Sun Dana (right) and her lover Ouyang Qi discuss creation together. Photo by Wang Haoyang
Zhongxin Network Jingdezhen, February 17 Title: Approaching The Non-Hereditary Inheritors of Jingdezhen: Traditional Art Integrates into Modern Life
Reporter Wang Haoyang
Early spring, slightly cold. In a studio on the second floor of damei Zhishang Ceramic Culture and Creative Company in Changjiang District, Jingdezhen City, soothing music flows in the air, and Sun Dena sits quietly at the workbench, holding a paintbrush, sketching wisteria flower lines on a thin porcelain blank as smooth as jade, painting the vitality of spring.
Sun Dena is a master of ceramic art in Jiangxi Province, and also the inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of Jingdezhen's handmade porcelain craftsmanship "New Colored Flowers and Birds", she works in flowers, birds, animals and figures, and her works are both shaped and vivid.
The ceramic art works created by Sun Dana are delicate and vivid. Photo by Wang Haoyang
Sun Dena is working on a work of art called "Purple Qi Donglai". It is both a ceramic work of art and a practical household item: a table lamp.
"First use a carving knife to carve a small hole in the mud tire, fill it with glaze, and after firing the porcelain tire, it can show a hollowing effect under the illumination of the light, and then paint on the porcelain tire and burn it into a finished product." Sun Dena told reporters that this work lasted more than a month and required multiple processes to be produced.
On the ceramic lamps, the rice-grain-shaped skeleton pattern is stacked into low-hanging flowers, which reveal a layered light under the illumination of the light. The porcelain tire is painted with wisteria flowers, bees, and yellow finches, which are cleverly conceived and staggered, with light and shade, and the combination of virtual and real.
On the desk it is a work of art, the power supply is the lighting fixture, it is both an ornament, but also a daily necessities, ceramic painting art and the combination of light and shadow of the lamp, showing the unique beauty of oriental culture.
"We want to make art come to life, let life be art." Sun Dana said that the best way to inherit intangible cultural heritage is to use innovative forms to let intangible cultural heritage enter modern life, so that traditional culture can be vividly presented in life with a fresh and modern appearance, which is both beautiful and practical, and is more easily accepted by modern people.
Jingdezhen, an art city with a thousand-year history, is a hot land for artists to yearn for. "I loved fine art since I was a child, and I began to systematically learn to sketch gouache in high school. In 2005, he was admitted to Jingdezhen College and studied ceramic art and design. Sun Dena said that during her studies, she was more interested in Chinese painting flowers and birds, so she set the main direction of attack as New Color, because the new color painting pigments are more flexible and more malleable, which can show the richness of oil painting and the elegance of Chinese painting.
"During my studies, in addition to eating and sleeping, I spent most of my time practicing painting and calligraphy, using dozens of bad brushes every year." Sun Dena said that after graduation, she stayed in the art city and immersed herself in the creation of new color ceramics.
Sun Dana's ceramic art work "Spring Colors in the Garden". Photo by Wang Haoyang
The road to creation is full of hardships. A piece of work, from mud tire to finished product, takes more than a month or more.
"First carve on the mud tire, then spray the glaze, burn it into porcelain and then paint, the first time to draw the preliminary relationship between light and shade, then the color material, the second time to deepen the layering of the picture." Sun Dena said that the yield of making inlays is lower, the mud is easily deformed during the firing process, the thickness of the pigment should be finely mastered, and the oil in the glaze will burn and fall off, resulting in scrapping of the work.
"Painting flowers, birds and animals is difficult, and the creation should be more careful. The eyes of the animal are small, and the details should be more agile, and they should be divided into layers to show vitality and demeanor. ”
The hardest part of creation is innovation. Sun Dana said that artists should inherit the past and the future, integrate the ancient and modern, and embark on a unique road of innovation.
"Once I admired the paintings of The Northern Song Dynasty King Xi Meng, I was very shaken, the characters in the paintings were portrayed in detail, the birds were light with their pens, and there was a feeling of spreading their wings and wanting to fly." Sun Dena said that he took inspiration from it and developed a tea set, named "Thousand Mile River Map".
Sun Dena's work "Purple Qi Donglai" is a table lamp that is both ornamental and practical. Photo by Wang Haoyang
On the porcelain tire with a diameter of only 4 centimeters, the landscape is carved with a half-knife clay three-dimensional carving process, showing the majestic momentum of thousands of miles of rivers and mountains with a delicate force, and coloring with shadow blue glaze, showing the vast beauty of the mountains and rivers of heaven and earth. Under the reflection of the tea set light, the sense of perspective between light and shade makes the square inches full of majestic power.
Asked about creating the most satisfactory work, Sun Dana said that artistic creation will never have the most satisfactory result. "I created a work, named 'No Questions', which is on display at the Beijing Ceramic Art Museum, painting a tiger coming out of the fog, not asking where it comes from, not asking where it is, just tenaciously moving forward, this tiger is myself, the pace is firm, the eyes are gentle and calm, maybe I don't know where to go, but I will move forward on the road ahead."
Engaged in ceramic painting for more than ten years, from underglaze to glaze, from blue and white to color glaze, from new color, pastel to enamel color, Sun Dena is constantly conducting research and technological innovation. "On the road of creation in the future, I will adhere to the original intention of loving art, better combine traditional craftsmanship with innovative technology, create more meaningful and valuable works of art, and use the language of art to bring people the enjoyment of beauty." (End)