Feeling she had yet to make a major contribution in her 16 years with Tzu Chi, Soh Chin was determined to use her skills in Chinese brush painting for a good cause this time round. (Photo by Chai Jiuan Hua)
Although volunteer Ong Soh Chin joined Tzu Chi Singapore a good 16 years ago, she always had a nagging feeling that she had not contributed enough. After returning from a retreat held in Tzu Chi’s Taiwan headquarters, with the history and values of Tzu Chi instilled deeply in her mind, she was determined to make a major contribution and fill up the “white spaces” in her association with Tzu Chi Singapore over the last 16 years.
As the date of the 2013 Tzu Chu Singapore Chinese New Year Charity Bazaar drew near, Soh Chin had a thought, “I must think of a way that I can contribute to this worthy cause!” Realising that clothes were the most saleable item during the festive period, she decided that it would be a good medium on which to display her Chinese brush painting skills.
She sprang into action, fuelled by the thought that clothes, reusable bags and tumblers sporting Chinese brush painting designs could be sold alongside Chinese New Year couplets, patchwork bags and other handmade items in the stall manned by the instructor and students from the Tzu Chi Continuing Education Center.
Remaining Undaunted in the Face of Setbacks
Having attended three semesters worth of Chinese brush painting lessons at the Tzu Chi Continuing Education Center, Soh Chin had long harboured the thought of using“art as a means to contribute”. With her frequent travels between the United Kingdom and Singapore, she had the opportunity to procure a batch of nice outfits at a good price. “If I didn’t have the chance to sell them at the charity bazaar, I would have, at my own time, painted designs and sold them off to raise funds for charity.
Soh Chin enthusiastically appealed to her fellow students to take part in the project, saying that “what’s important is not how much we manage to raise, but the camaraderie we develop when we engage together in this endeavour”. Unfortunately, the response was lukewarm at best but Soh Chin remained undaunted, firmly believing that one should not be so easily deterred.
Moved by Soh Chin’s sincerity and the extent she went to in providing all required painting materials and clothes, a fellow student who was initially not keen to participate eventually contributed to the creation of designs on two pieces of clothing. The instructors from the Tzu Chi Continuing Education Center, Mao Ju Qing, Zhang Lai Yi and She Li Qing, who were always ready to support all Tzu Chi activities, also chipped in readily.
Diligence is the Hallmark of Professionalism
The preparations, which started last December, only took a month and included the choosing of appropriate pieces of clothing, discussions with the class instructor, composition of the designs, and the actual painting itself. How did Soh Chin, already busy with both her own personal engagements and volunteer activities, allocate her time?
She revealed that she sacrificed sleep and social activities, channelling the bulk of her energies on the actual painting process in order to ensure quality work, because only a fine piece of work would do justice to the beauty of Tzu Chi’s humanistic mission and values!
In the past, a piece of artwork would take Soh Chin four class sessions to complete. This time however, she challenged herself to complete an artwork a day by making good use of snatches of time before and after her workday. It was indeed a test of patience and endurance!
To ensure quality work, Soh Chin started her preparations last December. She even made good use of whatever time she had before and after work to hone her craft. (Photo provided by Ong Soh Chin)
“Everything boils down to one’s sincerity.”Quite the epitome of modesty and conscientiousness herself, Soh Chin’s character accurately reflects the individual meaning of the Chinese characters in her name. Treating every item she worked on as something that she would have liked to purchase for herself, she took pains to ensure that the quality and value of the artwork would please the customer.
On sale were 52 environmentally friendly, reusable tumblers and 50 pieces of hand-painted items. In sizes from small to large, with cheery purple and red colours and soft pastels of yellow, the bulk of clothing offered were mostly ladies’outfits while the rest were children’s and menswear items. Designs of flowers, birds and fishes graced the ladies outfits while cutesy cartoons adorned the children’s wear.
Having studied fashion design in the past, Soh Chin was knowledgeable in various areas in clothes making relating to the cut, colour, design composition and material used. “The material and quality of the cloth used affects the application of colour, for example, colour is harder to apply on “dry-fit” cloth, but the end result looks better on the surface of such clothing.”In addition, the colours of the chosen design should complement that of the clothing; dark coloured designs do not go well with dark clothing. Details such as these must be carefully taken into account by the artist.
As Soh Chin self-effacingly puts it, “We’re not professionals in this area, so our humble artworks are mostly the result of our limited efforts of practice. It is really the instructors who have the ability to produce elegant and exquisite drawings.”
A Combined Effort of Students and Teachers for a Worthy Cause
“Each and every shirt here boasts an exclusive design, so no worries about bumping into someone else wearing the same outfit!”
Confident that every single painted item was unique, that became the basis of Soh Chin’s winning sales proposition. She also revealed that in order to ensure affordability, instructor Mao Ju Qing was even willing to bring down the price of items costing in the hundreds to just a fraction of its original price.
In fact, the cost of every item needed and all painting materials were covered by Soh Chin and the instructors. They then donated in full, the funds raised from the sale of items. Many who attended the bazaar were deeply moved by their pure motivation and full of praise towards their efforts. By the end of the first day of the bazaar (26 January), approximately three quarters of the items were sold out. In order to cope with the demand, Soh Chin and her instructors took up their brushes again and began lending their designs on the tumblers.
A teary Soh Chin said, “All my efforts have not gone to waste. Every piece of clothing sold is symbolic of the additional unit of contribution that I have made towards Tzu Chi’s cause”.
Brush painting instructor Yu Li Qing has 10 years of experience under her belt and kindly shared that “Brush painting requires patience, concentration and a fine eye for detail. Students commonly fret over how to impart living details to their drawing. This requires the technique of“a single stroke in dual colour”whereby a third of the brush tip is dipped in a dark colour while the remaining portion is dipped in a lighter shade. The natural mixing of the coloured paints lends a three dimensional feel to the drawing.”It was obvious how happy she felt upon seeing her students put into practice what they had learnt in her class, exclaiming, “They are doing great!”
Encouraged by the enthusiastic sales response, Soh Chin and her team never stopped work, diligently applying beautiful designs onto the tumblers till the bazaar drew to a close.
As the saying goes, “when there’s a will, there’s a way”. Holding brushes in their hands and applying each brush stroke with great care, it seemed as if the volunteers were adding colour to their own life story. One cannot but feel that their future ahead will be filled with the same brightness they brought into the lives of others.
Soh Chin’s confident sales pitch during the charity bazaar :“Each and every shirt here boasts an exclusive design, so no worries about bumping into someone else wearing the same outfit!” (Photo by Tan Paik Hui)
Yu Li Qing, a Chinese brush painting instructor from Tzu Chi Continuing Education Centre (second from left), was delighted to see her students putting the skills she taught them to good use. (Photo by Chua See Siew)
Soh Chin and fellow volunteers carefully painting designs onto reusable water tumblers as orders poured in from customers. (Photo by Er Hwi Yin)
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