Past and Present Paper
posted by
Jill
@
1:21 AM
My husband, one-year old daughter and I have been in Beijing now for seven whole months. I work at an International school with children ages 1-3 and my husband is studying acrobatics at the National Acrobatic School. My daughter comes with me each day to school and attends the class next door to mine. Spring has sprung here in Beijing and it feels so good to wear only one layer of clothing. It is a time for new beginnings and I am definitely having some new experiences here in Beijing.
One of our friends here in Beijing is a young man named Jimmy. He used to study acrobatics at the same school where my husband Pancho is currently studying. He has helped us with many things in Beijing, including where to find fabric stores, costume designers, good dumpling restaurants and he also loves to visit and take care of our daughter Denya.
Jimmy recently surprised me with a phone call asking if I would like to study paper cutting. The Chinese use thin paper and cut intricate designs to make beautiful scenes come to life. These works of art are made for any and all times of year, although they are particularly popular during Chinese New Year when paper cutters busily prepare red cuttings with depictions of the animal sign for the coming year (this year is the year of the Dog). Many families hang these paper cuttings on their windows during the Spring Celebration as a warning to keep evil spirits away. Paper cutting has developed into such an amazing craft that often when you see a well cut design it is impossible to imagine someone cutting the tiny details and weaving them into such a beautiful piece of artwork.
I had never expressed an interest in learning the age old craft so Jimmy?s question took me off guard. Luckily, he had called on a day when I was feeling quite open and adventurous. I agreed. He told me that the lessons would be with an elderly woman who had been like a grandmother to him as a child. She didn?t know at the time that Jimmy was offering her services. Jimmy?s proposal became an unbelievable opportunity for me.
My paper master is named Ms. Lee. She has been studying English recently. She told Jimmy that she wished she could speak with a native English speaker because she finds it hard to practice her English with her family and friends since not many of them speak English. Jimmy thought that it would be great to create an exchange where she could share her expertise and in return speak with me during the lessons in English. Ms. Lee is learning English because she will be asked to speak at the 2008 Olympic Games being held here in Beijing. She will be making an amazing contribution to the Games and Athletes. She is creating a book filled with gorgeous paper cuttings for each of the countries that will visit Beijing during the 2008 Olympics. Each book contains approximately 20 cuttings and she tells me that she can finish about two cuttings each day. The first time I visited her home I watched her hands carefully and skillfully snip tiny details into a piece of paper that revealed two childhood friends speaking at the edge of a balcony. I was in awe.
That first day Jimmy accompanied me to Ms. Lee?s home. She showed me her cuttings and told me about her Olympic dream. The slogan One World One Dream was what first made her think of sharing her art with the world. She believes strongly in peace and unity across the globe. She wants to share her dream with the whole World. To me, it seems that her cuttings are dreams materialized. I asked her who had taught her to master this timeless art and to my surprise she replied that she had never had a teacher. She had loved paper cutting from the first moment she saw a beautiful design hanging in a window and she became absorbed with teaching herself to cut like the masters.
What came next was quite a shock for me. She handed me a piece of paper and told me to cut it into a design. She said that she wanted to see if I had the ability necessary to pursue the cutting art. A test!? I was so nervous and I asked myself what would happen if I did not pass her test? would she send me home? Would she tell me that I was incapable of being taught her skill? I nervously and shakily cut a small curvy, modern type design and handed it over for inspection. I felt like I was at a job interview. She smiled and told me that I had a steady hand and that I would make a good paper cutter. I humbly thanked her and watched as she effortlessly drew a design of flowers and vines onto paper and told me to cut it out. That first cut was tedious, and painstakingly slow. I was so conscious of her eyes on my hands and of Jimmy waiting to see the final result. Once or twice I poked myself with the super sharp scissors she gave me. When we opened up my finished work I glowed with pride. It was so simple and yet so beautiful. Ms. Lee gave a wonderful smile and told me that it was very good. She handed me a stack of paper and with the help of Jimmy?s translation she told me to do one cutting each day and bring them to her next week. I nodded and at that moment, almost without my knowing it, I agreed to become a paper cutting student.
Another shocking discovery I made about Ms. Lee is that she wakes up every morning at six o?clock so she can learn English from a program on the Radio. She has never attended classes and never had a teacher. I am amazed.
I have now been to Ms. Lee?s house three times. Every Sunday I take my bike early in the morning to meet her at her tiny apartment where we do our best to understand one another. Jimmy does not accompany me. It is better because Ms. Lee must speak in English as my Chinese is still very basic. We talk about our families and hometowns, we talk about being teachers (she was a teacher) and about life in today?s crazy world. The last time I went to her house she told me again about her OneWorld One Dream beliefs. She believes that every person in the world must be entitled to an education if the One Dream is to succeed. She mentioned that Africa is the place where education is not becoming reality fast enough and that too many people are more interested in guns than books. Ms. Lee is a visionary. She is a woman who refuses to accept the way it is and believes that change is possible, necessary and wonderful.
I have left out one small detail. What I haven?t told you is that Ms. Lee is 95 years old.
One of our friends here in Beijing is a young man named Jimmy. He used to study acrobatics at the same school where my husband Pancho is currently studying. He has helped us with many things in Beijing, including where to find fabric stores, costume designers, good dumpling restaurants and he also loves to visit and take care of our daughter Denya.
Jimmy recently surprised me with a phone call asking if I would like to study paper cutting. The Chinese use thin paper and cut intricate designs to make beautiful scenes come to life. These works of art are made for any and all times of year, although they are particularly popular during Chinese New Year when paper cutters busily prepare red cuttings with depictions of the animal sign for the coming year (this year is the year of the Dog). Many families hang these paper cuttings on their windows during the Spring Celebration as a warning to keep evil spirits away. Paper cutting has developed into such an amazing craft that often when you see a well cut design it is impossible to imagine someone cutting the tiny details and weaving them into such a beautiful piece of artwork.
I had never expressed an interest in learning the age old craft so Jimmy?s question took me off guard. Luckily, he had called on a day when I was feeling quite open and adventurous. I agreed. He told me that the lessons would be with an elderly woman who had been like a grandmother to him as a child. She didn?t know at the time that Jimmy was offering her services. Jimmy?s proposal became an unbelievable opportunity for me.
My paper master is named Ms. Lee. She has been studying English recently. She told Jimmy that she wished she could speak with a native English speaker because she finds it hard to practice her English with her family and friends since not many of them speak English. Jimmy thought that it would be great to create an exchange where she could share her expertise and in return speak with me during the lessons in English. Ms. Lee is learning English because she will be asked to speak at the 2008 Olympic Games being held here in Beijing. She will be making an amazing contribution to the Games and Athletes. She is creating a book filled with gorgeous paper cuttings for each of the countries that will visit Beijing during the 2008 Olympics. Each book contains approximately 20 cuttings and she tells me that she can finish about two cuttings each day. The first time I visited her home I watched her hands carefully and skillfully snip tiny details into a piece of paper that revealed two childhood friends speaking at the edge of a balcony. I was in awe.
That first day Jimmy accompanied me to Ms. Lee?s home. She showed me her cuttings and told me about her Olympic dream. The slogan One World One Dream was what first made her think of sharing her art with the world. She believes strongly in peace and unity across the globe. She wants to share her dream with the whole World. To me, it seems that her cuttings are dreams materialized. I asked her who had taught her to master this timeless art and to my surprise she replied that she had never had a teacher. She had loved paper cutting from the first moment she saw a beautiful design hanging in a window and she became absorbed with teaching herself to cut like the masters.
What came next was quite a shock for me. She handed me a piece of paper and told me to cut it into a design. She said that she wanted to see if I had the ability necessary to pursue the cutting art. A test!? I was so nervous and I asked myself what would happen if I did not pass her test? would she send me home? Would she tell me that I was incapable of being taught her skill? I nervously and shakily cut a small curvy, modern type design and handed it over for inspection. I felt like I was at a job interview. She smiled and told me that I had a steady hand and that I would make a good paper cutter. I humbly thanked her and watched as she effortlessly drew a design of flowers and vines onto paper and told me to cut it out. That first cut was tedious, and painstakingly slow. I was so conscious of her eyes on my hands and of Jimmy waiting to see the final result. Once or twice I poked myself with the super sharp scissors she gave me. When we opened up my finished work I glowed with pride. It was so simple and yet so beautiful. Ms. Lee gave a wonderful smile and told me that it was very good. She handed me a stack of paper and with the help of Jimmy?s translation she told me to do one cutting each day and bring them to her next week. I nodded and at that moment, almost without my knowing it, I agreed to become a paper cutting student.
Another shocking discovery I made about Ms. Lee is that she wakes up every morning at six o?clock so she can learn English from a program on the Radio. She has never attended classes and never had a teacher. I am amazed.
I have now been to Ms. Lee?s house three times. Every Sunday I take my bike early in the morning to meet her at her tiny apartment where we do our best to understand one another. Jimmy does not accompany me. It is better because Ms. Lee must speak in English as my Chinese is still very basic. We talk about our families and hometowns, we talk about being teachers (she was a teacher) and about life in today?s crazy world. The last time I went to her house she told me again about her OneWorld One Dream beliefs. She believes that every person in the world must be entitled to an education if the One Dream is to succeed. She mentioned that Africa is the place where education is not becoming reality fast enough and that too many people are more interested in guns than books. Ms. Lee is a visionary. She is a woman who refuses to accept the way it is and believes that change is possible, necessary and wonderful.
I have left out one small detail. What I haven?t told you is that Ms. Lee is 95 years old.
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