ExclusiveMy First Sculpture: On a Path Returning to Tradition #reveringthedivine

In my studio's artistic creation, Falun Dafa has provided the standards and direction. Shen Yun has been a model for me, guiding me in many areas, like creativity, architecture, clothing, and color. The new season of the MXZ Studios' video series recreates miniature-model scenes of ancient people revering heaven and the divine. For the figures, I hope to achieve greater realism through 3D scanning and 3D printing. But first, I need to sculpt the head. I have never sculpted before. I wanted to try a wholly new path, a path returning to tradition. I began by learning from artists who have already walked this new artistic path. I was deeply moved. Resonance. Inspiration. Insight. And encouragement. I also read about cultivators using supernormal ability to paint. Not learning painting, but cultivating the supernormal abilities. The article also says these painters, when looking at any object, seem to possess a kind of camera-like ability. An image would instantly form in their minds. They could then paint it almost as though they were copying the image. Another Chinese artist said, when painting bamboo, one must first have a complete bamboo in one's mind, then quickly follow it with the brush. These unique method was not exclusive to the East. Michelangelo famously said, I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. I also studied exhibitions of works and sketches by these traditional Western artists, trying to understand the paths they had walked in praising the divine. I also learned a little about human anatomy, gaining a basic understanding of the human form. Before I began sculpting, I also placed great importance on cultivating. Only creation born of a pure and kind heart can truly benefit people. Miraculously, I was given three hints. First, hold the divine within, shape the form without. Second, with sincere reverence, until the divine comes. These hints revealed that most lives come from heaven above and taught me to hold their most beautiful and divine forms. These hints were if all that I had sought before had planted deep in my heart. Suddenly, I saw the path clearly and began sculpting. I kept these two hints firmly in my mind and put my heart into the work. I discovered that nothing works better than my hands, even when some parts of the sculpture were too small to reach, and I had to use tools. It was still my heart and my hands doing the work. Through this process, I experienced the profound mystery of the divine creation of the human body. I was able to have this realization also through the heavenly secret of unity of the instrument and the spirit, shared by the musicians on the Shen Yun Creation website, because all arts are interconnected. I realized without relying on modern technology or human concepts that returning to tradition is truly profound and miraculous, and artistic creation is a journey with the divine. The final hint I received was practice makes perfect. Keep practicing quick gesture sculpting. My understanding is that diligent practice shapes the supernormal abilities. I hope to practice diligently so that my creation will achieve greater maturity in the future.