Notes of Kite Artist：Creation Course

How it all started

　　Kite master Buteo Huang spent his childhood in Sanxia of the New Taipei City - a rural village back then. Mr. Huang used to play with other kids in the fields. They were happy running, baking yams and catching bugs. The joy was fulfilling.

　　In Spring 1972, Mr. Huang once saw his elder brothers flew a simple diamond-shaped kite in the clouds. It was a thrill that he could never forget about until this day. With just a roll of line, a bamboo stick and a page of newspaper, the ground was linked to the sky. The sight of a kite reaching the clouds ignited his desire to fly a kite, and initiated his journey into the kite world.

　　At that time, country kids could not afford to buy toys, so they made their own using everyday objects. Looking back, Mr. Huang’s childhood memories were all about kites. Making and flying kites was his favorite hobby. He had a lot of fun in making kites, and the processes have all become sweet memories now.

Diamond-shaped kite stimulated Buteo Huang’s interest

Doing it for real

　　Buteo Huang enjoys the entire process of kitemaking. Be it chopping, cutting and tying bamboo sticks, drawing, and gluing paper, he had the fun in every step. Even though he sometimes cut his fingers, he would treat the cut briefly and keep working.

　　Once he saw a person flying a kite so far that it took him so much time to coil it back. To prevent this, Mr. Huang took off the blade from a fan and installed the coil on it, and so that he could leave it to the motor to do the job.

　　Although the process of kitemaking is interesting, the result of flight test could be disappointing. There are always problems to solve, such as: the kite is too heavy, the tying position is not good, the shape does not work very well…etc. But he does not give up easily. Out of his love for kite, he would do everything to solve the problems.

The objections

　　Buteo Huang’s hobby in kite makes him different from other kids. While his peers were playing video games or watching televisions, he was cutting bamboo sticks and gluing kites. But his “obsession” in his healthy hobby was disapproved by his parents. That was the time when most parents expected their children to set studying or vocational training a priority. Therefore, Mr. Huang had to make and fly kites behind his parents’ back.

　　Although he entered the best high school through the joint exam, he was soon under the pressure of entering college. His teacher disapproved of this hobby of his as well. The teacher said, “Only three-year-olds play kites. As a high schooler, you should put all your energy in studying so that you may get into a good college.” But Mr. Huang was not discouraged. Instead, the objections strengthened his will to go higher and farther like a kite. He was determined to venture into this hobby to see what could come out of it, for he strongly believed that kitemaking was not a just play for three-year-old kids.

Soaring up

　　In college, Buteo Huang picked a major in architectural design and received formal training in the theory and methodology, which helped advance his kitemaking skills a great deal. From design, make, to test and perfect, he challenged himself constantly. Between classes, he would study the theory of flight in addition to doing hands-on tasks. If a kite failed to fly, he would find the problem and make a new one again until it reached the sky.

　　He also started studying import books about kitemaking to gain a more comprehensive understanding about the materials, the folds, the colors, the shapes, the storing methods…, etc. Through self-learning, he progressed greatly with his endeavors in researching and the abundant knowledge he absorbed.

　　Looking back at his school years, Mr. Huang said, “My architectural background helps me better understand the structure and the physical theory of kites.” His trainings at school also help him keep up with the latest information of the development in kite materials worldwide. It could very well be reason that his body of works has been a breakthrough locally and widely recognized internationally.

　　Who would have thought that a kite could be a door opener for Taiwan to get onto the world’s stage? But Mr. Huang did it. He award-winning works are the proof of his success. His story shows us that as long as we trust ourselves and stick to what we believe, we will eventually find the “kite” in our hearts.

Dawu traditional fishing boat flies in the sky