Dough figurines used to be popular children’s toys in Taiwan and were commonly seen in temple fairs and festivals in the early years. Traditionally made from sticky rice powders and flours, they were edible toys with interesting character designs. The characters were often taken from legends and fairy tales, so dough figurines were also used as offerings during ceremonies and rites. With the advances in technology, more alternative clays such as resin clay, paper clay, super light clay, wood clay, brick clay, and stone clay have become available. Meanwhile multiple accessories and diverse skills, such as molding, kneading, rubbing, pinching and pasting, have also been applied to modern production. The traditional skill has been transformed into a clay art today.

This exhibition at National Center for Traditional Arts at Yi-Lan, scheduled to close on June 20, 2012 (http://www.ncfta.gov.tw/exhibition/Introduction.html), presents the creations of Ms. Yu Chih-Jun. Ms. Yu is the winner of the Traditional Craft Award for three successive years and her world of clay art is full of wonder, beckoning you to visit and appreciate her talent and ingenuity.