Giving cotton a new frame of reference

Looking around Xu's studio, one cannot help but be attracted to a variety of her art creations, ranging from glass-framed paintings to ancient-looking fans that feature natural scenery, animals and plants. They are true to life and reflect a theme of latest events.

For instance, Xu recently made a series of paintings to mark the spring equinox.

A girl running with an airborne kite, and a narrow mud track adjoining the grassland that is adorned by yellowish flowers under a light blue sky — all parts of the painting were handmade from scratch and carefully matched and pieced together.

One of her proudest works is a rabbit on a grassland with flowers.

"It was to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit, and the whole work is only 6 millimeters thick," Xu says.

She has ingeniously made the glass-framed painting look different from the front and back, in terms of the rabbit postures and plant arrangements.

Other themed works include Winter Olympics venues and medical workers fighting the pandemic.

The stunning lifelike images of her creation have recently made the news and exposed more to the charm of the craft.