Check out Cassandra Chan’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassandra Chan.

Cassandra, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Growing up in the populous city of Hong Kong, finding my own identity as a creative individual has always been a challenge. It took me several jobs to find my true calling. After completing my teacher training in primary school and special needs education, it became clear to me that my passion lies in building a positive impact on young children through art. In 2015, I founded ‘Twiga Pottery’ with a vision to bring ceramic art to school.

Apart from teaching, I love to travel and experience local cultures around the world. Making connection with people through art has been the most invaluable experience of my creative life. To me, sharing your love of art with others is so much more rewarding than the work of art itself.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
As many traditional art forms are slowly disappearing in our society, there has been a growing interest to revive the cultural value of craftsmanship amongst the younger generation. I believe this is where my work comes in.

As a ceramic teacher, I have been working with different school communities on a wide range of school projects and after school programs to provide a more focused creative platform for young children to learn and express themselves through clay. This year, I have been playing a supportive role in making a number of mural projects with over 500 school children. My favorite part of this creative process is our artistic collaboration behind the scene. It is such a delight to witness the growth of artisanship and watch these children’s creativity unfolds before my eyes.

When I am not teaching, I like to get on my pottery wheel and create spontaneously at my home studio. My recent artworks depict different elements of my intercultural experiences with the Swahili community in Zanzibar, Tanzania. It is my hope that one day I could make a sustainable impact on the local community through my work.

Do current events, local or global, affect your work and what you are focused on?
My work is all about making connection with people. The more I travel, the more I realize that art has no borders. I think the role of artists is always changing but the world will be more peaceful if we can focus on making meaningful connection through our work. It can be as simple as spending our time to just sit, talk and make art together. I believe that artistic collaboration can deepen our understanding of who we are and the role we play within our own community. By sharing our knowledge and experience with other artists, we can bring new breakthroughs in both our creative works and personal lives. As for me, I will work continuously to promote the importance of art education in my local communities.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I post photos of my work on Facebook @twigapottery and Instagram @twiga_cass every week. You can also find out more about me by visiting my website. If you’d like to get connected, feel free to pop in and say hello! 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.twigapottery.com
• Email: twigapottery@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twiga_cass/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twigapottery/

Image Credit:
Janny Leung, Julia Wong, Cassandra Chan

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