Gaomi, hometown of folk art
Gaomi, in Shandong province, is the birthplace of folk art in China.
Gaomi, in Shandong province, is famous for various art forms and crafts, including Gaomi paper cuttings, Niejiazhuang clay sculptures and ash-patting New Year paintings, which are renowned as the three unique art crafts of Gaomi.
During this past Spring Festival, three provincial representative inheritors of national intangible cultural heritages in Gaomi presented a number of traditional art crafts, exhibiting their skillful techniques.
Qi Xiuhua, the inheritor of Gaomi paper cuttings, conveyed her good wishes for Chinese New Year by creating auspicious paper cuttings.
"I create special pieces in celebration of Chinese New Year each year. This year, it consists of five paper-cuttings: two dragon-shaped paper cuttings represent that we Chinese people are descendants of the dragon; the paper cuttings of a child, a dog, a firecracker, a peony, a wintersweet and a peach embody happiness, health and longevity. I wish everyone happiness, health and good fortune in the coming year," said Qi.
A similar story also applies to Nie Chenxi, the inheritor of Gaomi clay sculpture.
Nie was very busy making clay sculpted dogs when Spring Festival drew to a close. The clay dogs are painted in jubilant colors and are shaped in modern styles to make the traditional craft more attractive to younger customers. More than 400 of Nie's clay dogs had been ordered before Spring Festival even began.
The clay sculpted dogs were the combined effort of Nie and his son, who are invested in integrating Gaomi Niejiazhuang clay sculpture with other art forms and modern structures. They have been innovatively trying to combine paper cutting and ash-patting New Year painting into Gaomi clay sculpture in order to interweave the three folk arts into one.
In recent years, the father and son duo have been invited to attend various exhibitions and cultural exchanges in the United States, France and Belgium. Nie’s son, Nie Peng, is planning to build a live-broadcasting platform where people can learn the necessary skills to recreate this traditional art at home.
Lastly, "ash-patting New Year paintings can best embody the feeling of a traditional Chinese New Year," said Shi Jianting, the inheritor of the traditional New Year painting. More than 10 of his New Year paintings had been ordered before Spring Festival. In China, only Shandong's Gaomi has this kind of New Year ash-painting.
"To finish an ash-patting New Year requires 60 steps which takes nearly one whole month to complete. In paintings, figures' costumes and hair need to be carefully painted," said Shi.
How to pass down these traditional art crafts has become the biggest concern for the inheritors in Gaomi. They are satisfied with the way that intangible cultural heritages are promoted on campuses through cultural performances and cultural exchanges. However, these inheritors also hope to begin using more "trendy" ways to help young people learn to love these old skills.
