Half way point in for my summer in Jingdezhen

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Asia » China » Jiangxi » Jingdezhen
July 17th 2013

Published: September 24th 2013

Here is an update on my summer adventures in Jingdezhen... Read Full Entry

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Clay Guy in China

Clay Guy

Professor Gary Erickson, Art Department - Ceramics, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN has been traveling to China for nine years. He has done artist residencies at the Sanbao Ceramic Art Institute in Jingdezhen, China and now rents his own studio in town. Summer 2011 he had a solo exhibition of his sculptural work at the Jingdezhen International Academy of Ceramics gallery. He received a 2013 Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant to ship work back to Minnesota for a fall exhibition at Concordia University in St. Paul. This will be the first time he has shown his Jingdezhen crea... full info

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Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

My first surface test piece back from the public kiln. Testing white porcelain slip with colored stains mixed then applied as a textured surface.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

Trying to visualize a connected double spiral and how many pieces I need to cast.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

Going out to eat at a restaurant downtown.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

Impressive clouds.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

Lulu is leaving for the summer and will study Japanese in Nanjing. I treated her and her friend too-sweet to dinner and gave them Macalester Art Department teeshirts.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

Lulu had given me a duck egg to eat a couple night before and I saved the shell, making it into a "head knocker" (something I saw in Mexico many years ago. You fill the egg shell with small paper and then children would whack them on top of someones head) I filled Lulu's with candy.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

Two more Macalester students have arrived to help me. Huang Ke will stay five weeks until near the end of my time and Peng Wei has come for two weeks.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

I start them off helping me build some saggers in anticipation of firing work. Since my pieces need to be fired on end to avoid slumping, I build saggers to keep them upright.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

Neither has touched clay before so a quick lesson on coil building and we are off to the races!

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

We brought some small test surface samples to a public kiln to fire.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

There are four public kilns that I know of in the sculpture factory area. They fire nearly everyday so load by 2:00pm and you pick them up at 10:00am. But bring gloves as the kiln is just opened and people are unloading their pieces very, very hot.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

Christine, a Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute student I met at the Pottery Workshop Friday night lecture. She volunteered to help in the studio. We went to a Korean restaurant for dinner.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

After dinner we went over to Peoples Square and watched dancers. There are different groups around the park doing everything from line dance exercises to ballroom.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

I taught Christine the waltz and cha cha. When we would take a break the crowd would come around us with everyone asking her where I was from, how tall I was, how old I was ????? To escape we would go back to dancing.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

A visit to my friend Jiangshifu's home. He is making some of these beautiful bamboo bowl hangers for me to bring back and sell. I think they would be great for hanging plants.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

He taught us how to weave bamboo rings. I am interested in using bamboo to tie my translucent tiles together and asked him to teach some weaving patterns.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

Jiangshifu is always full of wisdom and a good mentor. The students conversed with him for a long time.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

We took a trip over to the eggshell bowl studio to talk about them casting my translucent tiles and got delayed by a train blocking the road.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

As more and more people and cars got backed up I could tell all heck was to break loose when the train finally moved as EVERYONE would want to be first. We just stood to the side as mayhem took place. Compounding the event was some stinky burning trash.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

New work starting to fill the shelves.

Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen

The back gate for the sculpture factory area.

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