Making Roses and Their Spines Roses are symbols of love. However, there isn’t a rose in this painting, as I only mean to emphasize its stem and spines. Spines may refer to the thorns of a rose or the backbone of a human being. I use spines as a metaphor to indicate whether a person has guts or not. In this work, a rose and a man move about within twelve frames, as if they were playing hide and seek or looking for one another. It is hard, however, for the two graphic entities to meet. In addition to the idea/content of “quest,” in terms of form, I also attempt to create an overall picture instead of a single focal point. I want viewers to move up, down, left and right to be able to see this artwork more thoroughly. I feel it is a great pleasure to find that suitable medium (both form and content-wise) to create art, as I enjoyed so much the aroma of pinewood and the simple, intimate feeling with carving. (Po Ying-ping)