Crafted with a rugged texture that fully reveals the grain of the bamboo, and finished with an antique-style brushed color, the bamboo tube is transformed by the skilled hands of the bamboo artisan into a rustic yet boldly archaic bamboo candle holder. Furthermore, using bamboo to bend into a sleek overall silhouette, the middle section features a meticulously and delicately curved butterfly-woven rattan pattern as the visual focus, turning a few strips of bamboo into a floral vase that showcases the elegance and warmth of bamboo ware.

These ethereal yet bold and avant-garde bamboo art products are crafted by the young bamboo artisan Wu Chi-min. Having apprenticed under the national treasure-level bamboo weaving master Chang Hsien-ping, she attempts to weave the beautiful scenery intertwined by this land and daily life with her own hands, and through her works, pass on this precious craftsmanship to more people.

Wu Chi-min, who loves hands-on creation and has a background in product design, audited a few craft design classes during her studies, but didn't have the opportunity to actually work with materials. It wasn't until after graduation, unable to forget the beauty of craft design, that she began interacting with materials.

Among the many bamboo weaving techniques, Wu Chi-min particularly focuses on the intricate weaving of bamboo and rattan. Using fine-textured, highly resilient, and superior makino bamboo produced in Fuxing, Taoyuan as her creative material, she uses her hands to weave one exquisite piece after another that people simply cannot put down.

(Text/Chang Chen-chih)