aprilmu-blog

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This is the final project after I glued the roes on. This is the project that took me the longest time that I was working every class, and some time at home, but i like to use western media express Chinese culture.😊

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I am trying to find the position for each one of the small pieces and glue them on the paper as well as paint the background. 

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The next step is to cut all the pieces out and put them together layer by layer. Mason helped me a lot, he is a master on cutting papers!!!(the picture above is the butterfly he cut with his tiny hands. After cut all the pieces out , it is close to the end. 

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I decided to paint the roses with watercolour, it took me a really long time to fold those four roses. 

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The winter has last for so long, and I haven’t went out for a really long time. To my surprise, I saw beautiful flowers along the way. Those are the amazing art created by nature. when I get home, I finished the first piece of the project, and i remembered how to fold the roses. Always good to go out for a work when you feel stresful\(^o^)/~

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I brought the painting back during the weekend, and it s a enjoyable process for me to do put on the music and painting. I realize if I want to paint the queen of flowers, when all the flower blossom, there would be a lot of butterflies along with the flowers.  I came out the idea to fold roses to put on the painting, however, I could not recall my memories of the methods. I feel anxious,and I could not calm down, so I went out for a walk.

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This is the most stressful project for me, because mix the watercolour the colour I want and i like is a long process. I have to redo again and again of the colour is not what I want or the colour of the value is not soft enough. This two pictures just a start, but i really enjoy the process of painting with the water colour❤️

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Art project 6---Mix media

This is my last project under this theme during this year. It took me a long time to brain storm and figure out how to make a unique mic media project. At beginning, I was thinking about whether I should use Chinese paper cutting as the last project, but the easy paper cutting are two simply for he art, and the complicated one’s cutting technics are always belongs to paper cutting art families. So after I cut out couple pieces, I just realize, why not cut out different pieces and put them together and use water colour to colour the pieces.  Then the theme became the part I want to find out. It has been a long winter this year, and I am waiting for the spring so badly. This remind me in old China mythology, there is a woman god who is the one control the flowers, called the queen of flower. Since I am expecting the spring, I can use the queen of flowers as my last project, and the Chinese component is the mythology and western part should be the watercolour.  I am so excited to start me project!

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This is the finished project. I chose to put some beads to right side to represent the beauty, cold style. This is my finial picture♪(^∇^*)

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Additionally, I want to talk about the colour meanings in the Peking opera mask:

Types of Chinese Masks There are several types of Chinese masks: dancer's masks, masks for festive occasions, masks for newborns, masks designed to keep homes safe and theatrical masks. When used on the stage, masks help viewers determine, at a glance, the attributes of a theatrical character. Masks are usually made from wood. However, Chinese opera masks, possibly the style that is best known in the west, are actually painted on actors' faces. Color Meanings Many colors are used in any given Chinese mask, but the dominant colors impart specific characteristics. Red used on masks indicates a positive character. Red can also mean prosperity, loyalty, courage and heroism. Red shows intelligence and bravery. Purple is sometimes used as a substitute for red. In its own right, purple can represent justice and sophistication. Black means that the character is neutral. Black also indicates impartiality and integrity. Blue faces are also an indication of neutrality. In addition, blue can show stubbornness, astuteness and fierceness. Green shows that the character is violent, impulsive and lacks restraint. Yellow tells the audience that the character is cruel. Yellow can also mean evil, hypocritical, ambitious or sly. White faces indicate that the character is evil and hypocritical. Gold and silver show the audience that the character is a god or a demon. The character also may be a ghost or a spirit. Gold and silver symbolize mystery.

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I started to paint on it, the best media to paint on it is acrylic. However, I do find the challenge of using the acrylic painting. The acrylic is too thick, so when I was using the brushes, the colour that paint on it is not smooth.  Then I started to think about how to decorate the right part of the mask.

I want to explain the Chinese side of the mask a little bit.

Peking opera or Beijing opera (Chinese: 京剧; pinyin: Jīngjù) is a form of Chinese opera which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance, and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century.[1] The form was extremely popular in the Qing dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China.[2] Major performance troupes are based in Beijing and Tianjin in the north, and Shanghai in the south.[3] The art form is also preserved in Taiwan (Republic of China), where it is known as Guójù (traditional Chinese: 國劇; simplified Chinese: 国剧; literally: "National theatre"). It has also spread to other countries such as the United States and Japan.[4]

The roles on the Peking Opera stage fall into four major roles-Sheng (生), Dan (旦), Jing (净), Chou (丑).[43]

Sheng (生): refer to men, divided into Laosheng (老生)，Xiaosheng (小生)，Wusheng (武生)

Dan (旦): refer to women, divided into Zhengdan (正旦), Laodan (老旦), Huadan (花旦), Wudan (武旦), Daomadan (刀马旦)

Jing (净): refer to painted-face role, know popularly as Hualian, divided into Zhengjing (正净), Fujing (副净), Wujing (武净), Maojing (毛净)

Chou (丑): refer to painted-face role, know popularly as Xiao hualian, divided into Wenchou (文丑), Wuchou (武丑), Nüchou (女丑)

The Sheng (生) is the main male role in Peking opera. This role has numerous subtypes. The laosheng is a dignified older role. These characters have a gentle and cultivated disposition and wear sensible costumes. One type of laosheng role is the hongsheng, a red-faced older male. The only two hongsheng roles are Guan Gong, the Chinese god of sworn brotherhood, loyalty and righteousness, and Zhao Kuang-yin, the first Song Dynasty emperor. Young male characters are known as xiaosheng. These characters sing in a high, shrill voice with occasional breaks to represent the voice changing period of adolescence. Depending on the character's rank in society, the costume of the xiaosheng may be either elaborate or simple.[50] On-stage, xiaosheng actors are often involved with beautiful women by virtue of the handsome and young image they project.[51] The wusheng is a martial character for roles involving combat. They are highly trained in acrobatics, and have a natural voice when singing.[50] Troupes will always have a laosheng actor. A xiaosheng actor may also be added to play roles fitting to his age. In addition to these main Sheng, the troupe will also have a secondary laosheng.[52]

The Dan (旦) refers to any female role in Peking opera. Dan roles were originally divided into five subtypes. Old women were played by laodan, martial women were wudan, young female warriors were daomadan, virtuous and elite women were qingyi, and vivacious and unmarried women were huadan. One of Mei Lanfang's most important contributions to Peking opera was in pioneering a sixth type of role, the huashan. This role type combines the status of the qingyi with the sensuality of the huadan.[53] A troupe will have a young Dan to play main roles, as well as an older Dan for secondary parts.[48] Four examples of famous Dans are Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Shang Xiaoyun, and Xun Huisheng.[54] In the early years of Peking opera, all Dan roles were played by men. Wei Changsheng, a male Dan performer in the Qing court, developed the cai qiao, or "false foot" technique, to simulate the bound feet of women and the characteristic gait that resulted from the practice. The ban on female performers also led to a controversial form of brothel, known as the xianggong tangzi, in which men paid to have sex with young boys dressed as females. Ironically, the performing skills taught to the youths employed in these brothels led many of them to become professional Dan later in life.[55]

The Jing (净) is a painted face male role. Depending on the repertoire of the particular troupe, he will play either primary or secondary roles.[48] This type of role will entail a forceful character, so a Jing must have a strong voice and be able to exaggerate gestures.[56] Peking opera boasts 15 basic facial patterns, but there are over 1000 specific variations. Each design is unique to a specific character. The patterns and coloring are thought to be derived from traditional Chinese color symbolism and divination on the lines of a person's face, which is said to reveal personality. Easily recognizable examples of coloring include red, which denotes uprightness and loyalty, white, which represents evil or crafty characters, and black, which is given to characters of soundness and integrity.[57] Three main types of Jing roles are often seen. These include tongchui, roles that heavily involve singing, jiazi, roles with less emphasis on singing and more on physical performance, and wujing, martial and acrobatic roles.[50]

The Chou (丑) is a male clown role. The Chou usually plays secondary roles in a troupe.[48] Indeed, most studies of Peking opera classify the Chou as a minor role. Chou roles can be divided into Wen Chou, civilian roles such as merchants and jailers, and Wu Chou, minor military roles. The Wu Chou is one of the most demanding in Peking opera, because of its combination of comic acting, acrobatics, and a strong voice. Chou characters are generally amusing and likable, if a bit foolish. Their costumes range from simple for characters of lower status to elaborate, perhaps overly so, for high status characters. Chou characters wear special face paint, called xiaohualian, that differs from that of Jing characters. The defining characteristic of this type of face paint is a small patch of white chalk around the nose. This can represent either a mean and secretive nature or a quick wit. Originally, there were five roles in Beijing Opera, but the last role "Mo" became a part of "Chou".[50]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_opera#Performers_and_roles

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One of the things I was worried about at first was how to make the mask smooth? If I you want the mask with texture we could just keep what it looks like at first, and if we want a smooth mask, it would be great to use sand paper to smooth it.😀

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The second step is to cut the materials more and more and cover layers by layers. After it dry, it should be all solid, and the mask should hold itself. So it is not enough to cover the mask by one layer, it could be couple layers and we have to continue add on in patience and wait it dry in patience.

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I have never made a mask before, so this time, it is a kind of challenge. If we want to make a mask; we have to find a mask or put it on our face. we can use the material in the pictures. We have to cut the materials into pieces, and try to mix with the water and put onto the mask or your face. 

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Art project 5： sculpture

  The most interesting experience in this project is I did not started as a sculpture. My original idea is mix media. I have been thinking for a long time and plan to make a mask that could combine Chinese culture and the western style mask together. I thought since I am using multiple materials, it could been called multi media, however, after I started to do the research about the mix media and talked with Ms. Hillyer, I realize that my mask project has to turn to the sculpture of art project.    I always wanted to make a mask to express the Chinese culture, because mask has a special status in Chinese art. The Chinese mask pattern is what they wear or paint on the face when they are doing the special vocal singing. The mask itself, together with the singing is multiple kinds of art in Chinese culture.    I also eager to do a western style mask, because of my Halloween experience here. It is such a cool culture in western countries that they have Halloween; kids can have fun and all the houses are willing to give them candies and share happiness with their neighbours. It is totally different from the Chinese culture, especially the creepy or beautiful mask we can see in the movies, Halloween, and different shows. So I would like to make the western mask as well.    Considering the time limited, and my theme that is compare and contrast the culture, it could be a good idea to put the western and eastern style on one mask. So these are all brain storming. Looking forward to start the project.

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I started my western piece. In my brain storming I thought it should be a colorful picture, with the wide field and beautiful sky and a big tree. I started to use yellow to spray painting, and sprayed the brown and black on the top of the picture. I made the sky. Then I want to start to paint the field. So, I sprayed the yellow, black and orange. Cover that with newspaper and take it off when that was still wet. The process happened so fast that I could not take the picture or the page might dry. So, I finish the whole spray painting part, and the page looks like this.

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Mask, turn the fun on, and start working. I placed the plastic piece I cut on the paper. I sprayed purple first, so as the result, after I removed the plastic, I the place that the plastic covered were white, and other places are all purple. Then I sprayed purple on the paper, the tress place are mixed by two colours(purple and white), and other places are all purple. Then put the cover on the paper again, and spray black this time. The black can be equally sprayed on the top. Then spray the purple on the bottom. The people and crane are cover at the whole time. So the person and the crane are the bright white at the whole time.