Colors Of The Wind

The title is a reference to the song by Vanessa Williams.

Wrap-up to Paint-A-Home 2008.

Paint-A-CSC-Logo…

Whitewash, murals and stencilling. I wonder why volunteers would sign up for such a project and what kind of fun and joy they actually derive from it.

L: Colourful ice-cream flavours?
R: Yam paste, almond paste, walnut paste, sesame paste, peanut paste…

Spills, washes and plenty of unseen drips. You volunteer, you come for the event, move the furniture, lay the newspapers, wipe the walls, carry the equipment, dip the brushes and then begin the first coat. Do you remember what the wall looked like before it became a canvas of uniform white?

Evolution of a star.

I remember 2006 when I stayed in the sun chatting with volunteers, when I was the unofficial photographer for the event because their person-to-be was suddenly unavailable. 2007 was different and I had to take responsibility for the walls and volunteers. This year, I managed to hijack Huimin’s camera and repeat what I did in 2006. Snap, snap, snap =)

L: Quek, forgotten-volunteer and me looking at the odd rabbit with a long face.
R: A simple curve to "complete the face", correct the oddity =)

A Project of visual change. My joy comes from seeing the volunteers at work, making that change. That I am there at that moment and place in time and space to witness and perhaps document a transformation. The reason perhaps attributed to a thirst to know. Either that or it makes me happy to see others happy and enjoying themselves doing what they do though I have no idea why they be the way they are.

L: Identifiers for the people at Paint-A-Home 2008.
R: A volunteer beckoned me to the room to take a picture of this little girl.

There are those behind the scenes who work to ensure the Project carries on without a hitch. There are the people who move their rollers up and down, giving the walls their fresh coats. There are others who chalk the painted walls, trying to create the outlines of the intended murals on the wall. There are the painters who delicately paint in the shades of purple, orange, green, etc. There are the ones at the washing point who make sure there is a constant supply of clean brushes. Somehow, seeing all this just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside, figuratively speaking of course.

After the paints have gone…

Looking forward to Paint-A-Home 2009…