As the Spring Festival of the Year of the Tiger approaches, 61-year-old folk craftsman Ma Gailian and other craftsmen gather around needle and thread dustpans to make cloth tigers. Photo by Su Liuliu
(New Year to the grassroots) Shanxi folk artists teach traditional fabric art "tiger head tiger brain" to welcome the new year
Changzhi, China News Network, January 27 Title: Shanxi folk artists teach traditional fabric art "tiger head tiger brain" to welcome the new year
Author Wu Qiong Duan Tingting
As the Spring Festival of the Year of the Tiger approaches, at the Qingfengyunjin Professional Cooperative in Weizi Town, Lucheng District, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, 61-year-old folk craftsman Ma Gailian and other craftsmen gather around needle and thread dustpans to make cloth tigers. On the workbench, there are large and small, lifelike cloth tigers, and at the door is placed a cloth tiger with a length of nearly 1.3 meters, with full and exaggerated facial features, vivid shape, and mighty and thick.
Under their skillful hands, the colored silk threads are given "new life" and transformed into cloth tigers with different shapes and dexterity. Ma Gailian told reporters, "Our cloth tiger is purely handmade, using the gold extraction process, the cloth tiger made appears golden and shining, the appearance is beautiful, and there are beautiful meanings such as protecting peace and blessing." ”
On the workbench, there are large and small, lifelike cloth tigers. Photo by Su Liuliu
From the age of 15, Ma Gailian learned traditional fabric making techniques. "When I was a child, I liked to make small handicrafts, and I learned the craft from my grandmother and mother." For more than 40 years, although busy, she still uses her spare time to sew, unwilling to give up traditional skills. In 2019, Ma Gailian opened the Qingfengyunjin Folk Craft Professional Cooperative to conduct handmade fabric training, free teaching, as long as anyone who is interested in fabric production can come to learn.
Over the years, Ma Gailian has been constantly groping, while adhering to traditional culture and skills, innovating production techniques. Each "cloth tiger" from her hand is her extensive collection of materials and incorporates her own ideas and innovations, showing elements of local folk art.
The arrival of the Year of the Tiger also made her extra busy. "This year is the Year of the Tiger, we have made more than 50 kinds of cloth tigers, including tiger head hats, round sun locks, children's full moon locks, tiger head shoes, tiger head pillows, bags and pendants." Ma Gailian said that what he is doing now is a small fuhu, praying for children, blessing children's safety and health, and has sold more than 200 in recent times, with many orders, and everyone is stepping up production.
"Now there are more than a dozen people who follow me to learn how to make cloth tigers, both to master a skill and to use their spare time to earn some pocket money." While increasing his own income, Ma Gailian also led dozens of idle laborers in the local and surrounding villages to engage in cloth tiger making.
In the next step, she will rely on the cultural heritage of traditional crafts, improve innovative skills and products, expand the consumer market of handicrafts, and broaden the development path of traditional handicrafts. Ma Gailian said, "I hope that interested people can come to the cooperative to learn art, inherit traditional handicrafts, and also find a way to get rich for the villagers." (End)
Source: China News Network