Post-95s man creates miniature world on pencil stumps

Li Mingjun, a young man born after 1995, recently stunned millions of netizens with his breathtaking works of a whimsical miniature world created using sculptures of pencil stub heads, including helmets for flies and mouth muffles for mosquitos.

Photo shows a helmet for a fly Li carved out of a pencil stump. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

"I came up with the idea of carving helmets for flies when I saw a fly repeatedly bumping into the glass of my house. Why not make a crash helmet for it? Meanwhile, as mosquitoes have evolved to suck human blood, which may spread diseases, I wanted to sculpture some mouth muffles for them," recalled Li, who has completed over 100 works over the past six years.

According to Li, his strong interest in pencil miniature sculptures dates back to his time in high school. "When I was an art student in my high school, I had to sharpen pencils every day. As I’m a big fan of exquisite artifacts, I started to try carving some heart shapes on a pencil stump," the man explained.

Photo shows shoes for an ant that Li carved. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

Li felt a great sense of accomplishment after his work won praise from his fellow students. At one point, his deskmate made use of Li's heart-shaped miniature sculpture to successfully profess his love for a girl.

Since then, Li has been constantly producing these mini sculptures in his spare time. While working as a special makeup artist for film and television, he was only able to throw himself into the world of art for a few days every two or three months. However, during the last half a year, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, Li was able to spend more time on his hobby thanks to the increased amount time staying at home.

"What really motivates me is my passion towards this form of art," disclosed Li, whose themes in his work have gradually become more diversified, ranging from Christmas trees and traditional Chinese rice-puddings to Spider-Man and the twelve Chinese zodiac signs.

Photo shows a rabbit Li carved out of a pencil stump. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

Early this year, Li decided to establish his own miniature sculpture studio after quitting his stable job. Although Li has had to rely on his savings and his income is still not enough to sustain his current life, he has big dreams.

"I hope to hold a miniature sculpture art exhibition in the near future," revealed Li, who quoted a proverb "Every soul is supposed to be unique and exquisite" in his personal description. 

Photo shows a miniature spoon Li carved out of a pencil stump. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

Photo shows Li Mingjun at work. (Photo provided by the interviewee)