在新闻版面的边角，一个看似荒唐却带点温柔的故事悄悄出现。
俄罗斯，一位六十几岁的保安叔叔，第一天在美术馆上班。面对一幅1934年的画作，他看着那几张没有五官的几何人脸，觉得“好像缺了什么”。于是，他从口袋掏出一支蓝色圆珠笔，郑重地替两张脸加上了眼睛。
这幅价值一百四十万美元的作品，就这样被“完成”了。
事情当然引发轩然大波，画作送去修复，叔叔也因此失去了工作。但在喧嚣过后，人们还是忍不住想笑：那股单纯的冲动，到底从何而来？
在 Artzland 画室Kopitiam 的录音室里，海南熊 Papabearz 与 Malerie 一边喝着咖啡，一边聊起这件趣事。
“他可能真的觉得，美，就一定要有眼睛吧。”
两人笑着说。
笑声慢慢淡去，话题转向自己。

“为什么我们三十几岁了，还每天画画呢？”
Papabearz 提出的问题，让人一瞬间静了下来。
Malerie 想了想，轻声说：“画画对我来说，就像煮饭、唱歌一样，是生活里最自然的事。”
不是为了成名，也不是为了谁欣赏，而是因为喜欢。就像肚子饿了要煮饭，心里有旋律就会唱歌。拿起画笔，只是顺其自然。
Papabearz 则笑着说，他最爱的，是那一张全白的纸。
“你永远不知道会发生什么，那种一百万种可能的自由感，让人上瘾。”
为了追求这种“不确定的真实”，他甚至打算用左手完成一本绘本，让线条变得笨拙，像孩子一样。

他们聊到孩子画画时的自由。
有学生画了“骑鱼票”（fish riding ticket），有人在 sketchbook 里画满打打杀杀的英雄，却在角落画了一朵孤独的花，原来是因为宠物的离开。
天空不一定是蓝的，人也不必是橙色的。
孩子们用颜色和想象写日记，而大人，却常常忘记自己也曾拥有这样的冲动。

“画画的时候，我不能说话，因为脑袋里装满了东西。” Papabearz 说。
那段时光，就像与自己对话的片刻。
或许这就是画画的意义。不是作品本身，不是能不能卖出多少钱，而是那个过程：当颜色在纸上晕开，当线条落下，当心里变得安静。
长大了，我们依然需要画画。
它不是为了功利，也不是为了表现。
它只是让生活多一点色彩，让心多一点温柔。
在 Artzland，我们相信：
画画，就是和自己对话的一种方式。

在马来西亚，很多父母总会问：孩子学画画，到底能学到什么？是不是只是把别人的作品照抄一遍？是不是只是兴趣班，等大了就忘了？
可是，当你翻开 Artzland Studio 的《Drifting Wonders》，你会发现，答案完全不同。
这本书不是大人画的，而是由一群小朋友亲手创作。线条可能歪歪斜斜，色彩可能不按常理，但就是这种“没有修饰的真”，让人心里一暖。

在 Artzland 的课堂，没有“标准答案”在 Artzland 的美术课里，老师不是要求孩子画得一模一样，而是不断提醒他们：“你自己的想法，才是最珍贵的。”
所以，当孩子在画纸上涂鸦、试探、甚至出错的时候，老师没有急着改正，而是让他们继续探索。久而久之，孩子学到的不只是画画技巧，而是勇气——敢把自己心里的画面画出来。
《Drifting Wonders》就是这样诞生的。一本本孩子的练习本，变成了真正的绘本出版。对他们来说，这是第一次把“课堂里的作品”，变成“书店里的书”。

​在新书发布会现场，不少家长都红了眼眶。
“以前我只是觉得孩子来上 Artzland 的 art class，是打发时间。”一位妈妈笑着说，“但当我看到她的作品印在《Drifting Wonders》里，我突然明白，原来她真的有属于自己的声音。”
这就是艺术教育的意义。它不是要孩子画得完美，而是让孩子在创作中，慢慢认识自己。

有人说，孩子的画只是玩玩，没什么“价值”。但 Artzland 相信：孩子的创意本身就是价值。
《Drifting Wonders》不是一本“漂亮”的书，而是一本“真实”的书。它真实地记录了孩子们的想象力，真实地呈现了他们敢于表达的心。
在一个总是强调分数和成绩的社会里，这样的作品提醒我们：孩子需要的不只是课本里的答案，还需要一个可以自由呼吸的空间。

《Drifting Wonders》只是开始。未来，Artzland 还会继续把课堂里的创意带到更远的地方。或许是更多绘本、或许是更大型的展览，但目的只有一个：让孩子们相信，自己的想法是值得被看见的。
所以，当你再听到有人说：“孩子学画画没什么用。”——请把《Drifting Wonders》递给他。因为这本书，就是最好的答案。

​By Papabearz

KUALA LUMPUR -- On a quiet weekend morning at a bookstore launch, the crowd wasn’t there for celebrity authors or international bestsellers. Instead, the spotlight fell on a group of children — wide-eyed, nervous, and clutching pens as if they were swords. Their creation, a picture book titled Drifting Wonders, is not only a collection of illustrations and stories, but a statement: children, given the freedom to create, can produce art that resonates far beyond their years. It is also a reflection of what happens when an art class focuses on imagination rather than imitation.

A Classroom Without TemplatesAt the heart of Drifting Wonders lies a radical philosophy. Artzland Studio, the educational hub behind the project, rejects the long-held practice of teaching art through strict copying. In every artzland art class, the emphasis is not on producing identical results, but on nurturing each child’s unique vision.
“Children aren’t meant to be copy machines,” said Flynn, one of the studio’s instructors and manager of the USJ branch. “We want them to understand that their marks, their quirks, their voices — those are what make their art valuable. Drifting Wonders is a showcase of that belief, and it is born out of the daily practice of our art classes.”
The project began not with a publishing deal, but with messy sketches on the classroom tables. Students as young as seven experimented with crayons, watercolors, and ink, guided gently but never directed. Over time, these rough drafts evolved into a cohesive work — an extension of the freedom they had in their artzland art classes.

Voices From the LaunchAt the launch event, parents filled the aisles, cameras poised, many holding back tears. For them, the book was more than a keepsake — it was proof that their children’s ideas mattered, and that time spent in an artzland art class had given them confidence.
“I’ve always told my daughter that her imagination is special,” said one of the parent, whose nine-year-old contributed a two-page spread. “But seeing her art in a published book… I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so proud of herself. It shows that what she learns in her art class is more than drawing — it’s self-expression.”
The pride wasn’t limited to families. Teachers, too, reflected on the transformative journey.

Even the young authors themselves, though shy, understood the magnitude of their achievement. “I wanted to draw something no one else thought of,” said one of the participant, flipping through his page. “It feels like my ideas are real now.”

Beyond the launch, Drifting Wonders has sparked conversations about what education should look like in Malaysia and beyond. In a system that often prizes exam results over creativity, Artzland Studio’s art classes offer a counter-narrative: that unstructured, student-led learning can produce remarkable results.
“This is about more than art,” said Malerie Teoh, co-founder of Artzland. “It’s about teaching kids to trust their voices. When they believe their ideas have value, that confidence carries into every aspect of life — and that’s why our art classes matter.”

The Book as Artifact
Unlike polished children’s books created by professional illustrators, Drifting Wonders is raw. Some drawings are lopsided; others burst with color that ignores traditional composition. But this, say its creators at Artzland Studio, is precisely the point.
“It’s not about perfect lines or shading,” Flynn explained. “It’s about honesty. Every page feels alive because it came directly from the child’s imagination, untouched by adult corrections. That’s what we encourage every week in our artzland art classes.”
The physical book itself carries weight — not only in its pages but in its symbolism. Each copy stands as a reminder that art is not the sole domain of professionals, but can emerge from any child given the right art class environment.

For Artzland Studio, Drifting Wonders is only the beginning. Plans are already underway to expand the initiative, with more student-authored books emerging directly from their art classes. There is even talk of linking future projects to community causes, channeling proceeds into book vouchers for underprivileged children.
As the final crowd trickled out of the launch, one parent paused by the display of the book. She leaned down, hugged her daughter tightly, and whispered words that echoed the spirit of both the project and the artzland art class philosophy: “I’m proud of you.”
In that moment, Drifting Wonders achieved what every book strives for — it became more than ink and paper. It became a testament to the power of believing in young voices, nurtured through the patient guidance of an artzland art class.