The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River is a natural geological museum,in which there is a treasure house of stones in a wide array of colors and a myriad of forms.
The waters of the Yangtze River flow to the east,creating numerous beautiful stones.The Three Gorges stones get their name because they are produced from the riverbed and shoals along the Three Gorges,where swiftly f lowing waters have created numerous grotesque stones and pebbles.
Construction of the Three Gorges Dam has suddenly stopped this creativity of Mother Nature.Fortunately,people have carefully collected the fruits of millions of years of creation by picking them along the banks of the great river.Furthermore,artists have created a young but exquisite handicraft:the art of processing Three Gorges stones.
Generally,Three Gorges stones can be divided into natural stones,pebbles and painted stones.The natural stones mainly refer to the stones from the riverbanks that have all kinds of aspects and shapes,the pebbles refer to those from the river that are naturally beautiful and painted stones refer to works of art processed from Three Gorges stones.
Although the art of stone processing is a form with a long history,the art of Three Gorges stones is a very young handicraft,only 30 years old,which has developed and grown along with China’s tourism industry.tourists came to the Three Gorges, the local people discovered that they loved the stones and started to collect and sell them.Artists made creations on the basis of appreciating natural stones and combined the natural beauty with artistic flair,making the stones into works of art.
Three Gorges stones are varied.There are as many as over 200 kinds of rare stones,including textured stones,colorful stones,fossils and mineral crystals.They are even more varied in shape and artists use the natural veins and colors of Three Gorges stones to make a series of handicraft articles with local flavor.At present,the art of Three Gorges stones mainly consists of combination handicrafts and painted handicrafts.
Combination handicrafts of Three Gorges stones are made by assembling and combining all kinds of stones chosen on the basis of the design of the artist.Naturally it is also possible to result in an idea of artistic creation from seeing some grotesque stones.Combined designs include human figures,such as well-known beauties of ancient times,working women,animals,and vegetables.
These combination artworks may have been completely formed of Three Gorges stones,but can also been decorated with other materials.They retain their original colors but can also be painted and colored.The combined patterns are usually pasted on a porcelain plate.
Painted handicrafts are done on Three Gorges stones in accordance with such features as the shape,colors,textures and veins of the stones.Using the original colors and veins of the stones the painter cleverly designs and draws vivid patterns of human figures or tastefully displayed landscapes with just a few light strokes of his brush.He may also paint human figures,flowers and birds,beasts,fountains or waterfalls with thick and heavy colors.The paintings are usually done in water colors and protected with a coat of lacquer.
In addition,other artists avail themselves of tools to chisel the surface of the pebbles to reveal white spots and form all kinds of patterns.
In doing combination handicrafts, painting or chiseling of Three Gorges stones the artist must first be able to appreciate the stones before he can start to create art objects out of them.Therefore,the handicraft of Three Gorges stones is an art of“integrating man with nature,”an art combining the natural forms of stones with the aesthetic taste and creations of the artist.The artworks have special artistic values because of their natural charm.