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Dragon Art QnA

Dragon Sculpture and QnA with Marin Murakoshi

Sculptor and artist Marin Murakoshi shares some thoughts on art, reading Jess’s dragon poem, and the concept behind her baby dragon sculpture.

Today, we have a QnA with artist / sculptor Marin Murakoshi, who recently reached out about an amazing baby dragon sculpture.

I was thrilled and honored to hear that she read my Guardians dragon poem (written in 1999, the same year this website launched in its first iteration) during the sculpture’s closing event.

Here are some details about the project and more!

Q&A with Marin Murakoshi

Hi Marin! Please tell us more about your creative work as a stone sculptor.

Marin: Hello Jess! I’m an artist who creates sculptures mostly from natural materials such as stone and wood using a technique called direct carving. I’ve carved Limestone, Marble, Alabaster, etc.

Since coming to the New England area in 2016, I’ve been working with granite, a local material.

I create works with the aim of making the most of the materials and carving out the forms that emerge as a result of dialogue with the materials.

How have your life experiences influenced your sculpting?

Marin: I grew up on the sub-tropical Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan, a tiny village with a very beautiful ocean and a strong historical tradition. I was always close to nature at that time.

I grew up in the same place until I was 10 years old, but due to my father’s work as a marine biologist, I never lived in the same place for more than 5 years until I was a college student after that, and we moved around a lot.

I moved to the U.S. in 2005 and moved to New York, LA, and Seattle every few years after that. I think that those experience influenced me a lot when creating sculptures.

I am interested in coexisting with nature, how everyone can live happily beyond their differences, and universal things that are common to among human beings.

I also feel that I want to capture moments that are difficult to capture, in the sculpture form, like a time capsule. I would like to create something that transcends language and connects to human emotions.


READ MORE:

Boston Dragon Pictures | Japanese Dragons | Dragon Poetry


What do you find most fascinating about dragons?

Marin: I’m interested in cultures and mythologies from all over the earth. Among them, the dragon is a very interesting one that appears in many different cultures around the globe. It is the only imaginary animal in the Chinese zodiac.

Dragon illustration in progress by Marin Murakoshi, for a selfie station backdrop

I also found it interesting to note the difference between the Western world dragons, where they fly with wings in many cases, and the Eastern world, where they’re represented as a being that can fly freely in the sky without wings. Apparently it seems that clouds aid the dragon in its flight.

Beyond the Mediterranean sphere, the difference between having wings and not having wings seems to appear.

Regardless of how the dragon is depicted, I’m fascinated by the fact that it is common to mankind, that it is powerful and mysterious beyond human knowledge in virtually every culture, and that it is related to basic elements such as water, fire, wood, and earth etc.

How long did it take to carve the dragon baby? Do you find sculpting to be a meditative exercise?

Marin: This time I worked on it during the three-week duration of the Stone Carving Symposium in Acton, MA in August 2024. There were a few rainy days when I could not work on it, so the total time would be about two weeks.

Since most of the work is done with electric powered tools, I would say that it was more a state of concentration to avoid accidents than a meditative element.

Because of the limited working space and scaffolding, I sometimes have to use machines in impossible positions, so I always have to be careful about various things while I work.

I think I am closer to meditation state when I am carving stones by hand. When I am working with simple basic tools, a hammer and chisel, I feel connected to the ancient people.

Tell us a bit more about the recent closing event featuring your dragon sculpture.

Marin: This is part of an annual event called the Stone Carving Symposium, held every August in Acton, at the YV museum, a former quarry turned art center.

Photo / Sculpture by Marin Murakoshi

This year marks the 13th annual event. This is a 20-year envisioned project in which several stone sculptors are asked each year to carve a granite mountain rock, and eventually turn the entire mountain into a collection of sculptures, New Art Archeology.

In 2024, four artists, including myself, each carved a piece of artwork on a theme of individual choice.

Sculptor Marin Murakoshi and her baby dragon. Photo: Meg Stafford

I have been thinking a lot lately about the moment a being is born, whether imaginary or real, and what kind of childhood they might have had.

I found a rock in a granite mountain that looked like an egg, so I wanted to create a “moment of the birth of the baby dragon” which also means “Rebirth,” or “Reborn,” in connection with the 12-year cycle of the zodiac, “Year of the Dragon” of 2024.

I did not explain my work at the closing, like how the idea starts etc, but presented my work paired with your dragon poem “Guardians (1999).”

I felt that the poem would be a good way to express the sense of security, hope, and courage that I hope people to feel when they see this baby dragon.

Thank you so much Jess, for those beautiful words. I picked several poems about dragons, but your poem was the most resonating to me.

I’m so stoked and touched to hear that! Also, that reminds me of a dragon poetry book project I’ve had on the back burner for a while.

Please feel free to share anything else with Dragonsinn visitors (links to your website; etc.)

Marin: If you’re ever in the region, stop by the “YV museum”, at Acton MA (here’s a link to their Facebook page). The granite pile, which had few artworks in the beginning, has turned into the pile with a lot to see.

The only rule required of participants is that the work must be figurative—something the audience can tell what it is.

When completed, it will be a mountain of records that will carry the zeitgeist of this period into the future for a long time to come. It is becoming a very unique mountain.

I’m also participating in a “Flying house outdoor sculpture exhibit” at the Pingree School in Hamilton MA, starting in September, which will feature over 50 three-dimensional works by local artists.

I was delighted to see many inspiring sculptures in the beautiful campus during my own installation the other day. Please stop by if you like!

Thank you for having me here!

Marin’s Website

My website is Studio Dekoboko, although I am not updating it as often as I should.

Bonus (Snow) Sculpture

Here’s Marin and her teammates Mark (London, GB) and Roger (PA, USA), beside their amazing wyvern-with-a-twist snow sculpture!

Event: 2023 XXVIII Snow Carving Symposium at Yellowknife, Canada, NT

Photo from Marin’s site

Thanks so much, Marin—best wishes with your inspiring and jaw-dropping artistic projects!

By Jess

Jess Chua is an award-winning writer and sketch artist.

Dragonsinn went live in June 1999. Jess works in the knowledge base field and enjoys yoga, reading, and design.

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