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Crafty skills with a calabash
By Fei Lai and Liu Bihua |
December 7, 2009, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THEY might be ordinary vines to most people, but a Xujia Villager has spent years learning how to carve and paint the calabash, turning out collectable pieces of gourd artwork which he tries to coincide with special events, like World Expo. Fei Lai and Liu Bihua report.
Xu Xiuxing, a 65-year-old farmer from Xujia Village, Huangdu Town in Jiading District, is busy painting and carving the calabashes he grows by himself.
He is about to finish "Happy World Expo," a vase-like gourd artwork featuring the China Pavilion in red and different expressions of Haibao, the mascot of World Expo 2010 Shanghai.
"I will continue to carve national pavilions of other countries on calabashes,'' Xu says. "It is our nation's pride to hold the World Expo in Shanghai. I'd like to express my sincere thanks for Expo with gourd art."
The beauty of folk gourd art has been exemplified to the full with his outstanding craftsmanship. Villagers have long regarded Xu as a celebrated artist.
He has always tied himself and his works to the country's great events. His works include Fuwa, mascot of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and artworks for Chongyang Festival, a special day for people to pay respects to the elderly and a day for the elderly to enjoy themselves.
"I once had a trip to Zhouzhuang (a watertown in Jiangsu Province) and found gourds of fine design being sold there," he says. "I then tried to grow some on my own farm."
Unlike common gourds, the calabashes Xu grows are of different sizes and looks - triangle, cubic and round.
"Ripe gourds can be made into good-looking artworks, however they sometimes look the same," Xu says. "Why not develop its look and shape? I ask myself to focus on trying to create new looks."
He collects waste plastic and bakelite boards to make molds which are then applied to gourds. As the gourds ripen, different shapes are formed.
Xu has persisted in making gourd works for almost eight years. He has made dozens of gourds series in different shapes and his works range through portraits, life, animal and landscape styles. The shapes even include triangular and cubic.
"At first, I didn't know the plant's qualities very well," Xu says. "Although I made the molds with great care, many gourds appeared to be useless after the molds were taken off," he says.
"After more than 100 tests, I finally got to know its growing habits, such as different molds should be applied to each gourd in different periods during its growth."
Xu has retained many of his best works at home. Through carving, painting and grafting, he bestows on every gourd a story. Take for example "A Drunkard Carrying a Bottle," one of his best works.
He has turned a calabash into a drunkard and grafted it with another one in the shape of a bottle. Such wit can often be seen in his work.
"It takes several procedures to finish a gourd work including peeling, polishing, carving, lettering, installation, glazing and drying,'' Xu says.
"All the tools are made by myself. Take the grinding wheel for polishing as an example. I have 13 grinding wheels in different sizes to cater for different situations.''
Xu is also known as an inventor among villagers. His hand-made works include the small booth at the front of his house, the stone lion at the gate, the flowerpots and the small boat in the river.
After reports in the media, many people have visited Xu to seek advice on how to plant calabash, change its shape and do carvings.
Some people also write to him for advice. Xu not only mails out to them quality seeds but also calls to advise how to fertilize and preserve them.
He is so dedicated to the world of artistic gourds that he turned down a high-paying job as a technical adviser in Jinshan District's Modern Agriculture Zone to concentrate on his art.
Since early this year, Xu not only grows local calabash, but also has introduced mini-type calabash from China's northeast. It is as small as an infant's fist.
On Xu's desk is a gourd work called the "Eight Fairies." Turning a bigger gourd into the shape of a turtle, Xu carved eight mini calabashes into fairies and fixed them to the turtle.
Nowadays, Xu wants more people to grow their own calabash for carving and painting.
"It's not difficult to grow gourds. But it is not easy to change the shape," Xu says. "Patience is necessary. After the experience of failure, one can turn his gourd into a cute shape.''
Xu provides several tips for amateurs living in apartments:
March and April are the right time to plant calabash and it usually takes six months to grow.
When shaping calabash, one can use plastic bottles, bakelite boards, ceramics and plaster to get a mold.
After calabash has been growing for a month, apply the mold to the gourd. Remember to give itenough sunshine.
Xu Xiuxing, a 65-year-old farmer from Xujia Village, Huangdu Town in Jiading District, is busy painting and carving the calabashes he grows by himself.
He is about to finish "Happy World Expo," a vase-like gourd artwork featuring the China Pavilion in red and different expressions of Haibao, the mascot of World Expo 2010 Shanghai.
"I will continue to carve national pavilions of other countries on calabashes,'' Xu says. "It is our nation's pride to hold the World Expo in Shanghai. I'd like to express my sincere thanks for Expo with gourd art."
The beauty of folk gourd art has been exemplified to the full with his outstanding craftsmanship. Villagers have long regarded Xu as a celebrated artist.
He has always tied himself and his works to the country's great events. His works include Fuwa, mascot of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and artworks for Chongyang Festival, a special day for people to pay respects to the elderly and a day for the elderly to enjoy themselves.
"I once had a trip to Zhouzhuang (a watertown in Jiangsu Province) and found gourds of fine design being sold there," he says. "I then tried to grow some on my own farm."
Unlike common gourds, the calabashes Xu grows are of different sizes and looks - triangle, cubic and round.
"Ripe gourds can be made into good-looking artworks, however they sometimes look the same," Xu says. "Why not develop its look and shape? I ask myself to focus on trying to create new looks."
He collects waste plastic and bakelite boards to make molds which are then applied to gourds. As the gourds ripen, different shapes are formed.
Xu has persisted in making gourd works for almost eight years. He has made dozens of gourds series in different shapes and his works range through portraits, life, animal and landscape styles. The shapes even include triangular and cubic.
"At first, I didn't know the plant's qualities very well," Xu says. "Although I made the molds with great care, many gourds appeared to be useless after the molds were taken off," he says.
"After more than 100 tests, I finally got to know its growing habits, such as different molds should be applied to each gourd in different periods during its growth."
Xu has retained many of his best works at home. Through carving, painting and grafting, he bestows on every gourd a story. Take for example "A Drunkard Carrying a Bottle," one of his best works.
He has turned a calabash into a drunkard and grafted it with another one in the shape of a bottle. Such wit can often be seen in his work.
"It takes several procedures to finish a gourd work including peeling, polishing, carving, lettering, installation, glazing and drying,'' Xu says.
"All the tools are made by myself. Take the grinding wheel for polishing as an example. I have 13 grinding wheels in different sizes to cater for different situations.''
Xu is also known as an inventor among villagers. His hand-made works include the small booth at the front of his house, the stone lion at the gate, the flowerpots and the small boat in the river.
After reports in the media, many people have visited Xu to seek advice on how to plant calabash, change its shape and do carvings.
Some people also write to him for advice. Xu not only mails out to them quality seeds but also calls to advise how to fertilize and preserve them.
He is so dedicated to the world of artistic gourds that he turned down a high-paying job as a technical adviser in Jinshan District's Modern Agriculture Zone to concentrate on his art.
Since early this year, Xu not only grows local calabash, but also has introduced mini-type calabash from China's northeast. It is as small as an infant's fist.
On Xu's desk is a gourd work called the "Eight Fairies." Turning a bigger gourd into the shape of a turtle, Xu carved eight mini calabashes into fairies and fixed them to the turtle.
Nowadays, Xu wants more people to grow their own calabash for carving and painting.
"It's not difficult to grow gourds. But it is not easy to change the shape," Xu says. "Patience is necessary. After the experience of failure, one can turn his gourd into a cute shape.''
Xu provides several tips for amateurs living in apartments:
March and April are the right time to plant calabash and it usually takes six months to grow.
When shaping calabash, one can use plastic bottles, bakelite boards, ceramics and plaster to get a mold.
After calabash has been growing for a month, apply the mold to the gourd. Remember to give itenough sunshine.
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