Fountains of joy

The gentle sound of running water brings about a feeling of calmness and peace in a person's home. A ready-made tabletop fountain is an easy option to have in the house or office. And now designing a fountain and giving it a shape and colour that you want is possible with Angeline Hwang holding a workshop on May 9 and 16 at the Dubai International Arts Centre on fountain-making.

This workshop has been designed to introduce participants to the basic methods of making personal fountains, using simple, available and practical materials. Participants will be encouraged to use their artistic and creative talents in the design of their fountains.

They will have a choice of using ready-made basic fountains and personalising these with fountain accents or building their fountains from various materials put together. By the end of the course each participant will be able to make a simple personalised indoor fountain for herself.

The ancient Chinese believed that when there was water on one's land, rice could be grown. With rice came wealth and abundance. This belief has passed down through the generations and today, having water in your premises is deemed to be most auspicious. "In Feng Shui the presence of water is believed to attract energies that bring about wealth," says Hwang.

Her inspiration for making fountains has been beauty that she sees around in nature. Having been a human resources manager in Singapore for over 16 years, Hwang has discovered great joy in making fountains and wishes to share her experiences with other people. "A crystal bowl can be given new meaning by adding some pebbles from a trip, assembled along with a rock from a wadi that you visited it can sit on top of coloured stones to form a fountain," says Hwang.

Personal selections of accessories and accents can be used to customise the fountain that one wants to make. Glass, porcelain, crystal, aluminium or stainless steel bases are ideal. Incense burners, candle holders, beads, jewellery pieces can all be used to add that personal touch to your fountain. "What you put in it is what makes the difference," says Hwang.

A fountain within the home helps clean the surrounding air as it pulls in particles, lint dust and pollutants. The sound of gurgling water brings the sound of nature indoors and the release of negative ions has an effect on the surroundings, making the ambience relaxing and settling. A visually pleasing fountain in the office can even be spiritually uplifting, it distracts the mind from the tensions and stresses of daily life. For enrolling in the fountain-making course and more information, call Hwang on 050- 6344025.