Xi'an, February 18 news (reporter Liu Yu) "This year is the Year of the Tiger, and it coincides with the Beijing Winter Olympics, I created an 'ice pier' with a tiger's head hat on the basis of the prototype and combined with shaanxi characteristics." The clay sculpture "Ice Pier" wearing a tiger head hat and tiger head shoes is the clay sculpture that Zhou Xiaopeng recently taught to students the most.
Zhou Xiaopeng's recent clay sculpture works (courtesy of the interviewee issued by the Central Broadcasting Network)
Zhou Xiaopeng is the inheritor of Yangling's intangible cultural heritage, proficient in paper-cutting, clay sculpture and other handicrafts. Among them, the best at making clay sculptures with blindfolded eyes can pinch out a small portrait in 5-10 minutes, which is called "Clay Man Week" by the locals because of its superb skills.
"My grandmother is a handicraft, and later under the influence of the elders, I was good at handicrafts since I was a child, and my imitation ability is relatively strong, and when I grew up, I was encouraged by the elders, and I passed on the craft of clay sculpture for more than 30 years." Although it did not gain much financially, it became more and more satisfied mentally. Zhou Xiaopeng told reporters that in the past 30 years of contact with clay sculptures, the bags he has carried out are indispensable to mud and clay sculpture tools. His explanation is: "I have creative inspiration and can create clay sculptures at any time." ”
Zhou Xiaopeng is creating clay sculptures (Photo provided by the interviewee issued by the Central Broadcasting Network)
The 52-year-old Zhou Xiaopeng still maintains the vitality of creation, and has displayed no less than 3,000 clay sculptures of various sizes in his home and studio, which is also a proof of Zhou Xiaopeng's "hand" cultivation in the past 30 years.
During this year's Spring Festival, Zhou Xiaopeng also created many works related to "tigers", most of which require multiple color combinations. "Doing handicrafts is a visual art, a way to feel the culture hidden in the work with your eyes. Therefore, before creating, you must have your own design in your mind in order to make personalized clay sculptures. "Mix the mud, tune the colors, knead the circles, knead the shapes... An ice pier takes about an hour, and it is not easy to hand out a tiger head shoes the size of a fingernail.
Although there is a skilled production process for each creation, Zhou Xiaopeng can produce innovative works every time. "For a few dollars, I can buy a big bag of handmade works, I don't do it, I want to make personalized works." This is a sentence that Zhou Xiaopeng has always emphasized in the interview.
At the age of 48, Zhou Xiaopeng went to Shaanxi Normal University for further study with the support of the local government. "This learning experience was very important to me, I learned a lot of historical and cultural knowledge, not only in the mud sculpture craft has been greatly improved, but also aware of the importance of cultural inheritance. Later, my clay sculpture works gradually combined modern elements and traditional elements, while exploring the market demand, while maintaining the essence of traditional handicrafts. ”
After being selected as a non-hereditary heir, Zhou Xiaopeng felt more pressure and responsibility on his shoulders, and "only teaching crafts and not selling works" is a principle of Zhou Xiaopeng at present.
Zhou Xiaopeng is teaching students traditional crafts (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)
At present, Zhou Xiaopeng's work focuses on teaching traditional crafts, mainly to teach crafts to local students and clay sculpture enthusiasts in Yangling. Zhou Xiaopeng introduced: "At present, there are students from 8 different countries to learn clay sculpture craftsmanship, although the learning time is not long, I am willing to pass on the essence of the craft, so that they can return to their own countries and continue to pass on our traditional Chinese crafts, which is a very proud thing." ”
"Many people want to buy clay sculptures, I have refused, I teach them how to make clay sculptures, but my works are not sold, so that more people can accept and learn this craft, which is more meaningful than selling." 」 In the past two years, Zhou Xiaopeng has learned to publish clay sculpture teaching videos on the short video platform and open live broadcasts for teaching sharing.
Now, Zhou Xiaopeng is still insisting on acquiring new knowledge and inspiration on the Internet. He considers himself just a "folk artist", he said: "To do traditional crafts, you still have to continue to learn and accept new knowledge in order to pass on traditional crafts better and farther." I can't do much, so I use my expertise to contribute my own strength to our non-genetic inheritance. ”