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Going nutty for nutshell carvings
By Fei Lai |
September 26, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
TALENTED people can be found all over Shanghai. In Yangpu District, Fei Lai meets an amateur artist famous for his paintings, paper-rolling creations, as well as his stone and nutshell carvings.
While a group of talented people have emerged from China's Got Talent show, more can be found off the stage and in real life.
Shanghai's Yangpu District is home to several people with surprising talent.
For sure, these people don't have the type of talent that will win over millions of fans on television, but nonetheless, their stories and skills are just as interesting.
Zhu Huiguang, 68, has retired from a bank career. But his life-long pursuit of artistic creation continues as he is an expert in turning waste paper into elaborate handworks and turning nutshells into sculptures.
Since the age of 10, Zhu has been interested in painting and with some art books, he taught himself how to paint.
"Painting is fundamental to all art forms," Zhu says. "It cultivates my sense for aesthetics."
Zhu's home is filled with his paintings, more than 100, he says. The most eye-catching paintings feature subjects such as fresh fruit, tropical fish or steaming-hot breakfasts.
To Zhu, painting is just the beginning of his creative streak. His focus now is mainly on stone and nutshell carvings.
Zhu excels at carving stone teapots. Last year, his teapot featuring the image of World Expo mascot Haibao was displayed in the Citizen's Initiative Pavilion during World Expo Shanghai 2010.
He says there is a big difference about how teapots are seen nowadays. "Teapots today are more for decoration," Zhu says. "It is often appreciated more than it is used. But in the past, it was the opposite."
Carving nutshells requires deft hands, a good imagination and lots of patience. Zhu prefers working with walnut, gingko and Chinese olive nutshells the best. He is good at carving them into cicadas, horses and portraits of late leader Mao Zedong.
"Most of the nutshells are from daily life. But some are bought from Guangdong Province specifically for carving," Zhu says.
"To polish a carving, I have purchased some small-sized processing machines. They contribute to the uniqueness of my designs."
Zhu is also quite skilled at paper-rolling or paper-quilling. He rolls, shapes and glues paper together to create beautiful pictures.
Unusually, Zhu uses only waste paper such as flyers or newspaper and magazine pages, Zhu has a "paper base" where he finds his ideal materials each time he is inspired to create something new.
Currently, Zhu is working on a creation with butterflies, fish, a phoenix, people and buildings. In his most recent work called "Shikumen (stone-gate) Houses," he even made door handles out of paper strips.
He has also worked with materials such as waste cloth, steel wire, foam blocks and orange peels.
"Amazingly enough, many waste materials can be great materials for handworks," Zhu says. "For example, a dry orange peel can be made into vivid lobster shells."
Zhu enjoys sharing and his retired life is no less busy than before. He now teaches painting, paper-rolling and stone-carving to people in the community. He has taught several hundred students.
"Since I have taught myself from the very beginning, I can go freely with my thoughts and creation," Zhu says. "I teach my students to expand their horizons and explore new art forms."
While some are puzzled as to why Zhu doesn't devote himself to one art form, he simply says he is unwilling to limit himself and enjoys different aspects of his pursuits.
Newspaper collector
Zhu is not the only one in the district who likes to deal with paper. Luo Jinde, now in his 80s, collects newspaper articles.
He started 23 years ago. His little study has now turned into a real data base.
Newspaper articles have been sorted into different categories. Luo's favorite topic is medical stories. He has collected more than 1,000 articles covering over 600 diseases.
Dating back to 1988, Luo first discovered his interest in collecting health information by reading those printed on the back pages of calendars.
Since then, he subscribed to several newspapers with a strong orientation in health and fitness news.
Luo has an address book with the contact details for all the big hospitals, a dictionary featuring medical terms and tape recordings of lectures by famous doctors in the city.
Nowadays, neighbors often ask Luo for medical advice.
He is enthusiastic to help, consulting on diseases and treatment options while also recommending a specific doctor or hospital.
"I hope to give health advice to more people in the future," Luo says. "And it is free of charge."
While a group of talented people have emerged from China's Got Talent show, more can be found off the stage and in real life.
Shanghai's Yangpu District is home to several people with surprising talent.
For sure, these people don't have the type of talent that will win over millions of fans on television, but nonetheless, their stories and skills are just as interesting.
Zhu Huiguang, 68, has retired from a bank career. But his life-long pursuit of artistic creation continues as he is an expert in turning waste paper into elaborate handworks and turning nutshells into sculptures.
Since the age of 10, Zhu has been interested in painting and with some art books, he taught himself how to paint.
"Painting is fundamental to all art forms," Zhu says. "It cultivates my sense for aesthetics."
Zhu's home is filled with his paintings, more than 100, he says. The most eye-catching paintings feature subjects such as fresh fruit, tropical fish or steaming-hot breakfasts.
To Zhu, painting is just the beginning of his creative streak. His focus now is mainly on stone and nutshell carvings.
Zhu excels at carving stone teapots. Last year, his teapot featuring the image of World Expo mascot Haibao was displayed in the Citizen's Initiative Pavilion during World Expo Shanghai 2010.
He says there is a big difference about how teapots are seen nowadays. "Teapots today are more for decoration," Zhu says. "It is often appreciated more than it is used. But in the past, it was the opposite."
Carving nutshells requires deft hands, a good imagination and lots of patience. Zhu prefers working with walnut, gingko and Chinese olive nutshells the best. He is good at carving them into cicadas, horses and portraits of late leader Mao Zedong.
"Most of the nutshells are from daily life. But some are bought from Guangdong Province specifically for carving," Zhu says.
"To polish a carving, I have purchased some small-sized processing machines. They contribute to the uniqueness of my designs."
Zhu is also quite skilled at paper-rolling or paper-quilling. He rolls, shapes and glues paper together to create beautiful pictures.
Unusually, Zhu uses only waste paper such as flyers or newspaper and magazine pages, Zhu has a "paper base" where he finds his ideal materials each time he is inspired to create something new.
Currently, Zhu is working on a creation with butterflies, fish, a phoenix, people and buildings. In his most recent work called "Shikumen (stone-gate) Houses," he even made door handles out of paper strips.
He has also worked with materials such as waste cloth, steel wire, foam blocks and orange peels.
"Amazingly enough, many waste materials can be great materials for handworks," Zhu says. "For example, a dry orange peel can be made into vivid lobster shells."
Zhu enjoys sharing and his retired life is no less busy than before. He now teaches painting, paper-rolling and stone-carving to people in the community. He has taught several hundred students.
"Since I have taught myself from the very beginning, I can go freely with my thoughts and creation," Zhu says. "I teach my students to expand their horizons and explore new art forms."
While some are puzzled as to why Zhu doesn't devote himself to one art form, he simply says he is unwilling to limit himself and enjoys different aspects of his pursuits.
Newspaper collector
Zhu is not the only one in the district who likes to deal with paper. Luo Jinde, now in his 80s, collects newspaper articles.
He started 23 years ago. His little study has now turned into a real data base.
Newspaper articles have been sorted into different categories. Luo's favorite topic is medical stories. He has collected more than 1,000 articles covering over 600 diseases.
Dating back to 1988, Luo first discovered his interest in collecting health information by reading those printed on the back pages of calendars.
Since then, he subscribed to several newspapers with a strong orientation in health and fitness news.
Luo has an address book with the contact details for all the big hospitals, a dictionary featuring medical terms and tape recordings of lectures by famous doctors in the city.
Nowadays, neighbors often ask Luo for medical advice.
He is enthusiastic to help, consulting on diseases and treatment options while also recommending a specific doctor or hospital.
"I hope to give health advice to more people in the future," Luo says. "And it is free of charge."
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