The Painter on Chaishan - Iris A. Scott / 柴山上的畫家 Iris A. Scott
The Painter on Chaishan - Iris A. Scott
◎English text by Fang-Ju Lin
Iris A. Scott, an art major from Seattle, likes painting and traveling and wanted to explore Asian culture. She chose to come to Kaohsiung in May of this year. Iris said she started her life in Kaohsiung from a cheap hotel room which she found on couchsurfing.org. Shortly after arriving, she discovered the beauty of Chaishan through friends, which then opened up a new life for Iris.
Iris adores the friendliness and politeness of people in Kaohsiung. She can just be herself and not get stared at. Painting takes up the majority of Iris' daily life. Chaishan is the origin and material for her creativity. Under her painting brushes, Chaishan has so many different faces. On average, Iris spends 8 hours painting everyday and she loves every minute of it. Chaishan provides Iris with the cozy atmosphere of a small town, while located only 10 minutes away from downtown. She fell in love with it and moved to the neighborhood, so she could enjoy getting up with chirping birds and natural sounds.
When Iris is not on Chaishan, she is usually in the gallery (a.k.a. Takao Artistry Warehouse Gallery). Both places as well as Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts are her favorites. She often settles her painting tools in a corner of Chaishan and enjoys painting. This past August and September in Takao Artistry Warehouse Gallery, Iris had her personal painting exhibition "From Seattle to Chaishan - Iris Wonderland". The exhibition featured her paintings of Chaishan. Her paintings convey the same tenderness and delightedness of Chaishan and yet each one has different styles, strokes, and colors which represent her state of mind at the time of painting.
Iris has become used to the lifestyle of Kaohsiung. A scooter is her daily means of transportation. Having always wanted to be a vegetarian, Iris realized her wish after she switched lifestyles and came to Kaohsiung. As Iris is spontaneous, she does not make plans in advance - not becoming a vegetarian or her paintings of Chaishan. She now has a lot of friends and is very happy about her current life in Kaohsiung.
柴山上的畫家 Iris A. Scott
◎文／侯雅婷
來自西雅圖、學藝術的Iris A. Scott因為喜歡旅行和畫畫、想探索亞洲文化，卻又不想居住在台灣最繁忙的城市，今年5月，選擇來到高雄。Iris說她當初參考網站couchsurfing.com.org的資料，從暫住便宜的旅館，開始了在高雄的生活，很快地她透過新朋友的介紹，發現了柴山這個美好地方，對Iris而言，展開新生活的一切都是那麼自然而然。
Iris說高雄人很友善，也有禮貌，不會盯著她看，高雄這個城市，讓她覺得自在而舒適。畫畫是Iris的生活重心，創作的素材及靈感來自柴山，柴山在她筆下呈現萬種風情，每天作畫約８小時，樂此不疲。Iris表示，因為柴山給她小村莊般的親切感，離市區又只有10分鐘的車程，所以她很喜愛柴山的環境，更搬到在柴山附近居住下來，享受每天早上聽得到鳥叫蟲鳴的幸福。
不在柴山時，Iris就待在畫廊（打狗港都文化藝術倉庫）。這兩個地方和高雄市立美術館都是Iris最喜歡的地方，Iris常帶著畫具待在柴山的某個角落作畫。Iris在8─9月時，在打狗港都文化藝術倉庫，舉辦個人的畫展－「從西雅圖到柴山─Iris夢遊柴山」，與大家分享她的柴山畫作，Iris畫風、筆觸、顏色都隨著她的心境而有所不同，但她筆下的柴山始終帶著溫柔而愉悅的感覺。
平日以機車代步的Iris很適應高雄的生活，來到了高雄，Iris也成為素食者，她說吃素是她一直想做的事，因為來到高雄，轉換了環境，讓她很自然地開始吃素。沒有為自己排定行程表，Iris 做許多事似乎都是跟著感覺走，從吃素到在柴山畫畫，再加上認識了很棒的朋友，Iris說，她很滿意在高雄的生活。
Iris的畫作：http://www.irisportfolios.com/
An artist who bravely made the streets his stage
Meet Edgar Mendoza Figueredo
◎English text by Hsin-Yi Peng
◎Photo by Chung-Hui Pao
Edgar Mendoza Figueredo is a native of Bolivia. He came to Taiwan by invitation of the Office of the President to perform music when he was in his 20s. Fast forward 12 years, Edgar is a regular on Kaohsiung's street performance scene and even has Street Artist Certification issued by Kaohsiung City Government's Cultural Affairs Bureau. Edgar is passionate about his music and performances. Over the years, he has continuously worked on improving his shows and always gives his best to each performance, even if there is only one person there to watch. Edgar said, in his 3-4 years as a street artist, he has found quite a few appreciative fans in children. It always gives him a sense of great accomplishment seeing the children getting absorbed in the music, their bodies swaying with the rhythm, while their parents watch quietly on the side.
Edgar, a self-described free spirit, says it was his great passion for music that brought him to the career choice of a street artist, because this way he gets to share his music with more people. He has been to practically every corner of Kaohsiung with his band, but it has not been all fun and games. There were times he had to fight over performing spots with other street artists, and sometimes he didn't make enough money to cover his living costs. Things like that really brought him down at times, but he learned to deal with the unpleasant aspects of life, and eventually, he was able to get over the financial obstacles by selling his handmade crafts in the night market. There, he earned more than just money; he also learned to speak Chinese fluently. Edgar noticed that the artisan's market near the Cultural Center usually had a lot of vendors selling unique handmade crafts; he thought it was a great platform for consumers and artists to come together, and his hope is to see more markets like this in the future.
During his years in Taiwan, Edgar met a wonderful Taiwanese woman who eventually became his wife to share everything, big and small, in life. He calls home every week to speak with his parents. He said people in Bolivia don't have a lot, but they have very strong family ties, and there is plenty of love and happiness to go around. Edgar said, in Bolivia, moms and dads never talk about what's troubling them in front of the children or at the dinner table; they waited until later when they were alone. This is done so that the children grow up with fond memories of a happy, carefree home.
越挫越勇的街頭藝人 艾迪凱
◎文／侯雅婷
◎攝影／鮑忠暉
波利維亞籍的艾迪凱(Edgar Mendoza Figueredo)最初是受總統府邀請而來到台灣表演音樂，那時他還是個20歲的小伙子，一晃眼，已經待了12年之久。熱愛音樂和表演的艾迪凱還取得高雄市政府文化局「街頭藝人」的認證。艾迪凱認真看待街頭藝人的專業，因此，他不斷地在音樂和表演上精進，投注熱誠，即便只有一位觀眾，他都會盡心盡力地去表演。艾迪凱說，從事街頭藝人表演工作3至4年的時間中，有許多的小朋友成了他的知音，喜歡隨著音樂搖擺身體，完全融入音樂中，而孩子們的爸爸媽媽則在旁邊靜靜地聆聽，這也是艾迪凱表演時最大的成就感。
艾迪凱說因為他的個性喜歡自由，熱愛音樂，因此他選擇當街頭藝人，與大家分享他的音樂。艾迪凱的足跡隨著樂團，遍佈高雄每個角落，然而，有時候在街頭表演時，與其他同為街頭藝人的表演者，因為場地的關係而有衝突，加上街頭藝人的收入並不夠支付生活開銷，艾迪凱有時也感到挫折。但，他學著去處理這些不愉快，更曾在夜市擺攤販售自己製作的工藝品，不被困難打敗，此外，他在夜市學習了一口流利的中文。艾迪凱觀察到，文化中心週圍的藝術市集販售獨特的手作工藝品，他覺得這提供消費者和藝術創作者一個交流的平台，希望能有越來越多這類的市集。
來台這些年，艾迪凱除了有個很棒的台灣太太，和他一同分享生活的點點滴滴；每個禮拜他都會打電話回去跟他的父母親問好，他說波利維亞人儘管物質生活並不富裕，但家人間建立很親密的關係，彼此分享很多愛和快樂。艾迪凱說，在波利維亞的爸爸媽媽總把煩惱的事等到晚上才在自己的房間商量，不會當著小孩或是在餐桌上提起這些事情，維持家庭快樂、和諧的氣氛。
艾迪凱 Edgar Mendoza Figueredo