At present, there are a wide range of carving themes, including traditional antique architectural ornaments and modern figure statues; There are both garden sculptures and family decorations; There are birds and beasts, fish and flowers; There are not only 100-meter masterpieces, but also unprofitable masterpieces. Quyang County is well-known at home and abroad as the "hometown of sculpture". The traditional craft of Quyang stone carving is to draw a rough outline on the stone with the face-opening stunt method, first carve the nose, and then carve it from head to toe in order to achieve "harmony inside and outside". On the other hand, modern technology is based on traditional technology, relying on scientific and technological strength (power tools), using round carving, relief and line carving techniques to integrate anatomy and aesthetics. Carved works not only have noble and colorful traditional characteristics, but also have novel and bright spirit of the times.
Its carving techniques are not only good at using special effects such as cutting, planing and cutting, but also good at visual shaping. Adopt the technology of "upper thinning" to reach the standard of "straight line, plane and flexible bending". The main inheritors of Quyang stone carving are Lu Jinqiao (deceased), Zhen Yancang, An Rongjie and Li.
Quyang stone carving is rich in natural white marble, which is produced at the southern foot of Huangshan Mountain in this county. The stone is white and crystal clear, pure and delicate, greasy and tough, and durable. Not only easy to be stabbed by knives, but also resistant to weathering and unbeaten in color. Quyang stone carving works have unique artistic style, exquisite conception and beautiful shape; The ornamentation is clear and vivid; Knife work is exquisite, round and smooth. Materials are white marble, granite and jade. Colors are white, black, yellow, green, red, gray and so on. There are all kinds of wood carvings.
diversification
There are more than 600 varieties of Quyang stone carvings, including figures, Buddha statues, melons and fruits, animals and other traditional works; There are also works with folk stories, myths and legends, and modern life as the theme; Can also undertake figures, statues, inscriptions, architectural decoration and other round carvings, relief products. No matter what kind of stone carving works, they are full of the charm of folk tradition and the breath of life.
theme
In addition to hundreds of traditional products with fruits and animals as their themes, Quyang stone carvings also include exquisite stone carvings with horses and chariots, animals, figures, fairy tales and historical stories as their themes. In addition to white marble, Quyang stone carvings are also carved with snowflake stones, chalk stones, jet stones and other fine products, which sell well in Japan, Singapore, Belgium, Austria, Australia, the United States and other countries 10.
Skills and technology
Round sculpture, also called three-dimensional sculpture, is the overall expression of art in sculpture, and the viewer can see all sides of the object from different angles. It requires sculptors to carve from front, back, left, right, top, middle and bottom. It is the most basic technique in stone carving.
Generally, round carvings are carved from a previous position, and at the same time, it is especially required to pay attention to the unity and harmony of all angles and positions of the works. Only in this way can the round sculpture stand up to an all-round audience.
Because the round carving works are full of three-dimensional, lifelike, lifelike, so the round carving has strict requirements on the selection of stone materials, and the length, width and thickness must be in proper proportion to the real thing, and then the sculptor can "leave blank" in proportion. "Blanking" is the first process and an important link in round carving. Especially for large-scale round carvings, it is necessary to "leave blank" on the soil first, and then "leave blank" on the stone after the "clay draft" is revised. The purpose of "blank making" is to ensure that all parts of the sculpture can meet the strict proportion requirements, and then move the knife to carve vivid and vivid works.
With the passage of time, the theme of stone carving has been broadened and the stone carving techniques have been enriched and developed. On the basis of the round carving technique, there are carved flowers and chain carvings. In terms of performance content, it has also developed from an independent individual to a large-scale group sculpture combining figures, animals and mountains and rivers, which has enriched and improved the techniques and contents of the round sculpture. The same round carving works are often a combination of various techniques such as round carving, block carving and chain carving.
Micro-carving, as its name implies, is a kind of carving technology famous for its fineness. China has a long history of micro-carving. As early as the Yin and Shang Dynasties, miniature sculptures appeared in Oracle Bone Inscriptions. During the Warring States Period, the national seal was as small as a tired millet, but it was divided into Bai Zhu and Baibai. The well-known Wang Shuyuan's "The Story of the Nuclear Ship" is also a classic of micro-carving art in the history of China.
Seal cutting is the foundation of the emergence and development of micro-sculpture. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, many literati have painted with iron pens in this square seal, pinning their interests and entertaining themselves. After Shoushan stone became the seal material, the micro-carving art of Shoushan stone began to appear. In the early Qing Dynasty, both Yang Xuan and Diao Bin carved fine print on the stone carving pattern of Shoushan. Lin is a master sculptor of "Ximenbo School". He often engraves his name and production date in the grass and crevices of his sculptures with very fine pens. Later, some people even carved very fine-grained ancient poems on the four sides of the square column of the seal as side sentences.
Micro-carving art is "subtle", the more subtle, the more refined the kung fu, the higher the value. Micro-sculpture is also an art that pays great attention to pictures and composition. A sculptor who is "meaning fine" must first have a deep knowledge of painting and calligraphy. Although the micro sculpture is too subtle to be recognized by the naked eye, it is still very beautiful under a magnifying glass, like a large calligraphy masterpiece.