Arts & Crafts
Arts and crafts comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one’s hands and skill. These can be sub-divided into handicrafts or “traditional crafts” (doing things the old way) and “the rest”. Some crafts have been practiced for centuries, while others are modern inventions, or popularizations of crafts which were originally practiced in a very small geographic area..
Most crafts require a combination of skill, speed, and patience, but they can also be learnt on a more basic level by virtually anyone. Many community centers and schools run evening or day classes and workshops offering to teach basic craft skills in a short period of time. Many of these crafts become extremely popular for brief periods of time (a few months, or a few years), spreading rapidly among the crafting population as everyone emulates the first examples, and then their popularity wanes until a later resurgence.
Lacquer Painting Building on the workmanship of bodiless lacquerware, Fuzhou’s lacquer painting has developed into an art form in its own right. Although just over a decade old, it has already found great popularity. In lacquer painting the artist can depict a wide range of subjects and images such as human figures, flowers, birds, animals and landscapes. Screens and wall hangings are the major forms this art takes, and are often bought to decorate hotels, restaurants or villas.
In addition to the above, Fujian also produces paper umbrellas, lacquer thread carvings and paper-cuttings. Fujian’s varied and beautiful arts and crafts play an important role in the province’s cultural heritage, while also contributing greatly to the development of both foreign trade and tourism.
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