Turning straw to gold: folk artist's straw pyrography

Guo Shunling works on a straw pyrograph in Junying village, Guangping county, Handan city, Hebei province, June 12, 2016. [Photo/IC]

Folk artist Guo Shunling has created a new art form, "straw pyrography", which fuses straw painting with traditional pyrography, combining different techniques of traditional Chinese painting, paper-cut, pyrograph, embroidery, and engraving. It breathes new life into the ancient art forms, and the results are striking.

Guo, a 45-year-old peasant, has had impaired hearing since he fell ill when he was two years old. But he didn't let his disability stop him from devoting himself to art. Currently, he has created more than 800 "straw pyrography" pieces mainly depicting figures, flowers and plants, birds and beasts, with prices ranging from 100 yuan to 5,000 yuan. Straw turns to gold under his skillful hands.