The gourd fruit has long been an auspicious ornament on to which Chinese artists paint illustrations or inscribe written verse. Pronunciation of the Chinese word for gourd, hu, is similar to fu, the Chinese word for good fortune and happiness. The shape of a gourd resembles the Arabic numeral 8, which is also considered a lucky number representing good fortune.

To help revive this age-old craft, which was first popularized in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), a bilingual gourd painting class is being held in Shanghai to introduce traditional Chinese art to locals and foreigners alike. Ironically, the workshop's teacher, Rocky Shi, found inspiration for gourd painting not in China but in Australia.

"As a designer, I was inspired by an Australian aboriginal handicraft of painting on the pods of the native Eucalyptus tree, which share the natural characteristics of the Chinese gourd," said Shi. When she returned to Shanghai, Shi included the medium into an artisan workshop she founded, called Sofa.

Shi begins each lesson by introducing the history of gourd painting in China and its cultural significances, and also shares stories of her travels abroad that led to her creative inspirations. While Shi speaks in Chinese, her assistant, Bella Lu, interprets into English for foreign students.

Painting materials and gourds are then distributed among the students. Gourds come in all shapes and sizes: some are big, some are small, some are fat, some are slim, some are irregular. Shi shows the class her own personal gourd paintings, which were inspired by both traditional and modern art styles, to get her students' creative juices going. She advised two French girls attending this day's lesson to use the fat gourds, which are easier to hold and control while painting.

Gourds are first covered with two layers of a base coat, to make the surface smooth for the next step of painting, though some students opt to leave the original color and texture exposed. Then, using a small, precision brush, the students paint their own designs on their gourd. The entire process takes two hours.

"It's a bit difficult to paint on the gourd because it's round. But the gourd is a beautiful object that you can display on a table," said 10-year-old Emma from France, who painted a flower and sunshine on her gourd with a green base coat.

Sofa workshops, held weekly in a residential building on Yan'an Road West, include a variety of classes such as cooking, book readings and movie viewings. The gourd painting class in particular has proven a hit with locals and expats alike.

A 60-year-old woman, surnamed Liu, told the Global Times that she attends the Sofa workshops as a form of relaxation. "I usually spend my day taking care of my grandchildren, so this is a nice escape," she said.

"My daughter didn't know about gourds before this class, so I think it's a good experience for her," French mother Laetitia Mauroy told the Global Times during the gourd workshop, which they attended together. "She likes being creative, so we wanted to try gourd painting because it's an important symbol of Chinese culture."



 

 

 

 

 

Partipants do gourd painting in a workshop and pose with their work.

Photos: Du Qiongfang/GT