It is becoming such a busy time (but really exciting too!) for the arts scene in Singapore…
We have the Singapore Arts Fest going on now. which we as Popin were a part of! We had our bird project at the festival village yesterday and my head is still spinning from the overwhelming response from the public. a few myths were debunked in that short 4 hours!
myth #1: Children are hyperactive and can’t sit still for long. oh seriously, i met so many young children yesterday who willingly sat down for hours to sew birds. their birds were colourful, beautiful and embellished! and oh my! some of them had really speedy fingers. a young girl i sat beside became addicted to sewing the birds and she did 3! another boy who has never sewn before the session came up with the most lovely bird i saw that night. really. And this was despite all his whining about the long journey to do such a girly thing which brings me to myth #2.
myth #2: sewing is a girly thing. guys cannot and will not sew. wrong, wrong and wrong again. There were many men who came in yesterday alone or with their partners to sew the birds. and i must say i was impressed by their final products. As much as they were surprised by their own masterpieces at the end of the session! away with stereotypes!
myth #3: crafting is a waste of time. I wonder if this can be considered a myth. but really many do not consider such crafting productive and good use of their time but i saw so many who stayed almost the whole session of 4 hours sewing birds, forgetting they need dinner all in the name of craft! we ‘payed’ the participants for their time in popin birds (which all the members diligently sew for the event) but there were many who were happy enough to just pass me their birds without taking one of ours. Some were pleasantly surprised when they remembered that part of the deal meant that they got a bird from us!
myth #4: it is difficult to make friends with complete strangers. ok, this is not so much a myth but i just wanted to blog about it. i was so happy to see everybody being so cordial with each other. As we started to run down on supplies and equipment, i started seeing the sharing spirit! “may i have the scissors please.” “could you pass the ____, thanks!”. as more words were exchanged, i also overheard more people sharing more about their lives with complete strangers. “did you managed to catch the ____ show? it was really good….” “where are you from?”, I was smiling when i saw a man who was leaving say to the lady sitting next to him “it has been nice sewing with you… By the way, I am Mike (not real name)”. they didn’t even know each others’ names yet they made friends! And isn’t it always the case with making friends? sometimes you bond over something only to realise at the end of it you don’t even know their name! (and this i have been observing during my university years and now with internship.)
Crafting can be a great platform for bonding which is exactly what Popin is all about. I saw many strangers walking in and many friends walking out of the session. what a great feeling!
There was so much to observe in that tiny span of time of people behaviour and interaction! I photographed a lot of these and will post the photos up soon but no matter how great the photos and how much i try to write, it is impossible convey all the vividness residing in my memory. i am just so glad to part of it all.
ramblings. 