​The summer is changing into autumn and the auburn leaves have now blanket the once lush green grass at Lions Park. Speaking of the temporal nature of nature, I arrived at the park the other day to find three stumps were one of the Sun installation use to be. Perhaps the trees were unwell and needed to go but their presence is strongly missed. In memory of them, here are some beautiful aesthetic shots of the three from the installation.

​Currently, I am putting together the final part of the residency, the online Memoir. It is a visual documentation of the process in a fun choose your own adventure clickable style. It will showcase all the community artworks from the summer, photographs of the installation along with a video of the performance we did in collaboration with Foolish Operations. Though the installations have been taken down, the performance has ended, the workshops completed and even the terrain of the park has changed, I hope the Memoir will provide a way to remember and experience the residency in years to come.

Next week marks the last day of the artist residency and the launch of the Memoir. If you would like to listen to the behind the scene and thought process of the project, I did an online artist talk as part of Cultural Days here. Looking back, I feel amazed at all that we were able to create despite what has happened around the world. It has been an amazing journey in this unique year of 2020.

Photo credit to image 1, 3-6: Lindsay Wu

Yesterday was the first day of installation week. We had dancers from Foolish Operations come, respond and create at Lions Park. Some of our regular community members came to watch and give feedback. Three installations also went up, establishing a simple but strong presence. It was such a magical day as I witnessed all the work from the past months coming together. Though it is just the beginning and we still have the rest of the week to go, I had to share a few quick snapshots. 
 
Looking forward to more in the days to come!

Photo credit to images 2-4: Shanna Cheng

I cannot believe we wrapped up the last workshop this weekend. It has been amazing to be able to meet and be inspired by so many community members. There is still a lot of work ahead in preparation for the installation week on August 24-31 but first, let us showcase some artworks from the Wind Workshops.

​We worked with fabric for the wind theme and constrained it to an embroidery hoop to continue the circle shape. Participants were welcomed to draw with a variety of coloured sharpies what inspires them about the wind. If they wished, scissors were provided to cut some lines into the fabric to activate the drawings when a breeze passes through. We got ideas such as butterflies, bees and of course, beautiful abstract expressions. One girl requested that I leave a few extra fabric pieces at the bottom of her hoop to further capture the wind.

Time sure flies as we wrapped up the Rain Workshops on Monday which marks the 2/3 point of the workshop series. I cannot wait to see what the community creates for the final Wind Workshops starting this Saturday. In the meantime, I would like to showcase a few pieces that the community created from the past week.

As nature always do what it likes, we had beautiful sunshine during all three of the Rain Workshops. For inspiration, I laid out glass jars full of water and spray bottles to mimic the essence of rain. We drew the ideas on contact paper, cut it out and stuck it onto transparent glass. Armed with gloves, I applied corrosive etching cream to create a semi-transparent texture where the glass is exposed. After the cream is removed, the remaining contact paper is peeled off, revealing these amazing artworks. There are bubbles, splatters and as shown in image 3, delicate water reflections created by the jars of water in sunlight.

While the community is working on their pieces, I normally prepare for future workshops or work on a larger piece that will all be part of the final installation on August 24-31, 2020. Here is a sneak peek of the 16-inch glass in progress. I have my mind set on installing this on top of a particular tree stump at Lions Park.

We just finished the last of the Sun Workshops this past weekend and the Rain Workshops are in full swing. It has been so healing to get a chance to interact with the community (at a safe distance of course) after all that has happened in the previous months. Even though the needed precautions and sanitations were in place, I know it still took courage for some of the participants to come and try. Excited to show off a few of the pieces the community made! 

​For the Sun Workshop, we used mirrors to play with reflections and black paint pen and white paint pen to express the shadow and light. Many noticed the patterns the sun created on the tree trunks while some were more creative. The fourth one is a fly, flying in the park and the black lines is its shadow. We also got a pure expression of light and dark and as always, a tank. The full collection will be displayed in the online Memoir on October 5th.

​In connection to the mirrors, we had come guest dancers from the group, Foolish Operations come by to play with movement and activate the space through dance. I am looking forward to collaborating with them and seeing what we can bring together to the community at Lions Park, Port Coquitlam.

​I will end off with a picture of another little visitor that dropped by my work area. It was creating beautiful shapes like that of an aerial acrobat.

In preparation for the workshops ahead, I want to give a sneak peek of what we will be creating together. Of course, these are only my samples and responses to the sun, rain and wind. I am excited to see and listen to the community’s ideas.

These are just three of my favourite pieces as I made quite a few to use as the hidden sculptures for the “Find Me Game”. Everything is pretty much all set and ready! Cannot wait to bring these explorations to the community at Lions Park this Saturday.

During the past few weeks, I have been busy sourcing the materials for the upcoming workshops and installation. As I worry that shipping will be delayed in this unique year of 2020, I tried to order from the local businesses and smaller companies in support. Therefore, I am excited do a little show and tell of the procured materials.

​Mirrors for the Sun Workshops
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These are beautiful little round mirror planes from a local family run business. I spend a day cleaning off the labels and tabs on the back, but it is worth it. Excited to play with the reflections of light and shadows with the community.

Glasses for the Rain Workshops
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Finding round glass was a bit tricky as most come in squares or rectangles. Can you tell what I ended up using? We will be pairing it with contact paper and etching cream to express the distortions in water.

Fabrics for the Wind Workshops
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I chose a soft, sheer fabric to play with for wind as I felt it was the most allusive of the three elements. To keep it constrained and in unity with the other two, we will be using an embroidery hoop to contain it. 

​I will be testing these and formulating the workshop details next. Looking forward to sharing the discoveries soon.

Hi! My name is Wen Wen Lu, but most people call me Cherry. I am the artist in residence at Lions Park, Port Coquitlam. I feel so blessed that even in these uncertain times, I have the opportunity to bring something of wonder and awe to the community of Port Coquitlam. In the coming 6 months, we will be exploring the beauty of nature with the themes of sun, rain and wind. Through workshops, installations, in person and online interactions, I hope to inspire an immersive experience that unites us.
 
Let us begin by admiring some unique tree formations that stood out to me at Lions Park. These were taken during a site visit on a rainy day. I am excited to play with the movements and shapes that can happen in-between and around these trees for the installation.