Interest is the best teacher of all. "I liked drawing and working with my hands since I was young. When there was a temple fair, I would be attracted by the craftsmen making dough figures or sugar paintings. I would also replicate the illustrations in my notebook. I majored in animation in university because it is my hobby," Sun said.

Sun struggled finding work for some time after graduating from Tianjin University in 2011, but got back on his feet after finally deciding to pursue a job related to drawing.

Sun's infatuation with gourd pyrography wasn't intentional. He attended a training class on gourd pyrography in October, 2011 due to his friend's recommendation, and has been obsessed with the art form ever since.

He started his own workshop to focus on making his own gourd pyrography and to research relevant folk arts and crafts.

Sun's gourd pyrography artwork [Photo/binzhouw.com] 

"Different from the traditional painting, which is shown on paper through pen and ink, gourd pyrography is created with a soldering pen to trace the lines based on the rough sketch, which requires uniform force and smooth lines. It is a very delicate work, and every stroke requires great concentration," Sun said. 

Relying on his solid art background, Sun is confident in his work.

By using the gourd as paper and the soldering iron as a pen, gourd pyrography is relatively similar to painting, but its finished work manifests an almost three-dimensional effect with strong artistic appeal.