By Fraser Williams
The artist Marc Chagall said that “if I create from the heart, nearly everything works, if from the head, almost nothing.” Iris Liao is passionately living this motto through the medium of visual art.
Iris Liao joined us in Collingwood in Grade 4 after moving from an International School in China. “I was born in Vancouver, but shortly moved to China when I was around one and a half years old.”
Iris has had a broad artistic career of art in Collingwood. She says that “painting, digital art, collages, and just simple sketches” are some of her favourite types of art. Not only does she enjoy static art, but the art of movement as well, including a long time spent doing ballet. “My favourite sport I would say is dance. I’ve been doing dance (specifically ballet) since I was 3, but stopped around 2 years ago because I didn’t have enough time.” She explained that ballet is her favourite sport because “I enjoyed it because it taught me how to be persistent, as ballet can be very difficult and sometimes overwhelming. I also really enjoyed all the skills I developed from it, giving me flexibility and good posture.”
English is her favourite academic subject. Iris gave some insight as to why this is important to her: “what I love about English is how I can plot my opinions down and contrast them with other people. I love making analyses, as I am somewhat an opinionated person but would love to hear others; also allowing me to plot down my creative word plays.” She has quite a few hobbies including graphic design and using Photoshop to enhance her work.
She enjoyed her favourite year of art classes in Grade 8, commenting that “not only because I had a lot of my friends in my class but also it was my first year in Morven, which really showed me how great of a time I would have here.” She also realised her first important pieces at high school, stating that “I created fascinating pieces, which were very enjoyable to make, as the projects and assignments that were given were very creative.”
She enjoys a lot about the art she makes and has an emotional connection to every piece. “The thought of nothing turning into something beautiful transforms how I think of myself.”
She finds more inspiration within herself than by others, but she does find the modern artist Takashi Murakami and Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, inspirational. If she could, she would ask them: “How do you continue to create such creative pieces that all somehow relate to each other but are so different?”
She thinks of art as an expression of feeling, and maybe even something beyond this. She stated, “art goes beyond our self-expression, but for me it allows me to shine from within.” She has lots of advice to give about any artistic endeavour: “Do not get discouraged when you have a creative block or in other words you can’t think of anything to create, because in reality that is the case! I often feel either indecisive with an idea or frustrated when I can’t come up with an idea, and that is why it is so important to keep pushing because right when you complete a piece that is when you feel a rush of happiness and success.” Hopefully, this will inspire any artists reading this to keep going and keep pushing boundaries.
She says she has developed a lot over the years, which definitely shows in her artwork. You can view it at the bottom of the page. She talks about her development in the visual arts, “I have improved my technical skills, as well as my creative process.” She also emphasized the importance of exploring visual art in this quote, don’t try to be perfect and don’t be afraid to go all out because what is true art, when you keep colouring within the lines.”
She has many future aspirations, “I would definitely have art as a career subject, however I am still not sure what kind. I might develop a design company or even learn animation.” She thinks that art will be an important part of her life in the future, and says, “it will affect how I see certain aspects in designs out in our streets and cities. The concept of art will also teach me life lessons that I will implicate into the future.”
Iris Liao is not only a talented artist but has much to teach us about the importance of art and how to find your own inspiration in the arts. As Pablo Picasso said: “critics, mathematicians, scientists and busybodies want to classify everything, marking the boundaries and limits….in art, there is room for all possibilities” - thank you, Iris, for showing us this with your talent.
The artist Marc Chagall said that “if I create from the heart, nearly everything works, if from the head, almost nothing.” Iris Liao is passionately living this motto through the medium of visual art.
Iris Liao joined us in Collingwood in Grade 4 after moving from an International School in China. “I was born in Vancouver, but shortly moved to China when I was around one and a half years old.”
Iris has had a broad artistic career of art in Collingwood. She says that “painting, digital art, collages, and just simple sketches” are some of her favourite types of art. Not only does she enjoy static art, but the art of movement as well, including a long time spent doing ballet. “My favourite sport I would say is dance. I’ve been doing dance (specifically ballet) since I was 3, but stopped around 2 years ago because I didn’t have enough time.” She explained that ballet is her favourite sport because “I enjoyed it because it taught me how to be persistent, as ballet can be very difficult and sometimes overwhelming. I also really enjoyed all the skills I developed from it, giving me flexibility and good posture.”
English is her favourite academic subject. Iris gave some insight as to why this is important to her: “what I love about English is how I can plot my opinions down and contrast them with other people. I love making analyses, as I am somewhat an opinionated person but would love to hear others; also allowing me to plot down my creative word plays.” She has quite a few hobbies including graphic design and using Photoshop to enhance her work.
She enjoyed her favourite year of art classes in Grade 8, commenting that “not only because I had a lot of my friends in my class but also it was my first year in Morven, which really showed me how great of a time I would have here.” She also realised her first important pieces at high school, stating that “I created fascinating pieces, which were very enjoyable to make, as the projects and assignments that were given were very creative.”
She enjoys a lot about the art she makes and has an emotional connection to every piece. “The thought of nothing turning into something beautiful transforms how I think of myself.”
She finds more inspiration within herself than by others, but she does find the modern artist Takashi Murakami and Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, inspirational. If she could, she would ask them: “How do you continue to create such creative pieces that all somehow relate to each other but are so different?”
She thinks of art as an expression of feeling, and maybe even something beyond this. She stated, “art goes beyond our self-expression, but for me it allows me to shine from within.” She has lots of advice to give about any artistic endeavour: “Do not get discouraged when you have a creative block or in other words you can’t think of anything to create, because in reality that is the case! I often feel either indecisive with an idea or frustrated when I can’t come up with an idea, and that is why it is so important to keep pushing because right when you complete a piece that is when you feel a rush of happiness and success.” Hopefully, this will inspire any artists reading this to keep going and keep pushing boundaries.
She says she has developed a lot over the years, which definitely shows in her artwork. You can view it at the bottom of the page. She talks about her development in the visual arts, “I have improved my technical skills, as well as my creative process.” She also emphasized the importance of exploring visual art in this quote, don’t try to be perfect and don’t be afraid to go all out because what is true art, when you keep colouring within the lines.”
She has many future aspirations, “I would definitely have art as a career subject, however I am still not sure what kind. I might develop a design company or even learn animation.” She thinks that art will be an important part of her life in the future, and says, “it will affect how I see certain aspects in designs out in our streets and cities. The concept of art will also teach me life lessons that I will implicate into the future.”
Iris Liao is not only a talented artist but has much to teach us about the importance of art and how to find your own inspiration in the arts. As Pablo Picasso said: “critics, mathematicians, scientists and busybodies want to classify everything, marking the boundaries and limits….in art, there is room for all possibilities” - thank you, Iris, for showing us this with your talent.
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