Duane Kimball on sun 12 oct 97
This week, Jiangsheng Li, the Director of the International Summer School of
Jingdeshen and the International Representative of the Jingdezhen Ceramic
Institute, came to the Maine College of Art, Portland, ME, USA. Some of you
may know this artist from NCECA, where he sells his handmade brushes and
often uses the name "Jackson" as it is easier for Americans to remember than
Jiansheng Li. Perhaps others of you know of his summer program in China, or
because he has been at the Nova Scotia School of Art and Design for the last
year. Or maybe you knew him from his MFA at Alfred. In any case, now he is
on tour, doing workshops. We were lucky enough to be part of this tour.
On day one he showed a video of brushmaking in China, (his wife is from the
#1 brushmaking village). This was followed by his demos of brush-making,
and a workshop followed, where we had the opportunity to make our own brushes.
Day two was the same format, but directed toward the USE of the brush. To
this end, we saw a video of the #1 Porcelain City of China (his home city),
a demo of brush painting, and then we painted our own work, using our
brushes from the day before.
While most of us will never get to China, this workshop gave the feeling of
total immersion in the culture of Chinese Brush Work on Ceramics! It was a
wonderful opportunity. So, should any of you wish to arrange a similar
workshop experience for your school, group, etc., or just want to get some
of his beautiful handmade brushes (avoid the mad rush at his booth at
NCECA), I asked him to give me contact information specifically so I could
share it with the CLAYART group. So, for handmade brushes, on site
workshops, or information on Summer Programs in China, contact:
Jiansheng Li
312 Bathurst St
Toronto, ONT M5T ZS3
Canada
Telephone/Fax 1-416-603-7411
Kathleen Kimball in New Hampshire
(KIK IN NH), where the usual disclaimers apply.
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