On December 5 2024, AIS Grade 2 student Bambi Fong and her mother, Carole Fong, sat down with Learning Activator Jeremy Green to share some exciting news with the AIS community. The occasion celebrated Bambi’s remarkable achievement in the XXVI Joy of Europe painting competition, held in Belgrade, Serbia. Their conversation provided insight into Bambi’s creative journey and the inspiration behind her award-winning artwork. The interview is as follows.

Let’s start first with your overall interest in art and where it started. Can you tell me a little bit about how you discovered that you were interested in creating art?

S: I like to do crafts – cutting up paper. I use the cutouts in my artwork and also do origami. I started really getting into painting last year.

C: Bambi really first became interested in art as a result of the school’s field trip to the Apple Store for the educational workshop on using Procreate in Grade 1 Junior. We had an iPad at home, so we thought we would start giving her opportunities to try some artwork on the iPad.

B: So then we downloaded Procreate!

C: She enjoyed it so much that we decided to start taking art classes outside of school about once a week around the age of five.

So you’ve been really getting into painting since around the age of five. Have you been doing any fun painting projects here at AIS?

B: Yes! I did a few with Ms. Meyers and some this year with Ms. Janice. I made these at school (pointing to her portfolio) and drew this story. This one goes back to even G1 Junior.

Wow! You’ve kept all the artwork.

C: Yes, I try to so we can see her progress over the years.

What do you enjoy painting the most?

B: This character (pointing to her portfolio). It’s a fried shrimp from Sumikko Gurashi.

C: It’s a Japanese cartoon character set. There are about five main characters, but she really likes this one.

B: They are from a movie.

C: You also really love drawing dandelions. She usually includes dandelions somewhere in her artwork (pointing to the portfolio).

B: There are a lot of dandelions near my house near the MTR.

C: I think the school is doing a great job, especially with teaching digital art through Procreate. Bambi knows a lot more than I do. She often comes home and says, “Mom, let me show you this trick I learned about how to create this fun art using this new tool.”

B: I have done some 3D artworks too! I drew a 3D house (showing it on the iPad).

How did you feel when you found out you had won the Joy of Europe painting contest?

B: I don’t know.

What was your response when your mom told you?

B: Just “Okay.”

Well, do you feel like you’ve achieved a lot by getting the top spot in this contest? Has it helped you to grow your creative confidence?

B: Yes, I think so.

Can you tell me the story behind the specific artwork that you entered for the contest?

B: I drew it when I was five. It’s a deer. It’s looking at the flowers. The teacher in the art school helped me to select some pictures to look at for ideas. I liked this one. It’s not really a story, just a deer enjoying its time in the meadow. This is the one that will go on the stamp.

C: The class helped them choose an object, in this case, a deer. But she chose the colors herself and painted the whole thing through her own creative interpretation.

B: The bright blue is the sky and makes the deer very noticeable.

How did you hear about this competition?

B: Actually, the teacher didn’t tell us and just put this in the competition.

So it really must’ve been a surprise!

B: Yes, even my parents didn’t know!

C: I got a WhatsApp message from the teacher. She sent a certificate along with a little letter. I thought it was a regular newsletter. It was talking about how we had a student from our painting class who got an achievement, but I was too busy and just glanced at the painting and thought it was very pretty. I remember thinking, “I wish my daughter could achieve something like this!” After two more weeks had passed, they sent me another message with another letter asking if we would be going to Serbia. My reaction was, “Why am I going to Serbia?” They were explaining this package where I get free hotels and flights, and I just kept wondering why.

At that point, I backtracked the other messages and realized that it was Bambi’s name listed as the student who had won the contest and prizes! So it was actually quite funny and a slow-building surprise.

So you started art when you were five and you’re seven now. Over the last two years of growth, what role did your teachers, family, and friends play in your development of these art skills?

B: My mom. She always reminds me to practice my artwork and gives me ideas for things to paint and encourages me to learn new skills on the iPad in Procreate. She also takes me to my art class once a week.

Ms. Meyers also helped me a lot with one of my favorite artworks, the flowerpot (pointing to it in her portfolio). There are lots of different kinds of flowers and different colors and designs.

Looking at the stamps, how do you feel about your artwork becoming a stamp? So many people will see your artwork now. What do you hope will be people’s reaction when they see your artwork?

B: I feel good about it. I think this is good for celebrating young artists. I just want people to feel happy.

What do you hope that you can do more related to art in the future?

B: I want to do more 3D!

3D digital art and design will have lots of opportunities in the future. What advice might you give young artists your age who are just getting started?

B: Find an area or character that you like and practice drawing it a lot. Through practice, you’ll get better and better.