"Non-genetic person" Lv Xiaoyi: the creative embroiderer who made Su embroidery "fashioned"
"Embroidery is between the fingers", this is the signboard of the Su embroidery booth in the "Walking Intangible Heritage Market".
At the booth, there were more than a dozen finished Suzhou embroidery products of different shapes. Landscape, lotus, ginkgo and koi and even cute lucky cat have become new patterns on traditional embroidery. This booth was set up by Lv Xiaoyi, a member of the All-China Youth Federation and a young embroiderer from Sister Yu Liqin's Embroidery Village, High-tech Zone, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. "I want to make embroidery that young people like, so that traditional craftsmanship can become a popular element," she said.
In 2016, this intangible cultural heritage inheritor was awarded the title of "National Youth Post Expert" by virtue of his "individualized creative Suzhou embroidery", becoming the first youth in the field of Suzhou embroidery to receive this honor.
When I was young, embroidery was a kind of tutoring. Lu Xiaoyi was born in Zhenhu Street, High-tech Zone, Suzhou City, the main birthplace of Suzhou embroidery, where 80% of the products of Suzhou embroidery come from. Near the water and terraces, the month comes first. The embroidery atmosphere of "every family has an embroiderer, every household has an embroidered stretch" makes almost every child here has a natural sense of closeness with Su Embroidery.
This is especially true for Lv Xiaoyi. Since grandma, grandma and mother are all engaged in embroidery work, she was asked to learn embroidery when she was five or six years old. "In our local area, embroidering is a tutoring. In the past, when a girl finds a target, she first depends on whether her embroidery is good or not. The character is like an embroiderer, which is very important." Lu Xiaoyi said.
Embroidery is a craft that requires calming down. For Lu Xiaoyi, who was still a child at the time, it was very boring to sit and play with embroidery needles for a few hours, especially when a small partner asked her to go out and play together. Every time at this time, the mother or grandma would "press" her, and she would be able to go out after finishing a certain period of time.
However, in memory, embroidery sometimes brings her happiness. When I was young, Lv Xiaoyi liked to paint. Once, my mother saw a small boat she painted on the table and suggested that she make embroidery. "Actually, I was not satisfied with what I embroidered," she recalled, but Dad framed it and put it in the studio. It didn't take long for a customer who made a special trip to purchase Suzhou embroidery to choose and buy it. "At that time, I felt that my work was recognized and I felt a sense of accomplishment."
Although born in an embroidery family, Lu Xiaoyi did not intend to take over embroidery needles. As she got older, she slowly realized the hardship behind embroidery: her mother often stayed up all night to rush to make the works, and her father worked so hard to sell in other places and often couldn't sell them at a satisfactory price. "When I was young, I basically fell asleep with the sound of family embroidering." She said.
Since then, she has set herself a goal in her heart: study hard, go to college later, and then become a white-collar worker sitting in an office, and she can no longer do the "thankless" job like her parents. In 2006, Lv Xiaoyi got her wish and was admitted to a university in Suzhou, majoring in e-commerce, and successfully found a job after graduation. With her outstanding performance, she was promoted in just one year and became a white-collar worker in the company.
The turning point of the matter appeared in 2010, this time it was family love that "stitched" her and Su embroidery together.
In 2010, Shanghai hosted the World Expo. Lu Xiaoyi's mother, Yu Liqin, was invited to the Suzhou Pavilion for an embroidery performance. Because her mother's Mandarin is not very good, and she needs a helper who understands the craftsmanship of Su embroidery and is good at communication, Lu Xiaoyi is naturally the best candidate. So, she asked for 3 days off to help her mother.
In just 3 days, Su Embroidery attracted domestic and foreign tourists with its beautiful patterns, ingenious ideas, meticulous embroidery, lively stitches, and elegant colors, attracting domestic and foreign tourists to stop and admire, especially the double-sided and different-color embroidery is the most eye-catching. . That work is a yellow cat on one side and a white cat on the other. Many visitors marvel at the craftsmanship of Yu Liqin’s mother and daughter in different embroidery on both sides of the same fabric. "Many people gave us thumbs up." Lu Xiaoyi recalled.
This experience made Lv Xiaoyi feel that “embroidery is no longer the way people support their families. It is now widely accepted as an art.” Since then, she has given up her white-collar job and went home to do it. Embroidery's idea.
It is not a wise move to enter the Suzhou embroidery industry in this way of "being out of home". It turns out that for Xiu Niang, the golden age of occupation is relatively fixed. It takes at least 5 years to train a mature embroiderer. Ideally, young people should start learning embroidery at the age of twelve or thirteen, and wait until they are about 20 years old. The craftsmanship just matures, so that they can embroider more and better works before the eyesight decline, and once they reach a certain age, The eyesight will decline, and some delicate embroidery work will be impossible.
After about half a year of thinking, Lu Xiaoyi finally chose to resign. The reason is that she doesn't want the four generations of Su embroidery craftsmanship to be lost in her own generation. Therefore, she became the first batch of young people to return to the embroidery industry in Zhenhu.
After resigning and returning home, Lu Xiaoyi became a full-time embroiderer. She is not satisfied with inheriting the traditional skills of the older generation. She hopes to change the situation of "high unit price, young people can't afford it, and don't pay attention" to Su embroidery. "My main idea is that embroidery can be made into life and used by everyone in daily needs. Intangible cultural heritage needs to be passed on in a living form. Some people like it, some do it, and some buy it."
To this end, she continues to learn and strives to improve her artistic level. She once went to Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts to receive a year of training in sketching and color, and also specialized in photography.
Hard work pays off. In 2011, Lv Xiaoyi's first independently created work "Quick Sand" won the silver prize in the Jiangsu Province "Art Expo Award-Silver Needle Cup" embroidery competition. In addition, Lv Xiaoyi and her mother Yu Liqin's two works "Flowers Like Brocade" and "Hope" won the gold medal of embroidery works at the 2012 China Folk Crafts Fair, making her the youngest in Suzhou embroidery field to receive this honor. Embroidery.
Through market analysis and combined with the needs of the current consumer groups, Lv Xiaoyi also decided to implement the "individualized creative embroidery" project. She boldly blended embroidery with home decoration design, combined with the client's home decoration style, and customized embroidery works that were unified with it.
At the same time, a series of hand-embroidered crafts were born, such as scarves, bags, and accessories. These products are low-priced, easy to carry and suitable for mass consumption. At the same time, they incorporate the traditional crafts of Suzhou embroidery and are presented as gifts. Also very suitable. She also changed the subject of embroidery, no longer confined to birds and phoenixes, flowers blooming in wealth, and created some simple and archaic content, so that the embroidery work is simplified, "the artistic conception is not bad, and it is more popular with young people." Because of its distinctive personality and moderate price, Lu Xiaoyi's products are popular with young consumers as soon as they are launched.
Now, when Lu Xiaoyi is busy, she also takes time to take care of her twin daughters. Every time she sees them imitating embroidery as the family members, she always has an indescribable joy in her heart.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Yang Baoguang Source: China Youth Daily