In this video, you will watch how a piece of Maki-e Urushi lacquer art came to be. We will follow this process from the first step of selecting woods to the final completion of the Maki-e. Follow along to see this wonderful journey.
The first step is choose the wood as the foundation for the Maki-e piece. Wood are usually procured as a whole log to be cut into slices and inspect for quality. If the slice wood is not up to standard, it is discarded to be use for another purpose. The slices who passed the test are measured to be cut into smaller pieces and store to dry.
The next step is to shape the wood into the right frame. Using a lathe and a special tool, the artisan chips and grind away at the wood piece until it reach the right thickness. How do you determine this? If you can see light shine through the wood grains then you have reached the correct thickness.
The third step of the process is to prepare the base Urushi layer. In a previous video, you have see the process of making Nori-urushi. This is a very important process as it prevent the base from cracking as Urushi is pervious to dryness. Although in the video, a different material is mixed with Urushi, the principal stay the same.
The following step is apply the top Urushi layer. This process can last longer due to the number of Urushi players and the video has condensed this process for your ease of viewing. As you can see, the Urushi is applied, left to cured and polished using charcoal or antler deer. This is repeated according to the numbers of layers applied. Finally, the Uwanuri (上塗り) - top layer is applied.
Finally, after the Urushi has cured beautifully, the Maki-e artisan will use his skill to draw a painting on the Urushi background. Although this is a Maki-e piece, mother-of-pearl inlays are also employed to support and elevate the Maki-e. As talked about in previous videos, bamboo tubes and soft brushes is used to lay the powders and draw fine lines. In the hand of the artisan, the piece transform into a master class painting of Maki-e.
Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of this video.
All copyrights go to the original owner, MAOメモリアルアートの大野屋
29 май 2018
