can enjoy the process happily.” – Jenny
We want to thank the four designers for volunteering their time to have such a profoundly positive and lasting effect on the kids.
