施麗梅 Shi Li-Mei | 轉身之藝 The Art of Transformation

施麗梅

SHI Li-Mei

在古鎮的人們，每逢舉行喜慶婚宴或者老人家身上，總是會發現春仔花的蹤影。以紙片、鐵絲為骨架，絹絲繡線一纏一繞之間，花瓣逐漸成形，彎曲、組合後便是一朵朵美麗且動人的「春仔花」。而它總是讓人引述思古幽情，也是老祖先們的民間文化資產。

然而時代劇變，傳統又古老的手工藝卻也日漸落寞。但施麗梅對此手工藝「春仔花」卻依然情有獨鍾，恰巧遇到老師耐心無條件教導，因而置身其中延續這項傳統工藝。

時代卻也考驗著傳統，她便突然有了一種想法，就是保有傳統手法而衍生出新穎風格（例如鳳凰、花束、蝴蝶、頭簮），她終於了解原來這就叫創作，不僅保留其原味，卻又賦予新生命，也將傳統工藝演進成屬於她這年代民間手藝，而日後也樂於繼續創作下去讓繡線花更盡善盡美。

而和陳漢聲的合作，讓她開拓新的視野，一開始以為漢聲什麼都不會，但看到他之前做的金屬編織作品，真的很驚訝，也很開心有這次的合作。

In an old town, whenever there's a wedding or celebration, you would always discover the refined work of Spring Flowers, which uses paper and wires as frames, and silk embroidery threads to present the petals. With each bend and fold, these beautiful twined flowers take shape. They seem to always make people nostalgic, and they also are assets of folk cultures passed down by ancestors.

With great changes in time, these ancient craft and techniques are disappearing, but Shi Li-Mei remains deeply passionate about entwined Spring Flowers. By coincidence, she met a patient teacher who was willing to teach her unconditionally and help her learn and carry on the traditional craft.

With time comes challenges for the tradition. One day, a new idea dawned on Shi, and she decided to bring new life and styles to twined flowers, such as shapes of phoenixes, bouquets, butterflies, and hair sticks. In time, Shi came to realize this is creation, a process that keeps the tradition while infusing new life to it, and in the meantime bringing a traditional folklore craft into the time of her generation. She enjoys creating more beautiful flowers using entwining techniques, and is set to keep doing it.

She opened up her vision while collaborating with Han-sheng. At first, she thought he didn't have much skill but afterward was surprised by his previous metallic weaving artwork. She had a great time working with him.