Register for free events (PDF: 19 KB) | Schedule | Event descriptions

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2006

Demonstrations

10 a.m.-12 noon
1-4 p.m. 

10:30 a.m.-12 noon

10:30-12 noon

1-2:30 p.m.

12:30, 1:30 & 2:30 p.m.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2006

Paper Cutting & Paper Folding view event description

Calligraphy
view event description

1-2 p.m.
2-3 p.m.
3-4 p.m.

Demonstrations

1-4 p.m. 

1-2:30 p.m.

1-2:30 p.m.

EVENT DESCRIPTIONS

Paper Cutting & Paper Folding
(Children’s Workshop, recommended for ages 7 and over)
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Crafting with paper began soon after the invention of paper—around the first century A.D. in China. Cutting and folding are but two ways to create objects of beauty and utility from such a delicate medium. Paper cutting has a tradition of using subjects from Chinese legend, history, religion, nature, and everyday life. Dragons, fish, flowers, children, epic heroes, and auspicious words are among the many designs produced by cutting through layers of brightly colored paper. Paper cutting produces such useful items as fans and lanterns, as well as purely decorative accents. Pieces can commemorate special events such as wedding and birthdays, and the design’s complex and delicate lines represent a gift of time and talent for the lucky recipient to treasure. Paper folding is another old art form, producing a wide array of containers and representations of living things. One particular style of the art involves folding and fitting together several pieces of paper money to create extra-special gifts of beauty and value for special occasions.

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Calligraphy
(Children’s Workshop, recommended for ages 7 and over)
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The term “calligraphy” comes from the Greek roots of “beautiful” and “writing.” Chinese characters produced with brush and ink are particularly striking. In the 4th century, Wang Xizhi of Linyi, revolutionized the written expression of words and thoughts with his dynamic and artistic style that continues to inspire and influence modern calligraphers across the globe.

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Chinese Flower Arranging
(Demonstration)
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Documents going back 2,000 years reveal that the Chinese were cutting floral material to display in containers of water. These earliest uses were religious offerings; as time passed the art form became a creative outlet or a meditative process, identified as one of the four arts a high-born Chinese man would strive to master. Chinese floral design seeks to express the oppositional nature of the world and so presents contrasts in texture, line, form, and color. The choice of plant materials and container also provide messages encoded by the container’s color and composition as well as the species, maturity and color of flowers, leaves and stems. Several traditional Chinese styles that have evolved over the centuries continue to influence today’s floral designers worldwide.

Luchang Wang will demonstrate Chinese flower arranging. He has studied and practiced the art of floral arrangement for over 30 years. He has participated in many international flower exhibitions throughout the world, including Japan, Italy, Hong Kong, and Brazil. Mr. Wang has won top prizes for his flower arrangements and is the author of four books on flower arrangement. His art has been presented in solo shows and demonstrated on Chinese television. He specializes in a style that combines design elements from both East and West, particularly one that uses greens in a unique modern style.

Mr. Wang will be assisted by Yongfu Zhang, a floral arranger for over 25 years who specializes in the use of flowers for interior decoration, particularly large exhibition halls. Mr. Zhang has won many prizes for his designs and has also published a book on modern flower arranging. Both men work at the Shanghai Botanical Garden.

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Chinese Painting
(Demonstration)
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An 11th century biography of accomplished Chinese painters listed the qualities of masterful painting with characteristic concepts of contrast that are the foundation of Chinese art and philosophy: powerful strokes applied in a controlled manner; simple display of refined talent; delicate skill executed vigorously; artistic originality that preserves the subject’s essence; unpainted spaces that express tone; and, depth portrayed on the flatness of the paper. A modern-day master demonstrates his painting style for the Chinese Moon Festival.

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Penjing
(Demonstration)
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The practice of training otherwise large plants to grow in small containers or trays was documented in China as long as 2,500 years ago. Chinese penjing often depicts naturalistic scenes or landscapes, with a theme or symbol expressed by the display. Penjing created with one or more plants may contain small figurines, stones, and other objects to complete the scene. Stones selected for their form and color have long been admired in Chinese culture, and arrangements of stones on trays—with or without plants—are another type of penjing. Another type of penjing, called land-water, incorporates plants, stones, and sometimes water to fashion landscapes that bound a sea, lake, or stream. Today’s penjing practitioners use tradition and personal creativity to craft and nurture diminutive representations of the world around them.

Linxiang Ji, penjing master from the Shanghai Botanical Garden, will demonstrate three different types of penjing—rock, tree, and water and land—all in the Shanghai style. He has 34 years of experience creating penjing and caring for penjing in the botantical garden’s collection. He won a bronze medal in the 6th Asian Penjing Exhibition. Mr. Ji will be assisted by Jianping Tang, who is also a penjing master at the Shanghai Botanical Garden.

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