China News Service, Changzhi, September 26th, title: Shanxi "post-80s" clay sculpture folk artists: traditional skills seek modern inheritance

  Author Wu Qiong Li Yan

  "I hope to learn from traditional techniques and forms, and then integrate modern aesthetics, make the works more interesting, become something young people like, and better inherit traditional culture." 26th, from Lu, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province Li Shijie, a folk artist in the prefecture and district, told reporters about his creative concept of clay sculptures.

  In her studio, there are a wide range of clay sculpture works, including traditional opera characters, local landmark works in Changzhi, and animals and cartoons that children like.

Talking about these works, Li Shijie, who is a little shy, talks endlessly.

In Li Shijie's studio, there are a wide variety of clay sculptures, including traditional opera figures and animals that children like.

Photo courtesy of Li Shijie

  As a child, Li Shijie often watched his grandma making handicrafts.

"Grandma loves traditional culture very much. Embroidery, paper-cutting, steaming flowers and steamed buns are all cities. When I was a child, I used to sit next to my grandma and watch her embroider things stitch by stitch. She was obsessed with it." Planted the "seeds" that love traditional handicrafts.

  In 2016, by chance, Li Shijie saw a special clay sculpture course in a studio.

"When I saw clay sculptures, I instantly ignited my hobby of handicrafts." Li Shijie said, since then, she has been learning clay sculpture techniques with great concentration. From the initial work could not be formed, she grew up as a clay sculpture folk artist. In 2019 In 1988, she opened a clay sculpture studio.

The picture shows the clay sculpture of "Little Pig Dancing Dragon" made by Li Shijie.

Photo courtesy of Li Shijie

  Clay sculpture is an ancient and common folk art in our country. It uses clay as the raw material and is hand-kneaded into shapes, either plain or colorful, with characters and animals as the mainstay.

Modern clay sculpture combines traditional culture with modern arts and crafts design, forming a new fusion of traditional and modern Eastern and Western aesthetic culture.

  In the process of creation, Li Shijie combined modern people's demand for beauty, innovated the expression form of clay sculpture, and presented works full of vitality.

In her view, conception is the most important step in making clay sculptures.

"In fact, children really like this kind of hands-on creation. I want to use cartoons to show children different clay sculptures." Li Shijie said, "For example, the pig and dragon dance works combine traditional dragon dance themes with The cute pigs are fused together; the heroes in the Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties are made into a fat body, cartoonish image, and the clothes are brighter and more attractive, which attracts the attention of young people."

  In 2020, Li Shijie joined the Luzhou District Folk Artists Association. In his spare time, he will communicate with other craftsmen to jointly promote the inheritance of traditional culture.

Li Shijie said, "There will be some similarities between traditional handicrafts, and we can learn from each other in the process of mutual exchange."

At present, Li Shijie is actively exploring the local traditional culture and integrating it into his own creation.

Photo courtesy of Li Shijie

  Nowadays, there are many people who love clay sculptures in small studios, especially during the summer vacation, many children come to the studio to experience making clay sculptures.

Li Shijie said, "I hope to enter the campus with other folk artists so that more children can experience the charm of traditional culture."

  At present, Li Shijie is actively exploring the local traditional culture and integrating it into his own creation.

"With the help of clay sculptures to promote the local culture of Changzhi, this is something I especially want to do." Li Shijie said that in the future, she will devote more time to digging the Shangdang culture and let more people adopt clay sculptures. Understand the culture of Changzhi, and also catalyze the development of Changzhi clay sculpture art through culture.

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