By Jodie (smartshanghai.com)
Updated: 2007-11-29 10:44

During my visit, I struck up a conversation with resident sculptor Mr. Ding Weiming. No doubt disrupted by my thundering footsteps on this particularly quiet Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Ding gladly looked up from his work for a quick chat. Mr. Ding makes wonderful rock sculptures, beginning each piece with what nature gives him, so that every sculpture is born out of what the material will yield rather than what the artist has in mind to make. More importantly, Mr. Ding approaches each project with a disarming positivism and humility, which then translates into what he calls "happy carving" - a principle which has stood at the center of his 30-year sculpting career. Certainly, many artists here or elsewhere like Mr. Ding produce pieces for mainly retail purposes, but he is in rarer company in managing to nonetheless infuse soul and honesty into each of his pieces.

Craftsmanship entered Shanghai with the opening of commercial ports in the mid-nineteenth century. Thereafter, Shanghai's folk art scene diversified, rapidly giving way to a rush of local artistic activity.

Taxi-Printout and Map hereToday, the breadth of these artistic traditions is on display at the Shanghai Arts and Crafts Museum. Around every corner are artists bent over their craft, variously molding, carving, polishing, and sewing. Perhaps unromantic, the scene nonetheless offers insight into a day's work in the life of the artisan, giving visitors a sense of the work and effort which each piece, large or small, individually demands. If you're in the mood for a relaxing afternoon at a museum, as well as interested in the work life of local artisans, the Shanghai Arts and Crafts Museum is definitely worth a visit.

Shanghai Arts and Crafts Museum
Location: 79 Fenyang Lu, near Taiyuan Lu
Hours: Daily 9am-4am
Price: 8rmb

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