Artist makes fantastic creatures from shells and other seaside materials

Artist makes fantastic creatures from shells and other seaside materials

2023-08-04

An artist from Yilan is bringing the seaside onto the canvas. Retiree and collage artist Chu Chien-yuan makes fantastic creatures using shells and other materials found on the beach. The natural materials give his art an earthy, grounded quality -- even if some of the creatures are out of this world. A local elementary school has invited Chu to a residency, and local kids have been inspired to create their own natural art.

A collection of striking artwork lines the wall. Tigers, dragons and roosters leap from the canvas. Eco-friendly artist Chu Chien-yuan combines natural materials from the ocean into fresh and thought-provoking creatures.

Chu Chien-yuan
Eco-friendly artist
All my works use the colors of natural materials, natural colors and shapes and lines. So most of them are animals.

Because of the difficulty in collecting shells, Chu graduated from working with just shells to also using trash that’s abandoned on the beach or washed up by the tide, thereby expanding his material range.

Chu Chien-yuan
Eco-friendly artist
I use seaside waste, like sponges and driftwood, to open up new types of work. So this is another new realm.

Student
He uses sponges, because he goes to the beach and picks up things that aren’t usable and turns them into art.

Chu has lived by the ocean since childhood. His deep interest in art blossomed after he retired from a career with the Taiwan Railways Administration. Now he concentrates on his creative work with shells and found materials. He was invited to complete an artist’s residency at Da Si Primary School in Yilan County.

Chu Chien-yuan
Eco-friendly artist
I used to work as a locomotive driver for TRA – a train driver, in other words. The school principal has given me this platform to express my artistic skill.

Fang Chun-chin
Da Si primary School principal
He makes art related to shells. We wanted to introduce his work to all our alumni in our school’s centenary exhibition. And it was an instant hit.

Chu hopes that some of the school’s students will be inspired by the exhibition to develop their own creative relationship with nature.

貝殼當畫布創造朱簡源:藝術結合環保

2023-08-04

宜蘭有位環保藝術家朱簡源，利用海邊天然貝殼再到海上殘留的廢棄物，創造出兼具藝術及創意的畫作，不僅吸引學生們的興趣，也讓他們在環保意識上多一份教育意義，一起來看看。

各式各樣的創意作品琳瑯滿目，包含老虎、龍、雞，每一件都相當生動，栩栩如生，這些作品都是由環保藝術家朱簡源，利用手工結合海上自然資源，所做出的創意作品。

[[環保藝術家朱簡源]]
“我的作品都是以天然材料的顏色，天然的顏色天然的形狀，天然的紋路在作畫，所以大部分都是動物類的比較多。”

由於貝殼的採集困難，朱簡源從天然貝殼再到海邊被遺留下或浪潮打上的廢棄物，跳脫材料限制。

[[環保藝術家朱簡源]]
“我就利用海邊的廢棄物，像泡綿啊、漂流木，開發另外一個作品，所以也是另外一種境界。”

[[學生]]
“它是用泡綿，因為老師是去海邊，撿一些用不到的一些東西，然後來做一些藝術品。”

朱簡源自小住在海邊，對於作畫有相當濃厚的興趣，自台鐵退休後專注在貝殼畫和回收物創作上，還受邀到宜蘭縣大溪國小擔任駐校藝術家。

[[環保藝術家朱簡源]]
“我以前在台鐵工作負責動力車駕駛，也就是說火車司機啦。校長給我這個平台，讓我這個專長可以發揮。”

[[大溪國小校長方俊欽]]
“他有貝殼畫的相關創作，希望能透過這一百周年的校慶展覽，介紹給所有的校友，那一次就是一炮而紅。”

藝術結合環保的創作，朱簡源期待能夠代代相傳。

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Typhoon Khanun may have left Taiwan, but Taiwan’s central and southern mountains were still bombarded with rain brought in by southwesterly winds Friday. The Central Weather Bureau issued heavy rain warnings in several areas on Friday, with the central county of Nantou receiving an "extremely torrential rain" warning. By 8:00 p.m., Nantou’s Ren’ai Township had accumulated more than 700 millimeters of rain, while accumulated rainfall in Chiayi and Kaohsiung broke the 300-millimeter mark. The CWB says this latest rain spell won’t let up until Sunday or even Monday when the southwesterlies weaken.

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Yesterday evening on Aug. 3 and in the early hours of this morning, an even stronger southwesterly air current came in. All the rain fell on the west side of the mountains, so for those of us on the eastern side, that brings down hot air.

While Taiwan’s eastern half baked in the heat, the western half was affected by the tail of Typhoon Khanun and southwesterly winds, which brought heavy rains throughout.

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In the south of a low pressure system that’s part of the monsoon, there’s a relatively strong southwesterly wind, and Taiwan is on the north side of the southwesterly winds. Some southwesterly winds are also blowing into the Taiwan Strait. Therefore the region of the Taiwan Strait is mainly an environment with westerly winds. This makes the mountainous areas have more continual and significant rain.

Ren’ai Township in Nantou County had the most accumulated rainfall in Taiwan, and that caused many accidents. For instance, a landslide left the Indigenous Toda Village cut off to the outside world.

Typhoon Khanun’s outer bands also brought storms to mountainous areas in Chiayi. Train services on the main and branch lines of the Alishan Forest Railway were suspended due to landslides.

The Central Weather Bureau forecasts that Taichung, Nantou and mountainous areas south of Chiayi will continue to see rain through Saturday night and until Sunday.

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Torrential rains will continue hitting the area. Looking at the situation now, the daily accumulated rainfall may be more than 350 millimeters in the next day or two.

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