"Speaking about herself, Ku Shu Lan said, “I’ve been paper cutting all my life. I often see a female celestial being decorated all over with flowers coming up to me in a garden. It is I, the paper cutting goddess.” Her view of herself was true, as no paper cutter had ever before produced such unique and personal work. Not only did Ku Shu Lan create a large and magnificent body of work, she also transformed her home, a simple one-room cave dwelling, by embellishing the walls with her paper cuts, pushing this art form to extremes. Ku Shu Lan lived her whole life in poverty. Late in her life, she was “discovered” and her work was exhibited in China, but her personal situation changed very little. A few years ago, examples of her work were presented at the Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition, books about her have been published in both mainland China and Taiwan. In 1996, Shu Lan suffered a fall that left her unconscious and her family began to prepare for her funeral. But she awoke, and not surprising, immediately asked for a pair of scissors. Ku Shu Lan continued to live an active and creative life, passing away in 2003.” http://artfoundout.blogspot.com/2009/05/ku-shu-lan-cutting-paper.html
