Ren Debin carves a “precious gourd” with his gifted knife

临邑县委宣传部2022-10-25 14:22

　　In Yingzijie Village, Linpan Sub-district, Linyi County, the folk artist Ren Debin focuses on carving gourds, using free flowing style of carving, to create amazing artworks.

　　在临邑县临盘街道营子街村，民间艺人任德斌专注于葫芦雕刻，刻刀行云流水般游走在葫芦上，造就了一件件令人惊叹的艺术品。

　　As an inheritor of Dezhou municipal intangible cultural heritage, Ren Debin aged 53 has been engaged in gourd carving for six years. His studio can be described as a gourd world: The baskets on the ground are filled with unprocessed gourds, and the shelves are filled with gourd works of various shapes. The landscapes and figures, flowers, birds, insects and fish are vivid and interesting, not only showing rough and simple style, but also delicate and graceful beauty.

　　任德斌是市级非遗传承人，53岁的他从事葫芦雕刻已有6年。他的工作室可谓是葫芦的世界：地上筐子里装满了未经加工的葫芦，架子上摆满了各种造型的葫芦作品，山水人物、花鸟虫鱼活灵活现、自成意趣，既有粗犷淳朴之风，也有细腻婉约之美。

　　Ren Debin loved painting since childhood. After graduating from high school, he returned to the village for farming and worked on wall painting in his spare time. Interest is the best teacher, the saying of which is especially applicable to describe Ren Debin. Although he did not specially study painting, he was diligent in practice and gradually found the right way. He was self-taught in Chinese painting and pyrograph. In May 2015, he was attracted by the local gourd carving when he took a trip in Liaocheng. Ren Debin recalled that he planted gourds at home, and he had that drawing grounding, so he decided to give it a try. After returning home, he started to learn about gourd carving by searching on the Internet, and practiced from the simplest pattern.

　　任德斌自幼喜爱绘画，高中毕业后回村务农，业余时间从事墙绘。兴趣是最好的老师，这句话在任德斌身上特别适用。尽管没有专门学习过绘画，但他勤于练习，渐渐琢磨出了门道儿，国画、烙画无师自通。2015年5月，他去聊城市旅游时被当地的葫芦雕刻所吸引，“自己家就种葫芦，我还有点儿绘画基础，可以尝试一下。”任德斌回忆说。回家后他找来葫芦，通过上网搜索，认真了解葫芦雕刻这门艺术，并从最简单的图案练起。

　　Different from wood carving, the gourd skin is thin, and strength is important at the time of carving. If the strength is light, the carving is not in place, while if the strength is heavy, it is easy to fail. In case of a bit of negligence, all the previous efforts will go in vain. The strength control of the carving lies completely in the feeling and experience of the carver, so it is not easy for Ren Debin to learn gourd carving. Without a teacher's guidance, he can only explore by himself. Sometimes, he had to think about how to deal with the veins of a leaf for a long time, and often it took half a day to practice. Keep calm and accurate when operating. After he found the knack, his carving skills improved rapidly. In 2017, Ren Debin set up his own studio. He could easily carve a three-dimensional pattern of three or four layers on a one centimeter gourd skin.

　　与木质雕刻不同，葫芦表皮较薄，雕刻时讲究力道，力道轻了刻不到位，重了易出败笔，稍不留神就前功尽弃。力道掌控完全在于雕刻者的感觉和经验，所以任德斌学习葫芦雕刻之路并不平坦。没有老师指点，他只能自己摸索，有时如何处理一片叶子的脉络就要考虑很久，经常一练就是大半天。心平气和、下刀要准，当他找到诀窍后，雕刻技艺快速进步。2017年，任德斌成立了自己的工作室，在一厘米的葫芦表皮上他可以轻松雕刻三四层的立体图案。

　　Craftsmanship is not achieved in a day. Gourd carving requires high concentration of the eyes, the heart and the hands. It is an artistic enjoyment to watch Ren Debin's creation. He holds a carving knife in his right hand, fixes the gourd with his left hand, and operates the knife and chisel freely, and a pattern vividly emerges. Ren Debin integrates his perception of life and pursuit of art into his works, so that each gourd seems to be alive.

　　匠心之作非一日之功，雕刻葫芦要求眼、心、手高度集中。观看任德斌创作是一种艺术享受，只见他右手拿着刻刀，左手将葫芦固定，行刀运凿、下刀洒脱，刻刀飞舞之间图案跃然浮现。任德斌将自己对生活的感悟和艺术的追求融入作品中，一个个葫芦仿佛有了生命。

　　From hobby to profession, from first acquaintance to inheritance, Ren Debin has been tightly bound up with gourd carving. Now he has created more than 400 works. In recent years, Ren Debin's gourd works have been sold nationwide through e-commerce, especially favored by customers in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing and other places.

　　从爱好到职业，从初识到传承，任德斌与葫芦雕刻结下了不解之缘，目前已创作了400余件作品。近年来，任德斌的葫芦作品通过电商销往全国，特别受上海、杭州、南京等地客户的青睐。

　　Ren Debin has an idea to present the local conditions and customs of Dezhou via the gourd carving. "Dezhou produces outstanding people and possesses splendid culture. It is where Dongfang Shuo, Xing Dong, Mi Heng and other famous people were born. I am accumulating materials, and plan to spend several years on designing and creating a series of works full of regional characteristics to make contributions to Dezhou's handicrafts." Ren Debin said at the end of the interview.

　　任德斌心中有个想法，就是把德州的风土人情通过葫芦雕刻的形式呈现出来。“德州人杰地灵、文化灿烂，东方朔、邢侗、祢衡等名人辈出，我正在积累素材，计划用几年时间构思创作充满地域特色的系列作品，为德州手造增光添彩。”临近采访结束时，任德斌如是说。