​Surrounded by water! If you were to draw a picture with the theme, what would it look like? I've been thinking about this topic this month. This is because it is the topic of one of Mills Pond Gallery’s open calls this year. The judges change for each topic, I worry a lot every time I apply for a new open call.

This open call requires submission of three works. I'm lucky if any of the pictures I've drawn are related, but there are many cases where I have to redraw the picture to fit the theme. However, considering that I did not have much time and that it was not easy to prepare for the open call due to my busy schedule this month, it took a lot of effort to find pictures that fit the theme.

So the only new painting to fit this theme is Sand Street Beach, a beautiful and quiet beach nearby. 

​This 12" x 16" watercolor painting on paper depicts a small beach where an old duck hunting cabin sits, lonely and mysterious. Every time I come here, I feel like time has stopped. So, I decided to title it ‘The place where time stops.’

​And the remaining two drawings, one of which I previously drew, I resubmitted with a different title. The remaining pictures are previously drawn pictures and have not yet been opened to the public. This is the simplest shape I've ever drawn.

​When I submit, I always feel a great sense of accomplishment, like someone who has completed their homework, but later I find myself waiting with anxiety and anticipation for the results. This will continue regardless of what level I reach or not.

​The elephant that appears in “The Short-Nosed Elephant” is always troubled by its short nose. So, I constantly research and take action on ways to enlarge my nose. The elephant's efforts always end in failure, but in the end, he realizes that his short trunk was part of his growth process and is reborn as a wonderful elephant whose mind has grown along with his long trunk.

Taiwan was Japan's first overseas colony after the First Sino-Japanese War, and was under a one-party dictatorship for nearly 50 years, with martial law lifted through the democratization movement. Against this historical background, Huang Chun-ming, who satirized the absurd society and nation and wrote on behalf of the people across various genres such as novels, essays, plays, and children's literature, is still loved by many and has established himself as Taiwan's representative writer. 

Among his many works, 『Sayonara Zaizen』, a novel that criticized Japan's economic invasion and inspired people's pride, was translated into Korea, and 『Two Painters』, published in 1971, was adapted into a play titled 『Chilsu and Mansu』. It depicts the lives of two young people who do not lose their dreams and hope even in poverty.

『The Short-Nosed Elephant』 is Hwang Chun-ming's fairy tale collection presented for the first time in Korea and contains wise and warm stories tailored to children's level.

​The paintings included in this collection of fairy tales also further enhanced Huang Chunming's work by adding his passion for cutting and pasting colored paper himself.

​More than anything, I respect the spirit of the author who stands from the perspective of the underdog and creates a moving story. This type of story is also told in the 2012 book 'The Giraffe with a Short Neck' by Korean author Go Jeong-wook, below.

Published by Ko Jeong-wook, Korean author, 2012

​Have you ever thought of a giraffe with a short neck? The main character of this picture book is ‘Jiphy’, a giraffe with a short neck. Africa's most beautiful giraffe, Miya, has given birth to a calf. All the animals in the meadow were happy. But the baby giraffe had a short neck.

The animals' joy turned into sighing. Zippy was carefully cared for by her mother, Miya, and she grew up well, but she was ostracized in the meadow. Every time she saw Zippy like that, Miya Giraffe's heart ached so much. But Miya trusts her Jiphy.

“Jiphy. It's true that you have a short neck. But the God of the Grasslands must also have an idea. There must be a reason why you were born like this. “That’s right. As Miya said, everything born in the world has its own role and reason. No matter how small a creature is, it fulfills its role and lives faithfully. Even earthworms, which are considered insignificant, are essential to this world.

​More than anything, I respect the spirit of the author who stands from the perspective of the minority and creates a moving story. This type of story is also told in the 2012 book 'The Giraffe with a Short Neck' by Korean author Go Jeong-wook, below.

It is a unusual story that an elephant has a short nose or that a giraffe has a short neck. However, the story of not viewing this situation from a negative perspective but overcoming it with humor and a positive spirit and eventually overcoming it gives courage to children who are worried about discrimination and differences.

1. Characteristics of picture books

   A picture book is defined as a medium that fully utilizes visual imagery to convey content through text and pictures. The first characteristic of a picture book created by combining text and pictures is that the meaning of hard words is visualized. Therefore, even children who cannot read yet can guess and understand the content by looking at the pictures. The reason children can intuitively understand content without special appointments or training is because they can utilize sufficient visual elements. The most important characteristic of a picture book is that the movement of a character and the relationship between space and time in which the character is moving can be sufficiently expressed through pictures.
   Second, most picture books for children capture the world of reality and imagination in a container called a story in a concrete and active way (Hillman, 1995). The world of children begins with everyday reality, but there is a world of play and a world of thoughts that goes far beyond reality. Children in the lower grades of elementary school can grow up strong and courageous when they can freely move between the two worlds of reality and imagination. This is because children can freely move between the two worlds, shake off the anxiety of the real world that surrounds them, accept the real world as it is, and gain new insights through the conflict and harmony of the two worlds. Picture books are a good medium that connects these two worlds and instills dreams and fantasies in children. In books for adults, there is no room to enter the world of play or thought. Entering the world of play and thought does not mean simple appreciation. Rather than staying at the level of understanding and appreciating picture books, they have the characteristic of allowing one to enter directly into the world of play and thought within the book and let one's imagination unfold to one's heart's content.
   Third, most picture books have short stories, simple content, and easy-to-understand themes. Just because a picture book is a book that creates images through pictures does not mean it is a book made for appreciating pictures. This is a book that unfolds the world of stories in children's minds using text and pictures. Therefore, picture books clearly have language that has a sense of reality, and as that language has rhythm, the world of the story unfolds. When there is a sense of rhythm in language and the story unfolds according to that rhythm, children experience the joy and fun of linguistic experience. However, when the length of the story becomes long, the content is complex, and the subject matter is difficult to understand, the language loses its sense of rhythm and the flavor of the language is lost. Therefore, the characteristic of most picture books is that they unfold the story but are written in an easy-to-understand and fun way based on the child's ideas and feelings.
   Fourth, picture books have ethical and educational characteristics. It is said that a good book never preaches, but rather conveys aspects of life as they are. However, picture books are the first books humans encounter in their lives, and considering the psychological and developmental characteristics of infants, books for adults and children must be different. Children who are just beginning to develop morality do not have the ability to think and look at things from various angles and from a broad perspective. Therefore, picture books cannot contain unethical or uneducational content.

2. Educational effects of picture books

  1) Why are picture books read?
  Why do people need books? This is because books are a linguistic medium that creates a consensus as a communal being living together. Therefore, books are a linguistic medium that communicates between people and their minds. By learning the language used to communicate with others, learning their behavior, and then analyzing them, you can smoothen your interactions with them. The ability to solve problems through indirect experience becomes the driving force of wisdom in life.

  2) Are children required to read picture books?
  In fact, showing a book to a child who does not even know letters means that the child may acquire knowledge or information through picture books and may use the picture book as a tool to learn Hangul quickly. However, the biggest reason is that picture books are not books for children to read alone, but books for children to understand the content by looking at the pictures while listening to the sound of an adult. Therefore, picture books are not books for children to read, but rather books to listen to and look at. Reading a picture book not only helps with the knowledge provided by the picture book or the child's cognitive development, but also helps children build their personality through emotional stability and bonding with their parents.
  There are cases where children like books because the content is interesting while reading, but rather than that, having enjoyable interactions with their mothers or caregivers through the medium of books has a better impact on children. I think everything else is secondary benefit.
   3) What are the characteristics of a child who reads a lot of picture books?
  First, a child who grew up listening to a lot of picture books is good at understanding what is said. In a way, this is natural, but because we are exposed to a variety of rich vocabulary along with pictures, our vocabulary becomes richer. As you look at pictures and listen to the story of the person reading the book, your thoughts grow and your associative ability to connect pictures and text to understand each other develops. In addition, thinking ability increases and intelligence develops through intellectual stimulation. And while reading a book, you discover the most precious experience, “the joy of reading a book.” If a reader is a child who reads books and experiences the joy of reading in infancy, that child will become a lifelong reader and be able to find and read good books on their own. Moreover, picture books can develop a child's aesthetic sense through beautiful pictures or colorful picture books.
 
  4) Characteristics of picture books
  So what are the characteristics of picture books that children enjoy reading?
  First, the movement of a character and the relationship between the space and time the character is in can be fully visualized through a painting.
  Second, most picture books for young children contain the world of reality and imagination in a concrete and active way in a container called a story.
  Third, most picture books have short stories, simple content, and easy to understand themes.
  Fourth, picture books have ethical and educational characteristics.
  Fifth, although picture books are expressed in text and pictures, they are essentially a world of language.

  5) The value of picture books
  First, picture books open our listening ears. When a picture book is read in the voice of a parent or caregiver, children listen to it.
  Second, children feel joy and fun from picture books read to them.
  Third, picture books stimulate imagination.
  Fourth, picture books enrich our emotional life.
  Fifth, picture books develop a sense of aesthetics.
  Sixth, picture books help us understand the world and neighbors around us.
  Seventh, picture books build confidence and self-control.
  Eighth, picture books naturally improve vocabulary.

3. Language development area of picture books

    Literature is closely related to language. Experience various genres, writing styles, and language forms through literary works. Specifically, aspects of language development through literature are as follows.
  First, we come into contact with the mature language of literary works. In other words, it provides an opportunity to understand a mature language through the experience of listening to a language with accurate syntactic structure and sentences composed of various forms. You learn vocabulary appropriate to the situation through picture books.
  Second, you can naturally learn new vocabulary through literary works and use language in accordance with mature grammar. You gain the ability to use literary language that goes beyond everyday language.
  Third, read books passionately and have a good listening attitude. You gain the ability to explore on your own and discover the joy of reading books with passion. The joy gained through fun also completes the proper listening attitude.
  Fourth, you learn reading and writing effectively through literary works. Children who gain concentration through the fun of listening read books on their own, and children who have mastered reading become able to write. You will be able to express the vocabulary of literary works you have heard in writing.
  Fifth, language can be used and enjoyed creatively and aesthetically. In other words, they encounter figurative and metaphorical language and enjoy the sounds and patterns of various languages.

4. How to read picture books

   The way to read a book may vary depending on the purpose of reading the book. The primary purpose of reading a picture book is the pleasure and pleasure of reading the picture book itself. Therefore, reading picture books should in itself be a source of pleasure and joy to children. Reading picture books should be different from other reading for studying. Reading picture books themselves should begin and end at the child's eye level. These are some methods to consider in picture book reading activities.
   First, you need to create a comfortable environment and set rules. When reading a picture book to a child, you must first create an atmosphere and environment so that the child can comfortably listen to the story (Cramer, 1975). You can set the time for reading picture books to children and the number of books to read. You can set rules to read to your child, such as reading a certain amount at a certain time every day. If you promise your child these rules, it is important to keep that promise. In fact, setting rules and reading to children at a set time is much more preferable than reading picture books according to need and situation. However, reading too many books at once is not good for reducing interest in picture books or reducing concentration. The exemplary practice of keeping promises must also be maintained when reading picture books.
   Second, do a picture book preview activity. Before reading a picture book to a child, you can utilize the child's diverse background knowledge through preliminary activities such as previewing. For example, before reading a picture book to a child, read the book while flipping through the pictures one by one. Children can read the story development process of a picture book through the development process of the pictures. These activities help children's thinking process to predict the contents of a picture book. In other words, the eye for seeing pictures develops. What needs to be taken care of here is that it must be differentiated from pre-reading activities for upper grades. In the case of lower grades, pre-reading activities allow children to experience their own feelings and emotions that naturally arise.
   Third, we must provide an audible language experience. What is important in reading picture books is not knowledge or information, but language experience. (Matsuida 2005). A good picture book has text and pictures that children can relate to.

It is a picture book containing The text in picture books helps children form their own images of the story. Children experience language at various levels through listening activities. Reading picture books allows children to experience literary language rather than their everyday language experience. Literary language has its own unique rhythm, feeling, and connection of images, giving children a delicate sense of language. It realistically reads the rhythm of onomatopoeia and mimetic words in picture books, allowing you to develop your sense of language through the sense of prosody of literary language.
   Fourth, you should not ask excessive questions. After reading a picture book to a child, as a post-reading activity, you can ask various questions about the content in the picture book and try to evaluate the child's understanding of the book through activities that ask about explicit things in the picture book and the child's responses. However, the primary purpose of reading picture books is its own enjoyment and joy. When reading picture books, asking excessive questions can actually reduce a child's interest. Excessive questions can interfere with a child's enjoyment and enjoyment of reading picture books, as well as his or her own unique appreciation. You should not try to confirm the language experience or reading experience you expect by reading picture books (Matsuida City 2005).
   Fifth, you should not force your feelings. We hope that children will have many feelings and emotions while reading picture books. If these expectations are excessive, reading picture books to children can force them to feel one way or another. Forcing certain emotions or feelings on children without allowing them to react naturally to the contents of a picture book can interfere with the enjoyment of listening. When reading a picture book to a child, you should adjust your voice or tone to fit the flow of the story to arouse the child's interest.
   Sixth, you should not intervene while reading a picture book. When reading a picture book, you should not intervene too much. The purpose of reading a picture book is to allow the child to encounter the picture book on their own, not for the adult reading the book to meet the child. When reading a picture book, it is not a person who simply explains or explains the picture book, but a person who helps the child encounter the picture book. Therefore, we must allow children to meet and enjoy the main characters in picture books.
   The primary value of a picture book is enjoyment and joy. Miscellaneous goals that are put forward out of greed can rob children of the original pleasure and joy of picture books. “The more reasons or purposes there are for reading picture books, the more often picture books turn into tools to harass children because they are not read with a light heart. Picture books should be endlessly enjoyable for children. Picture books are not textbooks. It's not even a workbook. Read the picture book from the child's perspective. (Matsuida 2005).”
   As in the world of picture books, children share their quirky and interesting thoughts together, creating new worlds, unique thoughts, flexible relationships, and the power of persuasion. It all starts with the ability to think deeply. It would be most effective to develop these abilities through picture books. Through reading picture books, children should be able to freely express their thoughts, come up with different ideas, communicate smoothly with others, express rich emotions, and demonstrate warm empathy.

Refer to Jeonbuk Education Portal.

​The watercolor painting I'm currently focusing on is a painting on paper measuring 18 x 24 inches. The title of this painting is "Beauty a refuge from counterfeit façade". My philosophy and thoughts on the role and importance of art in a world literally filled with hypocrisy, pretense, and numerous scams and fake news are contained in this piece of paper. Because this painting contains my reflections and worries in my artistic life, I spent three weeks thinking about it and creating it as if I were sculpting.

It is now almost complete. This painting literally reveals the truth in a distorted reality and shows that there is true beauty that shines more and more beautifully.

A long time ago, I had a dream about the angel on the left. This dream is one I had before the pandemic. In my dream, an angel with a snake's tail was looking in the mirror. The angel reflected in the mirror is beautiful and bright. But it looks like he's hiding something. Just as people only see objects reflected in a mirror, they see fragmentary appearances rather than the essence of objects. Therefore, people cannot see the angel's tail. Only they believe that the angel in the mirror is real. This is an example of a distorted appearance.

To this dream, I added a picture of the Altamira mural to the picture on the right. I believe that in a world full of distortions, lies, and hypocrisy, there is true beauty and goodness, like a bright star or a candle that shines splendidly. And this beauty ultimately puts the hypocritical snake's tail to shame. I didn't just try to express it fantastically to highlight the hypocritical side of the snake's tail. And I paid more attention to the mural on the right, which I had in mind the most and wanted to highlight. Because I needed a lot of energy while drawing this picture, I couldn't continue blogging.

​However, I am truly grateful and happy to finally share this process.
​
Drawing a picture is like thinking. It is like a process of reflecting, realizing, meditating, and further trying to discover a principle. I believe that painting is the materialization of these invisible thoughts.

​And when I see the results of my work materializing this inherent energy, I feel a very strong sense of accomplishment. And there are many times when pictures teach me things I did not see or realize. Every time that happens, I get the strong feeling of seeing a sparkling star shining alone in a pitch-black world. This is why I paint.

I participated in the multicultural day held at my daughter's school by creating a Korean booth. I didn't have much time to prepare, but thankfully, with the help of my friend Sophie, I was able to successfully prepare with relative ease using the materials I had prepared in advance, such as a board, photo zone stand, and accessories.

​More than anything, I was grateful that the children could wear traditional hanbok and introduce the beauty of Korea. Since it was a small table booth less than 6 feet tall, there was pressure to show everything about Korea in this small space. But I think the children's bright expressions and pretty traditional hanbok already explain everything.

​Above all else, I decided to work with the Koreans around me to create a richer and better-organized booth next year. Art and culture are like a bridge that connects each other.

More than anything, I was grateful that I was able to reaffirm the value and importance of culture and art through this multicultural night. In particular, we held an event visitor's name in Korean on handmade paper and distributed it. Through this event, I discovered that children find Korea fascinating and fun. For me, these discoveries are invaluable experiences as an artist.

Multicultural nights serve as important platforms for promoting diversity, fostering understanding and empathy, and building inclusive communities where all individuals feel valued and respected for who they are.

By showcasing various cultures' traditions, languages, and arts, these events cultivate understanding and respect among community members. They provide platforms for cultural exchange, education, and celebration, empowering individuals to share their heritage and stories. 

And from the perspective of someone who prepared a booth, I found that a fun, magical event that can be shown quickly and has an impact is much more useful than various events that consume a lot of time. It is a good idea for the booth content to be colorful to attract attention. The photo zone provided by my friend Sophie was very popular. This arrangement is attractive and increases interest in the booth. We also gave out small, individually wrapped cookies like rice crackers and yakgwa, which I thought was a good idea, too.