Chinese Name: 粘碧華
Born: 1947
Place of Birth: Changhua County (Central Taiwan)
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Nian Pi-hua is an outstanding Taiwanese craftswoman who was awarded the National Craft Achievement Award in 2023, becoming the first female recipient of this prestigious honor.
Born in 1947 in Lukang, Changhua County, Taiwan, Nian Pi-hua has had a lifelong passion for handicrafts, particularly drawing and paper cutting. Influenced by her mother’s love for the arts and proficiency in embroidery, she naturally gravitated towards the path of textile and embroidery art. Nian received training from Chen Ssu-hsueh (陳嗣雪), a renowned artist considered a national treasure, in the intricate art of crisscross embroidery (亂針繡). She continuously honed her skills and accumulated profound knowledge in traditional embroidery, fiber arts, textiles, and adornments. Later in her career, she pursued further studies in textile and clothing design as well as metalwork and jewelry design in the United Kingdom, expanding her artistic horizons and enriching her creative repertoire.
Nian Pi-hua has made significant contributions in the fields of embroidery craft research, artistic creation, talent development, and cultural heritage promotion. In her research endeavors, she delved deep into the traditions of both Eastern and Western embroidery arts. She authored several specialized books, including “One Hundred Embroidery Stitches: A Brief History and Demonstrations (刺繡針法百種:簡史與示範),” “Folk Embroidery in Qing Dynasty Taiwan (清代臺灣民間刺繡),” “Embroidery Adornments (刺繡首飾),” and “One Hundred Adornment Designs: History, Aesthetics, and Design (首飾設計百種:歷史、美學與設計),” which have all contributed to the preservation, inheritance, and advancement of embroidery craft knowledge.
In her creative pursuits, Nian Pi-hua skillfully integrates Eastern and Western embroidery traditions. She employs diverse weaving and embroidery techniques and utilizes local materials. Her creations often combine embroidery with jewelry, precious metals, gemstones, and other materials. Drawing inspiration from historical patterns, cultural symbols, literary references, and observations of daily life, she crafts wearable “embroidery adornments” that showcase her mastery of techniques, materials, and artistic depth. Her “contemporary embroidery paintings” exhibit the delicacy and elegance of traditional embroidery while offering a unique perspective that transcends time, marking a new chapter in Taiwan’s fiber embroidery craft.
Nian Pi-hua’s dedication to talent development and heritage promotion is also noteworthy. She taught for many years in university departments related to textile and clothing design, actively organized embroidery craft exhibitions, lectures, workshops, and educational outreach programs. Furthermore, she selflessly offered embroidery courses to local communities and even taught basic embroidery techniques to children in remote areas and indigenous schools. Her commitment to nurturing embroidery craft talents and promoting the beauty of embroidery as an art form is truly admirable.