When we last spoke to Wei Hsuan, we were finalising her illustration work for AWW Issue 4 – My Time Capsule. One thing we didn’t tell her at the time was that we – the editors – all burst into laughter when we saw the adorable animals practising asanas! Thanks to her light-hearted illustrations, we were able to escape from our hectic schedule to a visual paradise. 

While she grew up in Taiwan, Wei Hsuan is currently based in Tokyo. Her use of bright and bold colours to tell stories echoes her cheerful and genuine personality. As we are about to enter a new year with more hope and fun, we ask the optimist for tips on staying positive and what “gift” she would send to her future self! 

AWW: Thank you so much for illustrating those fun and beneficial yoga demonstrations for AWW Issue 4! Do you practise yoga regularly in real life?

Wei Hsuan: To be honest, I am a super lazy person who has no passion for exercising until I started doing yoga almost a year ago. I can just stretch slowly, and focus on my breathing and body when doing yoga, which makes it easier to keep it a habit.

AWW: The Health & Fitness section is basically a tutorial for our readers to learn some meditation poses as a way to escape from reality. Do you recall any occasion that you would love to practise those escapist poses?

Wei Hsuan: Of course! When I worked in an office, ended a relationship, or had a fight with my family, I really wanted to escape from time to time! I always immersed myself in a pile of books at that time, because I was desperate to find solutions.

Meditation is a very efficient way for me because I can calm my mind and be aware of “MYSELF” at the moment. Especially during the quarantine, it really kept my mind healthy and free from the noises outside. Besides, I get new inspiration when I meditate sometimes. Now it has become one of my important habits and I’m happy that I started!

AWW: Among the 4 adorable poses you’ve created for our Health and Fitness section, which is your favourite?

Wei Hsuan: I really love the idea of animals doing yoga. The cat pose is my favourite since it’s exactly my meditation pose and I do it almost every day.

AWW: How do you feel about your collaboration with AWW?

Wei Hsuan: I was so excited because l love animals so much. I got your invitation when I just started meditating and doing made-to-order pet portraits and clay figures. The topic was perfect and interesting for me!

There are many details in the illustrations, so I spent a lot of time arranging the objects, highlighting the main animal, and exaggerating the poses and noises. The illustrations are a kind of fun, comical expression and I enjoyed giving them some touch-ups.

AWW: Here comes the last question! We have a Time Capsule for each of our Issue 4 contributors — what would you send to your future self?

Wei Hsuan: I think I will send my diaries and sketchbooks. I hope I will be able to review how my thoughts and drawing styles change in the future. Some time ago, I found my diaries that were written almost 10 years ago. In the diaries, I wrote about how worried I was about finding a job, that my ability wasn’t good enough, and my struggles to live an ideal life, etc. The diaries remind me that what I cared about back then are not that important now as I’ve already overcome my worries. That’s why I want to send out those diaries and tell the future me, “We’ve come so far, you don’t need to be troubled by the troubles because you always have the ability to conquer them. After all, everything is going to be alright in the end, isn’t it?”.

To find out more about Wei Hsuan, please visit the artist’s IG account | @weihsuan921
All images provided by Wei Hsuan.

About We Love Milk Tea Series

Since showing up on social media in 2020, #MilkTeaAlliance has been around for a while, and represents a shared love of tea drinks in Hong Kong (Milk Tea), Thailand (Iced Thai Tea) and Taiwan (Bubble Tea)! But the similarities are way more than that. Yes, people from all 3 cities love traveling and sharing their experiences, but there was also the way the youths were suddenly thrust into the world’s eyes as well. You could say that tea drinks are a powerful symbol of emotional connections and support!

In this series, we’ll be introducing the beautiful souls we met in these 3 cities. Let’s see what made their creative souls rise and shine!