Zhang Junping took out the key and opened the iron gate of the small courtyard.
During the school holidays, the old lady retreated to her small courtyard to enjoy some leisure time. Zhang Junping was the only one in the studio.
The old lady's studio is quite spacious.
In schools, the size of the studio can, on the one hand, represent the owner's status in the school.
The old lady's studio is a small courtyard with more than ten rooms in it.
This courtyard is much larger than the courtyard where the old lady lived.
The entire yard covers an area of more than 900 square meters.
The north part of the courtyard has the shape of a triple courtyard, with three rooms on the east and west sides, and five rooms on the north side.
Nowadays, the apprenticeship gifts given to Zhang Junping by the old lady and the ancient furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties are piled in the two rooms in the West House.
Not only are the houses full of them, there are also a lot of them in the yard.
The old lady was very thoughtful and reserved a studio specifically for Zhang Junping.
Although it has been more than a week.
But Zhang Junping still clearly remembers that when he saw these pieces of furniture, his jaw almost dropped in shock.
It was then that I learned that the old lady had sent people to raid all junkyards and material recycling companies in Beijing.
The north room is the old lady's own studio.
The east room is the exhibition hall, which displays the old lady's works and the art collected by the old lady.
Who would have thought that the old lady, a seemingly weak woman, could actually be a sculptor.
Or Western sculpture.
On his first day here, Zhang Junping visited her exhibition hall under the guidance of the old lady.
Zhang Junping saw the old lady’s work and was immediately amazed!
The old lady’s marble sculptures and clay sculptures are all masterpieces!
The most important thing is that the old lady combines Western realism and domestic freehand brushwork.
The combination of Chinese and Western elements makes the sculptures have both form and spirit, as if they are alive.
The old lady gently touched her work. While feeling full of accomplishment, she couldn't help but lament that there was no successor.
No one can pass on her skills.
It’s not that no one has learned from her, it’s that she hasn’t found a talented successor. Not to mention transcending, she can’t even reach her level.
After hearing the old lady's regrets, Zhang Junping secretly vowed in his heart that he must learn the old lady's skills and hollow out the old lady, and never let the old lady's memory be lost.
When Zhang Junping proposed to the old lady that he wanted to learn sculpture from her, the old lady refused.
Instead, she told him that he must first understand the ancient furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties and write a research report approved by her and Yang Mingde before he could learn sculpture from her.
Regrettably, Zhang Junping could only devote all his energy to studying ancient furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
The study of ancient furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties can be said to be quite boring.
For a piece of furniture, measure the dimensions of each component, draw a drawing, and mark the dimensions on the drawing.
Also note what mortise and tenon structure is used for each component.
What is the decoration on the furniture? Is it carving patterns, inlays, or varnishing?
Ming Dynasty furniture is okay. The style of Ming Dynasty furniture is simple in shape, smooth in lines, focusing on the rigor of structure, and highlighting the natural beauty of materials. Even if there are carved patterns and inlays, they are mainly focused on highlighting the natural charm of the materials.
Research is relatively easy.
Of course, this does not mean that the craftsmanship of furniture in the Ming Dynasty is inferior to that of Qing Dynasty furniture.
Mainly Qing Dynasty furniture, especially the furniture after Kangxi and Qianlong, can be described as extremely luxurious.
What matters is wealth, luxury and dazzle.
There can be four or five different decorative techniques on a piece of furniture.
There are many techniques used in furniture, so research is naturally more complicated than Ming Dynasty furniture.
Each piece of furniture must be carefully studied and the patterns on it must be drawn.
It sounds simple and uncomplicated, but it is quite boring to do.
For Zhang Junping, it doesn't feel boring at all. Studying groups of boring data is like a man studying long black legs that are 1.2 meters long. He will never feel boring because of repetition.
Every set of data makes Zhang Junping feel excited from the bottom of his heart. Every time he studies and understands a pattern, it is like unlocking a posture, making Zhang Junping's spirit reach a climax.
Now that all the old furniture belongs to Zhang Junping, he is not in a hurry to repair it.
Once it is repaired, it can no longer be dismantled and studied as it is now.
Mainly because I was reluctant to take it apart and study the restored furniture.
Although in theory, every piece of furniture made with traditional craftsmanship can be disassembled and reassembled.
However, we have to admit that for furniture, every disassembly and reassembly is a harm.
For a wood artist, every work is like his own child, with his own hard work immersed in it. How can he be willing to let his child get hurt?
Therefore, Zhang Junping has been studying, dismantling these damaged furniture into parts and studying them repeatedly.
Time passed unknowingly as Zhang Junping devoted himself to research.
"Xiao Zhang, it's half past eleven!" The guard, Uncle Wang, interrupted Zhang Junping's work.
"Oh! Is it half past eleven?" Zhang Junping suddenly felt like a dream. He walked out of the room and looked up at the sky. Time passed so fast!
The guard came to call for someone, and it was the old lady who arranged it.
Who made Zhang Junping become too involved in research, even going crazy?
Once I start studying, I lose track of time.
But as the old saying goes, you can't survive without being crazy. If Zhang Junping hadn't been so crazy, future generations wouldn't have been able to achieve such great achievements without anyone teaching him and relying on their own exploration.
More than once, the old lady prepared a meal and waited for him to eat, but it took a long time.
When I came to the school studio, I saw that Zhang Junping was working hard, studying the structure of ancient furniture there.
The old lady was both happy and distressed.
I can only order the guard to come over at 11:30 every day to remind Zhang Junping to go home for dinner.
"Uncle Wang, please excuse me! I'm leaving right away!" Zhang Junping thanked the guard and then went into the room to pack his things.
Organize and put away the morning's research results and drawings.
Then I simply washed my hands and face, then rode my bicycle back to Mishi East Alley with the crisp ringing of the bell.
In this era, CAFA was still in Xiaowei Hutong, only five or six kilometers away from Donghudong, Mishi, where Zhang Junping lived.
If you walk, it takes more than 40 minutes, and if you ride a bicycle, it takes more than 10 minutes.
Back in the courtyard, the old lady had already prepared the meal and was waiting for Zhang Junping.
After dinner, Zhang Junping went to wash the dishes and wash the pots, while the old lady sat under the pomegranate tree to eat.
"Grandma Liu, I plan to go to Xiushui Street to set up a stall at three or four o'clock in the afternoon!
You may be late in the evening, so don’t wait for me to eat!”
"Going to Xiushui Street to set up a stall?
There are some speculators over there, aren't you afraid of being embarrassed by being with them?" the old lady asked with a smile.
The old lady has no objection to Zhang Junping setting up a stall in Xiushui Street, nor does she have any discrimination against those traders who set up stalls in Xiushui Street.
I'm just curious about Zhang Junping's transformation during this period.