Next phase of the story. I define myself as a floating person, I was born in the northeast of China and spend the first 6 years in my hometown, then I spent the next 12 years living and studying in Beijing, and I’ve been living in Canada for the next phase.
Thinking about leaves, Yun and I went to the UBC botanical garden to see if there’s any inspirational items can be used.
I’ve collected many kinds of leaves, in different colours and shapes. I’ve also tried to boil the apple peels and try to see if it works. The water in natural ingredients dehydrates easily, and when it dries, it’s really hard to do other processes, it breaks to dust.
There’s an old way of making curtains in my hometown, my grandparents used to use wrapping papers to make colourful curtains that block flies in the summer. I wonder if it can be done the same way as leaves and if the leaves can be colourful as well. The idea was a good idea, but hard to make. Some leaves are quite small and fragile which makes it even harder. I’m thinking if I can rehydrate them and make them connected to the curtains. However, there’s a big problem. In order to make them attach to each other, I have to use tape to stabilize it and also give it a layer of protection. But using tape is not what I expected to show. Then I wonder, is there a way that we don’t use any glue to join things.
The traditional Chinese joinery is the brilliant knowledge of wood working without using any artificial materials but giving a strong structure for hundreds or thousands of years. However, the complicated structure and hidden structures are too mysterious to me, and I’d like to celebrate the connections. With the idea of a point-line-surface-3dimensional, I went to the woodshop and tried to create a small table initially.
The repetitive process of interactions is slowing down the time, and maximizing my other senses.
I’ve tried to use the hemp rope to connect all the elements and make them into new combinations.
Seeing the natural shift of these cylinders gives me a different way of thinking. Things don’t have to be unified or well designed, just let them be. Free the design, free yourself. Enjoy the patterns brought naturally.
Then I found this book really interesting to read and see how the natural patterns form.