He arrives on a bike, looks up at the sky and finds a place to lay down his mat. He then spreads out an assortment of colored stones and waits like a fisherman for a bite.
Locals and tourists wander past, glance at the collection, do a double take and often walk back to have a closer look, attracted by the lure of the brightly painted stones.
Wandering artist Wu Rong-bi (
PHOTOS: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES
He tells them that he finds the stones in Keelung, where there is a plentiful source of the flattened circular pebbles (about 3cm to 5cm in diameter) he prefers.
He says that some of the stones' designs are inspired by dreams, or are the product of his calligraphy studies. He uses bright acrylic paints. Some of them have African or Asian geometric patterns, others are figurative, with simplified forms such as an elephant or a leaf.
"Most paintings only have one plane or face," he says, "But these stones are three-dimensional art and are therefore that much more special."
Wu has been a Taipei City Government approved artist since last year, when he was given a pass that he hangs around his neck. It allows him to sell his wares on the street, in the Shida area off Hoping East Road most afternoons, or outside the Eslite store on Dunhua South Road in the evenings.
He teaches social studies to kids part time but his main income is from selling the stones, which retail from NT$300 to NT$200. He gives bonafide students 50 percent discount.
Erica Chen, a student from Texas, thought the stones were "pretty interesting. ... They're good value and great souvenirs that I can give friends when I get back home."
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This year will go down in the history books. Taiwan faces enormous turmoil and uncertainty in the coming months. Which political parties are in a good position to handle big changes? All of the main parties are beset with challenges. Taking stock, this column examined the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) (“Huang Kuo-chang’s choking the life out of the TPP,” May 28, page 12), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) (“Challenges amid choppy waters for the DPP,” June 14, page 12) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) (“KMT struggles to seize opportunities as ‘interesting times’ loom,” June 20, page 11). Times like these can
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