The Magic of Butterfly Wings
 Reputed as "dancers of Great Nature" and "flowers that fly", butterflies are
regarded as a symbol of peace, happiness and fidelity. Butterfly art has a
history of more than 200 years in foreign countries. Although China is rich in
butterflies, butterfly art has developed slowly in the nation. The first
butterfly pictures sprang up in the 1930s in China's Taiwan Province, and are still developing on the
Chinese mainland.
Good
butterfly art, however, is not determined by the rarity or value of the
butterfly species used: It is the artist's technique and skill that matter.
Butterflies should not be captured or sold for this purpose alone, particularly rare species under State protection.
 'Monsieur Butterfly': Liang Senquan
 Liang Senquan has tried his best to present the most
beautiful side of butterfly wings to people. The 60-year-old member of the China
Arts and Crafts Association has changed the traditional ways of creating
two-dimensional butterfly pictures, initiating a new technique that features
bas-relief or 3-D pictures.
His works have won the second prize at China's First Tourism Souvenirs Design
Competition in 2002, and were selected as gifts by the Hainan Provincial
Government to the World Tourism Organization. In 2003, Liang walked away with
the Best Innovation Award at the Hainan Tourism Souvenirs Design Competition.
In Liang's studio, partially complete and finished butterfly pictures are
scattered among various Chinese and foreign books on butterflies and butterfly
wings from various species.
Although
Liang, who used to be a medical worker, says that it is hard to associate
medical work with creating butterfly pictures, his experience in the medical field has laid
out a solid foundation in his current career, especially in terms
of preserving butterfly wings.
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Reputed as "dancers of Great Nature" and "flowers that fly", butterflies are
regarded as a symbol of peace, happiness and fidelity. Butterfly art has a
history of more than 200 years in foreign countries. Although China is rich in
butterflies, butterfly art has developed slowly in the nation. The first
butterfly pictures sprang up in the 1930s in China's Taiwan Province, and are still developing on the
Chinese mainland.
