Sandy Tong shares her creative story

2021-08-16 03:17

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Camy Tam
Local ceramist Sandy Tong Sin I (董倩怡) shared her creative story with The Macau Post Daily in an interview at her studio on Friday, saying she believes that whatever she is doing now is also a preparation for what might come in the future.
The Macau Post Daily met Tong in April at a local Canton porcelain class held by Lei Iat Po, a local expert on the history and production of Canton porcelain in Macau.
Tong was born in Macau in 1992 and currently works as a graphic designer. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in Design (Communication Design) from Melbourne’s Swinburne University of Technology in February 2014.

Tong said that she came across ceramics when she worked in London as a graphic designer and web designer between 2016 and 2017. She also attended an interior design course at the University of Art London in 2016.

London – milestone

“My experience in London became a turning point in my life,” Tong said, adding, “My boss at that time gave me so much room to create my graphic designs, I spent most of my leisure time studying art and visiting art exhibitions. This experience inspired me a lot and I really treasure it and I am glad that I decided to go to London.”

After Tong returned from London, she attended a ceramics course at the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) and then Toki Nashiki Ceramic Studio in Hong Kong (梨木製陶所) in 2018 to further develop her skills mainly on wedging, handbuilding and wheel throwing techniques. Afterwards, she enrolled in ceramics courses in Hungary in 2019 and Guangzhou in 2020 to continue her studies.

Tong said that she had a kind of insecure feeling before but after she started studying ceramics, her emotions became more stable and nowadays she finds inner peace within herself after each creative process.

In 2019, Tong took a step forward and set up her own company called Few ceramics. She participated in various art events last year such as the International Ceramics Cultural Exchange Exhibition in Hong Kong, HUSH! Music Festival Art Craft Market and AFA (Art for all Society) Autumn Salon 2020.

‘mushroom’, ‘garlic’, ‘living tree’

Tong said she created her first series of artwork named “mushroom” for the AFA salon last November. She said that mushrooms are like people who always look for a place of their own and to live in the right place on Earth, pointing out that mushrooms only grow at certain temperatures.

She later created her second series of “garlic” – an inner-self exploration piece by piece like a piece of garlic, and her most recent series is called “living tree” (生命樹) – an artwork which includes a living plant.

Tong said she particularly likes the earthy colour tone which makes her feel realistic, stable and calm. “Through my ‘living tree’ series, I am able to let go of my anxiety and worries during my creation process and a feeling of being healed and cleansed in my body, mind and soul when the art piece is finished,” adding that she enjoys looking at her artworks and “communicating” with them, Tong said.

Tong said that she has been preparing for the International Home Expo which was scheduled to be held this coming weekend at Macau Fisherman’s Wharf (MFW) but is now postponed in the wake of the detection of a COVID-19 Delta variant family cluster in Macau early this month.

Learning to be optimistic

“I just think positively and now I have more time to prepare for the expo. I anticipate with joy whatever happens next to me with lots of gratitude to the love and support by my family, friends and relatives,” Tong said.