Cecilia Arts workshop was established
to revive and cultivate the disappearing
art of Chinese needlework. Will its
founder realize her noble dreams in
this machine age? Cecilia Arts workshop
was established to revive and cultivate
the disappearing art of Chinese needlework.
Will its founder realize her noble dreams
in this machine age?
Silken threads in mother's hands
Create the clothes which now I wear.
She carefully sews her love
And concern before I leave
And, with every stitch,
Her expectation of my early return.
The sapling can never enough repay
Mother's warm devotion.
Poem of a Wandering Son
by Meng Jiau
Chinese needlework--including embroidery, weaving and sewing--is also known as a "Mother's Art." It is perhaps the best description of Chinese needlework, because nearly every traditional Chinese woman has expressed her love for her children with needle and thread, just as the thousand-year-old "Poem of a Wandering Son" would suggest.
"Chinese mothers of the past sewed their innate sense of beauty and good wishes into every stitch to create all that was needed for their children," explains Cecilia Chen, founder of Cecilia Arts workshop. "For example, they produced tiger -shaped hats, shoes and pillows, so their children could gain the power of the tiger and grow up safely under the protection of this auspicious animal." Cecilia (or "Madam Chen," as her students and colleagues respectfully refer to her) delights in telling how traditional Chinese mothers "sewed vests for their children with designs of the 'five venomous creatures' (spider, lizard, scorpion, toad and centipede), hoping that the children could ward off disease--a sort of ancient version of the modern-day vaccination. Chinese mothers liked to embroider or sew patterns that were thought to convey good fortune on a variety of levels. For centuries, needle and thread in China were really filled with mother's love."
Modern technology and civilization, however, have threatened this ancient art form that speaks silently of motherly love. "Especially for Taiwan women, the main purpose of a needle is sewing buttons. Some of my friends don't even know how to thread a needle," Cecilia sighs. Unlike the imperial arts, which were only for aesthetic appreciation, Chinese needlework is a folk art suitable for daily living. It can be used in daily life and, at the same time, is a fine art, bursting with vitality and life. Cecilia feels that "it would be a great loss for all Chinese if we were to let this beautiful tradition fall into oblivion."
Love of the traditional Chinese arts encouraged Cecilia to establish Cecilia Arts workshop three years ago. One of her goals was to revive the elegant practice of Chinese needlework. "I was invited to attend a seven-week seminar in Japan in 1994. During that time, I was deeply impressed by the efforts of the Japanese group to preserve and revive their traditional culture," Cecilia says. She feels that the economic growth Taiwan has experienced in recent decades has been coupled with a loss of appreciation for the traditional arts that have influenced the island over the centuries. She talks of her "heart-felt wish to continue the beautiful tradition" of Chinese needlework.
Cecilia Arts workshop is now located on the second floor of a commercial building in downtown Taipei. A special mixture of traditional and contemporary interior decorations gives the workshop the warm atmosphere of a country home. On the shelves and walls, Cecilia displays her own needlework creations: everything from embroidery and patchwork quilts to eyeglass-pouches, name-card holders, and Chinese woodblock prints.
Cecilia has been captivated by Chinese handicrafts for many years, and understands the meaning behind the works. "Since my youth, I have had an affinity for the crafts of Chinese women, and for years, I studied various Chinese traditional arts. I think they are really fantastic," she exclaims. "Chinese artistry is not only known for its unique combinations of shape and color, but also valued for its symbolism. For example, the pronunciation of 'vase' in Chinese is the same as that for 'safety.' Both sound like pin in Mandarin. The peony is the symbol of well-being and nobility. Hence, a design containing a vase with a peony signifies all these good wishes. Also, the pronunciation of 'bat' is the same as 'good fortune'--both are fu in Mandarin. Therefore, unlike in the Western world, the bat is considered an auspicious animal in China. If we observe such connections, the richness of Chinese designs can be understood in their full complexity," says Cecilia. She incorporates these traditional patterns into her own work.
Cecilia Arts formerly limited its operations to teaching Chinese needlework arts and did not sell any of the products; however, after their exhibition of Chinese needlework in May 1998, the workshop decided to broaden its scope of business, because handmade needlework was warmly welcomed, and many visitors expressed their wishes to buy the items.
Nadia Kang, vice president of Cecilia Arts workshop's Marketing Department, is in a good position to comment on the workshop's approach to selling its wares. "To make artistic products, people often meet a dilemma: Shall we produce in large quantities or not? If we only produce handmade needlework items, production will be too low, because handmade works take a long time. So we design some items that can be mass produced by machine, while we continue to create handmade needle work items." In this way, she feels, Chinese aesthetics will be appreciated by more people, and the beauty of Chinese sewing arts will thus be extended.
Nadia is very confident about promoting Cecilia Arts products. "Our products are rooted in Chinese culture, and are different from Western products. Madam Chen doesn't just copy the traditional Chinese patterns, she instills modern aesthet ics into her designs to create works with a mixture of traditional and modern flavors. I'm not worried about promoting these beautiful products," Nadia says. Although Nadia has great confidence in the products, she knows the difficulty of starting a business, and she realizes that business is not the only function of the workshop.
Last year, Nadia and Cecilia visited a museum in a remote province of mainland China and found that a particular needlework skill that originated there had totally disappeared. Cecilia was very concerned about the loss. In fact, they discov ered that the situation is getting worse in mainland China, because more and more needle arts are disappearing, as factories enter remote areas to compete for workers. Cecilia hopes to offer them more orders as a way of encouraging women to continue Chinese needlework. "Madam Chen really wants to revive Chinese needle arts," says Nadia, "so while we are promoting a product, we always take into consideration more than just commercial interests. Sometimes, these other consid erations will increase the difficulty of our operation," she says.
Although the workshop has started to produce larger quantities of certain products, research and needlework education are still the major emphasis of Cecilia Arts. Next to the exhibition room, scores of students are making cushions according to a teacher's instructions. They sew two pieces of cloth together, and then cut one of the pieces in order to stuff cotton into the cushion. It will take about ten hours to complete one cushion. "It isn't easy work. Sometimes the needle feels as heavy as a hammer," says Miss Mi, a student in the class.
In addition to Miss Mi, there are about 350 students taking classes at Cecilia Arts. "I was very surprised and happy that so many housewives and career women shared my interest in learning about traditional needlework," Cecilia says, "Our students currently include an American, a Japanese and a Korean. They're very serious students and do really good work."
The workshop originally planned to put more emphasis on embroidery, but soon found that it was too difficult and too time-consuming for modern women. Accordingly, they are now focusing more on other techniques of Chinese needlework, such as patchwork and applique.
The skill of making patchwork in America originated in European countries, and, in the British colonial period, this practice was very popular in America. Many women produced patchwork quilts for family members or exchanged cloth and patterns with friends as a kind of social activity. Since the 1930s, patchwork has again become popular and is now considered a representative American folk art. Cecilia observes that even though many people associate this skill with Western countries, it has long been used to produce things for daily life in China.
"In early China, when a baby was born, his maternal grandmother would sew a patchwork quilt composed of numerous pieces of cloth received from neighbors. It was called the 'Quilt of a Hundred Families,' and it had the symbolic meaning of collecting good wishes from all of the neighbors," says Cecilia. "Making patchwork is easy and can generally be used to produce things for daily use, so these classes are very popular here." However, in the process of developing Chinese patch work, the workshop has not always been entirely free of obstacles.
"The cloth for patchwork is mostly imported from Western countries," explains Chen Pow-hwa, who has taught Chinese needlework since the establishment of Cecilia Arts. "Even the locally-produced cloth, its design and color are mostly of Western style, which makes the patchwork look foreign rather than Chinese. We kept on searching for cloth with a genuine Chinese appearance for a long time until we found the traditional blue indigo."
The cloth they found is made entirely by natural processes, which will not pollute the environment, because the dye comes from a plant. Before dying the cloth, farmers pick the leaves of the plant and ferment them for a week. However, because the dye is natural, it is not as stable as a chemical dye. Farmers must repeat the process of washing and dying several times until the process is complete. "It's really not easy to get this cloth. For years, Chinese women have used it to produce covers, tablecloths and clothing," says Chen Pow-hwa. Members of the Cecilia Arts community now use this traditional cloth to create many beautiful Chinese patchworks, and students at the workshop are now experiencing the joy of learning these traditional arts.
"I'm really happy to have the chance to learn needlework here. Every time my work is finished, my joy is really beyond description," says Miss Ke, one of the students at Cecilia Arts. Lin Hsiu-tuan, who has learned needlework here for two years, also shares her joy in producing needlework. "Needle arts can really act as a spiritual tool. Practicing Chinese needle arts can serve to calm and focus the mind, as a person concentrates on the task at hand. I was quick-tempered and lacked patience before, but after learning needlework here, relationships with my children have greatly improved," says Lin.
Chen Pow-hwa cites some additional advantages of needlework. "Needlework can pull people closer together. I have a student who had a tense relationship with her mother-in-law, but their relations were greatly improved after my student sent her mother-in-law a patchwork cushion she had made herself. As a teacher and aficionado of Chinese needlework, I have been pondering its true value. I often ask myself why we should bother to create things by hand in such a highly automated world. Now, I have the answer. Although machines are a substitute for people's hands in doing many things, machine-made products are actually different from handmade ones. For example, machine-made products are usually very hard. They just don't feel the same as the handmade items. Also, machine-made products can be bought easily, but handmade products come from the individual producer's diligent efforts and creativity. Every single one is unique and precious. Handmade articles are instilled with the producers' love and good wishes and really enrich human relations. This is an effect that can never be achieved by machines."
To lovers of these traditional arts, Cecilia Chen and the Cecilia Arts workshop are undoubtedly the great hope of revival. Lin Hsiu-tuan speaks for many people when she says that, "growing up under the influence of Western cultures, like many people in Taiwan, I tended to think that Western cultures were superior. However, after I truly understood the value of our own culture, I renewed my confidence. I think that we should let more people see and know our traditional arts. That is what Madam Chen and the people in this workshop have been working on. Through their efforts, I believe that more people can better understand and cherish our culture," says Lin.
Chen Pow-hwa also expresses her heart-felt commendation. "My original motivation to take up needle arts was curios ity. However, passing down Chinese needlework is now my life's goal, because I have really been touched by Madam Chen's devotion to reviving these traditional arts. Before, some people were pessimistic about the establishment of Cecilia Arts, but through her years of efforts, Madam Chen not only proved her decision was right, but also gave new life to Chinese needle work. I believe that under her guidance, this workshop will be the means of passing the artistic torch from one generation to the next, increasing the awareness and appreciation of these beautiful needle arts here in Taiwan," says Chen Pow-hwa.
Forty years ago, when Cecilia left Taiwan to study in the United States, she received a patchwork bed-quilt that had been sewn by her aunt from nearly one thousand hexagonal pieces of cloth. Although her aunt has since passed away, every time Cecilia sees this quilt her heart is full of love and gratitude. Now, she wishes to extend this love to the next generation by sewing together the "Mother's Arts" piece by piece. Despite the obstacles, her desire to revive needle arts has never been affected. "I'm really happy to contribute my share to the revival of these needle arts, and I truly affirm the value of these living and loving arts," she says. "We hope that modern Chinese women will join us to learn more about this beautiful tradition--every stitch of which the women of China sewed and embroidered with their love and care."