The Taste of Colors

Due to the scarcity of educational resources in the remote and rural regions of Taiwan, Mrs. Lu lectures simultaneously in three schools in Yuli, Hualien. She discovered that most of the children are from tribal communities, and their families, who rely on farming, live in harmony with the land. As a result, their lifestyle is deeply connected to the solar terms and seasonal foods.

When teaching colors to her students, Mrs. Lu creatively incorporated food into the lessons to offer a unique perspective on colors. By rearranging the colors on the dining table, she aimed to help the students discover new meanings in their local food. Through exploring seasonal colors, the children gradually realized how food enriched their lives and even revealed their true selves.

“Aesthetics should spread naturally like particles in the air.” The art classroom at National Hsinchu Senior High School was the perfect place for teachers and students to immerse themselves in art and design. Mrs. Wu envisioned this space as a hub to stimulate the diffusion of art and design throughout the school.

Inspired by this idea, a group of students began exploring the campus to identify areas for improvement. They identified issues such as the unsuitable fabrics and cuts of their uniforms and the confusing signs in the store. Bringing their findings back to the art classroom, the students brainstormed solutions. They then set out to implement changes, aiming to spread aesthetic appreciation beyond the classroom to other parts of the school.

Mrs. Lin had been teaching at Hsiyu Junior High School for over a year. Initially, the students lacked confidence in art class because the school had not had a regular art teacher, and they had received little art training before. However, to her surprise, Mrs. Lin discovered that the children, who live on Penghu Island and possess extensive knowledge of the oceans, were adept at distinguishing the colors in their everyday surroundings.

By identifying and mixing paint colors and relating them to their personal memories, the students captured the dynamic landscapes and poetic moments of the island. In the color charts they created, the deep connection between them and their hometown was vividly displayed. For the children preparing to leave the island, the lesson was a precious gift from Mrs. Lin, who was also born in Penghu. She hoped that when they are apart, reminiscing about the colors would help them remember their beautiful hometown.

After the art and design course last semester, Mrs. Chen wanted to help her students appreciate more beauty in everyday life. She introduced a new lesson called “The Picnic Lesson in Everyday Life,” which brought food and life into the classroom. The students prepared food themselves, applying art and design concepts to their work. Mrs. Chen invited a Home Economics teacher for an interdisciplinary collaboration, where they translated compositional design rules—dots, lines, and planes—into knife skills: dicing, julienning, and slicing.

With this new approach to food preparation, the students created amazing dishes that even they couldn’t believe were made by their own hands. The most important part of the lesson was encouraging the students to step out of the classroom and physically experience life with all their senses.