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From MySinChew

Chen Ke Hong from Segamat possesses the capability of transforming rotten stuff into miracles. He has a special passion for work of art, whether collected by him or personally made by him.

Six years ago, his orangasli friend showed him a piece of wood stone and it instantly aroused his curiosity. He asked his friends about the stone but none could provide him an answer. In the end he decided to buy the wood stone from his orangasli friend.

Chen said during an interview with Sin Chew Daily that he began to get interested in wood stones after he had purchased the first one from his friend. Since then he has been looking for wood stones in the woods while buying some from his orangasli friends.

Slowly he discovered that he could turn these wood stones into real works of art, and began finding his own way to carve the wood stones.

Prior to this he has carved stones and egg shells before. In addition, he is engaged in the renovation business and therefore has no problem painting them. Meanwhile, he is also developing new paints as he seeks breakthroughs in his career.

Looking in the woods

In the beginning, Chen was contented even if he could only get some small pieces of wood stones from the woods. However, he found it pretty difficult to search for wood stones and changed his mind by using tree roots without stone covering for his carving. He has carved hundreds of pieces varying in sizes over the past six years.

He goes into the woods regularly to look for wood stones. However some of the wood stones he has found are too heavy and he has to saw them into smaller pieces before taking them out.

Nevertheless, he emphasised that he would not cut down standing trees for the preservation of the environment. Instead he would purchase stumps from the loggers.

He said he would do the carving based on the form of the "material." Some of them only need some simple work while others may require a lot of imagination to carve in order to carve them into facial expressions.. Moreover, he has to get rid of the decayed parts of the stumps before carving even thought this might lead to imperfection in his works.

Following his senses

Chen admitted that he craved the wood stones by following his feelings. Among the hundreds of pieces of works he has done, some have been completed only in a day while some require three to four weeks to complete.

He would name every piece of his work although some of them still have not been named to this day. He said all of his works were not for sale.

Looking for art enthusiasts

In order to turn ordinary wood stones and stumps into pieces of artworks, meticulous carving skills, cleaning and proper maintenance are required. Since Chen has no one he can consult around him, he needs to look for more relevant information online, and draw his inspiration from them.

He told Sin Chew Daily he regretted that he had yet to meet any wood stone artist or fancier today and he really hoped to meet someone who could share with him the art of carving.

He said in order to keep looking for people with the same interest, he would display his works during the Hungry Ghost Festival. He has planned to exhibit his works in Muar on July 25. (Translated by LIM LIY EE/Sin Chew Daily)