2012 WWPFG Conference Part 1

We drove east after coming out from the Niagara Falls. It took about 2 hours to get to our destination – Waterloo. There are trees lining the highway. It was green everywhere. Highway in the eastern part of US are not free like in the west.

We arrived around 3 in the afternoon. Doug said that he needed to rest. OK. He droved almost all the way from Toronto. I went out collecting wild flowers.
Queen Anne’s Lace is wild here!


Many friends arrived as I have pressed a little bit. It was so exciting to see everyone!
Dinner was held in Holiday Inn. The hotel has done a good job with the settings.

I have known Liming (left) before the WWPFG formed. She was a member of my Yahoo group. We met at the LA Flower wholesale district when she came from NY to see her relatives.
Heather lives in Bahamas. Her cousin is a member of my Yahoo group too. It was her cousin introduced pressed flower to Heather. She joined the guild.

John is the Pressed Flower Guild’s president Denise’s husband. I met him last year in UK.

Micki is the guild’s newsletter editor. She has been the chair for Philadelphia Flower Show Pressed plant competition for 2 years.

Officially kicked off the conference. Barbara (left) the planning committee chair announced the kick-off. She introduced the host – Betty (center) and Jacki (right) – the board’s chair.

Actually, the conference is casual. Everyone felt comfortable and excited.

The new website is being worked by Lisa and a professional developer. It is still work-in-progress. I am still maintaining and enhancing the old site. I designed and developed the conference section with online registration and online payment. The guild recognized our work and gave us gifts.

Everyone participated in gifts exchange.

The Pressed Flower Guild’s president Denise。

Liming, Micki，me (Kate)，Ruth，Heather.

Partial members: Dorothy, Pat B., Loretta, Micki, Pat, Liming, me (Kate), Heather, Ruth, Jacki, Lisa, Betty, Linda, Salley, Mila。

Having Lunch with Pressed Flower Teacher in Taipei–2012 Vacation Part 25

I went out with a few pressed flower teacher for a Japanese lunch the 2nd day of Ms. Kao’s class.

First we had fruit and vegetable salad. The star fruit has never been my favorite since it was never sweet before. However, the star fruit in Taiwan is really sweet.

Miso soup

Japanese steamed egg

mushroom and Chinese gua with meatball.

Baked eel and rice. The only thing is the eel is too small.

Dessert is mum bean, lily root, and Juru. It is chilled for hot weather.

A set lunch like this cost $130 Taiwan money. It is less than $5 US.

Taipei’s Breakfast And Light Meals–2012 Vacation Part 24

We had very simple breakfast in Taipei. There was a 7-11 store across the hotel where we stayed. A rice wrap plus a drink cost $39 Taiwan money which is just a little over $1 US. OMG! I could not even get a drink with this amount in the US. Sometimes we get sandwiches and tea flavored eggs. Everything was so fresh!

We had dumplings dinner when we ate too much for lunch. There was a restaurant close to hotel specialized for dumplings. The pan fried dumplings were especially good. We ate twice there. Each dumpling cost $5 Taiwan money.

Hot and sour soup. It is just OK. Nothing to talk about.

Regular dumplings is pretty good.

We love the pan fried dumplings. It was so delicious, we ordered another 10.

We also had Taiwan beef noodle. I forgot to take pictures.

Actually Taiwan is famous for its night street markets. There are all kinds of food. However, we did not dare to go. We don’t have the immunity for Asian germs anymore. It is more important to maintain our health especially during travel.

Kao Fong Hsi Pressed Flower Art Teachers Class (Day 2)–2012 Vacation part 23

Ms. Kao taught us step-by-step. She practically made the picture over again in front of us and explained all the steps. She answered every questions. Then she looked at our work-in-progress and make corrections whenever she sees something wrong.

We had afternoon tea. OMG! The egg tart is huge. It is so delicious. I can’t help but ate almost an entire one.

Class ended successfully. We all posted for a picture. I loved the class! I will find time to finish the picture. I have learned to blend flowers and leaves, pastel background, and Ms. Kao’s skeleton leaf filtering.

I hope to attend another class the next time I visit Taiwan. I will see Taiwan teachers online!

TaiwanTraditional Lunch - 2012 VacationPart22

I went out with a few pressed flower teacher for a traditional Taiwan lunch first day lunch time.

Bean threads were stirred before I remembered about taking pictures.

Take a picture of friend’s noodle.

There was a box of colorful paper folding. I asked what is it for?

Friends told me that it for holding fish bones. The store owner folds old magazine pages. It can be opened up as below to hold food waste. No need to wash more dishes. It also keeps the table clean.

Most of the customers ordered fresh water bass. I lost the ability to eat fish with lots of Y shaped bones. I ordered the deep sea red fish. The lady owner gave me a large dish and helped me to take the fish out. She said those who live out of the country should not mix fish with soup. It is dangerous if small bones were get into throat. I feel Taiwan love with small things like this.

Kao Fong Hsi Pressed Flower Art Teachers Class (Day 1)–2012 Vacation part 21

The IPFAS Taiwan is located in Taipei N Zhongshan Road Section 1. There is an alley called Qitiaotong. This place has been a busy commercial area even during Japanese occupation. There are a lot of Japanese restaurants in this alley still. It is also a historic area of Taiwan. The main street of Zhongshan road is beautiful lined with big trees. There are all kinds of stores and restaurants. MTS station is right by here.

I saw a lot of Japanese tourists holding maps and Japanese guide books stroking in this alley.

There is a Plant Factory down stairs. It is so neat. Not only they sell plants, but also all kinds of organic food. It also sells coffee and tea.

5th floor is where I will go.

IPFAS Taiwan operates independently to provide pressed flower art teachers a platform for self improvement, exchange ideas, and also social. Every teacher has their turns to teach and share. This helped to make Taiwan pressed flower art at top level.
I have known many Taiwan teachers by their artworks in books, internet, and international competitions. Some have very unique style that I can always tell their names by looking at their works. However, I have never met them in person before. Thanks to Ms. Kao who brought me to their class. I had an opportunity to meet them in person, study together, and chat along. I was so happy. I have been an IPFAS member since 2000. This is the first time I am participating in an actual event and not just reading about it in the news magazine.
Ms. Lee Wenfeng is responsible for daily operation. She introduced our teacher - Ms. Kao Fong His and the assistant teacher - Ms. Cao Huilan.

Some students. They are all actually famous pressed flower teachers in Taiwan. Many have won multiple international awards. Some have published books.

This is the class sample. Flowers and leaves are blended together to form – Dream Come True.

Ms. Kao started to explain and demo.

First she talked about the flowers and leaves.

Then she demonstrated how to blend flowers and leaves to make large natural looking holly leaves and 3-D looking holly berries.

Students all worked very hard. I was seated on the first seat. Ms. Chen Miaoxiang – a very experienced pressed flower teacher sat next to me. She took a good care of me. She explained things whenever I had trouble with Taiwan materials.

There was a tea reception for Kao Fong Hsi Pressed Flower Art Exhibition at 4 o’clock in the afternoon.
I thought these were silk since every flower and leaf are perfect. Then I touched it. OMG! They are real fresh flowers.

Mr. Yan – owner of the place introduced Ms. Kao. He congratulated her for a successful exhibition.

Wow! Everything looked so delicious. I had to take some of each. What diet? We don’t have these in the desert. I will for sure not eat like this when I get back. LOL!
Taiwan food is sooooo good!

Ms. Kao and I. She knew that I love this sunflower picture.

Ms. Cao Huilan and I. She taught me the special pressing techniques the day before.

Mr. Lin Wenzhang. I knew he won the pressed flower competition on Japanese TV challenge long ago. I am so glad to meet him in person. Mr. Yan and I had fun talking about the everyday things of US. Mr. Yan was a classmate with Nobuo. They followed the same professor to study chemistry in college. Mr. Yan said that he wanted this place a platform for everyone to exchange, relax, and having fun. His goal is not to make money here. Lucky IPFAS members in Taiwan!

Ms. Chen Liwen. I love her works as well. I have invited her to teach a class in WWPFG conference in Guangzhou a couple of years ago. I am so happy to see her again.

There were some Ms. Kao’s students came to see the exhibition. There were also general public who saw posters and came.