I recently had a welcome opportunity to travel to
China, to see a different
world and its people, and to learn new techniques
I was invited to join
Greg Daly and a group of students for a three week excursion and
workshop organized by
Janet DeBoos of the
ANU’s
Ceramics Department in Canberra and
The
Pottery
Workshop, Jingdezhen Sculpture Factory.
The trip was
scheduled for April, and the workshop and travel took the whole month.
Our first experience of China was after arriving in Shanghai, when we
visited the Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai Art Gallery, Buddhist temple
and market. After two days we headed south west by train, where we
were met by staff .
Our
group was comprised of Australians and Canadians and were comfortably
housed in a gated community of studios and workshops which produce
sculptural ware distributed throughout China and the world.
Themes depicting historical deities, Chinese royalty, warriors,
sages and mythical beings abound here, as well as vessels of all sizes
and types, the tallest pots being up to five metres and needing six men
to throw in sections.
In the Jingdezhen Pottery Workshop, every day was packed with tutorials
or visits to places of interest.
There are streets full of potters’ supply shops where we could
buy tools and materials at much reduced prices due to the exchange rate
of approximately 4.5 Yuan to 1 AUD.
Most of us spent as much as we could spare on this bonanza which
had to be sent home by post or by ship, depending on the quantity.
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We were given a range of tours of the city and the local area, visiting
Gaoling Village, at the foot of Gaoling Mountain, which produced the
finest clays known to the world as Kaolin.
We also travelled out to Sanbao, which is an international
residency for pottery study instigated by Chinese potter Jackson Li and
American Wayne Higby of Alfred University.
Here were studios, a gallery, restaurant and gardens, workshops,
kilns and water hammers used traditionally to crush local volcanic rock
for pottery ware in ancient days.
Our tutors at the Pottery Workshop showed us blue and white brushwork
styles, decal and tissue transfer techniques, carving in relief, under
and over glaze enameling, mould design and Zisha teapot making.
All of the tutors were happy to teach their skills and did so
with good humour and friendliness,
communicating through interpreters.
We worked on our own projects which were glazed by glazers and
fired by kiln firers. In
this workshop community, the ceramic processes are done by specialists
who work in tandem with each other to produce ceramics in the most
efficient ways.
Guests and visitors are invited to come to learn or to have designs
produced in quantities by the whole workshop community.
I enjoyed this experience immensely.
It was great to meet many Chinese people, working with clay in
their traditional ways. We
were honored guests and made very welcome, with a general exchange of
good will and ideas about our differing ceramic practices and societies.
I bought back more than tools and equipment, decals and colours.
I now have a much more personalized impression of the Chinese
people and was very fortunate indeed to have been able to have this
wonderful experience. |
