Creating Fantasies Balloon Artist He Kun-Long／何坤龍 用氣球幻化出天方夜譚
Creating Fantasies Balloon Artist He Kun-Long
◎English translation: Wendy Wei Chang
◎Photo by Hou Ya-ting
Mr. He Kun-Long is a talented balloon artist who creates large, vivid balloon characters by twisting various sized balloons together. Mr. He has been twisting balloons for 12 years and has received several awards for his talents. These include, several at the Taiwan International Balloon Artwork Contest and first place at the International Balloon Artwork Contest held in Malaysia. For the last two years, he has also been teaching balloon modeling in Taiwan and has been invited to give lectures in Shanghai, Qingdao and Hong Kong.
He got into balloon modeling after quit his full-time job, to better care for his family. He saw a balloon artist at a wedding reception and was inspired about how effortlessly the gentleman twisted the balloons into an arch. Mr. He felt if he could just master the art, he too would make a living at being a balloon artist. He then had someone teach him the fundamentals, such as inflating and twisting the balloons and also spent time learning the skill on his own. After only three years, he mastered the art and feels the more challenging the balloon character, the greater his sense of achievement.
Mr. He has gained a great deal of recognition for some of his initiatives. He pioneered a technique of applying make-up to the faces of Peking Opera balloon models and has created a 300-centimeter tall Bumblebee Transformer, a highlight he teaches overseas. He uses other techniques such as spray paint and tape in order to highlight the Transformer's bright colors and charismatic features.
Mr. He's balloon characters are particularly vivid, which he attributes to his diligent research and keen observation. He carefully studies objects' shapes and expressions in order to convey them realistically in his balloon art. Another example that exemplifies his true passion was once when he was creating his Bumblebee Transformer masterpiece, he lost all strength in his fingers due to fatigue. His advice for people interested in taking up the art of balloon modeling is to take classes and once they know the basic skills then make their artwork special by incorporating individual creativity.
何坤龍 用氣球幻化出天方夜譚
◎文、攝影／侯雅婷
何坤龍擅長以不同形狀的氣球元素 ，塑造出大件的氣球作品，傳達形體神韻。他的氣球創作資歷12年，是台灣國際藝術氣球大賽的常勝軍，曾於馬來西亞國際氣球大賽中型氣球比賽獲得第一名，近2年除在台灣教學，也受邀赴上海、青島和香港等地教學。
當被問及如何學到這門功夫？他談起 ，當初為了照顧年長的母親和4個年幼的孩子，從全職轉為兼職，當他於喜宴會場，看見工作人員輕鬆扭著氣球，佈置氣球拱門，他忖量如能學成這門工夫，可作為謀生工具，於是請教他人如何綁球和充氣等，其他的就憑自己摸索，3年後就能以氣球創造出各種造形。他首開先例於一款京劇娃娃氣球上妝，打開知名度。迄今，越具挑戰性的作品，何坤龍做來越有成就感，就像這回為海外授課準備的教材，是一尊高300公分的變形金鋼大黃蜂，是他最新作品，以不同造形的氣球呈現個別組成部份的結構和造形美感，再透過噴漆和貼膠帶等技法，襯出變形金鋼磅礡的氣勢。
何坤龍的作品所以能傳達躍然於紙上的生動感，歸功於事前研究和觀察製作主題，揣摩最想表達的神韻和姿態。這回製作大黃蜂，他手部過度勞累而十指無力，還會感到麻麻的，但無損他對氣球創作的熱情。他給想學氣球的朋友建議是，去上課是最佳途徑，學會了扭氣球後，才有談創意的實力。
Shanaka Karunaratne Always Brings Great Customer Service
◎English translation: Charles Lin
◎Photo by Hou Ya-ting
Mr. Shanaka Karunaratne is the supervisor of Grand Hi-Lai Hotel's Harbour Restaurant and has worked there for 7 years. He is always seen making his rounds, checking every detail and ensuring everything is running to perfection. Although he has been working in the hotel industry for twenty-three years, he doesn't take his job lightly. The native Sri Lankan, always delivers great service and makes sure his guests are fully satisfied and happy.
Shanaka met his then Taiwanese girlfriend, while studying hotel management in Switzerland. After they married, they relocated to her hometown of Kaohsiung. He feels Kaohsiung is a wonderful city and particularly admires its safe environment. He is also impressed with its rapid transit system, high speed rail and numerous quality hotels. When he first arrived eight years ago, he couldn't speak any Chinese, but now he is fully capable of having fluent conversations.
He believes the secret to success in the hospitality industry is to love what you do. He always draws on his extensive experience to solve problems and ensure service is delivered with thoughtful consideration. He has also learned how to predict guests' needs and guarantees satisfaction. Although it is a high pressure industry, after a hard day's work he reflects on compliments he received that day, making the hard work all worth it. Whether it's the good food or the good service, all the recognition gives him a great sense of accomplishment.
Shanaka enjoys his life in Kaohsiung and is happy to see that it is becoming more international, with several world class sporting events being hosted here. When he isn't working, he cherishes the time he spends with his family. He enjoys taking them on walks on Cijin Island and Shoushan. When he finishes his shift, he always goes home to play with his children and recharges his batteries, energized for another rewarding day.
柯魯翔 滿載服務熱誠的沙場老將
◎文、攝影／侯雅婷
踏進漢來大飯店海港自助餐廳，可見主任柯魯翔穿梭於餐廳確保餐廳個環節運作順暢。柯魯翔的外籍面孔讓他看起來格外搶眼，但他貼心的服務，屢屢讓客人稱讚不已。他來自斯里蘭卡，是高雄女婿，已任職於漢來大飯店7年，是大家熟識的老朋友。
柯魯翔談起在瑞士就讀飯店管理時認識的台灣籍女友，婚後為愛搬遷至太太故鄉─高雄定居。他談起，8年前剛到高雄時，他還不諳中文，來高雄才開始學中文，到現在與客人用中文交談，可說是對答如流。柯魯翔說，來台前已有16年飯店工作資歷，儘管資深，他仍兢兢業業地在崗位上服務。柯魯翔分享身為資深飯店人的服務經驗，他認為最重要的是熱愛這份工作，還得運用經驗讓流程順暢，服務顧客時，要預想客人需求，唯有貼心服務才能讓客人有賓至如歸的感受。儘管這個工作壓力大，但他每天下班時，會回想客人對他說，菜很好吃、服務很棒之類的肯定，帶給他滿滿的成就感。
談起高雄，柯魯翔盛讚高雄是很棒、很安全的城市，有捷運、高鐵等便捷的大眾運輸以及優質的飯店，他也很開心有越來越多國際運動賽事於高雄舉辦，顯見高雄國際化的發展。他最珍惜與家人相處時光，閒暇時會帶孩子們去旗津或壽山走走，他說和孩子們玩耍能讓他徹底放鬆，翌日又會神清氣爽地迎接嶄新的一天。