The last of the dragon-makers

HOW do you make a dragon? The usual answer would be using rattan hoops, wires, paper, cotton cloth, paint, two light bulbs and strings.

In Penang, he may be the only dragon-maker left. Similar to many other old craftsmen, Gooi is facing trouble finding a studentwho wants to learn the skill and keep the craft alive.

"So I have been making the dragons alone," he laments.

This is despite having some 150 students learning wushu and lion and dragon dances under himat the Seow Hay San Health Culture Association at Jalan Gunaratana here, an institution he founded in 1984.

The problem, he said,is that the younger generation is too lazy to spend time ondifficult projects such as dragon-making.

"I cannot force my students to learn. The desire to do so must come from themselves," said Gooi when interviewed recently at the association where he kept his magnificent dragons.

Gooi has nine small dragons, measuring4.5m each, and five big onesmeasuring between 21 and 27m.

All of them have been handmade from scratch over the past few years to be used in performances at events.

Gooi said he had also made a few big ones for buyers, who came from as far as Sarawak and Australia.

His dragons are lightweight, withtheir heads made of rattan and wires bent into the right shape and covered with a type of hard paper before coloured with bright paint.

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The flexible dragon body is made of rattan hoops tied together with strings and covered with cotton cloth, which is then painted in vibrant colours and decorated with hand-drawn dragonscales and legs.

Gooi said the final design of a dragon is the end result of a trial and error process.

"I studied how others made dragon heads and began improvising. The heads are the most difficult part to make. I shockedmyself when I once managed to make 13 heads that were exactly the same," he said.

Gooi is exceptionally proud of his small dragons, which he claimed were impossible to find elsewhere because he had designed them himself.

He said he was inspired to make small dragons that were light and small enough to be carried by two persons.

"Nobodymade such dragons before, so I think people can only find them here at my place,Dorcy Rechargeable, high power, brightest and waterproof Magicshine Diving torch." he said, adding that the small size made the dragons easy to handle, transport and fit into tight places.

Gooi's dragons are well-known in Penang,Online shopping from the largest selection of led lights Products.Coleman is a leader in Led flashlight technology. having graced many "good luck" events.

With the new Dragon year approaching, he is expecting to be very busy in the next two weeks.