On March 28 in Chengdu, the sky was clear, and through the glass skylight, the sun sprinkled on every plant in the courtyard. In the inner hall, hundreds of glass-framed plant specimens are hung on the walls, and everyone who enters the door is attracted: dead leaves, branches, bark, seeds, bird's nests, stones, snail shells... It's all the usual things in nature, and when they are put together with heart, they are incredibly beautiful.
Little Bear (left) and Xiao Zhe display their plant specimens
Xiong Kun and Zhang Zhejian especially like sunny days, Xiong Kun specially arranged the table to meet the guests in the corner of the sun, and Zhang Zhejian moved the drawing board he was drawing to the floor-to-ceiling window.
It is the joy of Xiong Kun and Zhang Zhejian to be as close as possible to nature, who use plant specimens, plant paintings and plant pots to frame "nature" and turn it into a beautiful place within reach.
For 8 years, they have "collected" spring, and the plant specimens they have made have been continuously flowing all over the country.
Xiao Zhe is studying plant specimens
<h1>Two teenagers' "Bo Ya Absolute String"</h1>
Black-rimmed glasses, T-shirts, jeans, Xiong Kun and Zhang Zhejian, who are also "post-85s", are still student temperament, and with a large apron, the two men are more amiable.
"You can call me Little Bear, call him Xiao Zhe." Xiong Kunzhu's thin appearance, polite and generous speech. On weekdays, Zhang Zhejian is always willing to leave the time to xiong kun to talk, and he feels that this is what his partner is better at.
Xiao Xiong, a native of Chongqing, and Xiao Zhe from Xichang, Sichuan, have similar upbringings and have the same interests. "Since I was a child, I have loved to draw and love nature. There are many mountains in Chongqing, and Xiao Zhe's hometown is Daliangshan, which is also a mountain. ”
Make plant specimens
At the age of 18, two teenagers who loved to draw finally intersected. That year, Xiao Xiong and Xiao Zhe, who were preparing for the college entrance examination, were determined to enter art colleges and universities, met each other during the art examination training class, and soon became friends.
When taking the exam the next year, Xiao Zhe encountered an accident, and the two agreed to go to the university together. "The blow is very big, and I have bought a book and am ready to re-read it." Thinking back on that defeat, Xiao Zhe still had a knot in his heart that had not been untied. In contrast, the Cubs can have no regrets, and he is nearly 100 points higher than the admission line.
Want to part ways with Xiao Zhe? On the road of life, it is difficult to find a voice, and between further education and partners, The bear prefers the latter. At that moment, Xiao Xiong did not remember the story of Bo Ya's string, but he had already secretly decided when Yu Boya wrestled the piano - to give up a better opportunity and go to a university with a lower score with Xiao Zhe.
Xiao Zhe resolutely disagreed, and Xiao Xiong took out the kung fu of soft grinding and hard bubbles, while persuading Xiao Zhe to unravel, while coaxing his parents. In the end, the two sides actually compromised, and Xiao Xiong and Xiao Zhe went to an art school in Chengdu to study display design.
Like most students, they spent four years of decent college life and joined the graduation army in the job search. Xiao Zhe's first job was in a convention and exhibition company, and on the first day of work, he resigned, "Looking at the huge office, the rows of computers, I feel particularly depressed." Fifteen days later, The bear, who works at a luxury store, also quit, "It was my 16th day on the job." ”
<h1>In "Insects", there is a "deserted stone park"</h1>
After resigning, Xiao Zhe and Xiao Xiong sat down for the first time and quietly thought, what life do they want?
"You can't abandon artistic creation." The two young men who love art are very determined. Subsequently, they found a job that could play an artistic creation, and specialized in the design and production of tourist souvenirs in a cultural and creative shop in the wide and narrow alleys of Chengdu. It's a job that feeds people and gives two people the opportunity to use their brains, "After a long time, I found that we are still not suitable for this job." ”
In the process of continuous search and attempt, Xiao Zhe always maintains a scrutinizing attitude, "I think that to make tourist souvenirs, we should have a deep knowledge of the history and culture of the destination, but we lack this kind of knowledge." Xiao Zhe realized that they are not good at doing tourism cultural and creative products, and more importantly, they can't raise their interests, and what is close to them in their bones is still related to nature.
Wait for the mounted specimen
They left again.
The turnaround came in the summer of 2010. At that time, a tourist goods store opened by two young men and a university teacher was open for half a year, although it could guarantee income, but life was still the same, and the bad emotions of no sense of gain almost devoured the two.
Xiao Zhe and Xiao Xiong stopped again to think, "It's just closing the door, sitting together to discuss, talking together, a little bit of contemplation." ”
After some hard thinking, they finally understood what they wanted, which turned out to be the "nature" that lingered around, bringing surprises and wonderful from time to time - the grass sprouting at the entrance of the small shop, the guests admired the plant specimen decorations in the shop, and put the fallen leaves and beetles in the community into their pockets...
In August 2010, the shop belonging to Xiao Zhe and Xiao Xiong was born, with an area of less than 20 square meters, all decorated by themselves: collecting seeds to make display walls, picking leaves to make curtains, etc., everywhere expressing the connection with nature.
"Look at the wasp, which is peeling off the reticulated leaf stalk of the yellow-flowered cornflower and pushing it into a large pompom, ready to take it back to store honey and eggs. There was also a flock of leaf-cutting bees, with black, white or red pollen brushes on their abdomen, intending to go into the small bushes nearby and cut the leaves into round pieces to wrap their honey and eggs. Who is this group of guys in black velvet suits? It turned out to be sand and mud bees, who were responsible for mixing cement with paving sand and gravel, and it was easy to find their tools on the stones in the deserted stone garden..." In the "Insect Record" written by the famous entomologist Fabre, countless beautiful little surprises were recorded, which occurred in the courtyard of the deserted stone garden.
The frangipani planted in the "Desert Rock Park" is a positive tree species that prefers a humid and sunny environment in spring
When they stumbled upon The Insects, Xiao Xiong and Xiao Zhe were delighted to find that Fabre's barren stone garden was exactly the world they wanted, and the protagonist's xiao Qixing in the book was the same as the happiness they often derived from nature. In this space that belongs to them, there is not only the happiness of Xiao Zhe and Xiao Xiong, but also hopes to let people discover various small surprises related to nature.
<h1>"Version 3.0" for the ideal life</h1>
The production of plant specimens, from flattened paper products, to natural air-dried scenery mounting, and then to assembling and combining into paintings; plant painting, pay attention to the use of various painting forms, presenting the beauty of nature; in addition, plant potted plants, which have also become the way for Xiao Zhe and Xiao Xiong to convey the message of nature.
They think that the common things are very interesting in the eyes of outsiders, and more and more people go to the store, because they like the world, and many people have stared at the plant specimens that were originally only used for display functions.
Xiao Zhe and Xiao Xiong's love for nature, and the "natural signal" conveyed by it, received a warm response. However, the operation of the city completely disrupted the creation of nature, "the stipulated closing time is 9 p.m., but often busy until one or two o'clock in the morning, in the last store two years to complete 6 paintings, here even for half a year did not have the opportunity to pick up the pen." Xiao Zhe felt that something was wrong, and he seemed to have really become a chef.
"I want to close the store." In October 2014, Xiao Zhe suddenly opened his mouth to Xiao Xiong, "What do you think is the difference between your life now and going to work?" Is that what we wanted? Xiao Zhe's words woke up Xiao Xiong, and the two fell into thought again.
Soon, they had the same idea, "We want to create and design interesting things related to nature, but slowly they are recognized as cafes." Xiao Zhe felt that it was necessary to change, "Find a place with open space and a yard, care for plants and show what we create." ”
In this way, Xiao Zhe and Xiao Xiong resolutely closed the small shop, creating the "3.0 version" of the ideal life and completely returning to creation.
Foxtail Tianmendong, also known as foxtail bamboo, is a famous leaf-cutting plant native to South Africa. He loves the spring sunshine and is cultivated in the courtyard by two young men as a leaf viewing flower
<h1>Robbed Grandma of the star anise spice</h1>
Hundreds of square meters of walls, there are plant specimens that stretch beyond the head, there are plant paintings everywhere, dozens of large and small shelves, filled with various storage boxes, wooden boxes, glass bottles, countless plant leaves, flowers, branches, as well as animal specimens, bark, stones, filling the entire house, the huge space is slightly crowded.
Xiao Zhe was busy creating a dot painting by leaning against the window, and the model was the seed of various plants. Details can only be measured in millimeters. Not far away is a bear staring at the computer, on the left-hand side of the desk, a copy of "Botanical Latin" turned nearly halfway, and there are stacked plant specimen picture frames quietly waiting for him.
Unwilling to be bosses, they are happy to be craftsmen, immersing themselves in the world related to nature, scribbling, pasting, and not stopping.
The natural objects that are common on the shelves have all become breathtakingly beautiful works in their hands. Never presetting scenes or sketching, from the time the first plant is put down, various specimen drawings are produced in random creations. "Plants have their own logic and rhythm."
People often admire the beauty of the plant specimens in the picture frame, and when they look at the various plant names marked by the bear, they can't help but sigh, "It was it!" ”
"They are all things that are available everywhere around, such as the plants planted in the small courtyard, the plants in the community, the fallen leaves and branches picked up on the road are all materials, and the farthest ones are brought from our hometown." Even if it is a spice for cooking, in the hands of Xiao Zhe, it is a good thing that cannot be missed.
One day, Grandma bought back the star anise spices for roasting meat from the market, and Xiao Zhe, who passed by, took it like a treasure. "Few people may notice that the seeds of the star anise are particularly bright and beautiful." Later, this bottle of star anise spice has been used as material for herbar paintings.
There are also more things from the wet market that are "snatched" by Xiao Zhe, millet bought by her mother to cook porridge, fruits placed in stalls, etc. Not long ago, they created the "Fruit Market" painting, which was inspired by the wet market, a place that they see as the most intimate and natural way of life. Later, the "Fruit Bazaar" painting became so popular that every day people inquired about the progress of the lemon bazaar, raspberry bazaar, honeydew melon bazaar and blueberry bazaar series of greeting cards/postcards.
There was a foreign girl who had gone to school in Chengdu and had brought a jar of seeds before leaving; the partner in the shop would pick up leaves to bring with her on the way to work; recently, relatives at home had just prepared a box of fallen leaves for the bear. Someone told them, "Occasionally, when I'm not happy, I feel motivated to think that there are still people in this city who are silently doing what you like." ”
Xiao Xiong and Xiao Zhe are happy that others will see in the "Desert Rock Park" what they will gain by never giving up doing what they like to do. "Whether we are willing to do something, whether we are willing to invest your time and energy, should be related to like, there will be a process of mutual nourishment." 」
Source: West China Metropolis Daily - Cover News