春天，我在一場森林展中遇到「麓塵」的工藝師劭雍，她在桃園的牧野荒耕山林學校跟著孫老師學習，這次帶來她的植物纖維作品，朋友「自然嗨」的作品也在其中，實在令人賞心悅目。不只一次介紹植物纖維，因為植物纖維是擁用魔法的東西，從植栽到日常生活用品，蘊含人類祖先的智慧，同時也需要時間的灌溉，一切由時間、天氣、溫度構成的東西都讓我投入相同的熱情，駐足欣賞，即使汗水滑下也不願離開。
「我以前做木工工作的時候，就發現自己喜歡傳統、有古味的東西，例如手造工具中的鑿刀、師傅家老舊的角鑿機跟手壓刨台。後來接觸了竹編夾泥牆，古早的竹製菜籃、曬東西用的簳模，很多傳統民具都是用植物的原料製作的。」劭雍跟我說植物纖維編織時就像介紹朋友，其實就是一種貼近自然生活的祖先記憶，人們本來就生活在亞熱帶氣候的地方，使用植物纖維製作日常用具，是理所當然的事情。
「使用植物纖維製作器具好花時間呀！」我摸著還不知道是甚麼的植物小花盤說。
「時間會過去，但自己付出的一點一滴都會在處理植物材料上面累積、呈現，它很誠實，你的粗心、細心、隨隨便便或老老實實，都會在材料上面表露無遺。」劭雍一邊整理藤編小盤，一邊回應我對花時間的看法。
I met Shao Yung, a crafter from zooanddust, at the Gryzzly Green Art Fair in Spring. She is a student of Master Sun from the Traditional Cultural Heritage. Together with my friends from Hello Nature, she exhibited a stunning series of plant fiber works at the Art Fair. I have written about plant fiber more than once; simply because they are magical. From plants to daily necessities, I am passionate about anything that can tell the passing of time and the wisdom of our ancestors. Anything that encompasses the elements of time, weather, and human touch amaze me. As I stood to admire these amazing plant fiber works, sweat dripped down my face.
“I fell in love with traditional items when I was still a woodworker. There are things like handmade chisels, and the very old mortiser and hand planes that I found in my teacher’s place. And later on, I got to learn about the bamboo-mud wall, traditional bamboo baskets, and wicker trays, and realized that many traditional utensils are actually made of plants.”
Shao Yung talked about plant fiber weaving as if she was introducing a dear friend to me: the use of plant fiber demonstrates a natural way of living that was practiced by our ancestors. While we live in subtropical climates, it comes naturally that we use plant fibers to make daily utensils.
“Weaving with plant fibers is so time consuming!” I said, with my hands running over the tiny plant that I had no clue what it was.
“Time passes regardless. Yet, your dedication and commitment will be woven into the fibers and eventually presented to the world. It is very honest. People can tell your carelessness, carefulness, and dedication from the materials,” Shao Yung said to me as she rearranged the small rattan plates.
屬於棕櫚科的山棕，取下葉子中間那根葉中勒，多被編織成小花盤。
Formosa palm is a species in the Arecaceae family. The leaf stalks of its palm fronds are often used for weaving small baskets.
取材於葛藤，收集葛藤的藤蔓刮取纖維，曬乾，再捻成雙股線製作的作品。
Made with the fibrous yarn spun from Kudzu vines.
這是劭雍以芭蕉假莖纖維製作的小網袋，用切成片狀的假莖，再撕分成更細的纖維，捻成線製作而成。
A small mesh bag crafted by Shao Yung with fibers that are hand scraped from the pseudo-stems of Musa Basjoo and spun into yarn.
析縷分條是一種梳理情緒的好辦法，「植物纖維跟一般編織很不同的是，材料的取得相較之下非常不容易，不是很輕易地用錢可買到，它需要非常多時間、體力去處理前置作業，是一個從材料採集開始就極需要細心及耐心之事。」我以為編織這件事不過是雙手左右上下交織的一件事，但植物纖維的編織其實是一種應用，打從植物的挑選、採收、處理過程都是工夫，植物很誠實。
「所以每次採集植物纖維時，究竟是懷著怎樣的心情呢？」我幻想劭雍去深山中採集植物，其實現在在台灣也有像牧野荒耕山林學校栽種編織用的植物。
「自然纖維的編織，從取材開始，就得在心中有構思，我需要拿這個材料去做什麼事、去製作什麼東西，會影響你去採集的時間點、季節、天氣、尋找到的植物的生長環境，都跟植物本身的『狀態』很有關。」人沒法在植物面前掩飾情緒，是因為植物從沒迎合人們的要求而成長，在時分之中，植物往往帶給人們驚喜，讓人們隨著植物的特性，思考怎樣應用它們。
「植物很有趣，相處久了它會告訴你它適合拿來做什麼東西。」植物纖維製作的用具，雖然由創作者開始構思製作所需的材料，但實際上，真正跟植物相處後，植物與人造纖維、塑膠相比之下，帶著靈性，跟伙伴一樣，成長環境的不同、歷練的每一株、每一葉都帶著獨有的性格。
Fiber extraction and processing can be a soothing process. “Weaving with plant fibers is a very unique experience because the fibers are relatively difficult to obtain. They are not something that you can easily buy and it takes a lot of time and physical strength to get them. The whole process requires great attention and patience.” I once thought that weaving is simply a matter of warp and weft, but the truth is, plant fiber weaving is way more than that. From the selection of plants, harvesting, and processing to get the fibers, every step counts. Plants are very honest in that sense.
“What do you have in mind when plant hunting?” I imagined Shao Yung going into the deep forest to plant hunt; but in fact, there are places like the Traditional Cultural Heritage in Taiwan that have been growing plants suitable for weaving.
“There should always be a plan before starting to weave with natural fibers. You need to know what you need to do with the materials and what you want to produce at the end because that determines the time, season, weather condition, and location in which you’d go plant hunt. Those factors would, in turn, affect the conditions of the plants.” Plants never react to human emotions and always grow at their own wills. They surprise humans with their uniqueness and inspire us to explore the numerous possibilities that lie in them.
“Plants are very interesting. They will tell you what they are best used for after you spend enough time with them.” It might be the crafters who take the lead in starting the creative process, but it’s the plant itself that determines and crafts the unique characteristics of the creation. Compared with man-made fibers and plastics, plant fibers are spiritual. They bond with us in a unique way.
跟劭雍一起學習的自然嗨（ Hello Nature）主理人庭娓的作品，是使用芭蕉假莖纖維製作。
「最初喜歡植物製作而成的生活民具，是因為具有溫潤質樸的觸感，不像現代工業下快速生產的產品。」即使是處理過的植物，植物器具隨著年月、濕度還是會變化，見證生活成長。
「到現在這些變成我生活中主要的生活模式，早上起床去陽台看看正在晾曬的植物纖維的狀態，幫他們翻翻身、改改排放的位置。在老師的農場幫忙種植可以得纖維的作物。從自己採集到製作和完成器物，這種成就感，就像事事掌握在自己手中，大概就是吸引我繼續做下去的動力。」
我老是覺得人們都打從心底裡知道生活中「滿足」的意義，只是能不能，以及有沒有花時間去誠實地面對，並把它化成日常。而劭雍給我的感覺就是那種沒有刻意，只是花時間做自己有興趣的事情，久而久之，她就化成生活在理想之中的女孩。這些都不用刻意，也沒法刻意，就是加了誠實的養份吧。
A work made of Musa Basjoo fiber by Ting Wei, the mastermind behind Hello Nature, who practices weaving with Shao Yung.
“I fell in love with plant-made household products because of their warmth and texture. They are nothing like the mass-production in the modern era.” Plant-made utensils evolve with time and humidity. They are a reflection of life.
“It has become a way of life for me; I get up in the morning and go to the balcony to check on the plant fibers that are being dried. Turn them over and rearrange them. I also help at my teacher’s farm where we grow plants for fiber production. From collecting the plants, to creating with them and eventually producing a product, there is this sense of accomplishment that makes me feel like I have control over things. This is probably what keeps me going.”
I believe that everyone knows well what it means to be satisfied with life; it’s just a matter of whether they can, or are willing to, take the time to be honest with themselves and live up to it. To me, Shao Yung is one of those who lives genuinely and devotes herself deeply to something she is interested in. She lives honestly in the ideal world she has crafted for herself.
