Guo Huimin Li Weixuan Zheng Liping Text/Photo
Sing flowers, drink black tea, pinch clay sculptures, and do live broadcasts. This is the daily life of Liu Quan, a clay sculpture artist in Pingliang, Gansu Province, every day in winter.
In the cold winter of April 9, this reporter came to Jiangjiagou Village, Kuntong Town, Kuntong District, Pingliang City, and was guided to the "Clay Sculpture Liu" sign erected on the side of the road to the Liu Quan Ancient Clay Sculpture Field, as if he was in the "Clay Sculpture Kingdom".
Walking into the cave studio of "Clay Sculpture Liu", the fire is booming and warm. The pots and cans of tea boiled on the stove emit a strong fragrance and refreshing the heart.
This large cave was originally the rough finished storage room of Liu Quan Gujian Ridge Beast Company. The ancient ridge beast produced last year was sold out, and now the cave looks a bit empty. It just happened to become the innovative production studio and training center of "Clay Sculpture Liu" in winter, and three clay sculpture tigers of different shapes were placed on the table on the right side of the cave, and more than 30 cartoon clay sculpture tigers on the left workbench were not made for a long time, which was particularly eye-catching.
This majestic clay sculpture tiger is the "Tiger King", this tiger head clay sculpture painted piggy bank is the "Bai Nian Tiger"; this cartoon clay sculpture little tiger, wearing a brand new flower dress, is the "Fu Hu"; the rough cartoon little tiger placed on the production stage is the "Little Tiger Team" innovatively produced this year. Liu Quan told reporters in detail about the recent innovation of the zodiac clay sculpture tiger.
The KunTong craftsman "Clay Sculpture Liu" is famous
The "clay sculpture Liu", who is not good at words, talked about the story of clay sculpture creation and opened the conversation box at once. He is 58 years old and has been 'playing' with his old father since 14 years ago. After being deceived by part-time work, being rejected from learning from a teacher, and building a clay sculpture factory, he felt the glory of being awarded the 'Kun Gong Craftsman'. ”
The development of Liu Quan clay sculpture industry stems from the establishment of the ancient construction of the ridge beast production company, absorbed the 13 workers who love clay sculpture in the village community to make perennial flower ridges, and signed a long-term supply contract with the Kuntong Mountain Scenic Area and the ancient construction company, and some villages and rural folk customs exhibition halls engaged in new rural construction have booked Liu Quan's ancient clay sculptures, and order contracts from all over the world have followed.
After most of his life adhering to clay sculpture handicrafts, Liu Quan struggled to produce more than 10 honors such as "Kun Gong Craftsman" and "Pingliang Excellent Folk Art Worker", and Gujian Ridge Beast Company became famous for a while. Liu Quan was invited to make clay sculptures and teach production skills one after another. Forty Lipu Town Caowan Village Cultural Square village wall relief clay sculpture "Erlong Play Pearl", the corridor of the flower ridge, relief sculpture "Peony Blossom"; Pingliang Vocational and Technical College clay sculpture school emblem "Xiangyi"; Kuntong Ancient Town Rural Memory Exhibition Hall of the clay sculpture combination "Cultivation"; Wuwei Citizen Qinxian Farming Exhibition Hall large-scale combination clay sculpture "Pastoral Life", this group of works makes Liu Quan clay sculpture out of Pingliang and towards Longyuan.
In November 2018, CCTV's "Geography China" program broadcast "The Wonders of Kuntong Mountain" introduced Liu Quan's house ridge beast for nearly half an hour. It is famous for its clay sculptures. Since then, Liu Quan has had an additional stage name "Clay Sculpture Liu".
Founded the Family Clay Sculpture Exhibition Room Workshop
"After so many years of 'playing' with mud, I have always thought of establishing a clay sculpture exhibition room and a place to learn and communicate, so that dolls who love handmade crafts can learn this craft, and do not lose it in my generation." Liu Quan said: "The District Federation of Trade Unions awarded me the title of 'KunTong Craftsman', and I have firm confidence and belief in adhering to this craft and passing it on." ”
After visiting the Labor Model Innovation Studio in Pingliang City, Liu's eyes opened widely. He founded the first clay sculpture craftsman award-winning exhibition room in Pingliang City, and there was an endless stream of visitors and clay sculpture making enthusiasts. In this exhibition room, which is not very large, there are less than 10 pieces of flower ridges, treasure vases, phoenix peony, etc. left by his grandfather and father when they were ridged beasts, and the rest are more than 300 works that Liu Quan has innovated in recent years. The clay sculptures placed in the exhibition room include "Pingliang Red Bull" and "Kuntong Martial Arts" collected by the Kundong District Cultural Center, and there are popular creative works "Gong to Nature" and "Striving forward with strength"; there are "Flying Dragon" selected for the second "Innovation Cup" design competition in Gansu Province, "Golden Toad Spitting Money", which won the first prize of the "Hundred Flowers Award" production technique of the 15th Arts and Crafts of Gansu Province, and "Xianglong", which won the second prize. Gujian Ridge Beast Clay Sculpture Company was named "Cultural Bazaar" by the Propaganda Department of the Gansu Provincial Party Committee and the Gansu Provincial Bureau of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.
Doing clay sculpture cannot be produced normally in the winter, and it will be closed. After more than half a year of busyness, should we take a good rest this season? The reporter asked.
Clay Sculpture Liu smiled and said, "I want to stop, but I can't idle, and I can't close my business." "In winter, I make clay sculptures in my cave studio almost every day, guiding clay sculpture lovers to learn clay sculpture making techniques." "We must innovate and produce a few clay sculpture works that can be obtained, and this year's provincial and municipal exhibition competitions; "We must make 'Bai Nian Hu' and Fu Fu Hu to greet the Spring Festival of the Year of the Tiger;" "We must conduct live broadcasts on the Internet and promote our own innovative clay sculptures and ridge beasts; "More importantly, during the winter vacation, there are primary school students who like to make by hand to pass on the mud sculpture making skills they have learned, and I have to teach these dolls hand-in-hand and teach them the clay sculpture making skills." "Clay Sculpture Liu" said to the reporter with his fingers and a blank look.
Pinch 100 cute "Fu Hu" to welcome the New Year
A touch of loess mud, a pair of spirits, a few woodcut knives... After kneading liu quan's hand several times, the small mud ball turned into a cute smiley face and a lifelike figure clay sculpture. After the winter suspension of the Gujian Ridge Beast Clay Sculpture Company, Liu Quan began to think about planning the creation of clay sculptures in the Year of the Tiger.
"In winter, every morning, I boiled cans of tea, scones, potatoes, sweet potatoes, drank tea and ate breakfast, and then began the day's work, tired and drowsy, roared a few paragraphs of Qin Cavity to refresh my mind, and drank two cups of black tea to relieve my difficulties. Innovate to make a satisfactory work, sing a few flowers to have fun and relax your mood. Starting at 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning and ending at 6:30 p.m., it is my goal and dream to turn innovative clay sculptures into commodities, which is my goal and dream of creating clay sculptures in winter. At night, I will open my mobile phone to do more than an hour of live broadcasting, chat with netizens about the story of making clay sculptures, and enliven creative thinking. Then with a little introduction to show the clay sculptures made on the day, this day is happy. Liu Quan said with a smile in his eyes, and a thick smile appeared on his face.
After just innovating and making a group of clay sculptures "Civilized Dogs" that created the theme of a national civilized city, Liu Quan took off his overalls, changed into a casual Tang costume, and came to the clay sculpture exhibition room to do a half-hour live broadcast. In the process of live broadcasting, Liu Quan introduced his innovative productions of "Tiger King", "Bai Nian Tiger", "Fu Hu" and character clay sculpture works to netizens and reporters.
Pinch cartoon small animals and small dolls because Liu Quan and his wife Liu Yanyan participated in the second e-commerce live broadcast competition in Kundong District in September 2021. On that occasion, the couple brought more than 30 finished clay sculptures to show their faces in the live broadcast room and promote publicity on the Internet. Liu Yanyan, who is meticulous and skillful, also decorated the small clay sculpture with color, which looks more and more beautiful. Won the likes and comments of tens of thousands of netizen fans in the live broadcast of the day. These colorful clay sculptures of small animals are very eye-catching and eye-catching on the live broadcast site. Children will love these clay sculptures as soon as they pick up these small animals. Liu Quan saw that the children liked it, so he gave the small clay sculptures he brought to the children and the audience who loved handicraft production for free, so that they could also give a publicity to "Clay Sculpture Liu".
The Spring Festival of the Year of the Tiger is coming, the Tiger and tiger are full of wind and greeting the New Year, the Tiger is born of the spirit of might, and the Dragon leaps over the New Year. "In the cave studio, 100 pure handicraft 'Fu Hu' were kneaded, and I wished the Year of the Tiger a prosperous and smooth Pepsi." Give these cute 'Fuhu' to the babies born in the Year of the Tiger and the children of the village neighbors who love handmade handicrafts, and wish them all cute and loving like little tigers, cute, healthy and happy growth; I wish that the children who love clay sculptures in the village will form a 'little tiger team', pass on the clay sculpture skills well, and develop the clay sculpture industry well." Liu Quan is full of hope for the Year of the Tiger.