Paper flower art

[Dani_man]

I'm attaching couple of flowers pictures from the paper flower elective class in Tsinghua.

In this class we make 纸花 (flowers made from crepe paper) and 丝网花 (made from pantyhose).

According to the teacher (which is also quite known in China), while the paper-flower is originated in china, the pantyhose flowers are a Korean specialty.

What do you think about it?

Does anyone know more about the history of those,

and how popular it is in China?

[Luobot]

I think that they're lovely. In a way, I prefer them to flowers that have been picked and consequently are destined to die for their beauty.

made from pantyhose

This is something I didn't know about, but it sounds hot. It could justify a Mr. Green thumb flower fetish.

[Dani_man]

I also think that using the pantyhose is cool,

using such a cheap material and making a flower out of it...

I guess in the west you won't be able to sell it for much money... people won't appreciate it unless it is made from silk or gold.

[Luobot]

When I lived in Shanghai for a time, I frequently visited the flower market, where I saw many beautiful 纸花。They were much more expensive than the real flowers, which all seemed to have the same standard Chinese style flower arrangements. I imagine that something artistically done may sell reasonably well in some Western areas, where uniqueness is valued, such as in the Villiage in NY. But that's just my guess.

[Dani_man]

Hey Luobot,

Can you please tell me how much was it in Shanghai?

I just wonder, don't think I'll make a career out of it... takes too much time, and as I said, people won't appreciate it (and don't have the money to fly to NY ). Today there are factories that can cut the paper to make thousands flower out of it in the same time, but the flowers all look the same... no uniqueness:(.

[Luobot]

I’m afraid I don’t remember the prices, as it was awhile ago, when the Flower Market was still located in the French Concession neighborhood, before they were subsequently forced to move to some out of the way place. But like all prices in China, they were entirely negotiable. Also the prices at the Flower Market were, I’m told, at wholesale, if you so bargained. Maybe someone who is currently in Shanghai can give you a better answer … my guess is that the prices are comparable to what you see where you are in Beijing.

It’s too bad that there aren’t many career paths for artisans anymore. The cookie cutter machines have taken over. Wait until China becomes truly efficient in their output … Whoa! Oh, well, time to get back to reality now. I have a flash drive that I need to swap …