Clay sculpture (Jin Gaokun Clay Sculpture), an extension of the traditional art category of the fourth batch of representative projects of the municipal intangible cultural heritage of Huai'an City. History Clay sculpture is a traditional handicraft art that uses sticky soil as raw material to shape various images, also known as "mud play". The clay sculpture of Jin Gaokun in Hongze County is inherited from his ancestors and is a representative branch of clay sculpture in the Hongze Lake area. The clay sculptures made by Jin Gaokun's grandfather and father were greatly influenced by the clay sculpture style in Suzhou, and they were good at making clay sculptures of traditional themes. Jin Gaokun has been fond of art since he was a child, especially the clay sculpture skills inherited from his family. After he became an adult, he took up a cultural job and studied the folk culture of the Hongze Lake area. He gradually integrated the unique customs and customs of the Hongze Lake area into his clay sculptures. Basic content and characteristics Jin Gaokun's clay sculptures use sticky yellow mud from the Hongze Lake area as raw material. After removing impurities, a proper amount of cotton wool is added to the clay blank, and it is constantly beaten to make it "muscle-like", that is, more resilient. Jin Gaokun's process of making clay sculptures can be summarized in two sentences, namely "from inside to outside" and "from top to bottom". "From inside to outside" means to first mold the torso of the figure, and then mold the clothing of the clay figure. "From top to bottom" means to start from the head, then mold the hands and arms, and then start to mold the legs and feet of the lower body. The process is as follows: Taking the production of figures as an example, the first is rolling, that is, rolling the clay into the required cylindrical shape; the second is kneading, that is, kneading the prototype; the third is dotting, dotting the edges and corners; the fourth is rubbing, rubbing the thick part according to the need; the fifth is spreading, which is the method of fixing the position of the clay sculpture; the sixth is painting, depicting the details; the seventh is cutting, repairing the work. The finished work is lifelike and emotional. The work should be placed in a dry place to dry, air dry, and brushed with a layer of egg white to make it smooth and moist, and easy to preserve. The clay sculptures made by Jin Gaokun are vivid and lifelike, simple and generous, with high ornamental and collection value, and have certain reference value for studying local folk culture. However, the production of clay sculptures requires a certain foundation in art. In addition, the income is very small. Driven by the pressure of life, there are almost no young people willing to learn clay sculpture. The clay sculpture craft in Hongze area is on the verge of extinction and urgently needs to be protected and passed on. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)