THE CHAT with Karen Hutton: "Red" HongYi

Episode #3: “Red” HongYi

If you haven’t already met her, I know you’re going to fall in love with this week’s guest “Red” HongYi. She is a Malaysian artist/architect, who splits her time between home in Malaysia and Shanghai, where she works for an Australian architecture firm. But the real story is her art. So imaginative, so stunning and so fascinating in its scope that most of the time I look at it with my mouth hanging open!

I first met Red at an EG conference in Monterey, where she spoke. I was captivated by her work! Trey Ratcliff was there too and he introduced us by saying, “You should have her on your show!” At the time, I was doing Life Through the Lens, so that was the show he was referring to. I asked Red if she’d like to do that – and she was totally enthused! She’d also never done a G+ OnAir Hangout before. Not to mention we had these our mutually crazy schedules! So finding some time was a challenge. But I showed her how to do hangouts, she figured out how to do a VPN tunnel out of China… then Life Through The Lens ended. At the time, The Chat wasn’t yet a glimmer in my eye, so the whole idea sat on the shelf for a year. In the meantime, her reputation and worldwide accolades grew – as did the demands on her time!

From the moment I dreamt the idea of “The Chat”, I knew I wanted Red to one of my first guests. When I got in touch about it, she said “Yes! Let’s do it!” She is so positive, so glass-half-full, so full of life. She was home in Malaysia at the time where it’s ALOT easier to be on the internet. Not so much so in China; they block Google over there… and hangouts? Fuggetaboutit! A VPN tunnel is the only way and it’s tricky. So we decided to do this before she headed back to Shanghai. We set up a time (10pm my time, 12 noon the next day hers!) and dove in.

Red grew up in Australia, which is why she speaks such perfect English – and I know some of you will wonder about her accent, so that explains that. Since we’d spoken last, she’d been working on BIG projects with corporations like Ponds and Hewlett Packard, taught a class at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano (New Academy of Fine Art in Milan, Italy), had spoken at TED and TEDx and was continuing to field new opportunities from around the world as a result of word-of-mouth from her YouTube videos.

All this, by doing what she loves most and living her life as an artist… or better yet, living her life as if it where her art!
Have I mentioned lately how important I think that is?? hehheh.

I think Red is THE BOMB!!
We also did a spit-and-handshake on getting together when she comes to San Francisco this year… and maybe, just maybe… we might do a follow up Chat IN PERSON!!

Whoooo-to-the-Hoooo on that!!

I hope you love this episode as much as I do!