Taiwan Artist Sculpts “World’s Smallest” Dragon

An artist in Taiwan announced his latest creation of what he claims to be the smallest dragon sculpture in the world on Saturday to welcome the year of the dragon in 2012.

Taiwanese miniature art specialist, Chen Forng-shean, unveiled his creation at his personal gallery exhibition in a local library.

The black resin sculpture, finished with patches of gold foil, is only 1.2 centimeters in length – barely visible with the naked eye.

Sitting on top of a Taiwanese dollar coin, the dragon sculpture attracts dozens of visitors who challenge their eye-sight to see the dragon through a magnifying glass on the glass case.

Chen Shih-ming says he was even more fascinated by the miniature calligraphy written beside the sculpture.

[Chen Shih-ming, Exhibition Visitor]:

„I have seen Master Chen’s works before. The words written beside the sculpture were even more amusing, that was more fascinating than the dragon. Each stroke of the words were written with much elegance, this could only be achieved by very skilled calligraphers.“

Hsia Chun-chun says she was excited to see the creative work.

[Hsia Chun-chun, Exhibition Visitor]:

„I admire the works very much. It is amazing such sculpture was created, it is beyond my imagination. I feel very excited to see something so wonderful.“

Chen recently retired from being a money-printing plate designer for Taiwan’s Central Engraving and Printing Plant.

He started the miniature art projects as a weekend hobby – continuing for 3 decades.

The sculpture took the artist three months, during which Chen failed several times.

[Chen Forng Shean, Miniature Artist]:

„The hardest part about making this dragon is the sculpting for the limbs and the claws, these are the most delicate parts, and also its open jaw and the whiskers, those whiskers are very thin. After the dragon was completed, I have to pay attention to its body so it looks like the dragon is above the clouds, that’s the dragon’s spirit.“

Chen says he models after two bigger dragons when designing the smaller one.

Foto: NTD