The best teacher is praise

Text and photos provided by Mai Neng

▲For Mai Neng, the most basic requirement for creation is to be honest with oneself; the most basic principle for praise is to be honest with the other party.

I met Bi Qiuyi in a class taught by a community art workshop (Art Demo Workshop). That day, nearly 20 members were divided into groups of three. I asked everyone to use "intuition and improvisation" to create the theme.

Faced with adults, many group members who are still seniors said: "Don't think too much, just imagine that you are only five years old!"

Sure enough, after breaking the fear, it was a fruitful and interactive workshop.

▲Sister Bi was once a student of Mai Neng, but with her sincere praise and recognition and precious time with him, she became one of the author’s masters.

The energetic sister Bi

That night, Bi Qiuyi graffitied on a Styrofoam poster board. I encouraged her:

"You should take this board back and keep developing it because it's a really good start."

Sister Bi looked at me with wide eyes: "Really?"

I asked her: "Don't you like it?"

She nodded excitedly: "Oh, I love it very much!"

After that workshop, Sister Bi took the initiative and asked me if I could open the studio for visits. Of course, in the face of such enthusiasm, without saying a word, we made tea and waited for the guests to arrive as promised.

That day, we chatted a lot about everything. In addition to the paintings visible on the wall, we also looked at many other works in different media. Sister Bi’s eyes were always wide open:

"Yes! This is what I need, to feel the real creative atmosphere."

Sister Bi originally studied architecture. After retiring, she was still energetic and planted many herbs, fruits and vegetables in her garden, including seventeen kinds of tomatoes alone. In addition to gardening, I have three cats. She loved to sew and used the attic as a studio, arranged like a fabric store.

I saw her kimono made of seaweed, and she said: "The next kimono will be made of onion peels." I really have to admire her research and investment in these "organic materials"!

One morning, I made an appointment to have breakfast with Sister Bi at my house. In order to watch an online demonstration meeting organized by an artist, Sister Bi set off early, parked the car three blocks away, and arrived at the door of my house out of breath.

I told her, "That's right, it won't start until ten minutes."

"Then what should I do?"

I replied: "No need, just press a button." I opened the website at exactly ten o'clock, and suddenly realized: "Ah, the meeting is based on West Coast time, which is three hours different from Boston time. I am really confused. ah!"

While apologizing, he suggested: "Since we can't wait another three hours, let's just concentrate on eating breakfast!"

Looking at the decorations on the table, Sister Bi looked happy: "Oh, what a great breakfast, I feel really honored."

Serious and persistent Ma Lin

Seeing the reaction on Sister Bi's face reminded me of Ma Lin, who passed away from liver cancer three years ago. I thought, if Ma Lin was here, her reaction would be the same as Sister Bi's. Ma Lin is the kind of person who praises the deliciousness of whatever is cooked for her, and any frozen dumpling will wow her.

Ma Lin and I met in the ceramics studio. Our styles are completely different. I play pottery casually, while she makes pottery in a very precise style, and is very serious and persistent about every piece of work.

Once, in order to create the decorative effect of leaves, Ma Lin put on reading glasses and held an airbrush in the glaze isolation room: "I can't draw, so I used real leaf rubbings."

She places fallen leaves on wet clay and meticulously sprays out the pattern with a glaze gun. She often said: "I am not an artist, you are."

▲ Ma Lin (the cup holder on the right), who makes pottery together with Mai Neng, is serious and persistent. She is the kind of person who will always praise whatever is cooked for her.

At first, I thought she was being modest and said this, but gradually, I began to understand the meaning behind this sentence. I think she didn’t think she was talented, so she always faced the situation with an attitude of going all out. to the works.

Many times, Ma Lin and I are the last ones to leave the studio. In the huge and quiet studio, we each take our own place and do our own thing. Sometimes we chat, sometimes we are speechless. I know that no matter how late it is, Ma Lin will drive me home - it is a "fun time" where I don't need to watch the clock and work as hard as I can until one of us is "tired" and announces the end of work.

During Ma Lin's memorial tea party, a lady named Wendy came to me: "You are Mai Neng. Ma Lin often mentioned you to me. You don't know how much she loves you and appreciates you. You are so good. Maybe Even you yourself don’t know..."

This is Ma Lin who always praises people generously. Mentioning Ma Lin in front of Sister Bi, she couldn't help but shed tears: "You two are very similar in many ways."

"But, I'm still alive." In the midst of laughter, the sudden feeling of old friends ended. Yes, isn’t Sister Bi the other Ma Lin given to me by God?

If you are a subway person like me, you can pass without any obstruction on weekdays, but if you need to move paintings, you have to ask for help from others. That day, I thanked Sister Bi for her help and accompanying me to the gallery to transport the paintings back to the studio. On the way back, the gallery director Mark invited us to drop by to visit his studio. Mark is undoubtedly a good painter. From his works, he can see many naked struggles and darkness of human nature.

Before seeing Mark’s works, he suggested that I “exchange works” with him. But after reading such a "heavy" work, I really didn't want to exchange it. Fortunately, Sister Bi said at the right time: "I'm sorry, I have an appointment later, so we should be ready to hit the road."

"Do you really have an appointment later?" I asked on the way back.

"Of course not, I'm just looking for an excuse, otherwise God knows how long he will keep us?" I yawned again and again all the way back to the studio. After making a pot of hot tea to relieve my fatigue, I said to Sister Bi, who is twenty years older than me. Said: "Wait a minute, you can go home directly, I can just take the subway home."

It only takes more than ten minutes to drive from the studio to her home, but it takes at least thirty minutes to drive from my home to her home. I know that if I am tired, she must be tired too. But Sister Bi was there to persuade her: "It will take you an hour to take a ride, but it only takes twenty minutes to drive. I'd better take you home."

▲For the artist Mai Neng, many good "masters" led her into good mountains and rivers, just like the warmth of life provided by "Ma Lin" and "Sister Bi".

The life temperature of many masters

As an artist, I am often asked: "Who has the greatest influence on you?" "Where does your inspiration come from?"... These are big questions! It's hard to give a complete answer.

Life is a fusion of different fragments. During the journey, I am grateful to the many good "masters" who led me into beautiful places with beautiful mountains and rivers.

"Master" may be a teacher, or a work left by a senior, or a stall display in the market, a passage in a book, a breathtaking building, a touching performance, a certain tree A tree, a certain flower... are many, many "somethings" like streams, nourishing and enriching the ocean of my life.

Among the many masters, I would like to thank "Ma Lin" and "Big Sister Bi" for providing the warmth of life. They affirmed with sincere praise, spent precious time with me, responded with cheerful laughter, accepted with humor, and tolerated with mature compassion... which made me feel very loved!

Once, in an art appreciation and creation camp organized by Kingdom Resources for the Christian Association, a student said to me in front of other students with a beautiful Beijing film: "Teacher, I think you really like to praise people. How can I draw so well?" I said to her:

"You have to believe me, I say yes, it is yes, there is no need to lie to you!" For me, the most basic requirement of creation is to be honest with oneself; the most basic principle of praise is to be honest with the other party. I pray that in this life, I will never miss any opportunity to express praise and sincerity in front of God and people.

Author profile

Mai Neng, whose real name is Zhou Lanhui, is from Taiwan and now lives in Boston. A full-time artist who loves color and painting, he uses personal symbols to express his relationship with God, people, and nature. I like good friends, good food, writing, drinking afternoon tea, and listening to jazz. When you have money, you travel and watch good shows; when you don’t have money, you take walks and daydream. Taste life with your heart and enjoy life seriously. He was an artist-in-residence at Boston University, an artist-in-residence at Donghua University in Taiwan, and the winner of the 2007 Guggenheim Painting Creation Award.