Year: 2024

Medium: Watercolor

Size: 14” x 15”

Others: Post retirement, my grandfather struggled with stillness; a life once defined by purpose and routine suddenly felt hollow. Yet, like Heron’s Fountain—whose water cycles endlessly through itself—he found new meaning in motion that didn’t depend on productivity. The pot, though no longer pouring tea, teems with new life—just as my grandfather does. Stacked against it, the teacups represent his past endeavors and the wealth of experience accumulated over a lifetime of work. The background evokes Chaozhou, his hometown, nestled near the Phoenix Mountains where some of the world’s finest oolong tea is grown. The teapot, now refilled not with tea but with vitality, symbolizes that quiet renewal: a reminder that life, like water, continues to flow in unexpected ways.