The Amazing Rice Grain Artworks

Taiwanese artist Chen Forng-Shean uses little things like grains of rice and sand to create awe-inspiring miniature artworks. The self-taught artist spends up to several months in front of a magnifying glass, working on a single piece.

Chen Forng-Shean has gained international recognition for his amazing talent of making incredible works of art out of the simplest and tiniest things, but the 58-year-old Taiwanese wasn’t always a miniature artist. Although he had an interest in the arts from a very young age and developed an interest in drawing and calligraphy, after his military service Chen got a job at the Central Engraving and Printing Plant, a division of Central Bank of China. It wasn’t a dream job, but it introduced him to various engraving tools he would later use in his artistic career. Each day after work, for 10 years, Chen Forng-Shean ran into his art studio, located on the second floor of his house, where he would work on his miniatures. Since miniature making was a disappearing art, he had no masters to consult with and learn from, so he had to not only develop his own tools and techniques, but also his very own style. It was a painstaking and time-consuming practice, but Chen slowly started to create amazing works of art, and the world began to notice.


Photo: Chen Forng-Shean

“The seemed tiny objects actually hide the universe without boundaries. Each project takes me on an adventure of wonders; the wisdoms hidden within are beyond my grasping. The moment the project is done, the satisfaction is so rewarding that it can’t be replaced by money”, the Taiwanese master says about his art. In order to create such detailed artworks on tiny canvases like a rice grain or a sesame seed, an artist needs more than aesthetic sense. He requires great patience, a high-level of concentration and physical endurance. Chen often needs to hold his breath for more than a minute and at the same time coordinate his muscles in order to keep his hand from trembling and ruining the delicate artwork. For years he has learned to control his breathing, and practices QiGong to enhance the endurance of his hands and the steadiness of his body.


Photo: Chen Forng-Shean

Over the years, Chen Forng-Shean has experimented with different mediums, from various seeds to grains of sand, and even thin noodles, but I found his rice grain carvings most impressive of all. The level of detail is simply mind-blowing, considering the scale of the artworks. The miniature master can take over a month to complete a single work of art on a rice grain just 0.5 cm long and 0.3 cm wide.


Photo: Chen Forng-Shean