draftsman

I was going to write about the fact that personalities and expression are defined by our language and means of expression , but that seems like a dry subject at best and like an exercise in philosophy that is best left to better , more lucid and eloquent minds to pontificate upon.. or maybe I will do it later.


Here something slightly more present in my life.
A Chinese Lion Dance costume particularly the head of the lion.
Did you know that they are made of a bamboo or sometimes ratan frame?
Did you know that they are then silk and and painted?
Did you know that they have a series of patterns painted on them and then fur and other materials are added to give them their final look ?

Did you also know that they are constructed in rural places in China and that the Chinese Lion Dancing troops will sometimes require sponsorship to acquire one?

The adventure in this case was shared by my brother and I . The adventure was restoring an old Lion head. My brother and I ended up restoring it after it was given as a gift to a martial school and they decided that they would start Lion Dancing. The Sifu would like the students to have a nice head to practice before acquiring a new one or while the school board looks for sponsors.
So the conversation went a little like this:

Sifu : Do you guys think the Lion head can be restored ?
Drafstman : I think so , there is a lot of damage , but it can be repaired .
Sifu : okay , do you think you and your brother can fix it and get it ready for the practice ?
Draftsman : sure ( with a really long "Su" sound and with a trailing "re".

so this is the unofficial Green Fire Creature Shop studio.









I am glad to say that the Lion Head is now done and is ready to return to the temple school of the school.



However the experience of working on a the Lion head made me wonder about the role of mythical creatures in eastern religions and philosophy. The lion , the dragon and the monkey are all divine in some way in their art and writing. In a lot of the western world and in our mythology creatures are monsters are to be killed destroyed and defeated by the hero.

Is it maybe that since these creatures no longer have room in our faith, in our dreams for a better tomorrow that they are then left to be the stuff of nightmares?

I want to remember to wish you all a happy 4th of July and tell you all that I am happy to live in a country that allows me such freedoms in expression and imagination. I am also happy to have been able to take the day off from work, but they first one makes me really happy.