cyberscape on sat 6 jul 02
Hi everyone,
I just returned from China, myself. While I was in Shanghai, I visited
Zhou Jia Jiao and the new ceramics residency center at the Ming village
restoration project. Steve Brousseau, who was involved Jackson Li at
the Jingdezhen Sanbao Ceramic Arts Institute is now in charge of this
new residency program. The facilities are still being developed and are
underutilized, but the new accommodations seem quite nice and the studio
space is beautiful. They have great kilns. It is going to be very
interesting.
The ming village project is in the early stages, but they are doing a
really good thing there by preserving numerous historic buildings. I
loved Zhou Jia Jiao, the water village, and I think that Steve will do a
really good job with his new program. If you are interested in the
Shanghai area, this would be a good thing to consider. Like everything
in China, keep an open mind and don't expect too much. Then you can
enjoy everything you encounter on its own terms.
I just spent a month in China. The first two weeks were a
symposium/workshop, where I was invited to work with about 15 of China's
best ceramic artists and five other international artists. They gave us
all the clay we could use, assistants, and kilns at a ceramics factory
in Shiwan, and we had a ball. I found the roof tile extruder and
started making sculptures using five foot long roof tile extrusions
before they were cut into tiles. Big fun. I involved a number of other
artists in collaborations, which was also big fun. This was followed by
China's "First International Contemporary Ceramic Arts Conference".
Then I spent a week at Sanbao with Jackson Li and his students and
international visiting artists. Finally I went to Shanghai and Zhou Jia
Jiao. The museum in Shanghai is not to be missed, and the architecture
that dominates the skyline of Shanghai is quite a sight.
Good to be back...I think,
Harvey Sadow
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