Real & Imaginary ~ 真實與想象

你所能想象的一切都是真實的。

~ 畢加索

Everything you can imagine is real.

~ Pablo Picasso

Master Huang's Zisha clay figuring and my real creation

The aftermath of Aquarama left me with backlogs of work. Garnering whatever free time in these few weeks, I finally managed to sort out the photographs and updated the Vermillion Goldfish Club's website of Aquarama 2013 and the club's 10th Year Anniversary.

Master Huang at work

I am very honoured to know Master Huang, a good friend from Beijing - China, and one of the Aquarama Goldfish judges whom I first met in the 2012 Inaugural World Goldfish Competition. Master Huang impressed me as one with great passion in Goldfish breeding and conservation, he is also artistically inclined and devoted to put his life skills to the Goldfish hobby.

Though I had not shown Master Huang a life specimen of my new Pearlscale variety, he had crafted my dream fish out of "Zisha" (紫砂) clay, based entirely on his imagination. Remarkably, the figuring epitomized much of my dream fish's configuration and provided such a wonderful comparison with a real fish that I bred last year - a jet black Pompom Dragon Eyes Pearlscale. This is just one of the very few fishes that I hope to propagate more of such in the years ahead.

If you are interested in the Zisha figuring of any variety of Goldfish made by Master Huang, you can email me for enquiries and orders. Each Zisha figuring is unique and handmade, and complete with refine packaging in a traditional bamboo box. You may peruse more of Master Huang's creation in the following links:

http://www.lanshou.net/read.php?tid=269340

http://www.lanshou.net/read.php?tid=269032

http://www.lanshou.net/read.php?tid=258957

http://www.lanshou.net/read.php?tid=256899

The Golden Decade ~ 萬龍十載

经得起时间考验的事物就是顶尖优质的活典范。
~乔治•阿曼尼

I love things that age well - things that don't date, that stand the test of time and that become living examples of the absolute best.

~ Giorgio Armani

My painting for the Vermillion Goldfish Club 10th
Anniversary Book

2013 has been a good Ranchu breeding year sharing and learning with some very good hobbyist friends. To add to my joy, this year is also the Vermillion Goldfish Club's 10th Year Anniversary. I am relieved to have completed a painting in time to commemorate this great moment in conjunction with the Aquarama 2013 and the launch of the Vermillion Goldfish Club decade book ~ The Golden Decade.

I feel very honoured to be part of a group of dedicated goldfish hobbyists in the Vermillion Goldfish Club. The club has done Singapore proud in the world wide goldfish community, helping to set up best practices and standards in the Aquarama goldfish competition as well as forging alliances with goldfish hobbyists and breeders locally and abroad..

Vermillion Goldfish Club members discussing
about Ranchu appreciation in our outdoor haven.
circa 2005

Forming an interest group or a club is not that difficult actually; the real challenge is standing together through thick and thin in a decade of good cohesion, mutual trust, great teamwork and true friendship ;-)

Customised Grooming ~ 定制培育

子曰: 因材施教。

Grooming in accordance to one's calibre.
~ Confucius

Every Ranchu is unique and merits detail study on how to groom each to the best of its potential. Besides structural differences, each fish has its own character and charisma. Some fishes developed slower and blossomed only later in their Nisai and Oya stages, while some emanates outstanding beauty even as a young Tosai.

Development rate of differs between Ranchus

Varying techniques to "tune" different Ranchu in various stages of their development is a challenging and interesting aspect of the art. It is a dynamic game of patience and control involving much creativity and intuition.



Training to make Ranchu indifference to human presence