Laquer Thread Sculpture

　　By participating in the 2020 international cyberfair I learned how to lead a team; leading a team includes: distributing jobs, giving out opinions and directions, and consorting matters. This year, I am in charge of website production and video editing. Thus, I learned how to use Adobe Muse and premiere to construct a website. Also, I learned how to design website elements with Adobe photoshop. Without my teammates and the teachers, I could not have completed this project. Moreover, throughout the project I grasped a better understanding of lacquer thread sculpture; it is a technique worth spreading to the public to solve the disregard and absence of apprentice of lacquer thread sculpture. I believe our team can help more people understand and value lacquer thread sculpture through the 2020 international cyberfair.

　　In the modern society where science and technology are emerging, many traditional cultures gradually decline. However, after the interviews with the lacquer thread sculpture masters, I realized that these fading traditional crafts have many interesting and meaningful backgrounds, stories, and values. Behind every piece of artwork is the accumulated experience and hard work that each master gains through years after years of work. Perseverance and enthusiasm is the secret behind the perfected works and an important trait that our current generation lacks. Therefore, I am very grateful to have the opportunity to visit the masters of lacquer thread sculpting, and I hope to convey the beauty of lacquer thread sculptures and the efforts each master puts in to everyone who visits our website.

　　I’ve never heard of the traditional art, “Lacquer Thread Sculpture,” before joining the International Cyberfair this year. Before even starting the interview with the two masters of lacquer thread sculpture, the group had already spent a lot of time thinking about meaningful, reasonable, and valuable questions to ask them during the interview. At first, I wasn’t familiar with lacquer thread sculpture at all. After the interview with Chin-Yi Yen, I started to understand the creation of lacquer thread sculpture, the purpose of creating it, and the value of it to be preserved. This year’s International Cyberfair allowed me to enrich my knowledge, broaden my experience, and fall into the

fascination of traditional art. Without this year’s international cyberfair, I would not have the chance to get in touch with traditional art, nor any deep understanding about the traditional art of lacquer thread sculpture. During the process of creating the website, all of our teammates worked hard. This whole journey made me understand the significance of collaboration and communication within a team. Without the collaboration between our teammates and teachers, our website would not be as successful. Thanks to every teammate and teacher, you all made my International Cyberfair experience this year more meaningful!

　　Through this year’s international cyberfair competition, I not only improved my teamwork skills and communication skills, I have also learned about a Taiwanese culture: lacquer thread sculptures. Without the experience provided by competing in this year’s international cyberfair, I would never have learned the existence of the lacquer thread sculptures. During the interviews with the lacquer thread sculpture masters, they demonstrated the process of making lacquer thread sculptures, explaining the tools and skills required while doing so. One of the masters even allowed us to try it out ourselves, giving us a template to model the lacquer thread with. Thus, this hands-on

experience left a deep impression on my experience with this year’s international cyberfair. In addition, it was with this opportunity that I truly understood and experienced what traditional culture really is. This year’s international cyberfair is a very special learning experience. However, without the support and assistance from the teachers and fellow students, it would have been a boring and ordinary experience.

　　Participating in this project has granted me the opportunity to not only learn about lacquer thread sculptures, but also understand the value of traditional handicrafts. And throughout the process of constructing the website with the team, I felt the importance of communication and time-management. The workload of this project is heavy, in addition we often encounter complicated issues, but through an effective division of work, along with efficient teamwork, our team managed to complete all the work before the deadline. Furthermore, throughout the process of interviewing strangers, I’ve conquered my fear of talking in front of cameras and learned the techniques of communicating

spontaneously. Last but not least, I’d like to thank my teammates and instructors for giving me advice and helping me; they’ve made this project an unique and memorable experience.

As a new member of the team, I was eager to learn from my teammates, listen to

their experience from previous competitions, and focus on completing my assigned task while helping others. Through the process, I understood the collaborative effort needed to complete a website: some needs to design the layout, edit videos, organize files, conduct research, create google forms, conduct interviews, drafting, translating, and so much more. A nine person team is neither large nor small, but each and every one of us understood our role, concentrating on our task at hand like an efficient production line. I learned how to use Adobe Photoshop to elevate photos, edit videos with

Adobe Premiere, and also observed how our captain designs a website using Muse. The most fascinating moment of the project was when we visited Mr Yen. Prior to the interview, I only interpreted lacquer thread sculpting as a traditional artwork that is precious and needs to be preserved. It was when Mr Yen provided us an opportunity to try laying the threads on a piece of transparent board and create a simple pattern that I realized the tremendous technical skill required for this craftsmanship. Seeing Mr Yen’s works in person also fascinated me: the focus on minor details contributes to one complex piece of artwork. It is my honor to be part of the team and a fortune to know more, to appreciate, and respect lacquer thread sculpting.

　　Before I joined the international cyberfair club, I thought artworks and paintings and sculptures do not relate to my life at all, so I never truly appreciated the value of traditional art and handicraft making, but now that I’m exposed to lacquer thread sculptures, I discovered a distinct beauty only expressed in art instead of modern technology, a beauty which deserves to be preserved and protected instead of being gradually forgotten and fading into our history.

　　In this project, our team researched on a Taiwanese culture: lacquer thread sculpture. In the course of the process, we’ve learned a great deal, including ways to communicate effectively and the importance of distributing work according to member’s strengths. We've also learned to set deadlines for our own assigned work. Although the school workloads may have affected member’s participation, yet lots of teammates were willing to take some time from their busy days to edit the project, which is very heartwarming to see. Besides learning from teammates, I’ve also gained knowledge from the research about the Taiwanese culture. During the interviews, everyone could tell that the masters

were very fond of lacquer thread sculpture; their eyes were sparkling of pride and passion. Without this research, perhaps I, as a 16-year-old Taiwanese, would never acknowledge the existence of lacquer thread sculpture. Thus, I would like to thank International Cyberfair for giving me this opportunity to understand the values of Taiwanese cultural traditions, and also my nine teammates, who put a huge load of time and effort to complete this project.

　　During this international cyberfair club, I not only realized the importance of art and culture of traditional lacquer sculpting, but I also learned several foundations that I needed for the future. Through the cyberfair club, I experienced teamwork and autonomy. At interviews, everyone in the team has done their own responsibilities: some interviewed and some recorded. When making the research study, our team is efficient and gets to the point, discussing with passion. In addition, when I edited the website’s information, I noticed the importance of time management. If I did not utilize my time with good judgement, the website will not launch within due date. Finally, I thank the teachers and classmates for granting me such a delightful experience that gave me the space to grow.