Modern development

Han Zhiyao, a modern carving artist from Dalian of Northeast China's Liaoning Provincewho has a special interest for calligraphyand painting, began learning carving boats at the age of eight. Over time, he perfected his skills and has created some high-quality ship nut carvings.

To carve a boat on a walnut, the greatest difficulty comes from the walnut's texture.

"By looking at the grains on the surface of a walnut, a seasoned carving artist can basically tell whether the piece can be used for carving, " noted Han. "Besides the bumps and hollows on the rough surface, there are more unexpected, anomalous (irregular), and hidden holes inside, which brings even more difficulty for carving."

In order to avoid the hidden holes, the artist has to be very familiar with the texture and grains of the fruit stones.

The hardest thing about nut carving is that each piece of the raw material is different in texture, density, rigidity, and flexibility. In carving the artwork, the artist should first have a basic blueprint in his mind according to the grains on the surface, and then make adjustments when meeting any hidden holes. The whole carving process constantly requires reconsideration and creation, and there is no established pattern to follow.

To be a good nut carver, one needs not only the basic skills in painting, calligraphy, and carving, but also special materials, knives, good perception, nimble fingers, unique ideas, and exceptional patience.

Special materials refer to the selection of the peach or olive stone. Generally, thick and fat ones that have a surface big enough for carving are preferred. Special knives refer to the carving tools that are most suitable for the artist's hands. Good perception means the artist has to have a layout of his or her work before carving. The artist should also judge the center of gravity and the structure's stability by his or her own eyes.

The artist should have deft yet forceful arms, wrists, and fingers. With many years of painstaking practice, a good carving artist can handle nut or fruit stones with high proficiency, no matter how hard the stones may be. Because the materials of peach stone and walnut are very hard and small, scratches of the fingers are hard to avoid; thus, a short temper will only result in one giving up halfway.

Having unique ideas is another key factor in creating nut carvings. Different artists who have their respective esthetic notion, artistic accomplishment, and technical specialty can use the same kind of material to make totally different artworks.

The paltry fruit stones and walnuts, with the process of the folk craftspeople, become elaborate artistic works, demonstrating the wisdom of ordinary people. Accordingly, this traditional art form is gaining more momentum in the new century.

Author: Jeff