Good things come in smallest of packages
By Tan Weiyun |
November 16, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CARVER Peng Yimin creates enchantment in a world where art imitates life and small is beautiful.
He's a micro-carver whose miniature replicas of places and events like Tian'anmen Square, Anfang Temple and the Long March have made his work studio in Sijing Town, Shanghai's Songjiang District, a popular place for friends, neighbors and sometimes even strangers to hang out.
His work - which includes mini-replicas of the maglev train, Nanpu Bridge, bicycles and clay ovens - delights people of all ages.
"It takes up all my time, and I quite enjoy it," said the 72-year-old retired brewery worker who was born in Sijing.
"When I retired, I had plenty of time of my hands and didn't know quite what to do. Then one day, when I was tidying up the room, I thought maybe I could turn trash into treasure."
His first miniature work was the town's landmark Anfang Temple. He constructed the pillars from chopsticks, the roof from a biscuit tin and nearby lake ripples from electric wives. He painted the temple with pigments his grandson and granddaughters used in drawings.
The whole work covers an area of about two square meters. Chopsticks split into nine thin slivers were used to make window frames and pavilion poles.
Every day or two, he pedaled his creaky old bicycle to the temple in the town center to check out details for his project. Peng has never had any formal artistic training.
"I had no experience, so I had to learn by doing," he said.
The temple took about half a year to complete.
Inspired by his success, Peng then turned his eye to Shanghai's Chenghuang Temple for his next project.
"I got the idea after a trip to the center of downtown," he said.
He took pictures of the temple and also downloaded photos of the famous site from the Internet. They became his blueprint for a project whose size covers the top of a ping-pong table.
The replica includes the nearby famous restaurants Green Corridor and Nanxiang Xiaolong. Around the lake pavilion, more than 200 tiny visitors mill about. Each door and window of the buildings, constructed in ancient Chinese architectural style, opens and shuts.
"There's no need to rush," Peng said of his hobby. "I do only one project every year."
In 2009, the Sijing School of Continuing Education, an institution for adults and retirees, invited Peng as a guest teacher and school staff helped Peng shift his workplace from his home to a studio.
Long March
One of his more impressive projects was a piece last year recreating the Long March in commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.
The piece, which measures 3.6 meters wide and 62 centimeters high, features 335 Red Army soldiers, each with different facial expression, made of bamboo chopsticks. They climb a snow-capped mountain. They cross a river.
They plod through marshy grasslands. They fight famous battles recounted in history books.
The 13 chains on the famed Luding Bridge were made of thin iron wire that Peng split apart. The mountain-top snow is made from cigarette butts and foamed plastic, while the military horses are carved from wood.
Peng's working tools are quite simple: scissors, knives and glues.
"All of it you can find in most homes," he said. "My neighbors often donate materials to me after interior redecoration work."
In 2009, in honor of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Peng made an elaborate miniature replica of Tian'anmen Square in Beijing. It includes 56 tiny people representing the 56 ethnic groups of China. The Gold Water Bridge features delicate carving.
The latest project that Peng is now working on is an evolutionary history of transport in China, from ancient wooden boats and rickshaws to modern cars driving across an 80-centimeter replica of Nanpu Bridge.
"In the beginning, this was just a hobby to idle away retirement time, but now it has become a passion that has made me many new friends," he said.
"I hope I can inspire others to try similar projects."
He's a micro-carver whose miniature replicas of places and events like Tian'anmen Square, Anfang Temple and the Long March have made his work studio in Sijing Town, Shanghai's Songjiang District, a popular place for friends, neighbors and sometimes even strangers to hang out.
His work - which includes mini-replicas of the maglev train, Nanpu Bridge, bicycles and clay ovens - delights people of all ages.
"It takes up all my time, and I quite enjoy it," said the 72-year-old retired brewery worker who was born in Sijing.
"When I retired, I had plenty of time of my hands and didn't know quite what to do. Then one day, when I was tidying up the room, I thought maybe I could turn trash into treasure."
His first miniature work was the town's landmark Anfang Temple. He constructed the pillars from chopsticks, the roof from a biscuit tin and nearby lake ripples from electric wives. He painted the temple with pigments his grandson and granddaughters used in drawings.
The whole work covers an area of about two square meters. Chopsticks split into nine thin slivers were used to make window frames and pavilion poles.
Every day or two, he pedaled his creaky old bicycle to the temple in the town center to check out details for his project. Peng has never had any formal artistic training.
"I had no experience, so I had to learn by doing," he said.
The temple took about half a year to complete.
Inspired by his success, Peng then turned his eye to Shanghai's Chenghuang Temple for his next project.
"I got the idea after a trip to the center of downtown," he said.
He took pictures of the temple and also downloaded photos of the famous site from the Internet. They became his blueprint for a project whose size covers the top of a ping-pong table.
The replica includes the nearby famous restaurants Green Corridor and Nanxiang Xiaolong. Around the lake pavilion, more than 200 tiny visitors mill about. Each door and window of the buildings, constructed in ancient Chinese architectural style, opens and shuts.
"There's no need to rush," Peng said of his hobby. "I do only one project every year."
In 2009, the Sijing School of Continuing Education, an institution for adults and retirees, invited Peng as a guest teacher and school staff helped Peng shift his workplace from his home to a studio.
Long March
One of his more impressive projects was a piece last year recreating the Long March in commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.
The piece, which measures 3.6 meters wide and 62 centimeters high, features 335 Red Army soldiers, each with different facial expression, made of bamboo chopsticks. They climb a snow-capped mountain. They cross a river.
They plod through marshy grasslands. They fight famous battles recounted in history books.
The 13 chains on the famed Luding Bridge were made of thin iron wire that Peng split apart. The mountain-top snow is made from cigarette butts and foamed plastic, while the military horses are carved from wood.
Peng's working tools are quite simple: scissors, knives and glues.
"All of it you can find in most homes," he said. "My neighbors often donate materials to me after interior redecoration work."
In 2009, in honor of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Peng made an elaborate miniature replica of Tian'anmen Square in Beijing. It includes 56 tiny people representing the 56 ethnic groups of China. The Gold Water Bridge features delicate carving.
The latest project that Peng is now working on is an evolutionary history of transport in China, from ancient wooden boats and rickshaws to modern cars driving across an 80-centimeter replica of Nanpu Bridge.
"In the beginning, this was just a hobby to idle away retirement time, but now it has become a passion that has made me many new friends," he said.
"I hope I can inspire others to try similar projects."
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