Happy 4 year anniversary to this special video that changed my life! This video is especially meaningful to me because it was my first art video and it went viral coincidentally on my birthday - on January 24th 2012. I'd like to think it was God or the universe's way of pushing me to stop worrying if my art was good enough and start sharing my work instead. :)
I remember feeling a little down the day I turned 25. I thought I'd have everything figured out by then but I was just fresh out of university and more confused than ever. I thought about how at 20, I told myself I'd spend more time painting so I could end up with an art project or exhibition by the time I graduated. Throughout architecture school I never really painted much though, from the fear of my work not being perfect enough. Or maybe it was because of the amount of assignments I had. There was always some sort of excuse. As I lay in bed that night, I told myself that that was to be a year of taking new risks, and of doing things I had not done before, or else I'd be feeling the same way at 30.
In 2011, I got out of my comfort zones. I moved to Shanghai to work as an architect, worked on a bike business idea with my friend Joel, and in the weekends, worked on my art. Some projects failed along the way. In December that year, Joel flew to Shanghai to work on our bike business and he made the mistake of shooting this video. The bike business never took off because this video went viral. My video was uploaded around Christmas, and view counts jumped from the hundreds to half a million in weeks. It blew my mind, it made me want to disappear, it made me feel really silly ("Painting? With a basketball? What was I thinking?!"), but a part of me was also amazed by all that was happening - I was getting recognition for my art. It wasn't a private little project I was sharing with friends and family anymore!
I'm so glad I chose to put myself out there despite my doubts and insecurities. My faith is a big part of my life and I've learned to trust this journey in the past 5 years - all the high highs and the low lows. One of the most rewarding things is how this has allowed me to meet so many new people over the years. I'm thankful for the people who have reached out to guide me, and for people like you guys who continue to support my work. I love how diverse we are from age to culture to location and it made me see that we all want the same things - love, belonging, good relationships. I started creating art with objects to encourage others to see the beauty around them - even in the mundane and ordinary, and I love seeing that look of wonder and possibility in other peoples' eyes. I hope I get to do this for the rest of my life and be able to bring joy and meaning into lives I cross paths with.
I'm overjoyed that my past five years have been the most amazing journey of my life so far. I've also learned that life does not have to be all figured out and that it's OK to wander. Life is a constant journey of learning and discovery.
I'm excited to enter into a new decade of my existence (if you've read till this point you know my age now lol!! You guys are loyal fans haha...and YES I CAN'T BELIEVE IT TOO). I know it'll be amazing...a different kind of amazing!
<3
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