I
am Yi-Shan Tsai, a metalsmith artist. I studied
art at Hsinchu Girls’ High School, and studied Fine Arts at National Kaohsiung
Normal University. After graduating, I worked as a teacher-in-training at a
junior high school. But after seeing a Georg Jensen exhibition, I became
inspired to learn metalwork. I therefore applied to the Graduate School of Jewelry and Metal Arts at the National Tainan University of the Arts. After getting my
graduate degree, I joined Xuexue Institute as a resident artist. I established
my brand I-Shan13 in 2010. I’ve been in the world of metal crafts for 18 years.

During
my residency at Xue xue institute, I held my
first new product launch in 2010. Here, a display of my work.
When
I was in college, I studied pure arts creation, including painting, engraving,
graphic representation, design, computer graphics, integrated design, composite
media, and sculpture. When I got into metalwork, the first challenge I faced
was having to work with metal – a completely unfamiliar material, and in a form
that was more about handicrafts than what I had worked with before. I was
straddling the line between craft and fine art, not knowing how to take the
next step. For me, that was a huge test.
Learning
to improve through competitions
During my studies, I often
participated in competitions. From coloring and sketching competitions in my
childhood, to sachet and lantern-making competitions later on, I competed in
many arts-related competitions. As a child, I guess my parents and teachers
felt I was very talented, because they signed me up to compete in many such
events. But once I got into high school and college, these competitions became
an opportunity for me to evaluate my work. I wanted to know if my work was good
enough, and I wanted to expand my worldview. My artwork might get first place
in my class, but if I compared my work with those from other schools, would my
work still hold up? Would my work still stand out? If I entered an
international competition, would I be competitive enough?
Competitions
are a good place to practice, be creative, and design your work on a theme and within
a time limit. It’s a bit similar to class work, I suppose; but when you’re in a
competition, it feels more serious, because you have to create what you think
is your most perfect work.
During
my first year in grad school, I participated in the German TALENTE craft
competition and was lucky enough to be selected. The work I submitted was based
on a class exercise; the theme was “containers”. My teacher taught us the use
of 3D software. Since I was unfamiliar with metal crafts, I had to learn to
saw, file, weld, and other technologies from scratch. After that, I cut and
turned one-dimensional paper into a shape in 3D space; converted the material
to metal; then combined it to form a plate with a unique pattern.
When
my work was selected, I felt greatly encouraged. I felt deeply how my past
learning experience gave me the grounding I needed for future creations. In
2006, with my graduate department, I went to Germany for the first time to
participate in the exhibition and saw works from all over the world.

First-year grad school work. The decorative plate series was selected for
the 2006 German TALENTE competition.
During the learning process,
participation in various competitions is a good opportunity to practice your
craft. In addition to testing the level of your creativity, you can also
broaden your horizons. Here are a few tips to make competitions a little
smoother:
1. Find
a professional photographer to shoot your work. This will elevate your work’s aesthetics
and evaluations.
2. When filling out competition materials,
make sure to use accurate English. If you need to translate your creative
statement, get professional translation help.
3. The work that you’re entering should
meet your standards, and express a complete creative concept. If you’re
uncertain about what you’ve produced, ask a teacher or classmate for advice. Ask
yourself 10 questions about your work and see if you can answer them
completely.
Craft: A creative labor that combines
technology with aesthetics
The meaning of “craft” – gongyi in Mandarin – is to
produce art (yi) through work (gong).
Craft
can be understood as a creative labor that combines technology, talent, skill,
plastic arts, and aesthetics. It aims to make practical objects with artistic
and aesthetic value – to reflect human emotions, reason, artistic and
scientific spirit. In crafts, the hands play a very important role. They are our
most important tools we use in creating; they represent the power and value of
labor. Therefore, craft can be seen as a unique form of creation that combines
technology and aesthetics. Trough the realization of different people's
aesthetic values, it reflects both complexity and particularity.
In
my second year of graduate school, I learned the chasing
and repoussé techniques of metalworking. To
practice this technique, I decided to create a face – a realistic once. But
this was a challenge, because I had not become familiar with sculpting during
college. I’d done busts before, but they were quite unsuccessful. I spent a lot
of time doing repoussé and chasing the face; I used a mirror and plaster to sculpt
my own face as a reference. This gave me a sense of how to simulate the curves,
dents, and spaces of my face, through both visual and tactile senses. I finally
completed an expressionless but realistic work of a face.
That whole semester, I completed two works, but it was only
through constant, daily hammering.
So I want to ask a very simple question: How much time do you
spend on your craftwork?

Work: A
portion of In So-called Doubt; copper, glass, tracing paper, transparent
film, 2007.

Work: A portion of Heart-Eater; silver, beads, coral,
wax, tracing paper, 2008.
Learn
by doing: Create your own style and characteristics
When I teach basic metalwork courses,
my students often ask me: "What else can I learn after I’ve learned the
basics?" They seem to think that only after learning all the techniques
can they be regarded as good at metalwork. However, they are overlooking the
most important aspect – the significance of doing. Learning by doing is
very important.
I’ve given students an exercise in
which I asked them to find a work and imitate it. They usually encounter a lot
of problems. What they see is the image of a completed work, but they don’t see
how it was constructed, nor what the picture keeps hidden. When they reach this
point, the students need to go find the answers and understand the whole
process. This is a great way to practice basic crafting.
The
skills of our predecessors were exquisite; they took their skills to the
extremes. In comparison, we’re just jacks of all trades. We have a long way to
go to become masters; it will require continuous technical practice and labor.
This
does not mean copying or imitating. Rather, it means learning through the
process of imitation, and even generating new ideas. That way, we can evaluate
what level our own hands can rise to.

Custom-created work: Dimia, the Forest Nymph; sterling
silver, gemstones, pearls, 2015.
In an era full of challenges and
uncertainties, we need to reexamine how to find value in people-oriented crafts.
Learning and creation are no longer singular forms; they require us to
constantly adjust and reflect. In the process of learning crafts, we not only
need to learn the techniques, but also to understand the cultures and values
behind them. When you can master one technique, you will be able to understand
its essence more deeply and develop your style more fully. Since establishing my
brand, what I have done most is polishing – a boring, repetitive act. However,
I believe that if I take the work seriously, and invest time and energy, the
results will eventually be seen in my work. I hope this article brings you some
small amount of inspiration.