Meet Lan Li

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lan Li a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lan, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

My confidence comes from being able to proceed with my craft. I am interested in weaving, woodworking, metalworking, and ceramics, all those art media involve building something gradually with details and attention. Sometimes I seek inspiration from the structure and design of objects used on a daily basis. I study the structure of door handles, locks, and engines. I observe my clothes and think about their woven structure. I also studied floor looms and imagined the possibility of using them in other areas of specialties. Whenever I am making small progress in understanding those small structures and successfully utilizing them in my art, I feel I am engaged in the world more.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

As an interdisciplinary artist, I study across different media and genres. I want to study to make myself feel refreshed all the time; as I am learning, my art is also innovating. The possibility of combining different subjects and media is infinite. Sometimes I feel a lingering fear after I solve an issue with interdisciplinary knowledge because I know if I did not know something out of interest before, I might not think of anything satisfying that will solve my issue. However, I accept the state of feeling confused, because I know it’s a driving force to encourage me to learn something new. We humans are completely passive in front of what has been known and what has been imagined.

I have recently working on remaking one of my zines. The remade version of this zine will be printed on fabric. I am also working on some more wood projects, there might be some projects combining wood, print, paint, and a lot of other areas, I am still working on it.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I feel that the experience of making small tapestries is the starting point for me to really have some curiosity about the world. Tapestry is incredibly simple and accessible, one can easily make a tapestry loom using cardboard, and the material for the tapestry can just be some old clothes and some cheap yarns. However, tapestry not only shows a simplified process of architectural building but also zooms in on the small fabric structure that is almost so fine and invisible in our daily clothes. After doing tapestry, I feel my life and a passion for life. Not to mention the tapestry I made, carried all my memories and meditation and became a physical object that is useful and still vivid in my life, it brings such a satisfying sense of achievement. I am thinking of organizing workshops for my friends who are not artists, I can guarantee that tapestry is so simple that everyone can do it well, and everyone can do that weaving, it’s like a spiritual journey.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

I think completely opening the curtain every morning after waking up is truly helpful for my mental health. According to Chinese Fengshui, opening the curtain means to invite the god of money inside the house, meaning inviting more opportunity and money in. From my point of view, opening the curtain makes me less sleepy and more energetic every day, more efficient at work, more curious to learn, and since I am in a better mood, people are willing to talk to me, which means more potential opportunities for creative collaborations. The state of the body really affects the quality of working, besides enjoying the sunlight, eating well and sleeping well are also important.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jasminidose.com/she
• Instagram: @lanli1960

Image Credits

Garden Ping