Qiuse Arts of Foshan
Qiuse sculpting art
Qiuse sculptures in Foshan mainly include clay sculptures,
sculptures made of fragrant powder, and wax sculptures. Clay, fragrant powder
and wax are the main materials used to make archaized bronzeware and ironware,
stone sculptures, Qiuse fruit, flowers, farm produce and sideline
products, aquatic products, dishes, etc. Qiuse clay sculptures are
refined on the surface to reflect the real products in terms of shape,
structure, color and touch.
Since Qiuse artworks all feature lifelike characteristics, regular
sculptures cannot be regarded as a Qiuse art. Sculpting is only the
first step in making a Qiuse handicraft; the second step is to
carefully mold the substance to reflect the real subject.
Qiuse wax sculpting is mainly used to make glittering,
flawless and translucent objects come to life. For instance, to imitate emerald
and jade articles, it is necessary to dissolve the right amount of pigments into
wax via cooking. Wax sculpting can also be used to make artificial foods look
good enough to eat. Restaurants often apply this technique in advertisements to
promote their dishes.
The soft wax can be molded into a variety of different shapes. Folk
Qiuse artists in Foshan use white wax, beeswax, olefin and other
materials to produce various Qiuse handicrafts, adding much glamour and
color to the Qiuse events.
Qiuse zhen ke art
Zhen ke ("needle carving") is a unique genre of Qiuse
arts that features a simple and unsophisticated appearance and monotone color.
The best example of zhen ke handicrafts is the zhen kou
lantern. The lantern, which consists of a series of carefully executed needle
holes that transmit light to form different patterns, is also called the
"10,000-needle lamp".
Another good example of Qiuse zhen ke art is the
Qiuse melon lantern. To make a melon lantern, a kind of small engraver
is needed to carve out different patterns on the husk of a Chinese watermelon
before it is hollowed out.
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