We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ching ching Cheng. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ching ching below.
Ching ching, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
In 2023 to 2024, I received an individual artist grants from the City of Pasadena. I hosted a few Taiwanese glove puppet workshops at libraries in Pasadena, and worked with Taiwanese glove puppet volunteers to perform a glove puppet show at a public elementary school in Pasadena. Also as a resident artist working with Side Street Projects, I produced an exhibition at their educational wood working trailer and exhibit the year of work along with the glove puppet theater stage. The theme of this project will continue to develop, and will have an exhibition at Red Hen Press in Pasadena in late February, 2024.
Ching ching, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Ching Ching Cheng, and I am an artist, a filmmaker, and an art educator based in Altadena, California. I grew up in Taiwan, and have been living in Southern California for 20 years. Now a mother of two young children. Currently I teach ceramics and stop motion animation at an arts magnet middle school in Altadena, and I am also an art educator at USC Pacific Asian Museum in Pasadena. The rest of my time is split between kids duties and studio work in my garage. On weekends, is family time, birthday parties, hiking, live concerts, and galleries and museums hopping. I am very good at multitasking, and as the result, my art practice and my everyday life are often time merge together. Life is art, and art mimics life. The relationship between identity and space has became the focus of my work. More specifically how the physical environment is in relation to and has an effect on gender, culture, society, economics and politics. My work includes paintings, drawings, mix-medium sculptures, experimental videos, installations, performance, and ceramics.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
As a solo parenting mother, and don’t have any family members near by, I tried my best to match my work schedule to my two young kids schedules. With the school drop offs and pick ups, plus the after school practices and sports games now, I am fortunate that it is working out so far with my part time teaching jobs and art practice, and with amazing friends I have. Every school year there is a shuffling with my part time teaching jobs and my kids after school activity schedules. There is always an uncertainty during the summer break, but with the networks and friendships I built over the years, I am able to piece the puzzle together in the last minute!
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I believe art education for children and adults is the main element to provide a healthy culture for individuals and communities. Art is everywhere, in everyday life, and we don’t have to go to a museums or galleries to see art. Art can also be a great educational tool. That being said, one great way to support nurturing the creative ecosystem in our society is to support art educations in public schools and many non-profit organizations who bring art education to public schools.
Contact Info:
- Website: chingchingcheng.com
- Instagram: @chingchingcheng