Local artisans preserve culture through apprenticeships, showcase work at Lowell Folk Festival - Lowell Sun

Zhonghe (Elena) Li loved drawing as a kid, but growing up in China meant she had few opportunities to pursue an arts education.

Upon relocating to the United States for graduate school in the early ’90s, Li discovered her lost passion for creative expression, a decadeslong journey that began with watercolors and continues with traditional Chinese paper cutting.

The art form is practiced across China, but Li’s home province of Xi’an is representative of the practice. She returned to visit her mother in 2011, when she connected with the older generation of paper cutting artists to learn from them. The bright red paper cuts use to hang in every window, especially during holidays and festivals, but Li said very few are visible now.

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CAMERON MORSBERGER - Lowell Sun