Traditional Chinese Arts & Crafts for Lantern Festivals
The traditional Chinese handicrafts offered at our lantern festivals and light shows are cultural components that showcase the lifestyle and history of the people of China, and they include sugar painting, name painting, inner bottle painting, and calligraphy paintings. Some displays are unique to the lantern festival and can’t be found anywhere else.
Chinese hand painting is one of the oldest known art forms, emphasizing the motion and dynamic movement in life. Unlike a still life or a formal portrait, Chinese arts and crafts often depict characters or scenes that appear alive, either in motion and frozen in time.
Our traveling exhibits provide an experience that embodies the spirit and beauty of Chinese culture. Our arts and crafts offerings are rooted in the centuries-old tradition of Chinese hand painting. All of these artistic processes are cultural experiences in their own right.
A traditional Chinese painting is created with a brush dipped in black ink or in colored pigments, typically depicting landscapes or narrative subjects, while sugar painting uses only hot liquid sugar to create flat or three-dimensional figures.
These artistic pieces are both representational and ornamental works of art that can be used to decorate homes and offices, used as toys or treats for children, or purchased as gifts for others that may want to share in the Chinese cultural experience.
Sugar Painting
Sugar painting is a traditional Chinese folk art that uses hot liquid sugar to create figurines that are both beautiful and edible. We use sugar painting to create festive items such as opera figures, animals, and flowers.
Customers spin a wheel that depicts an artistic figure, and then we create the art by drizzling hot sugar on to a flat surface and a wooden stick. Once dried, the end product is similar to a lollipop but in the shape of a beautiful figurine that is both a toy and a snack popular with children. They come in many different shapes and sizes, and the edible dyes can be used to create details and colors that will excite the child in all of us.
Name Painting
Name painting, the art of using a person’s name to create a work of art, is a popular keepsake for people of all ages. We combine calligraphy and images to create a beautiful piece that can be displayed for the world to see.
With this Chinese art form, letters are drawn as characters or elements of nature such as animals, trees, kings and queens, or mythological figures like the dragon or phoenix. Sometimes only the first letter of each name depicts the art, and other times the entire name is drawn using artistic characters.
In either approach, we produce a work of art that creates a connection to Chinese culture using only vivid imagery and a name.
Inside Painting
The art of inside painting is truly unique, and originated in the early 19th century. The process was originally developed to decorate snuff bottles, but it is now used to create an ornament on any transparent material.
The process of inside painting requires skill, time, and concentration. To create the desired effect, our artists paint an image backwards using a special brush inserted through the neck of the bottle. This painstaking process requires precise strokes and provides little room for error.
Bottles can take days for simple calligraphy or weeks and months to create a detailed painting. The end result is a fantastic piece of art that captures attention and can be used to decorate any space.
Hand Drawing
Hand drawing is the process where colored pens are used to decorate traditional Chinese cultural elements like lanterns, fans, umbrellas, and more.
Hand drawings are used in lanterns to create images and details that stand out once the lantern is illuminated and hung, set afloat, or put to flight. We use hand drawing to create details, imagery, and scenes of nature on fans and umbrellas once they are opened and in full view.
Hand drawing can add beauty to traditional Chinese elements and personal decorative items.
These traditional Chinese arts and crafts are just some of the many cultural attractions offered at Chinese culture festivals. Check our home page to find out about our upcoming events. You may also contact us online or call us for information at 888-484-2698.
