If you harvest rice for a living you know there is a whole lot of straw left over after rive harvesting season comes to an end. Japan-based Niigata Prefecture found the best possible way to reuse all of this left over material… gather up artists and create giant straw creatures!
Thanks to this awesome idea, a “wara” or rice-straw festival takes place every August 31st and includes a collection of local artists that come together to create straw sculptures over wooden frames. The frames are useful because they allow for larger straw dinosaurs and other creations, plus they give the creatures more stability so that visitors can more easily interact with them.
One of these local artists is gaining a lot of attention for her unmatched rice-straw dinosaur sculptures. In fact, some of her giant straw dinosaurs have made it to the Wara Art Festival. Anyone wishing to see these amazing sculptures can visit the Uwasekigata Park in Niigata City’s Nishikan Ward until the beginning of November.
The Wara Art Festival is held at Niigata Prefecture every year starting on August 31st and runs until the beginning of November.
Photo Credit: agedashi0210
“Wara” translates to rice-straw in Japanese
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Photo Credit: kiyukatawani
Photo Credit: amymauscd
Amy Goda, the talented artist known for her huge and impeccably beastly dinosaurs studies art in Niigata Prefecture.
Photo Credit: amymauscd
Photo Credit: amymauscd
Interestingly, thatched cottages are built using similar techniques to these massive creatures.
Photo Credit: Ruki40788274
These wooden frames provide greater stability for the straw creations, and allow them to be much larger.
Photo Credit: amymauscd
Photo Credit: yuko_vitzksp90
