clayart chinese on wed 10 mar 04
CHINESE CLAYART, March 2004, Vol. 38.
To be removed from this list, please click “reply” and send.
------------------------------------------------------
"CHINESE CLAYART" is a newsletter emailed bi-monthly to professional
artists, curators, collectors, writers, experts, educators and students in
the ceramic field, who want to know about ceramic art in China and things
related. This newsletter will be a bridge between China and Western
countries for the ceramic arts. Comments and suggestions are very welcome.
(Copyright © 2004, The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA. All rights
reserved.)
-------------------------------------------------------
The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA
P.O. Box 1733, Cupertino, CA 95015, USA
Tel. 408-245-6271, Fax. 408-245-8756
Email: chineseclayart@hotmail.com
Web: www.chineseclayart.com
Chief Editor: Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
English Editor: Deborah Bouchette
------------------------------------------------------
FEATURES
The Activities of Yixing Ceramic Artists’ Delegation in the US
March 8, Mon., Leave from Shanghai, arrive San Francisco airport. Evening,
visit ceramic artist and collector Barbara Brown’s house and have dinner
there.
March 9-10, tour in Las Vegas.
March 11, Thur., Teapot workshop and slide lecture at Saddleback College,
Mission Viejo, CA.
March 12, Fri., visit Laguna Clay Company in Los Angeles area.
March 14, Sun. 2pm – 5pm, Teapot Exhibition, slide lecture and teapot
workshop at the Clayground, west San Jose near Cupertino. Evening Banquet.
March 15, Mon., San Francisco Tour.
March 17-19, Participate in NCECA Conference. We are going to have the
International Connection Discussion and the Yixing Artists will show their
slides at International Forum (Please see details in the information on the
NCECA conference).
March 20-25, tour in New York and East coast.
March 26, Fri., Teapot demonstration at the Asia Art Museum, San Francisco.
March 28, Sun., 12:05pm flight from San Francisco to Shanghai.
Note from the editor: If you would like to participate in any of these
events, please contact Guangzhen Zhou at 408-891-5866,
chineseclayart@hotmail.com.
The List of Yixing Ceramic Artist Delegation:
Shi Jun-tang, President of Yixing Ceramic Association, Jiangsu Province;
Jiang Yao-xing, Vice President of Yixing Ceramic Association, Jiangsu
Province; Pan Xian-ping, Vice Secretary of Yixing Ceramic Association,
Jiangsu Province; Liu Ru-hong, Vice President of Yixing Municipal Bureau of
Cultural, Jiangsu Province; Pan Chi-ping, Board Member of Yixing Ceramic
Association, Senior Master of Arts and Crafts; Xu Da-ming, Board Member of
Yixing Ceramic Association, Senior Master of Arts and Crafts; Zhang Suo-kun,
Board Member of Yixing Ceramic Association, Senior Master of Arts and
Crafts; Xu Li, Board Member of Yixing Ceramic Association, Master of Arts
and Crafts; Shi Ming-ming, Board Member of Yixing Ceramic Association,
Master of Arts and Crafts; Bao Ting-bo, Yixing Ceramic Association; Yao
Zhi-yuan, Yixing Ceramic Association; Pan Tao, Master of Arts and Crafts.
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PROFILE
YIXING CERAMIC TRAVELING EXHIBITION 2003-2004 will be in the CHINESE CULTURE
CENTER OF SAN FRANCISCO
ABOUT THE CHINESE CULTURE CENTER OF SAN FRANCISCO
The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco is a major community-based,
non-profit organization established in 1965 to foster the understanding and
appreciation of Chinese and Chinese American art, history, and culture in
the United States. The facilities of the Center, totaling 20,000 square
feet, include a 300-seat auditorium, two 2,935 square-foot galleries,
bookshop, classroom, and offices. Centrally located between Chinatown and
the Financial District, the Center attracts a broad spectrum of audiences
from the Chinese community, the city at large, and the greater Bay Area, as
well as visitors from all over the country. The Center offers a variety of
educational and cultural programs. These programs range from lectures,
workshops, and classes to art exhibitions, dance and musical performances,
and cultural exchanges--all of which enable members of the Chinese American
community and the general public alike to gain a deeper knowledge of
historical as well as contemporary Chinese and Chinese American culture.
Research internships in genealogical studies engage the curiosity and
interest of young Chinese Americans in learning about their culture and its
origins. The Center is an active member of the Chinese Community Program of
the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, a support group that assists the
Museum in its community outreach. For more information about the Chinese
Culture Center, please visit www.c-c-c.org.
-------------------------------------------------------
TRAVEL - TRAVELING IN CHINA WITH PO
After attending the International Ceramics Symposium in Foshan, China in
October of 2003, I traveled through China for 11 days with ten other ceramic
artists on a tour arranged and conducted by Po. It was a most memorable
experience indeed. We traveled by air, bus and train, to wonderful
destinations such as Shanghai, Xian, Beijing and other remarkable places.
With Po (Guangzhen Zhou) as our tour guide, we got to experience many small
enjoyable things that would not have been part of a larger tour conducted by
someone else and it provided a more in-depth immersion into Chinese culture.
The accommodations were clean and comfortable and the food was delicious to
say the least.
Po was a great tour guide; he had an agenda but was also open to interests
of the group as we traveled the country. For potters wishing to go to China,
Po is the person to be with!!!!!
Tom Kerrigan
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ACTIVITIES
Claymates Calendars
The British potters put together a calendar called "Claymates". It
features 12 male British potters with no clothes on but holding a piece
of pottery. The idea is like the movie Calendar Girls. The funds from
the sale of the calendar go to help make ceramic water filters for
Africa.
The calendars will for sale at NCECA at the Chinese Clay Art Corporation
booth (they are doing this as gift, all the money goes to the charity)
Barbara Brown, Sunnyvale, California.
Chinese Clay Art Corporation at the NCECA Conference
Chinese Clay Art is going to set up a booth in the commercial exhibition at
NCECA. The booth number is 219. The total products weigh about 1,000 pounds
just shipped to Indianapolis that include clay tools, many kinds of brushes,
and books. Many newly invented products will be available for the first time
at the NCECA conference; also, there will be many discounts of up to 50%.
------------------------------------------------------
EXHIBITIONS
Judging the Big Fish, Small Pot, International Exhibition in Saddleback
College, California.
I went to Southern California on February 21st and got back on the 25th. I
brought about 30 teapots that were made out of Yixing clay (a portion of the
Yixing Ceramic Art Traveling Exhibition 2003-2004).
The total number of teapots entered was about 80 pieces from many different
areas, states and countries, plus a few teapots made by Tony Huntley, the
professor who organized this exhibition. By the entrance of the gallery,
there was a Chinese red screen with golden Chinese characters and black
English letters of the exhibition title. The exhibits around the well were
sited on the “River Bad” shelves covered by white marvel sand and rocks.
As a student of Saddleback College in early 1960’s, the winning artist
started her ceramic art career in this school, became a internationally
known ceramic artist, and now received the grand prize of this competition
for a free China trip. Her name is Annette Corcoran.
Judging Statement
The teapot, as we know it, was developed in China during the Ming dynasty
(1368-1644). The pot was designed to allow the steeping of tea leaves and
quickly became part of Chinese tea culture. What is a teapot? A vessel form
with lid, handle and spout; it holds and pours water. How big should the
teapot be? How tall should the spout be? Where should the handle be? How are
you going to serve the tea? These are questions that every ceramist asks.
For the Chinese traditional teapot maker, functionality has always been the
most important element. During the past century, the ceramic arts have
developed rapidly; what was once “pottery” has become a medium of fine art;
and the teapot form, attractive to many potters and ceramic sculptors, has
become a contemporary artists’ statement.
How does one judge ceramic works? The same approach is used in ceramics
classrooms and professional competitions. First, we must look at the
craftsmanship. What building techniques have been used? What type of surface
treatment was applied? How was the piece fired? Is it truly functional or
purely sculptural? Second, is the consideration of the artistic aspect of
the work. The important elements include the artist’s imagination, the
origin or source material, the cultural and historical references, the
decoration, etc.
Personally, I admire art works that produce a shock reaction. The visual or
psychological impact on the viewers may be the result of unique design, the
use of illusion, or perhaps some “funky” element. In this exhibition, I have
seen a diverse and multicultural example of the art of the teapot from
across the United States and several countries.
Guangzhen Zhou
San Jose, California
February 5th, 2004
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An earlier newsletter is on the Web at:
http://www.chineseclayart.com
THE END.
--------------------------------------------------------
Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
The Chinese Clay Art, USA
PO Box 1733
Cupertino, CA 95015
Tel. 408-343-3919, 408-777-8319, Fax. 408-777-8321
www.chineseclayart.com, chineseclayart@hotmail.com
Art Tools are Part of Art Works.
_________________________________________________________________
Frustrated with dial-up? Lightning-fast Internet access for as low as
$29.95/month. http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200360ave/direct/01/
clayart chinese on sun 18 jul 04
CHINESE CLAYART, July 2004, Vol. 39.
Teapot Conference, Yixing 2005, Purple Sand show in San Francisco, China
Trip of 2004, Back to School Sale-Clay Tools.
To be removed from this list, please click reply and send.
Int’l Teapot Conference Yixing 2005, Jingdezhen 1st International Ceramics
Fair, Back-to-School Sale of Chinese Clay Art.
------------------------------------------------------
"CHINESE CLAYART" is a newsletter emailed bi-monthly to professional
artists, curators, collectors, writers, experts, educators, and students in
the ceramic field who want to know about ceramic art in China and things
related. This newsletter will be a bridge between China and Western
countries for the ceramic arts. Comments and suggestions are very welcome.
(Copyright (c) 2004, The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA. All rights
reserved.)
-------------------------------------------------------
The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA
P.O. Box 1733, Cupertino, CA 95015, USA
Tel. 408-777-8319, Fax. 408-777-8321
Email: chineseclayart@hotmail.com.
Web: www.chineseclayart.com
Chief Editor: Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
English Editor: Deborah Bouchette
------------------------------------------------------
LETTER from the editor Guangzhen Zhou
Since I have gotten very busy during the last a few months, we had to skip
the May issue of our newsletter. I am very sorry about this.
I visited China for almost one month. In late May, Elaine Henry and Susan
Filley (past chairman and chairman of NCECA, respectively), a few other
American clay artists, and I visited Yixing, and we had a lunch with the
mayor of Yixing. We hosted an International Ceramic Art Conference in Yixing
in May 2001. Now, sponsored by the Yixing People's Municipality, we are
planning the International Teapot Art Conference in Yixing in 2005.
On June 3, I flew to Beijing to meet other American artists. With total of
15 participants, our group visited Beijing, Xi’an, Chenlu (a ceramic village
of Song dynasty), Jingdezhen, Yixing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou. Besides the
normal tourist sightseeing areas, we also visited the top Chinese art
schools: the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Academy of Art and Design of
Hsinghua University in Beijing, and the Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute and
China Academy of Arts.
The large lecture hall of the Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute was full of the
students that evening. Many of them were standing against the walls. Bob
Dixon, professor of Illinois University, Lee Maddleman, the chairman of the
California Artists of Clay and Glass Association, Sandy and Bob Kinzie, and
the group leader Guangzhen Zhou, all showed their slides and were received
very well by the Chinese students.
In Yixing, after we visited a few national masters’ studios, we had a larger
lunch party with over twenty Chinese artists who were invited and had
visited in the US before.
------------------------------------------------------
CONFERENCE AND EVENT
International Teapot Art Conference, Yixing, China, 2005 (proposal)
June 2-4, 2005
Visit the teapot center of the World.
Learn the unique techniques of Yixing teapot.
Meet the national masters of China and many other artists.
See the town of hundreds of thousands of potters and its teapot market.
Observe the teapot history and tea culture.
Scholarships are available for members of NCECA.
The International Teapot Art Conference and other programs are sponsored by
international and domestic organizations:
International:
The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA)
The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA
Domestic:
Yixing People’s Municipality, Jiangsu Province, PR China
Ceramic Art Branch of the China Ceramic Industrial Association, PR China
Association of Yixing Ceramics, Jiangsu Province, PR China
Conference Events:
Slide lectures, teapot workshops, and local tours to selected Masters’
studios, the Ancient Purple Sand Mine, the local Dragon Kiln, the teapot
market, Bamboo Mountain and tea plantation, and much more…
Conference Exhibitions:
International Teapot Exhibition Invitational
International Teapot Competition
Chinese Teapot Competition
Other programs:
International residency/workshop programs:
1. Teapot workshop in Yixing (June 5-11, 2005). Tour after the workshop to
Jingdezhen, Xi’an, and Beijing (June 12-20, 2005).
2. Porcelain workshop in Jingdezhen (June 5-11, 2005). Tour after the
workshop to Xi’an and Beijing.
Pre- and post-conference China tours:
Enter Shanghai before May 30, 2005, with two days touring in Shanghai.
Post conference tour to either:
1. Jingdezhen, Xian and Beijing (June 5-15, 2005);
2. Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Foshan and Hong Kong (June 5-12, 2005);
Contact:
Guangzhen Zhou, Director
The Planning Office of the Teapot Conference, Yixing, 2005
The Chinese Ceramic Art Council USA
PO Box 1733, Cupertino, CA 95015
Tel. 800-689-2529, 408-777-8319, Fax. 408-777-8321
Email: Yixing2005@hotmail.com
-------------------------------------------------------------
EXHIBITIONS
Exhibition I.
Purple Sand and Fragrant Tea - Invitation
Hosted by Chinese Culture Center and Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA.
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 29, 2004. 6-8pm.
750 Kearny Street, Holiday Inn - Third Floor. San Francisco, CA 94108, Tel.
415-986-1822.
Exhibition II.
Da Yu Xiao Hu, Big Fish Small Pot - Report
International Small Teapot Competition and Show
-- Dr. Tony Huntley
The results of “Big Fish Small Pot,” an international small teapot
competition, were on view February 24 through March 31 at Saddleback College
in Mission Viejo, California. Ceramic teapots holding less than sixteen
fluid ounces and constructed in the last three years were eligible.
Ninety-three teapots were judged by Guangzhen “Po” Zhou, ceramic artist and
director of the Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA. Selected works represented
artists from four countries and 18 US states. The winner of the Grand Prize,
a trip to visit ceramics production sites in China, was Annette Corcoran, of
Pacific Grove, California. It’s seen at the left. At only 2 inches in
height, her entry, Wood Stork Teapot, was one of the smallest pots in this
"small teapot show." Corcoran was a student of ceramics at Saddleback
College in the early 1970's. While she was at the opening reception, she
reported that Tom Gaines, the first ceramics instructor at Saddleback
College, tried hard to get her to use the wheel; however, she was determined
to master the construction of small hand-built objects. Today, Corcoran is
an internationally known for accurate and artistic representation of birds
on her porcelain teapots. The other winners in the competition included
John Hopkins of Grand Terrace, California, First Place; Susan Speck of
Mission, Kansas, Second Place; and Mei Qun Gu of Yixing, China, Third Place.
Honorable Mention was awarded to Joan Ulrich of Brooklyn, New York;
Shelley Shreiber of Denver, Colorado; Shula Paz, Irvine, California; Pat
Singley of St. Charles, Missouri; Diana Donaldson of San Clemente,
California; Stephen Fabrico of Bloomington, New York; Meryl Ruth of
Portland, Maine; and Yi Chiu Tseng of Oswego, New York.
-----------------------------------------------------
TRAVEL About the China trip of 2004
Dear All,
Here's a synopsis of our trip to China in early June. Read it if you're
interested:-).
Hope you're all having a great summer! Ours sure started out well. Now, Bob
is back at work on the roof project and I'm making pots for the Palo Alto
show in two weeks, then we'll relax a bit!
Last Saturday we returned from an 18 day fantastic trip to mainland China,
led by a wonderful man, Guangzhen "Po" Zhou, who's from Shanghai, but lives
in Cupertino. He does these trips nearly every year.
We flew to Beijing, and the 15 of us started out our city tour with the
Forbidden City, within walking distance of our hotel. On to Tiananmen
Square, then on to Academy of Art and Design, Tsinghua University to see
student work and studios. The local tour guides squeeze in the tours to the
silk factory, hoping you'll buy. Some of our group did. However, it was fun
to see the process. The next morning, off to the Great Wall with a stop at
the "pearl factory" - then on to the cable car ride to a high point on the
Wall and then we hiked for over an hour - what a sight and what a feat to
construct.
The end of the day found us on the overnight train to Xian, sharing a
compartment with another couple. Amazingly comfortable and the sights out
the window were wonderful. The train food was lacking, but the tea was good
in the morning. Had breakfast near the train station before we boarded the
bus for the hotel and by mid-morning we were off to see the Warriors. On the
way we went to the Warrior factory - fun to see them making the
reproductions. The movie at the Warrior museum is an "in-the-round" reliving
of the making and placing of the warriors and their destruction. Then we saw
them - the real ones - truly amazing and quite overwhelming. We were there
most of the day and stopped at a street market on the way back - great
bargaining!
The next day was another trip highlight - our 3 hour bus ride to the pottery
village of Chenlu. Electricity, satellite dishes and no running water. One
town WC - amazing! One town restaurant, and the food was spicy and good. The
pottery was wonderful, celadon's, black on white and a huge variety of other
more contemporary things. Everyone made things out of clay and they even
have a small museum. Visited many studios and a couple of factories, working
conditions were not great, but the folks were warm and friendly. Stopped on
the way back to the city at a large museum displaying the ceramic work of
the area.
Bob and I both felt bad that night, but it was short-lived. The next morning
we visited a mosque and great market before we caught the plane to Nanchang.
Bob was feeling considerably better by the time we had a meal on the plane
and boarded the bus to Jingdezhen. Had dinner at the hotel.
After a walk around the lake in front of the hotel before breakfast, we were
off the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Great faculty show! Much creative
work. Next was the visit to a water mill where the clay is crushed, soaked
and cut into bricks, then to the porcelain factory where two guys throw the
same pot, in 2 foot sections, as high as 8 feet. On to the next market -
more wonderful bargains.
Today we visited another, even more charming, village. Felt like we were
transported back in time, then off to the original kaolin mine, and an old
dragon kiln site. All of these places were loaded with chards! At the end of
the day, we went back to the Ceramic Institute for a slide show of our work.
There were only 5 of us with slides and little did we know that we were
going to present to over 300 people with our stuff on a huge screen.
Speaking of overwhelming!
The next day we had some time in the morning to enjoy, our favorite city,
Jingdezhen - all of the street lights and traffic lights are housed in blue
on white porcelain stations. Museums and markets were wonderful. That
evening we caught the overnight train to Chang Zhou. The next morning a bus
met us and drove us to Yixing - we thought a small village, how about
100,000 population! Unbelievable teapots! Many trips to studios, factories,
treated to tea and catalogues. Shopped at the teapot market and a great
ceramic tools store. Could have stayed much longer!
As if that wasn't enough we went on to Shanghai, the city that's going
vertical! The marvelous Shanghai Museum of Art is not to be missed. We were
treated again to a wonderful meal, given by one of the wealthy ceramic
masters who is a friend of Po's. We finished up our trip in Hangzhou, a
beautiful town south of Shanghai, situated on a lake and has the best art
university in all of China.
The only rain we had was two hard days in Shanghai, but it didn't dampen our
spirits or our schedule. We had very little sickness, great hotels,
wonderful and plentiful food, good beer and a whole lot of fun. There were
no hidden costs, so the trip was really inexpensive. Our schedule was full,
but we always had everything taken care of - even the adventures were
handled well. Po already has next summer's Yixing teapot symposium planned.
Even if you're not into clay, it's a truly wonderful trip to make.
Got a bit carried away - hope you enjoyed it if you made it to the end!
Hugs, Sandy and Bob Kinzie
CHINA TOUR AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE
Touring China with Guangzhen "Po" Zhou will be one of the most memorable
adventures you will ever have. My 19 days with "Po" left me with lifetime
memories and lifetime friends. This tour promises you a spectacular view
into the past and an unparalleled view of present day China across many
culturally important cities. From the time you arrive you will come face to
face with the people, history and landscape of cities large and small across
eastern China.
This tour is not for the meek. Those who stay in their room on their annual
DisneyWorld excursion may wish to book Florida again. You are about to see a
world like no other. You will get a true taste of Chinese cuisine. Enjoy
this opportunity to try many exotic dishes seldom served in Chinese fare in
this country. You will see not just the cities but also much of the
countryside as you travel by plane, train and bus.
While the tour focuses on ceramics you will see a lot more than ceramics.
But even those of you with only a fledgling interest in the world of clay
will find yourself drawn into the excitement of seeing extraordinary pieces
made more than two thousand years ago. Ceramics of the past, ceramics of the
present and current ceramic process will be at your fingertips. Museums,
showrooms and marketplaces will be on your itinerary.
Our tour filled my camera with more than a thousand photos and I wouldn't
have missed it for the world. Knowing the kind of tour director Po is,
tells me that yours will be just as exciting.
Rich D'Arcey - ceramic artist
PRACTICAL TIPS AND INFO:
- Traveling light is always an advantage. This is especially
true on this tour.
- The flight from San Francisco to Beijing is approximately
10 to 11 hours. We
were served two meals and a snack.
- All of China is in one time zone and is 12 hours ahead of
EST, 15 hours ahead of PST, during daylight savings time.
- Airport taxes were a modest $6, coming and going, Spring 2004.
- Make a copy of your passport, visa and all pages of your airline
ticket and carry
in a separate safe location. Note: If you lose your airline ticket,
you
will be required to purchase a new one. This may or may not be
wholly reimbursed.
- Your passport is your key to movement when traveling. You will be
asked for it often, such as in airports, train stations, hotels and
banks. Carrying your passport, airline tickets and money in a safe
but accessible place such as a money belt or daypack is imperative.
- You will be asked to fill out several short forms at the airports and on
the plane. These forms often require information from your airline
tickets, such as flight number, city of departure and destination and
from your passport such as passport number and city of issue. I
found it helpful to have this info copied to the back of a business
card in my shirt pocket. This limited the number of times I needed
to "dig out" my passport and airline tickets.
- Carry a pen or pencil in an easily accessible location.
- Phone cards are available in China. They are available at $12 each
and offer approximately 20 to 30 minutes to the west coast. Po will
help you locate these. Consider buying two to start due to limited
purchasing opportunities.
- I found it useful to exchange $100 at the airport into Yuan (or RMB).
My next opportunity to exchange was at the hotel.
- Smaller denominations such as 1, 5 and 10 Yuan were very useful.
The 20, 50 and 100 Yuan were seldom used.
- Traveler's Checks have a slightly higher exchange rate but were
difficult to exchange. Most banks and businesses did not accept
them.
- If you have never traveled by train be advised that train
compartments are relatively small. Be sure to pack for 24 hours the
day before the train. That is; have anything you need access to
available from your carry-on. This will assure you the greatest
amount of comfort and make your travel by train enjoyable.
- Many areas in China are unpaved and somewhat dusty. Respiratory
ailments are not unusual. Bring appropriate precautions such as
throat lozenges. You may even wish to bring dust masks available at
most pharmacies.
- Paper is not readily available. This includes toilet paper. Even the
hotels provide only small rolls, which can be replenished with a
simple call to housekeeping. On the road many public bathrooms
offer no toilet paper. Carry your own in a daypack or carryon. I found
it useful to carry travel-sized packets of Kleenex.
- China is one of many countries that utilize the porcelain "pan" built
into the floor. For the unacquainted this system can seem
intimidating but even with a bad back I found it much easier than it
initially appeared. Nonetheless, if you are not feeling adventurous
most facilities we visited had at least one "Western-style" commode
available. A good rule of thumb each morning is "go before you go".
- The buses are not equipped with bathrooms but bathroom breaks
are routinely taken.
- As is common in this country, hotels provide 1 small cake of soap,
toothbrush with toothpaste, 2 small bottles of shampoo, 2 bottles of
body cleanser and 2 combs for each room daily, as needed.
- Most of the hotels did offer 24 hour laundering at a reasonable price.
This helped lighten my load. My 20 year old son had a great method
of dealing with socks. He brought 19 pair of his oldest and threw
them out daily.
- All of the people we encountered were warm and welcoming. I
enjoyed having local postcards (showing where I live) available to
hand out. This was a wonderful way to cross the language barrier if
you don't happen to speak Chinese. Token gifts of any kind are fun.
- I made small medallions to give to the studio hosts. I was glad to
have a small ceramic gift as a thank you for the hospitality shown to
us often by not just the artists but also the family members and
studio workers. I gave out approximately sixty.
- If you have a digital camera - Don't leave home without it.
- Bottled water was available everywhere for between 12 and 60
cents. Usually 36 cents. It tasted fine and was safe to drink.
- You will have many opportunities to make purchases at remarkable prices.
Small suitcases for the return trip were available for under $10.
- Flights inside China allowed 44 lbs. baggage. From China to U.S. we were
allowed 70 lbs. of luggage. Check before you go.
- Although umbrellas were inexpensive and available, a lightweight
raincoat/windbreaker was useful one evening. Warm clothing was not used. Our
tour was the first two weeks of June.
- Mosquito repellant was handy but not necessary.
- Cab rides are extremely inexpensive and very available in the larger
cities.
- Traveling with strong medicine for diarrhea is always smart.
- During the tour you will receive the services of several bus drivers
and tour guide. These professionals work hard to make your trip
more enjoyable. I found them to be personable and helpful and was
pleased to "chip in" when a tip envelope was passed around. The
total for all tips came to about $45 for me.
- To keep the tour as interesting as possible Po makes frequent
changes to the schedule. This means when he finds a way to get you
into an interesting tour only the day before, he does so. So the rule
here is: If you are a bit flexible, many interesting places, events and
people will come your way.
A few words about haggling:
Most street vendors as well as many stores are willing to haggle over the
price of an item. This can be very enjoyable and you will find many great
bargains. In the end I hope each of us can remember that we are often
haggling over only a dollar or two with people who have far less than we
have. That dollar can mean a lot to them. I often found myself dickering
them down to a very low price for the enjoyment of getting such a bargain
then paying the vendor a much higher price. This may have added $40 or $50
dollars to my total trip but the enjoyment I got from spreading a bit of my
much more easily derived cash was worth it. And I won't ever admit it to my
fellow travelers. To them I'll always be the greatest bargainer.
Lastly, a few words worth learning:
Pronounced: Means:
nee - how hello
tzy - jen goodbye
boo - yow No, I don't want to buy it. I can see that it is a great
deal,
it's it's just that I don't think I can find
another place in my
suitcase for yet another great deal.
Have a great trip!
-------------------------------------------------------
OPPORTUNITIES
Invitation to the Jingdezhen 1st International Ceramics Fair
Back in the Jingde age of the Northern Song dynasty (A.D. 1004-1007),
Changnan Town in Fuliang county, Jiangxi Province, was named “Jingde Town”
by the emperor Songzhenzong. The palace had decreed that the fine porcelain
wares produced in Jingde Town would be sent to the palace, sealed “made in
the year of Jingde” at the bottom. Since that time, Jingdezhen has become
the famous world capital of porcelain.
For the millenium celebration of the establishment of Jingdezhen, the
Jingdezhen 1st International Ceramics Fair (JDZICF) will be held October
12-18, 2004. The event is sponsored by the China Association of Light
Industry, the China Association for Promoting International Trade, and the
Government of Jiangxi Province. More than three thousand guests are expected
from everywhere in the world.
The event includes the exhibitions of all kinds of ceramics, exchanges of
ceramic culture, and ceramics trade fairs. JDZICF will be held at the China
Ceramic City and the China House in Jingdezhen, which provide a big platform
of 2,000 showrooms 230,000 square meters large.
Come to Jingdezhen in October, the season of the golden autumn. All guests
from at home and abroad will be warmly welcome by the forward-looking and
warmhearted people of Jingdezhen.
Thank you!
The Organizing Committee of Jingdezhen 1st International Ceramics Fair
Note from the editor Guangzhen Zhou:
On the behalf of the Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA, we are going to lead
another group to travel to China. The cities include Shanghai, Suzhou,
Yixing, and Jingdezhen. Please contact us at chineseclayart@hotmail.com for
details.
------------------------------------------------------
BOOK
BK 014, Reality & Realism–The Ceramic Art of Ah Leon $20.00
This 96-page book is a new version of the ceramic art of Ah Leon and the
catalog of the Crocker Art Museum of Sacramento, California. Along with his
new series of Tofu, other teapot pieces and his “Bridge” were exhibited in
Crocker Art Museum Feb. 7- April 18, 2004. The internationally known
Taiwanese artist Ah Leon graduated from the Taiwan National Academy of Art
in 1976, and, influenced by the Yixing tradition, his clay works have
developed using the unique style of illusion, called trompe l’oeil style.
------------------------------------------------------
STORE Back-to-School Sale at Chinese Clay Art
The Chinese Clay Art Corp. is going to provide many popular clay tools and
brushes with very low prices for the Back-to-School Sale. For example: a
regular set of 8 pottery tools plus a stainless steel knife are just $6.50.
The big sale will start in mid-August and end October 30. Please check the
details at www.chineseclayart.com during that time.
-------------------------------------------------------
An earlier newsletter is on the Web at:
http://www.chineseclayart.com
THE END.
--------------------------------------------------------
Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
The Chinese Clay Art, USA
PO Box 1733
Cupertino, CA 95015
Tel. 408-343-3919, 408-777-8319, Fax. 408-777-8321
www.chineseclayart.com, chineseclayart@hotmail.com
Art Tools are Part of Art Works.
clayart chinese on thu 2 sep 04
CHINESE CLAYART, September 2004, Vol. 40.
Jingdezhen Special $1,750, Introduce to Yixing, and Letter from Richard
Notkin
To be removed from this list, please click reply and send.
Int¡¯l Teapot Conference Yixing 2005, Jingdezhen 1st International Ceramics
Fair, Back-to-School Sale of Chinese Clay Art.
------------------------------------------------------
"CHINESE CLAYART" is a newsletter emailed bi-monthly to professional
artists, curators, collectors, writers, experts, educators, and students in
the ceramic field who want to know about ceramic art in China and things
related. This newsletter will be a bridge between China and Western
countries for the ceramic arts. Comments and suggestions are very welcome.
(Copyright (c) 2004, The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA. All rights
reserved.)
-------------------------------------------------------
The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA
P.O. Box 1733, Cupertino, CA 95015, USA
Tel. 408-777-8319, Fax. 408-777-8321
Email: chineseclayart@hotmail.com.
Web: www.chineseclayart.com
Chief Editor: Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
English Editor: Deborah Bouchette
------------------------------------------------------
LETTER from Guangzhen Zhou, the director of Chinese Ceramic Art Council USA.
Jingdezhen Ceramic International Fair Special. Sponsored by the Chinese
government, the Jingdezhen International Ceramic Fair is coming soon. To
ensure to get enough participants for this group within few weeks, we
decided to offer the special scholarship $600-$800 for every participants.
-----------------------------------------------------
CONFERENCE and TRAVEL
Jingdezhen Ceramic International Fair Special
Partially sponsored by the Committee of Jingdezhen Ceramic International
Fair and China Tour. Application deadline: September 15, 2004.
Cost includes: International round trip flight, in-country transportation,
three meals each day and lodging (twin sharing, three star hotel), museums
tickets, tour guide/English interpreter.
Cost Excluding: Visa application (You may send your passport to Guangzhen
"Po" Zhou, director of the Chinese Ceramic Council, USA with $60 if there is
no Chinese consulate near your hometown), the U.S. domestic fights,
International Airport taxes (US $12, onetime when departure from home
flight), personal phone calls and other services. Single supplement: $40 per
day.
Plan A.
Oct. 6-18, Shanghai, Yixing and Jingdezhen. 13 days. Fee: $1,750. (original
was $2,350).
Oct. 6, Departure from the west cost of the US, or your home country,
Oct. 7, arrive Shanghai,
Oct. 8-9, Shanghai Museum, Yu Garden and the market, and ceramic art
galleries. Boat on Huangpu River.
Oct. 10, tours in Yixing. National masters¡¯ studio, dragon kiln, purple
sand factory, teapot market,
Oct. 11, tours in Yixing and bus leave to Nanjing in the afternoon. Take
overnight train to Jingdezhen,
Oct. 12, arrive in Jingdezhen in the morning,
Oct. 12-15, International Jingdezhen Ceramics Fair,
Oct. 16, take overnight train from Jingdezhen to Shanghai,
Oct. 17, Shopping and relax in Shanghai,
Oct. 18, departure from Shanghai, home flight to US.
Plan B.
Oct. 6-22, Shanghai, Yixing, Jingdezhen, Xi¡¯an and Beijing. 17 days. Fee:
$2,350. (original was $3,150).
Oct. 6, Departure from the west cost of the US, or your home country,
Oct. 7, arrive Shanghai,
Oct. 8-9, Shanghai Museum, Yu Garden and the market, and ceramic art
galleries. Boat on Huangpu River.
Oct. 10, tours in Yixing. National masters¡¯ studio, dragon kiln, purple
sand factory, teapot market,
Oct. 11, tours in Yixing and bus leave to Nanjing in the afternoon. Take
overnight train to Jingdezhen,
Oct. 12, arrive in Jingdezhen in the morning,
Oct. 12-15, International Jingdezhen Ceramics Fair,
Oct. 16, bus to Nanchang, flight to Xi¡¯an.
Oct. 17, Visit Terri-cotta Warriors Museum and antique market,
Oct. 18, visit Chenlu, a historical ceramics village,
Oct. 19, overnight train to Beijing, (Z20, 19:23-06:53).
Oct. 20, Great wall in the morning and exchange with faculty and students at
The Center Academy of Fine Arts in the afternoon,
Oct. 21, visit Tainanmen Square and Ancient Palace Museum/the Forbidden
City, and gifts shopping in the afternoon,
Oct. 22, departure from Beijing, home flight to US.
-------------------------------------------------------
CONFERENCE AND EVENT
International Ceramic Art Conference, Yixing 2005, June 2-4, 2005
Dear Friends:
I am sending this message to some ceramic artists to join me, with the
excellent tour host and guide (and ceramic artist and author), Guangzhen
"Po" Zhou, for an incredible three-plus week tour of various ceramics venues
in China in the late spring/early summer of 2005. The
tentative dates of the tour are approximately May 28 or 29 through June 20
or 21. The exact dates are still being determined.
The focus and highlight of the tour will be a major ceramic art conference
in Yixing, June 2-4. This is the reason I have assembled the list of people
that are currently being invited to join this tour, as all will be giving
slide lectures at the Yixing conference. To ensure that the conference in
Yixing will be of great value to the cultural exchange between Chinese and
Western ceramic artists, we are inviting a top roster of the most respected
artists from China and the West.
There will also be an exhibition in the museum in Yixing, and each
participant will be asked to bring a piece for the exhibition. (The pieces
can be small, as they will be exhibited in glass cases along with many
teapots of the Yixing artists, and to facilitate their transport to Yixing.)
The tour venue will begin with about three days touring Shanghai, with day
trips to the incredible Shanghai Museum of Art, the best museum of Chinese
art, historical through the present, that I have ever seen. There will also
be visits to at least one University art department and/or the Pottery
Studio (a resident artist program), antique markets, a tour of the Bund and
a boat ride in Shanghai harbor.
From Shanghai, a three-hour bus ride will take us to Yixing, the birthplace
of the teapot. The three-day conference will include slide lectures of
Yixing and Western teapot artists, demonstrations of traditional Yixing
teapot techniques, a gala opening of the exhibition, and incredibly opulent
Chinese banquets, with unending mounds of exotic foods, attended by some of
China's most renown artists and local dignitaries. There will also be
visits to a teapot factory, and several Yixing artists' studios, probably Xu
Xiu Tang, Zhou Dingfang, Luo
Xiaoping, and others. A visit to the bamboo forest where parts of
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was filmed will also be an added delight...
Following Yixing, we will travel to Jingdezhen, the Porcelain Capital of the
World, where we will conduct slide lectures at the great Jingdezhen Ceramics
Institute, meet with ceramic artists, and tour schools, the San Bao Village
and several factories. Another antiques market is in the heart of
Jingdezhen.
From Jingdezhen, we will take four-hour bus to Nanchang and take airplane to
Xi¡¯an, where we will view the incredible Terra Cotta Army of over 7,000
figures. A day visit to the terraced mountaintop ceramics-producing village
of Chenlu will probably also be included.
An overnight train will take us to Beijing, where we will visit the Beijing
Academy of Art and Design, and present slide lectures to the students. A
visit to the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the "Dirt Market" and the
lively nightlife of contemporary Beijing will round out the tour prior to
flying back to the U.S.
All trains are booked for first class cabins, with four bunks in each cabin.
It is a very comfortable way to travel, and the Chinese landscape is
mesmerizing. The hotels are three and four star, very comfortable and
air-conditioned, with safe and delicious food. I have
traveled this route several times, and with Guangzhen "Po" Zhou in 2001, and
I can highly recommend his good care and knowledge of the areas we will be
touring. His connections with artists and schools is an invaluable part of
this great and educational journey. As China is rapidly changing, this is a
good opportunity to view the traditional ceramics workshops and factories,
while they still exist.
The tour includes all travel, including airfare between the U.S. and China,
buses and trains. All hotels, all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner each
day, in traditional Chinese cuisine) and admission to the conference and
various museums on the itinerary are also included. The
cost will be approximately $2,900 per participant. I am inviting you now, so
that those of you who are employed in colleges and universities can apply
for travel grants to cover the costs of the tour. I wish that I could offer
honorariums and all that, but the institutions in China are not yet capable
of doing so. They will, however, make our stay quite memorable, and honor
our presence and cultural exchange. I guarantee a valuable and enlightening
journey.
If you are interested, please contact me soon. As I assemble a list of the
participants, I will get back to you with a more detailed and exacting
schedule, including the full cost. If you wish to recommend other artists
who you feel would be strong additions to the conference
in Yixing and tour, please send me their names and e-mail addresses.
Thank you.
I look forward to some rewarding and exciting travel in China with a great
group of artists in the spring of 2005. Be well and productive, and keep in
touch.
Sincerely,
Richard Notkin, Co-Chairman
International Ceramic Art Conference, Yixing China 2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduce to YIXING
Yixing ¨C the Pottery Capital of China and the Teapot Center of the World
Yixing is a city situated on the western side of Lake Taihu, in the
southeastern province of Jiangsu, the delta of Yangtze River, and about four
hours¡¯ driving distance from Shanghai. The area also called ¡°Fish and Rice
Countryside of Jiangnan (Southeast of Yangtze River)¡±. It is one of the
richest areas of Eastern China.
According to the history source, the ceramic production history can be
traced to 7,000 to 8,000 years ago in Yixing area. It started producing
celadon ware during the Han and Jin Dynasties, and a kiln site of the Tang
Dynasty has been excavated in the area. Today, Yixing ceramics can be
divided into five categories, also called the Five Golden Flowers: Zisha,
Jing-Tao (white dinner ware), Cai-Tao (multi-colored ceramics), Jun-Tao
(also called Jun glazed ware) and celadon. The purple sand teapots of Yixing
might be the most well known in the world.
The purple-brownish highly iron contend clay is called ¡°Purple Sand¡±
(Zisha), which mine in the Huang Long (Yellow Dragon) Mountain at Dingshu
Town mainly made into the unglazed, palm size, stoneware teapots became
well-known in the world since Ming dynasty (the late 16th century) and
Yixing city has been famous as the "Pottery Capital" of China and the
¡°Teapot Center of the world¡±.
Yixing also attracts tourists with its famous bamboo forest, its tea
plantations, and its purple sand and caves (there are over eighty caves in
the mountain area).
------------------------------------------------------
EXHIBITIONS
Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco Presents a Ceramic Exhibition of
Contemporary Yixing Master Works
PURPLE SAND, FRAGRANT TEA
750 Kearny Street, 3rd Floor (Chinatown Holiday Inn), San Francisco, CA
94108
July 30th ¨C November 27th, 2004
Gallery Hour: 10:00am-4:00 pm, Tuesday-Saturday
FREE ADMISSION
Purple Sand or "zisha" refers to the dark purplish brown stoneware
associated with Yixing, China. Yixing or zisha ware, is often identified
with the simple, rustic teapots that gained recognition during the late Ming
period in the 16th century. Chinese tea connoisseurs consider Yixing
teapots the ideal tea making vessels, noting their ability to bring forth
the flavor, color and fragrance of the tea leaves. Tea tasting, along with
the literary pursuits of poetry, calligraphy, and painting were highly
esteemed by scholar gentry who gathered in this prosperous cultural and
commercial center during the Ming (1369-1644) and Qing (1644-1911)
dynasties.
"Purple Sand, Fragrant Tea" features over 30 outstanding contemporary
artists from Yixing. Included are the works of many senior masters still
active today. Many are honored as national arts and crafts masters. These
senior masters have in turn taught and encouraged new generations of younger
potters to perfect their craft, expand beyond conventional boundaries, and
seek inspiration from new sources. The exhibition focuses on masterworks
created by these young and older artists within the last four years. They
illustrate the vital, innovative spirit that persists in Yixing today. Those
teapots. These works are part of a travelling exhibition organized and
supported in part by the Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA
(http://www.chineseclayart.com)
Free to the public, the exhibition will be on view from July 30th to
November 27th, 2004 at the Chinese Culture Center, 750 Kearny Street, 3rd
Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108. For more information, please call Mike
Curtis at (415) 986-1822 or email to mike@c-c-c.org.
------------------------------------------------------------
STORE-New products at Chinese Clay Art
Stamold: The name is combined from Stamp and Mold. This tool has two
functions. It can be direct press on clay to use as a stamp. Or use it as a
mold. Make a clay ball to match the size of the top of the Stamold. Place
the clay ball on the top. Score and moisture the surface where you are going
place on. Press Stamold onto the surface. Take away the extra clay around
and smooth out the area around.
Please check the details at www.chineseclayart.com.
-------------------------------------------------------
An earlier newsletter is on the Web at:
http://www.chineseclayart.com
THE END.
--------------------------------------------------------
Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
The Chinese Clay Art, USA
PO Box 1733
Cupertino, CA 95015
Tel. 408-343-3919, 408-777-8319, Fax. 408-777-8321
www.chineseclayart.com, chineseclayart@hotmail.com
Art Tools are Part of Art Works.
Guangzhen Zhou on wed 17 nov 04
CHINESE CLAYART, Nov. 2004, Vol. 41.
To be removed from this list, please click reply and send.
------------------------------------------------------
"CHINESE CLAYART" is a newsletter emailed bi-monthly to professional
artists, curators, collectors, writers, experts, educators and students in
the ceramic field, who want to know about ceramic art in China and things
related. This newsletter will be a bridge between China and Western
countries for the ceramic arts. Comments and suggestions are very welcome.
(Copyright 2004, The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA. All rights
reserved.)
-------------------------------------------------------
The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA
P.O. Box 1733, Cupertino, CA 95015, USA
Tel. 408-777-8319, Fax. 408-777-8321
Email: chineseclayart@hotmail.com
Web: www.chineseclayart.com
Chief Editor: Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
English Editor: Deborah Bouchette
------------------------------------------------------
FEATURES
New Book:
BK 008, Chinese Ceramic Cultural Sites-A Traveler’s Handbook. $28.00
Written by Guangzhen Zhou with Guanlu Zeng, and English editor Deborah
Bouchette. Published by Wu-Shing Publishing House, Ltd., Taiwan. This
full-color 240-page book is in both English and Chinese, and contains over
200 references for Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, such as Chinese
ceramic historical kiln sites, ceramic-related museums, galleries, studios,
schools, organizations, factories, ceramic magazines, plus some maps of
these areas and other information for travelers.
Worldwide distribution: Chinese Clay Art, PO Box 1733, Cupertino, CA 95015
Tel. 408-343-3919, 408-777-8319, Fax. 408-777-8321
www.chineseclayart.com, chineseclayart@hotmail.com
-------------------------------------------------------
CONFERENCE AND EVENT
International Ceramic Conference, Yixing, China, June 2-4, 2005
Conference update by editor Guangzhen Zhou
We have received endorsements from NCECA and the China National Ceramic
Industry Association, and the conference website www.yixing2005.org is
available with all of the information and the application forms.
From October 6 to November 4 I was in China, and I visited many cities and
places. I arrived in Shanghai on Oct. 7, and toured Shanghai and Yixing.
Then I went to Jingdezhen and, along with Rebecca Trail from Houston, Texas,
and Lee Middleman, the president of the California Association of Clay and
Glass, I participated in the First Jingdezhen International Ceramics Fair.
After my American friends left for home, I went to Longquan, Guangzhou, Hong
Kong, Macao, and Shenzhen.
During this trip, I tried to investigate the upcoming China trip itinerary
and to make some arrangements in different cities for next year. We had a
lunch with Ms. Hong Ya, vice mayor of Yixing; we were invited for a banquet
with the mayor and other guests in Jingdezhen, and I had a meeting with Mr.
Ying Yongjun, the vice mayor of Longquan.
With many of our ceramic colleagues, we will make the conference and China
tour very successful, Yixing 2005!
-------------------------------------------------------
TRAVEL
Questions and Answers about the pre- and post-tours around the Yixing
conference
(Answered by Richard Notkin)
Q: Would you provide me an invitation letter? One of the ways I might secure
support from my institution to cover some of the cost would be to have some
sort of official looking letter inviting me to this Yixing Conference as a
participant and exhibiting a piece there relevant to the conference.
A: Yes, we can provide you with some official letters regarding the
conference in Yixing and at least one of the schools where we will be
lecturing. Guangzhen "Po" Zhou will be taking care of these connections in
China.
Q: Do you have a minimum/maximum number of participants to make this go?
A: The group we will be traveling with 24 maximum. If there are more, there
will be a second tour group. All groups will intersect at the Yixing
conference and then will be separated touring on different days.
Q: Do you have English interpreter for each group?
A: We will get a travel agent to help with the hotel rooms, transportation,
and meals, and have professional tour guides (one local tour guide and one
national tour guide for each group). Po is an excellent tour leader, and we
will have a couple of translators to assist us in each area. Also, each
time I return to China, more and more Chinese speak English. It is the link
that they seek to connect to Western markets.
Po and I will also be at NCECA in Baltimore, and we can probably meet as a
group with the artists who are participating.
Q: Do you have a sign-up deadline?
Please find detailed information at www.yixing2005.org and the September
newsletter at www.chineseclayart.com. Contact us if you have further
questions.
------------------------------------------------------
PROFILE
Museum of Macao
Praceta do Museu de Macau, No. 112
Tel. 853-357911, Fax. 853-358503
www.macaumuseum.gov.mo, Email: macmuseum@macau.ctm.net
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-6pm. Closed on Monday.
Admission:
MOP 15.00 adult, MOP 8.00 children under 11 and seniors over 60,
free for children under 5, and
free on the 15th of every month.
Constructed between 1617 and 1626, the St. Paul Mount Fortress presented the
city with an efficient defense system against the numerous attacks by Dutch.
It began as a stronghold that annexed the Jesuits’ residence, church, and
Mother of God College, which had been founded by the Society of Jesus.
When the first Governor of Macao, D. Francisco de Mascarenhas, took up his
post in 1623, the fortress became the Governor’s residence and consequently
the center of political and military power until the middle of the 18th
century. Afterward, it served as the site of the observatory and a
beautiful terrace and garden.
In 1994, the decision was made to erect the Museum of Macao at the fortress,
and archaeological excavation work began to make way for its revolution and
museum construction. The construction of the three-floor museum began in
April 1995 and its doors opened in April 1998. The building is within the
interior of the fortress, with only the third story above the ground level
of the original fortress. The building contains 2,100 square meters of
exhibition space. A separate administration building, connected by tunnel,
houses an auditorium and museum shop and bar.
------------------------------------------------------
LETTER
Welcome Letter of the Chinese Clay Art Corporation
Dear Valued Customers and Friends,
In 1989, I came to the University of Minnesota-Duluth from Shanghai, China,
at which time I completed my first master’s degree. In 1999, I established a
ceramic vocational school where students of all ages, from children to
adults, come to learn. Over the past five years I have devoted much energy
to developing special curricula and programs and designing many new kinds of
tools for clay artists.
Founded at the end of 2001, and merged into Chinese Clay Art Corporation in
January 2004, our business was successfully established and has expanded
beyond our best expectations during the past three years.
We have invented and developed many new tools such as Plastic Texture Mats
(patented), Multi-Slab Cutters, Assorted Tile Cutters, Brass Double-Ended
Square Cutters, Adjustable-Zip Converted Split Leg Aprons, Stamolds, and
some new ceramic molds. Meanwhile, we have found and imported many Chinese
traditional clay tools from the Orient and made these available to you.
During the past years, we have received purchase orders from many schools,
and have established a national network of distributors, which includes:
Aardvark Clay & Supplies, Inc. - Santa Ana, California
Carolina Clay Connection - Charlotte, North Carolina
Ceramic Supply, Inc. - Lodi, New Jersey
Clay Art Center - Tacoma, Washington
Clay Planet - San Jose, California
Continental Clay Company - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Daven’s Ceramic Center - Atlanta, Georgia
Georgie’s Ceramic, Inc. - Portland, Oregon
Kickwheel Pottery Supply, Inc. - Tucker, Georgia
Phoenix Ceramic Supply - Santa Cruz, California
Seattle Pottery Supply, Inc. - Seattle, Washington
Sheffield Pottery –Sheffield, Massachusetts
Trinity Ceramic Supply, Inc. - Dallas, Texas, and many more. Many of you
can already buy our products from your local clay suppliers across the
United States.
In the coming years, our focus will continue to be developing and importing
many new products for you, our valued customers. As always, our goal is to
provide higher-quality, competitively-priced, and innovative Chinese ceramic
tools, brushes and ceramic books, and the best service to all of you. We are
pleased to present this year an even larger variety of Chinese-origin and
traditional clay tools, brushes, materials, ceramic-related books, and a
host of other products to serve the world of ceramic artists. Everyone from
beginning students to established professionals will find many items of
interest.
During the past few years, we have received many suggestions and much
support and encouragement from our valued customers and friends. On behalf
of all here at the Chinese Clay Art Corporation, I would like to express my
appreciation to all of you. We hope we may grow with you together!
To all of our customers and to everyone who has supported our business!
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Guangzhen Zhou, President
------------------------------------------------------
STORE
Holiday Sale at www.chineseclayart.com.
Chinese Clay Art Corp. offers 50% discounts on many items this holiday
season.
A free new catalog and list of new products are also available to all of our
customers. Since we have been inventing and importing new products every
three to four months, many of our newest products didn't get included in our
previous catalog. Please always visit our website at www.ChineseClayArt.com
for updated information and the seasonal discount.
We have many new items on the way and they will arrive in the US by
mid-December. Please contact us for a free new 2005 catalog by that time.
-------------------------------------------------------
An earlier newsletter is on the Web at:
http://www.chineseclayart.com
THE END.
--------------------------------------------------------
Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
The Chinese Clay Art, USA
PO Box 1733
Cupertino, CA 95015
Tel. 408-343-3919, 408-777-8319, Fax. 408-777-8321
www.chineseclayart.com, chineseclayart@hotmail.com
Art Tools are Part of Art Works.
Susan Enderle on thu 18 nov 04
> ----------
> From: Clayart on behalf of Guangzhen Zhou
> Reply To: Clayart
> Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 11:36 PM
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: Chinese Clay Art Newsletter
>=20
> CHINESE CLAYART, Nov. 2004, Vol. 41.
> To be removed from this list, please click reply and send.
> ------------------------------------------------------
> "CHINESE CLAYART" is a newsletter emailed bi-monthly to professional
> artists, curators, collectors, writers, experts, educators and =
students in
> the ceramic field, who want to know about ceramic art in China and =
things
> related. This newsletter will be a bridge between China and Western
> countries for the ceramic arts. Comments and suggestions are very =
welcome.
> (Copyright 2004, The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA. All rights
> reserved.)
> -------------------------------------------------------
> The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA
> P.O. Box 1733, Cupertino, CA 95015, USA
> Tel. 408-777-8319, Fax. 408-777-8321
> Email: chineseclayart@hotmail.com
> Web: www.chineseclayart.com
> Chief Editor: Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
> English Editor: Deborah Bouchette
> ------------------------------------------------------
> FEATURES
> New Book:
> BK 008, Chinese Ceramic Cultural Sites-A Traveler> '> s Handbook. =
$28.00
> Written by Guangzhen Zhou with Guanlu Zeng, and English editor Deborah
> Bouchette. Published by Wu-Shing Publishing House, Ltd., Taiwan. This
> full-color 240-page book is in both English and Chinese, and contains =
over
> 200 references for Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, such as =
Chinese
> ceramic historical kiln sites, ceramic-related museums, galleries, =
studios,
> schools, organizations, factories, ceramic magazines, plus some maps =
of
> these areas and other information for travelers.
> Worldwide distribution: Chinese Clay Art, PO Box 1733, Cupertino, CA =
95015
> Tel. 408-343-3919, 408-777-8319, Fax. 408-777-8321
> www.chineseclayart.com, chineseclayart@hotmail.com
> -------------------------------------------------------
> CONFERENCE AND EVENT
> International Ceramic Conference, Yixing, China, June 2-4, 2005
> Conference update by editor Guangzhen Zhou
> We have received endorsements from NCECA and the China National =
Ceramic
> Industry Association, and the conference website www.yixing2005.org is
> available with all of the information and the application forms.
> From October 6 to November 4 I was in China, and I visited many cities =
and
> places. I arrived in Shanghai on Oct. 7, and toured Shanghai and =
Yixing.
> Then I went to Jingdezhen and, along with Rebecca Trail from Houston, =
Texas,
> and Lee Middleman, the president of the California Association of Clay =
and
> Glass, I participated in the First Jingdezhen International Ceramics =
Fair.
> After my American friends left for home, I went to Longquan, =
Guangzhou, Hong
> Kong, Macao, and Shenzhen.
> During this trip, I tried to investigate the upcoming China trip =
itinerary
> and to make some arrangements in different cities for next year. We =
had a
> lunch with Ms. Hong Ya, vice mayor of Yixing; we were invited for a =
banquet
> with the mayor and other guests in Jingdezhen, and I had a meeting =
with Mr.
> Ying Yongjun, the vice mayor of Longquan.
> With many of our ceramic colleagues, we will make the conference and =
China
> tour very successful, Yixing 2005!
> -------------------------------------------------------
> TRAVEL
> Questions and Answers about the pre- and post-tours around the Yixing
> conference
> (Answered by Richard Notkin)
> Q: Would you provide me an invitation letter? One of the ways I might =
secure
> support from my institution to cover some of the cost would be to have =
some
> sort of official looking letter inviting me to this Yixing Conference =
as a
> participant and exhibiting a piece there relevant to the conference.
> A: Yes, we can provide you with some official letters regarding the
> conference in Yixing and at least one of the schools where we will be> =
> lecturing. Guangzhen "Po" Zhou will be taking care of these =
connections in
> China.
>=20
> Q: Do you have a minimum/maximum number of participants to make this =
go?
> A: The group we will be traveling with 24 maximum. If there are more, =
there
> will be a second tour group. All groups will intersect at the Yixing
> conference and then will be separated touring on different days.
>=20
> Q: Do you have English interpreter for each group?
> A: We will get a travel agent to help with the hotel rooms, =
transportation,
> and meals, and have professional tour guides (one local tour guide and =
one
> national tour guide for each group). Po is an excellent tour leader, =
and we
> will have a couple of translators to assist us in each area. Also, =
each
> time I return to China, more and more Chinese speak English. It is =
the link
> that they seek to connect to Western markets.
> Po and I will also be at NCECA in Baltimore, and we can probably meet =
as a
> group with the artists who are participating.
>=20
> Q: Do you have a sign-up deadline?
> Please find detailed information at www.yixing2005.org and the =
September
> newsletter at www.chineseclayart.com. Contact us if you have further
> questions.
> ------------------------------------------------------
> PROFILE
> Museum of Macao
> Praceta do Museu de Macau, No. 112
> Tel. 853-357911, Fax. 853-358503
> www.macaumuseum.gov.mo, Email: macmuseum@macau.ctm.net
> Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-6pm. Closed on Monday.
> Admission:
> MOP 15.00 adult, MOP 8.00 children under 11 and seniors over 60,
> free for children under 5, and
> free on the 15th of every month.
> Constructed between 1617 and 1626, the St. Paul Mount Fortress =
presented the
> city with an efficient defense system against the numerous attacks by =
Dutch.
> It began as a stronghold that annexed the Jesuits> '> residence, =
church, and
> Mother of God College, which had been founded by the Society of Jesus.
> When the first Governor of Macao, D. Francisco de Mascarenhas, took up =
his
> post in 1623, the fortress became the Governor> '> s residence and =
consequently
> the center of political and military power until the middle of the =
18th
> century. Afterward, it served as the site of the observatory and a
> beautiful terrace and garden.
> In 1994, the decision was made to erect the Museum of Macao at the =
fortress,
> and archaeological excavation work began to make way for its =
revolution and
> museum construction. The construction of the three-floor museum began =
in
> April 1995 and its doors opened in April 1998. The building is within =
the
> interior of the fortress, with only the third story above the ground =
level
> of the original fortress. The building contains 2,100 square meters of
> exhibition space. A separate administration building, connected by =
tunnel,
> houses an auditorium and museum shop and bar.
> ------------------------------------------------------
> LETTER
> Welcome Letter of the Chinese Clay Art Corporation
> Dear Valued Customers and Friends,
> In 1989, I came to the University of Minnesota-Duluth from Shanghai, =
China,
> at which time I completed my first master> '> s degree. In 1999, I =
established a
> ceramic vocational school where students of all ages, from children to
> adults, come to learn. Over the past five years I have devoted much =
energy
> to developing special curricula and programs and designing many new =
kinds of
> tools for clay artists.
> Founded at the end of 2001, and merged into Chinese Clay Art =
Corporation in
> January 2004, our business was successfully established and has =
expanded
> beyond our best expectations during the past three years.
> We have invented and developed many new tools such as Plastic Texture =
Mats
> (patented), Multi-Slab Cutters, Assorted Tile Cutters, Brass =
Double-Ended
> Square Cutters, Adjustable-Zip Converted Split Leg Aprons, Stamolds, =
and
> some new ceramic molds. Meanwhile, we have found and imported many =
Chinese>=20
> traditional clay tools from the Orient and made these available to =
you.
> During the past years, we have received purchase orders from many =
schools,
> and have established a national network of distributors, which =
includes:
> Aardvark Clay & Supplies, Inc. - Santa Ana, California
> Carolina Clay Connection - Charlotte, North Carolina
> Ceramic Supply, Inc. - Lodi, New Jersey
> Clay Art Center - Tacoma, Washington
> Clay Planet - San Jose, California
> Continental Clay Company - Minneapolis, Minnesota
> Daven> '> s Ceramic Center - Atlanta, Georgia
> Georgie> '> s Ceramic, Inc. - Portland, Oregon
> Kickwheel Pottery Supply, Inc. - Tucker, Georgia
> Phoenix Ceramic Supply - Santa Cruz, California
> Seattle Pottery Supply, Inc. - Seattle, Washington
> Sheffield Pottery > -> Sheffield, Massachusetts
> Trinity Ceramic Supply, Inc. - Dallas, Texas, and many more. Many of =
you
> can already buy our products from your local clay suppliers across the
> United States.
> In the coming years, our focus will continue to be developing and =
importing
> many new products for you, our valued customers. As always, our goal =
is to
> provide higher-quality, competitively-priced, and innovative Chinese =
ceramic
> tools, brushes and ceramic books, and the best service to all of you. =
We are
> pleased to present this year an even larger variety of Chinese-origin =
and
> traditional clay tools, brushes, materials, ceramic-related books, and =
a
> host of other products to serve the world of ceramic artists. Everyone =
from
> beginning students to established professionals will find many items =
of
> interest.
> During the past few years, we have received many suggestions and much
> support and encouragement from our valued customers and friends. On =
behalf
> of all here at the Chinese Clay Art Corporation, I would like to =
express my
> appreciation to all of you. We hope we may grow with you together!
> To all of our customers and to everyone who has supported our =
business!
> Thank you!
> Sincerely,
> Guangzhen Zhou, President
> ------------------------------------------------------
> STORE
> Holiday Sale at www.chineseclayart.com.
> Chinese Clay Art Corp. offers 50% discounts on many items this holiday
> season.
> A free new catalog and list of new products are also available to all =
of our
> customers. Since we have been inventing and importing new products =
every
> three to four months, many of our newest products didn't get included =
in our
> previous catalog. Please always visit our website at =
www.ChineseClayArt.com
> for updated information and the seasonal discount.
>=20
> We have many new items on the way and they will arrive in the US by
> mid-December. Please contact us for a free new 2005 catalog by that =
time.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> An earlier newsletter is on the Web at:
> http://www.chineseclayart.com
> THE END.
> --------------------------------------------------------
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
> Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
> The Chinese Clay Art, USA
> PO Box 1733
> Cupertino, CA 95015
> Tel. 408-343-3919, 408-777-8319, Fax. 408-777-8321
> www.chineseclayart.com, chineseclayart@hotmail.com
> Art Tools are Part of Art Works.
>=20
> =
_________________________________________________________________________=
_____
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>=20
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>=20
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at =
melpots@pclink.com.
>=20
>=20
Guangzhen Zhou on mon 17 jan 05
CHINESE CLAYART, Jan. 2004, Vol. 42.
To be removed from this list, please click reply and send.
------------------------------------------------------
NCECA International Juried Teapot Exhibition, Yixing Conference Schedule,
and Special Offers from Chinese Clay Art
------------------------------------------------------
"CHINESE CLAYART" is a newsletter emailed bi-monthly to professional
artists, curators, collectors, writers, experts, educators and students in
the ceramic field, who want to know about ceramic art in China and things
related. This newsletter will be a bridge between China and Western
countries for the ceramic arts. Comments and suggestions are very welcome.
(Copyright 2005, the Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA. All rights
reserved.)
-------------------------------------------------------
The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA
P.O. Box 1733, Cupertino, CA 95015, USA
Tel. 800-689-2529, Fax. 408-777-8321
Email: chineseclayart@hotmail.com
Web: www.chineseclayart.com
Chief Editor: Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
English Editor: Deborah Bouchette
------------------------------------------------------
CONFERENCE AND EVENT
The International Ceramic Art Conference, Yixing, China, 2005
Program Schedule (details and names will be added soon)
June 1-------------
9:00am – 7:00pm
Hotel lobby: Registration and delivery of art work for International
Ceramic Art Exhibition Invitational
June 2-------------
9:00am-12:00 noon
Yixing Ceramics Museum: Opening ceremony. Speeches by the mayor of Yixing
and guests from China and abroad. Visit the museum exhibition halls after
the opening ceremony.
12:00 noon-2:00pm, lunch time.
2pm – 5:30pm
Lectures: Historical development of Chinese and contemporary
western/American ceramics.
1. The development and history of the teapot in Yixing.
2. The contemporary western teapot.
6pm – 8pm
Welcome banquet hosted by the mayor of Yixing.
8:00pm – 10pm, lectures:
1. Exchange of artists’ afterthoughts on the subject of ceramic art
creation.
2. Ceramic art statements, education and markets of the West and the East.
June 3-------------
8:00am – 12:00 noon, clay studio tours.
12 noon – 2pm, lunch time.
2:00pm – 5:30pm
Teapot workshop and clay workshops by eastern and western artists, and slide
talks by eastern and western artists.
1. Hand-building techniques of the traditional Yixing teapot.
2. Hand-building techniques by western artists.
3. Pottery wheel throwing techniques by Chinese and western artists.
5:30pm – 7pm, dinner time.
7pm – 9pm
Forum for ceramic artworks (Chinese artists and overseas artists to be
decided after their arrival, with a 5-minute and 10-slide limit for each
person; 24 artists in total).
June 4-------------
8:00am – 12:00 noon, kiln site and teapot market tours.
12 noon – 2pm, lunch time.
2:00pm – 5:30pm, cave and bamboo forest tours.
5:30pm – 7:00pm, dinner time.
7:00pm – 9:00pm
Panel discussion: The cross-cultural influences that have occurred in the
aesthetics of the teapot, leading to a truly international teapot movement.
June 5-------------
Depart to other cities based on individual schedules.
-------------------------------------------------------
TRAVEL
Chinese Ceramic Cultural Tours and Exchanges
In conjunction with the Yixing conference, pre- and post-conference tour
programs will be included: northern China tours to Shanghai, Yixing,
Jingdezhen, Xi’an and Beijing; and southern China tours to Shanghai, Yixing,
Hangzhou, Jingdezhen, Longquan, Foshan and Hong Kong. Please visit our
website at www.yixing2005.org, or www.chineseclayart.com.
Any one who has paid the deposit before March 31, 2005, will receive a free
copy of the book "Chinese Ceramic Cultural Sites – A Travelers’ Handbook."
Please visit the book section of our website www.chineseclayart.com for
details on this book.
------------------------------------------------------
ACTIVITIES
The Yixing Ceramic Art Delegation will be in the U.S. for the NCECA
conference in Baltimore, Maryland, in March 2005. The delegation will be led
by the Vice Mayor, Ms. Ya Hong, and the total delegation will number twelve
participants, including two national arts and crafts masters. For details,
please contact us at chineseclayart@hotmail.com.
------------------------------------------------------
OPPORTUNITY – Letter from NCECA
The International Teapot Art Conference, Yixing, China, June 2-4, 2005
NCECA is working with the Chinese Ceramic Art Council to promote the
International Teapot Art Conference, Yixing, China, this coming June. This
unique Chinese town is the capital of the special Yixing Teapots and
supports many ceramics studios and master artists. The conference will offer
studio tours, opportunities to observe the history of teapot making and
Chinese tea culture, and visits to the ancient purple sand clay mine and
dragon kiln sites. In conjunction with the conference, NCECA is organizing
a special international exhibition of teapots and helping to coordinate
three scholarship awards for travel to the Teapot Conference next June. You
may learn more about the conference at www.Yixing2005.org, and
www.ChineseClayart.com.
NCECA International Juried Teapot Exhibition: Deadline: February 15, 2005.
The Yixing Ceramics Museum in Yixing, PR China, will host the NCECA 2005
International Teapot Exhibition from June 2 to June 18, 2005. This
international showcase exhibition will be held in conjunction with the
Yixing Teapot Conference in Yixing, June 1 through June 4.
The Call for Entries will be sent electronically to NCECA members in early
January and it will be available on the NCECA website at www.nceca.net. If
you are not on email and wish to receive the call for entries, please
contact the NCECA office at 1.866.266.2322.
The deadline for entries is February 15, 2005.
All works selected must be for sale, and must have a retail value of no more
than $500. For further information, contact Elaine O. Henry, NCECA Past
President, at henryela@emporia.edu.
Elaine Henry, Chair
Department of Art, Emporia State University
Campus Box 4015, Emporia, Kansas 66801
620.341.5695, henryela@emporia.edu
------------------------------------------------------
LETTERS
Letter of Invitation for the International Ceramic Art Conference, Yixing,
China, 2005
Dear Ceramic Artists and Educators,
On behalf of the Eastern and Western Ceramic Cultural Exchange Program, we
are pleased to invite you to visit Yixing, China, and participate in the
International Ceramic Art Conference, Yixing and Chinese ceramic cultural
tours and exchanges in China.
Founded in 1998, the Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA, is an organization
that promotes exchanges between the ceramic art communities of the East and
West. During the past few years we have organized annual International
Ceramic Artists Delegations, visited China and invited Chinese artists to
come to the US. We have also held many exchange art exhibitions in both
countries.
This conference will be held June 2-4, 2005. It is sponsored by the National
Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA); the Chinese Ceramic Art
Council, USA; the Yixing People’s Municipality, Jiangsu Province, PR China;
the China Ceramic Industrial Association; the Ceramic Art Branch of the
Jiangsu Arts and Crafts Association, PR China; the Yixing Ceramics
Association, Jiangsu Province, PR China; and the Yixing Ceramics Museum,
Yixing, PR China.
It will be a chance for foreign ceramic experts to visit the Pottery Capital
of China and the Teapot Center of the World, to learn the unique techniques
of Yixing ceramics, to meet the national masters of China and many other
artists, to see the town of hundreds of thousands of potters and the teapot
market, and to observe teapot history and tea culture.
The conference includes slides lectures by eastern and western artists; a
slides forum by eastern and western artists; a panel discussion; workshops
by eastern and western masters; along with local tours of selected masters’
studios, the ancient purple sand clay mine, the dragon kiln site, the teapot
market, the bamboo forest (Crouching Tiger movie), and a tea plantation.
We also will host the International Teapot Competition, the International
Ceramic Art Exhibition, the Yixing Ceramic Art Historical Exhibition, the
Chinese Contemporary Ceramic Art Exhibition, and the Chinese Teapot
Competition.
Pre- and post-conference tour programs include northern China tours to
Shanghai, Yixing, Jingdezhen, Xi’an and Beijing; and southern China tours to
Shanghai, Yixing, Hangzhou, Jingdezhen, Longquan, Foshan and Hong Kong.
During the pre-conference and post-conference tours, we will visit the
ceramics schools (Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute and Tsinghua University) and
participate in exchanges with the Chinese art faculty and students.
For details, please visit our website at www.Yixing2005.org, or
www.ChineseClayart.com.
Your interaction is of great value to the cultural exchange between Chinese
and western ceramic artists, leading to a greater understanding between the
ceramic artists of both cultures.
For further information, please feel free to contact us toll free at
800-689-(CLAY) 2529.
We are looking forward to meeting you in the United States!
Sincerely,
Guangzhen “Po” Zhou, Director
The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA
A hard copy of this invitation letter is available by request.
------------------------------------------------------
NEW CLAY TOOL and BOOK STORE
The Chinese Clay Art Corporation will participate in the NCECA conference in
Baltimore, Maryland, March, 2005. We will bring a lot of new products and
will offer discounts of up to 50% for our valued customers again. For our
free 2005 catalog, please visit our booth at #301.
Special Offers:
A free poster, “100 Teapots of Yixing,” is available with a limit of one
copy for each customer.
S&H fee: $7.00. Additional copies are $6.00 each. Wholesale price is $4.00
each (20 copies or more, plus S&H).
Offer expires January 31st, 2005. The poster will arrive before March 10,
2005.
B950, Poster: 100 Contemporary Teapots of Yixing China. $12.00.
This full-color poster is 21”x 31” in a vertical format, and has 100
different teapots designed by 61 artists.
OB 41b, Denim Bag, black with white-printed “Clay Art.” 14” x 15”, $4.00.
50% of the sales of this item will be donated to “Clay Art.”
N2011, Plastic Poster Tube, adjustable to 39”. 3” diameter, 25” long,
$12.00.
For storing posters, a large roll of sketch paper, or other documents.
WR 54, Jade Dual Roller, width 2.2”/3”, $24.00.
CR 03, Loop Tool, stainless w/saw, $6.50.
-------------------------------------------------------
An earlier newsletter is on the Web at
http://www.chineseclayart.com
THE END.
--------------------------------------------------------
Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
The Chinese Clay Art, USA
PO Box 1733
Cupertino, CA 95015
Tel. 408-343-3919, 408-777-8319, Fax. 408-777-8321
www.chineseclayart.com, chineseclayart@hotmail.com
Art Tools are Part of Art Works.
Guangzhen Zhou on sat 9 jul 05
CHINESE CLAYART, July 2005, Vol. 45.
To be removed from this list, please click reply and send.
------------------------------------------------------
"CHINESE CLAYART" is a newsletter emailed bi-monthly to professional
artists, curators, collectors, writers, experts, educators and students in
the ceramic field, who want to know about ceramic art in China and things
related. This newsletter will be a bridge between China and Western
countries for the ceramic arts. Comments and suggestions are very welcome.
(Copyright 2005, the Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA. All rights
reserved.)
-------------------------------------------------------
The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA
P.O. Box 1733, Cupertino, CA 95015, USA
Tel. 800-689-2529, Fax. 408-777-8321
Email: chineseclayart@hotmail.com
Web: www.chineseclayart.com
Chief Editor: Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
English Editor: Deborah Bouchette
------------------------------------------------------
PROFILE
Chinese Clay Art Scholarship:
Since 1998, the Chinese Ceramic Council USA has sponsored many international
ceramic conferences, exhibitions and other ceramic cultural exchange
programs. This scholarship is mainly funded by the Chinese Clay Art
Corporation USA and partially funded by the municipalities in China that are
ceramic production centers, such as Yixing, Foshan and Jingdezhen.
Honorary Award, ($200-$3,000)
This award is for invited well-known artists, educators, writers or magazine
editors who are going to participate and contribute to Chinese ceramic
cultural exchange programs, such as international conferences, exhibitions,
China ceramic tours; especially for those who were invited to present slide
lectures or to be a group leader (bringing six or more participants for our
international exchange programs). The honorarium may be used to cover
partial costs of the ceramic exchange programs.
Purchase Award, ($100-$3,000)
This award for both well-known artists and emerging artists who have had
shown their art works in the international exhibitions, and the Chinese
Ceramic Art Council USA purchases their art works for permanent collections.
Those who have received a Chinese Ceramic Art Scholarship are as follows:
Honorary Award, 2005
Meiqun Gu, Yixing China
Richard Notkin, Montana, USA
Tony Huntley, California, USA
Bob Dixon, Illinois, USA
Barbara Brown, California, USA
Jason Walker, USA
Sergei Isupov, Estonia
James Lawton, USA
Susan Beiner, USA
David Furman, USA
John Neely, USA
Mattew Kelleher, USA (First Place Award of the NCECA International Teapot
Competition)
Tony Franks, UK
Don McCance, USA
Janet Mansfield, Australia
Purchase Award, 2005
Bo Zhou, Yixing, China
Purchase Award, 2000
Marilyn Levine, California, USA
-------------------------------------------------------
CONFERENCE AND EVENT
The International ceramic art exhibitions came to a successful close in the
Yixing Ceramics Museum, Yixing, China, at the end of June 2005. We received
over one hundred art works in total, and most of them were donated to the
museum by the artists. In addition, Barbara Brown has donated an antique
pewter teapot to the museum. When the red covered certificates were handed
over to the artists on the evening of the closing ceremony, the applause
echoed from the highest reaches of the hall.
Earlier in the summer at the Teapot Center of the World-Yixing, there were
over 200 participants from fourteen countries and ceramic artists and
experts from all over China. The president of the International Academy of
Ceramics, Tony Franks, the vice president Janet Mansfield, and NCECA
secretary Don McCance all participated in the conference.
Both eastern and western artists shared their slides of teapots and
sculptures with the audience. The panel discussion received very strong
reactions discussing the similarities and differences of art concepts
between east and west, traditional and contemporary.
Nearly 50 western artists continued on the China ceramic tour after the
conference. They went not only to the regular tourist areas, such as the
Museum of Terri-Cotta Warriors, the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, but
also visited many Chinese traditional ceramic studios, factories and kiln
sites, and presented their slides at the Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute in
Jingdezhen and the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.
-------------------------------------------------------
TRAVEL
China Tour and Ceramic Fairs in the golden autumn, Oct. 5-24
Cost: $3,450 (Scholarship available, please contact at
chineseclayart@hotmail.com for details)
Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai, Jingdezhen, Guangzhou/Foshan, Hong Kong and
Beijing.
Itinerary:
10/5, leave from the US.
10/6, arrive in Beijing in the evening.
10/7, 10/8, evening, overnight train to Xi'an.
10/8, visit the museum of Terri-Cotta Warriors.
10/9, fly to Shanghai.
10/10, Shanghai Museum, Yu garden and Yu market, cruise on the Huangpu
River.
10/11, fly to Jingdezhen.
10/12-14, Jingdezhen International Ceramic Fair and local ceramic cultural
tour.
10/15, fly to Guangzhou/Foshan.
10/16, China International Ceramic Fair-Foshan and local ceramic cultural
tour.
10/19, train to Hong Kong.
10/21, direct train from Hong Kong to Beijing (or fly from Shenzhen to
Beijing).
10/22, Great Wall and the Forbidden City.
10/24, depart from Beijing and fly home.
------------------------------------------------------
ACTIVITIES
Thoughts on Yixing, China 2005 tour
The tour this year took us from Shanghai to Yixing, where we
participated and enjoyed the Yixing 2nd Teapot Conference.
The teapot conference attracts bright and ambitious artists; and almost
unnoticed, we continue to build on the concept that ceramics is our virtual
arena, which brings together and helps support the programs needed for
future growth of our art. It strengthens the research, technological
advances and economic developments both here and beyond.
Yixing has a rich sensuousness and formal conclusion coupled with
meaning that appeals to our feelings and intellect. Despite the challenges,
the ceramic arts expect to move ahead on many fronts. By its nature, the
ceramics arts encompass the spirit and optimism, fueled by good ideas,
imagination, and, ultimately, hard work. Yixing inspires us to plan ahead
with hope and to prepare for a future with endless possibilities.
As I see it, the slide presentation and panel became a forum for an
exchange of information, a communication between the artist and the arts, a
give and take arena to discuss our latest work. Not a platform for…’my work
is better than your work’. This arena continues to embody a sound mission,
by producing provocative and contemporary works. The work we produce will
become the expression of self, a manifestation of freedom. The artists are
fully conscious of their responsibilities for their work and continue to
discover truth by their continued research. What is worth noting is the
self-assurance of each, both East and West.
Making art is a complicated, critical…particularly self-critical;
process that has the basic intent of trying to interpret an idea in some
way. There is also a deeper interpretive understanding required. Goals are
to be set by the artist. But are the goals critical and indebted rather than
practical?
When we speak of teapots as art, we search for some distinctions within
the body of one art. These works can represent basic attitudes towards the
world. Even if one concentrates on one’s subjective state of mind, or
whether one conceives world relationships, or whether one simply
contemplates on self; all depends on ethical and emotional aspects, on one’s
character or on one’s personal view. These provide the basis by which the
work was produced, namely style. Attitudes and age also are determinate
factors.
Trying to discover the elements of artistic form, even in a teapot, is
a valid venture for us. These are social times and artist as a social being
likes to encircle him- or herself with those things adored or feared. Forms
may light up the human mind but they do not fill it. Art is not the main
ingredient of life. The main concern belongs to the store of knowledge we
gain by our continued pursuit of form and content.
In the arts, the form of a teapot is actually complete before we come
to it. All that the artist has to do; is to bring us to it. So, whether you
pour another cup of tea, or just contemplate a teapot’s form and content;
first, just enjoy.
by Bob Dixon (I have been going to China since 1995, and find the tours get
better each year.)
------------------------------------------------------
OPPORTUNITIES
Information about the ceramic fair in China
Oct. 12-18, Jingdezhen International Ceramic Fair 2005
Oct. 13-20, China International Ceramic Fair, Foshan 2005
The Annual International Ceramic Fairs are usually held by the local
governments of ceramics-producing areas and sponsored by the central
government, and the fairs offer trading business opportunities in the
ceramics field. The ceramics fairs feature many companies that provide raw
materials, tools, equipment, and the finished ceramic products such as daily
utensils, decorative items and architecture products.
For more details on the fairs, please contact: chineseclayart@hotmail.com.
------------------------------------------------------
CLAY TOOLS and BOOK STORE
A lot of newly invented clay tools will have arrived by the end of July,
such as the wood molds of butterfly, dragonfly, frog, and Chinese characters
of longevity, double happiness, good luck and love.
Breathable Clay Board is another of our patented products. Do the bottoms of
your greenware clay works dry too slow? Slabs curve during the drying
process because the top side dried too fast? The Clay Board has many small
holes through the surface to the bottom that allow the board to breathe. The
board’s surface is covered by canvas. Moisture from the bottom of greenware
will be able to escape easier and make your wet clay works dry evenly and
faster.
Requested by many of our customers, we have developed larger size (12” x
16”) texture mats. The first will be the larger wood texture mats, which
will arrive by the end of this month.
Please check out the details at our website www.chineseclayart.com.
-------------------------------------------------------
An earlier newsletter is on the Web at:
http://www.chineseclayart.com
THE END.
--------------------------------------------------------
Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
The Chinese Clay Art, USA
PO Box 1733
Cupertino, CA 95015
Tel. 408-343-3919, 408-777-8319, Fax. 408-777-8321
www.chineseclayart.com, chineseclayart@hotmail.com
Art Tools are Part of Art Works.
Guangzhen Zhou on sun 5 mar 06
CHINESE CLAYART, March 2006, Vol. 49.
To be removed from this list, please click reply and send.
------------------------------------------------------
"CHINESE CLAYART" is a newsletter emailed bi-monthly to professional
artists, curators, collectors, writers, experts, educators and students in
the ceramic field, who want to know about ceramic art in China and things
related. This newsletter will be a bridge between China and Western
countries for the ceramic arts. Comments and suggestions are very welcome.
(Copyright 2005, the Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA. All rights
reserved.)
-------------------------------------------------------
The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA
P.O. Box 1733, Cupertino, CA 95015, USA
Tel. 800-689-2529, Fax. 408-777-8321
Email: chineseclayart@hotmail.com.
Web: www.chineseclayart.com
Chief Editor: Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
------------------------------------------------------
NEW BOOK: Works by Ceramic Artists from Around World
Last summer, we have sent invitations for compiling a book of selected
international ceramic masters and their works. Finally, the book has been
printed and will arrive in the US by the end of April. I would like to thank
all of you who supported this project, and I apologize to those who didn’t
get selected in the book due to the incomplete information or low quality of
the pictures.
Please visit our website for the details, the name list of the artists or to
purchase this book at www.ChineseClayArt.com by April 2006 – Guangzhen Zhou,
editing committee member of the book.
From the Chief Editor in Jingdezhen, China, November, 2005 This album,
Works by Ceramic Artists from Around the World, is sponsored by the Ministry
of Commerce and Jingdezhen Municipal People’s Government. It introduces 448
ceramic artists from eighteen countries and their works, in both Chinese and
English. With over 500 pages, it consists of two parts, one for domestic
artists and the other for those from overseas. Among the 228 ceramic artists
selected for the domestic part, there are 23 Masters of Ceramic Art from
Taiwan and Hong Kong; the artists from mainland China represent the main
ceramic-making areas, five historical kilns and main institutes. Among these
artists, more than 90% have advanced professional titles, about 20 embrace
the title of Masters of China Arts and Crafts, and 40 are professors in
institutes or universities. Among the 220 overseas artists, selected out of
350 nominees, there are Masters of Ceramic Arts who enjoy the title of
“Living National Treasure”, “Master of Craftsman”, well-known professors and
ceramists. This album reveals the current trend of modern ceramic art and
the latest development in China. In a sense, it creates mutual learning
opportunity for both Chinese and foreign artists. We also believe that the
successful publication of this album establish a new level, in terms of
scale of the work, the scope of the selection, the quality of the works
selected, the culture content and range of circulation.
It is a challenge to compile this album, the content of which comes from the
world and goes towards the world. The brainstorming about this album traces
back to February last year, and the final completion is only possible due
to the great effort of the editor, the enthusiasm of artists called upon,
the strong support from the government. On this occasion, we extend our
sincere appreciation to all that participate by giving instructions and
supports, collecting data, translating, designing picture and finally
putting it to press. We would like to extend our gratitude to Mr. Steve
Brousseau (Canada), Mr. Huang Yi, Mr. Zheng Xiaoqing for their supports,
also to the leaders and chief editor of the press for their the trust and
supports, the following group who gives valuable help on translation:, Mr.
Zhang Dongxu, Ms. Zhang Lesi, Ms. Wang Xinlan, Ms. Li Li, Ms. Yang Huan.
In addition, not all the artists nominated are selected, as a result of
limited space, incomplete individual materials, or the bad quality of
pictures. We feel this is a big regret and hope it to be understood by all
affected.
Because the whole work was finished under a very tight timeline, there could
be some mistakes. We would greatly appreciate it if the readers could supply
us with any feedback and advice.
-----------------------------------------------------------
FEATURES
Panjiayuan Antique Market, Beijing China
Shan huan nan Road, East South of Beijing,
Hours: Sat and Sunday, 6am – 4pm.
We came in the back gate, to the right was a row of vendors with merchandise
on the ground. These are usually the cheapest places to buy (they may have
some real good stuffs too. Noted by Po Zhou). One man had of bag of things
on the ground with a sign 10 Yuan ($1.20 US). I got several small wood
carved necklace pieces. One man had many wood rice cake stamps.
Then there are several rows of permanent stall with doors and in front of
these there is a large area with work on tables under large sun shade that
covers the whole area. Here work is by type (rows of brush paintings, metal
work, pottery etc). The ceramics are the last 5 rows in the front-left side
a mixture of ceramics and ethnic crafts and right side is Yixing teapots and
porcelain. The far right side of the area out in the sun is a row of books
and magazines for sale. There are several more areas where people rented
space with work on ground. Bargain for everything. It helps to have a focus
on what you want to buy, if not it will seem overwhelming. My 2001 trip
looked for hare’s fur glazed bowls Mel is making.
Barbara Brown, 1225 Manzano Way, Sunnyvale, CA 94089, bbrown3@webtv.net,
www.silverhawk.com/crafts/bbrown97.
-------------------------------------------------------
PROFILE
Xiaoming Shi, the visiting Artist from Yixing, China, arrived on February
7th, 2006. Xiaoming Shi did a slide presentations and teapot workshops at
Mother Earth Clay Art Studio, in Sunnyvale, California; Saddleback College,
Mission Viejo, California; Soka University, Aliso Viejo, California; and
Riverside City College. Riverside, California. Xiaoming Shi will
be Portland Oregon for the NCECA conference, where he will present a slide
talk at the International Slide Forum with other Chinese artists. He will
leave for China on March 13, 2006.Born in 1970, Mr. Xiao-Ming Shi is a
member of the Chinese SculptureAssociation, a member of the Jiangsu Folk
Artists' Association and is the vice secretary-general of Jiangsu Pottery
Art Committee.
Bio of Xiaoming Shi
In 1989, Mr. Shi started to work and study with the Chinese national master
Mr. Xu Xiutang, famous for his use of the purple sand clay as a sculptural
material. Along with Mr. Xu and other co-workers, Mr. Shi has made many
figurative public sculpture projects. Also, he has created some series of
teapots with very detailed wood and leather effects. Mr. Shi's works come in
both large and small, sculptures and vessel forms, realism and naturalism.
In his teapot series of "Continuation", he made old-dead tree trunks as the
main body of the vessel, and added the "yang boys" who sit on the top of the
teapot lid, suggesting the new life of the
world. During the past two decades, Mr. Shi has received many prizes
internationally, such as: the bronze medal of the First Chinese Modern
Ceramics Exposition in Shanghai, the excellent award on the Sixth China
National Competition of Ceramic Art Designs and New Creations, a third-class
award at the Ceramic Art Competition of Jiangsu and a bronze medal at the
First China National Fair of Great Masters' Works and Ceramic Art Super-fine
in Hangzhou, the first-class award at Yixing International Ceramic Art
Exhibition-the International Ceramic conference-Yixing, China 2001. His
works arre published in many books, including The Chinese Modern Art
Collections. He has been invited to participate in the Special Ceramic
Super-fine Exhibition of Modem Chinese Well-known Artists, separately held
in Beijing and Hong Kong-1997, and participated in Jiangsu Ceramic Art
Exposition of Nanjing Museum,?Zisha Pottery Collections Exposition in the
Historic Museum of Taiwan, and the Republic of Korea for ceramic art
exchanges. He also joined the Sixth China Art Festival in Nanjing. At the
same time, his works are in many private collections and public museums.
-------------------------------------------------------
TRAVEL
Once again, we are going to have the ceramic tour of China in April and June
this year.
You can find the details at our website: www.ChineseClayArt.com.
------------------------------------------------------
ACTIVITIES
Dinner Party with Chinese Delegation in NCECA, March 10th, 6:30pm.
The restaurant address is:
Ah Fong Kitchen, 1815 SE 82nd Ave, Portland OR 97216, tel. 503-774-0061.
Once again, it is the time for our China Reunion. A dinner party will be
hosted by Chinese Clay Art Corp. during the conference. Everyone is
welcome-for those of you who have been in China, or will be in China in the
further, please come to join our party. You will meet your old friends, and
make new friends. Please come to our booth (number 207) for reservation.
We have been inviting Chinese artist delegations for visiting NCECA since
1999. This year, the participants will be including Jingsong Bao, the
director of Yixing Ceramics Museum, Yixing, China, Ma Zhiyuan, the vice
president, and Shi Guofu, the director of Ceramic Art Department, from the
Wuxi Institute of Arts and Technology in Yixing, China, Shi Xiaoming and
Zhao Mingmin, the Craft masters of Yixing, and some others.
------------------------------------------------------
EXHIBITIONS
Big Fish and Small Pot, Second International Teapot Competition
Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA 92692. http://gallery.saddleback.edu
On February 16, 2006, a unique teapot show opened with a reception at
Saddleback College, in Mission Viejo, California. The weather was beautiful,
with sunshine between rainy days. Dim sum and tea were served outside of the
gallery. At the gallery entrance were sign in both Chinese and English
reading "Big Fish, Small Pot" against a red in with red background. Inside
the gallery there were about 100 teapots displayed on the pedestals and on
black shelves flowing around the walls. We received 204 entries from the
artists representing six countries; almost half of them were selected for
the show. Also on display were nine teapots by Xiaoming Shi, an artist from
Yixing, China. Samples of Chinese tea and Chinese antique furniture were
also displayed.?It was very difficult to pick prize winners; it took me over
three hours. There were many strong pieces. In the end we selected 18
honorable mentions, one third prize, one second prize, one first prize, and
one grand prize. The grand prize winner will receive a China tour in June
2006. The first piece that captured my eyes was the tiny teapot decorated
with a detailed colorful landscape done by the internationally known artist
Annette Corcoran, of Pacific Grove, California. It was her new version of a
teapot without birds. The funnel shaped teapot was done by the Swiss artist,
Francois Ruegg, was very unique in design. "Spring Veneer," a teapot whose
form appeared to be half-furniture and half-beast had a subtle plant color
and texture, a mature quality of in the technique and an overall harmony. I
could not refuse it. At the opening ceremony, Tony Huntley and Gloria
Gimbrone, co-curators of the show, introduced the crowd to the maker of this
grand prize winning tea pot, Robert Lawarre III, of Sanford, Florida. Thanks
to Associated Student Government of Saddleback College and the Saddleback
College Foundation, who helped make this show possible. Thank you to
everyone who supported and participated in this exhibition.
---By the exhibition juror Guangzhen Zhou
Spring Veneer—Robert William LaWarre III
My approach to “Spring Veneer” was the embodiment of two philosophies,
Eastern and Western. I have combined the elements of precision,
functionality, and surface treatment of the Yixing aesthetic with a fluidity
that is characteristic of my work. I designed the first of this series,
drawing from the traditional forms of Chinese teapots. Porcelain was chosen
as the medium to achieve the detailed surface I was looking for. I began
with a stretched slab that was impressed with one of my handmade textured
rollers. Once the slab was cut, folded, and attached at the corners, I was
able to stretch the box from the inside to make it appear more organic. The
form was then closed off with a slab top to allow for the addition of the
hand formed legs, spout, handle, and lid. The decision to use a metallic
black slip was made to give the appearance of a dark clay body. This
technique enabled me to have a white background to amplify the green glaze.
The teapot was then fired to cone 9 to insure functionality. The affect that
was achieved is that of a second skin over the teapot, enveloping the
history of this vessel. This symbolizes the new dimension I brought to this
traditional art form.
Biography of Robert William LaWarre
I am a practicing ceramic artist and teacher from Sanford Florida. My
work consists primarily of hand built elements, using techniques developed
with a mechanics and fabricators background. Due to my production potter
foundation, my work has evolved toward vessel oriented forms whether they
are functional or sculptural. These pieces have been nurtured and permitted
to develop into the forms they desire to be, much like a child. I have
learned to accept each piece for its inherent differences and to accentuate
the imperfections. Embracing these traits brings life to the work.
Recently I have seen evidence that others embrace these qualities as
well. In 2006 I have applied to eight national and international shows and
have gained acceptance into all eight. Three of the eight shows have already
opened and I have earned awards from two of them. I have been awarded Best
of Show in the “Second International Small Teapot Show” and a Purchase Award
in the “International Orton Cone Box Show”. My biggest reward this year has
been the trip to China that I was given in the “Second International Small
Teapot Show”. This trip allows me the opportunity to fulfill a dream of
studying Chinese culture, which has been a major influence of my artwork. I
plan to bring this experience back to my studio and classroom.
The desire to become a ceramic artist started for me as I entered the art
program at the University of Central Florida in 1997. At UCF, the potential
to become a proficient ceramist became apparent to me as I graduated with my
BFA in Ceramics in 2002. Aspiring to give back to the community and work in
the area of the arts materialized when I accepted the opportunity to teach.
I began teaching summer camp at Rollins College and then in the secondary
education systems of Orange and Seminole Counties. This afforded me the
chance to see how people of all ages can contribute to the arts, sharing and
developing ideas. My own students inspire me with their great work and
frequent awards.
I have finished my education certification and I am currently settled
into an AP Art position at Oviedo High School. Now it is time for me to
concentrate on my work and model for my students how to be a successful
practicing artist. My students already understand the virtues of
exploration, hard work, and patience, and they can see the results of this
philosophy in their work and my own.
Robert William LaWarre III
5601 Autumn Chase Cir. Sanford, Fl 32773
------------------------------------------------------
CLAY TOOL and BOOK STORE
NCECA Special:
We are going to offer stainless steel fettling knives and Clayart denim bags
as free gift items. We are also going to offer some discount items, such as
the pottery tool kits of 8 at $5.00 each.
Our NEW items of this year are: Plastic stamps with floral and Chinese
traditional pattern, breathable clay boards, over ten of new wooden animal
molds, rubber textural mats in larger sizes, decals, and stainless steel
mixers in half price compared with that of other companies.
Our top 10 HOT items are: Textural mats, plastic and rubber stamps, wooden
and ceramic molds, tile cutters, hole cutters, split-leg aprons, pottery
tool sets, stainless steel fettling knives, and buffalo horn tools, and plus
all kinds of brushes.
Our booth numbers are 207 and 209.
-------------------------------------------------------
An earlier newsletter is on the Web at:
http://www.chineseclayart.com
THE END.
--------------------------------------------------------
Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
The Chinese Clay Art, USA
PO Box 1733
Cupertino, CA 95015
Tel. 408-343-3919, 408-777-8319, Fax. 408-777-8321
www.chineseclayart.com, chineseclayart@hotmail.com
Art Tools are Part of Art Works.
Linda Dadisman on mon 6 mar 06
On Sunday, March 05, 2006, at 08:08PM, Guangzhen Zhou wrote:
>CHINESE CLAYART, March 2006, Vol. 49.
>To be removed from this list, please click reply and send.
>------------------------------------------------------
>"CHINESE CLAYART" is a newsletter emailed bi-monthly to professional
>artists, curators, collectors, writers, experts, educators and students in
>the ceramic field, who want to know about ceramic art in China and things
>related. This newsletter will be a bridge between China and Western
>countries for the ceramic arts. Comments and suggestions are very welcome.
>(Copyright 2005, the Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA. All rights
>reserved.)
>-------------------------------------------------------
>The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA
>P.O. Box 1733, Cupertino, CA 95015, USA
>Tel. 800-689-2529, Fax. 408-777-8321
>Email: chineseclayart@hotmail.com.
>Web: www.chineseclayart.com
>Chief Editor: Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
>------------------------------------------------------
>NEW BOOK: Works by Ceramic Artists from Around World
>Last summer, we have sent invitations for compiling a book of selected
>international ceramic masters and their works. Finally, the book has been
>printed and will arrive in the US by the end of April. I would like to thank
>all of you who supported this project, and I apologize to those who didn?t
>get selected in the book due to the incomplete information or low quality of
>the pictures.
>Please visit our website for the details, the name list of the artists or to
>purchase this book at www.ChineseClayArt.com by April 2006 ? Guangzhen Zhou,
>editing committee member of the book.
>From the Chief Editor in Jingdezhen, China, November, 2005 This album,
>Works by Ceramic Artists from Around the World, is sponsored by the Ministry
>of Commerce and Jingdezhen Municipal People?s Government. It introduces 448
>ceramic artists from eighteen countries and their works, in both Chinese and
>English. With over 500 pages, it consists of two parts, one for domestic
>artists and the other for those from overseas. Among the 228 ceramic artists
>selected for the domestic part, there are 23 Masters of Ceramic Art from
>Taiwan and Hong Kong; the artists from mainland China represent the main
>ceramic-making areas, five historical kilns and main institutes. Among these
>artists, more than 90% have advanced professional titles, about 20 embrace
>the title of Masters of China Arts and Crafts, and 40 are professors in
>institutes or universities. Among the 220 overseas artists, selected out of
>350 nominees, there are Masters of Ceramic Arts who enjoy the title of
>?Living National Treasure?, ?Master of Craftsman?, well-known professors and
>ceramists. This album reveals the current trend of modern ceramic art and
>the latest development in China. In a sense, it creates mutual learning
>opportunity for both Chinese and foreign artists. We also believe that the
>successful publication of this album establish a new level, in terms of
>scale of the work, the scope of the selection, the quality of the works
>selected, the culture content and range of circulation.
>It is a challenge to compile this album, the content of which comes from the
>world and goes towards the world. The brainstorming about this album traces
>back to February last year, and the final completion is only possible due
>to the great effort of the editor, the enthusiasm of artists called upon,
>the strong support from the government. On this occasion, we extend our
>sincere appreciation to all that participate by giving instructions and
>supports, collecting data, translating, designing picture and finally
>putting it to press. We would like to extend our gratitude to Mr. Steve
>Brousseau (Canada), Mr. Huang Yi, Mr. Zheng Xiaoqing for their supports,
>also to the leaders and chief editor of the press for their the trust and
>supports, the following group who gives valuable help on translation:, Mr.
>Zhang Dongxu, Ms. Zhang Lesi, Ms. Wang Xinlan, Ms. Li Li, Ms. Yang Huan.
>In addition, not all the artists nominated are selected, as a result of
>limited space, incomplete individual materials, or the bad quality of
>pictures. We feel this is a big regret and hope it to be understood by all
>affected.
>Because the whole work was finished under a very tight timeline, there could
>be some mistakes. We would greatly appreciate it if the readers could supply
>us with any feedback and advice.
>-----------------------------------------------------------
>FEATURES
>Panjiayuan Antique Market, Beijing China
>Shan huan nan Road, East South of Beijing,
>Hours: Sat and Sunday, 6am ? 4pm.
>We came in the back gate, to the right was a row of vendors with merchandise
>on the ground. These are usually the cheapest places to buy (they may have
>some real good stuffs too. Noted by Po Zhou). One man had of bag of things
>on the ground with a sign 10 Yuan ($1.20 US). I got several small wood
>carved necklace pieces. One man had many wood rice cake stamps.
>Then there are several rows of permanent stall with doors and in front of
>these there is a large area with work on tables under large sun shade that
>covers the whole area. Here work is by type (rows of brush paintings, metal
>work, pottery etc). The ceramics are the last 5 rows in the front-left side
>a mixture of ceramics and ethnic crafts and right side is Yixing teapots and
>porcelain. The far right side of the area out in the sun is a row of books
>and magazines for sale. There are several more areas where people rented
>space with work on ground. Bargain for everything. It helps to have a focus
>on what you want to buy, if not it will seem overwhelming. My 2001 trip
>looked for hare?s fur glazed bowls Mel is making.
>Barbara Brown, 1225 Manzano Way, Sunnyvale, CA 94089, bbrown3@webtv.net,
>www.silverhawk.com/crafts/bbrown97.
>-------------------------------------------------------
>PROFILE
>Xiaoming Shi, the visiting Artist from Yixing, China, arrived on February
>7th, 2006. Xiaoming Shi did a slide presentations and teapot workshops at
>Mother Earth Clay Art Studio, in Sunnyvale, California; Saddleback College,
>Mission Viejo, California; Soka University, Aliso Viejo, California; and
>Riverside City College. Riverside, California. Xiaoming Shi will
>be Portland Oregon for the NCECA conference, where he will present a slide
>talk at the International Slide Forum with other Chinese artists. He will
>leave for China on March 13, 2006.Born in 1970, Mr. Xiao-Ming Shi is a
>member of the Chinese SculptureAssociation, a member of the Jiangsu Folk
>Artists' Association and is the vice secretary-general of Jiangsu Pottery
>Art Committee.
>
>Bio of Xiaoming Shi
>In 1989, Mr. Shi started to work and study with the Chinese national master
>Mr. Xu Xiutang, famous for his use of the purple sand clay as a sculptural
>material. Along with Mr. Xu and other co-workers, Mr. Shi has made many
>figurative public sculpture projects. Also, he has created some series of
>teapots with very detailed wood and leather effects. Mr. Shi's works come in
>both large and small, sculptures and vessel forms, realism and naturalism.
>In his teapot series of "Continuation", he made old-dead tree trunks as the
>main body of the vessel, and added the "yang boys" who sit on the top of the
>teapot lid, suggesting the new life of the
>world. During the past two decades, Mr. Shi has received many prizes
>internationally, such as: the bronze medal of the First Chinese Modern
>Ceramics Exposition in Shanghai, the excellent award on the Sixth China
>National Competition of Ceramic Art Designs and New Creations, a third-class
>award at the Ceramic Art Competition of Jiangsu and a bronze medal at the
>First China National Fair of Great Masters' Works and Ceramic Art Super-fine
>in Hangzhou, the first-class award at Yixing International Ceramic Art
>Exhibition-the International Ceramic conference-Yixing, China 2001. His
>works arre published in many books, including The Chinese Modern Art
>Collections. He has been invited to participate in the Special Ceramic
>Super-fine Exhibition of Modem Chinese Well-known Artists, separately held
>in Beijing and Hong Kong-1997, and participated in Jiangsu Ceramic Art
>Exposition of Nanjing Museum,?Zisha Pottery Collections Exposition in the
>Historic Museum of Taiwan, and the Republic of Korea for ceramic art
>exchanges. He also joined the Sixth China Art Festival in Nanjing. At the
>same time, his works are in many private collections and public museums.
>-------------------------------------------------------
>TRAVEL
>Once again, we are going to have the ceramic tour of China in April and June
>this year.
>You can find the details at our website: www.ChineseClayArt.com.
>------------------------------------------------------
>ACTIVITIES
>Dinner Party with Chinese Delegation in NCECA, March 10th, 6:30pm.
>The restaurant address is:
>Ah Fong Kitchen, 1815 SE 82nd Ave, Portland OR 97216, tel. 503-774-0061.
>Once again, it is the time for our China Reunion. A dinner party will be
>hosted by Chinese Clay Art Corp. during the conference. Everyone is
>welcome-for those of you who have been in China, or will be in China in the
>further, please come to join our party. You will meet your old friends, and
>make new friends. Please come to our booth (number 207) for reservation.
>We have been inviting Chinese artist delegations for visiting NCECA since
>1999. This year, the participants will be including Jingsong Bao, the
>director of Yixing Ceramics Museum, Yixing, China, Ma Zhiyuan, the vice
>president, and Shi Guofu, the director of Ceramic Art Department, from the
>Wuxi Institute of Arts and Technology in Yixing, China, Shi Xiaoming and
>Zhao Mingmin, the Craft masters of Yixing, and some others.
>------------------------------------------------------
>EXHIBITIONS
>Big Fish and Small Pot, Second International Teapot Competition
>Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA 92692. http://gallery.saddleback.edu
>On February 16, 2006, a unique teapot show opened with a reception at
>Saddleback College, in Mission Viejo, California. The weather was beautiful,
>with sunshine between rainy days. Dim sum and tea were served outside of the
>gallery. At the gallery entrance were sign in both Chinese and English
>reading "Big Fish, Small Pot" against a red in with red background. Inside
>the gallery there were about 100 teapots displayed on the pedestals and on
>black shelves flowing around the walls. We received 204 entries from the
>artists representing six countries; almost half of them were selected for
>the show. Also on display were nine teapots by Xiaoming Shi, an artist from
>Yixing, China. Samples of Chinese tea and Chinese antique furniture were
>also displayed.?It was very difficult to pick prize winners; it took me over
>three hours. There were many strong pieces. In the end we selected 18
>honorable mentions, one third prize, one second prize, one first prize, and
>one grand prize. The grand prize winner will receive a China tour in June
>2006. The first piece that captured my eyes was the tiny teapot decorated
>with a detailed colorful landscape done by the internationally known artist
>Annette Corcoran, of Pacific Grove, California. It was her new version of a
>teapot without birds. The funnel shaped teapot was done by the Swiss artist,
>Francois Ruegg, was very unique in design. "Spring Veneer," a teapot whose
>form appeared to be half-furniture and half-beast had a subtle plant color
>and texture, a mature quality of in the technique and an overall harmony. I
>could not refuse it. At the opening ceremony, Tony Huntley and Gloria
>Gimbrone, co-curators of the show, introduced the crowd to the maker of this
>grand prize winning tea pot, Robert Lawarre III, of Sanford, Florida. Thanks
>to Associated Student Government of Saddleback College and the Saddleback
>College Foundation, who helped make this show possible. Thank you to
>everyone who supported and participated in this exhibition.
>---By the exhibition juror Guangzhen Zhou
>
>Spring Veneer?Robert William LaWarre III
>My approach to ?Spring Veneer? was the embodiment of two philosophies,
>Eastern and Western. I have combined the elements of precision,
>functionality, and surface treatment of the Yixing aesthetic with a fluidity
>that is characteristic of my work. I designed the first of this series,
>drawing from the traditional forms of Chinese teapots. Porcelain was chosen
>as the medium to achieve the detailed surface I was looking for. I began
>with a stretched slab that was impressed with one of my handmade textured
>rollers. Once the slab was cut, folded, and attached at the corners, I was
>able to stretch the box from the inside to make it appear more organic. The
>form was then closed off with a slab top to allow for the addition of the
>hand formed legs, spout, handle, and lid. The decision to use a metallic
>black slip was made to give the appearance of a dark clay body. This
>technique enabled me to have a white background to amplify the green glaze.
>The teapot was then fired to cone 9 to insure functionality. The affect that
>was achieved is that of a second skin over the teapot, enveloping the
>history of this vessel. This symbolizes the new dimension I brought to this
>traditional art form.
>Biography of Robert William LaWarre
> I am a practicing ceramic artist and teacher from Sanford Florida. My
>work consists primarily of hand built elements, using techniques developed
>with a mechanics and fabricators background. Due to my production potter
>foundation, my work has evolved toward vessel oriented forms whether they
>are functional or sculptural. These pieces have been nurtured and permitted
>to develop into the forms they desire to be, much like a child. I have
>learned to accept each piece for its inherent differences and to accentuate
>the imperfections. Embracing these traits brings life to the work.
> Recently I have seen evidence that others embrace these qualities as
>well. In 2006 I have applied to eight national and international shows and
>have gained acceptance into all eight. Three of the eight shows have already
>opened and I have earned awards from two of them. I have been awarded Best
>of Show in the ?Second International Small Teapot Show? and a Purchase Award
>in the ?International Orton Cone Box Show?. My biggest reward this year has
>been the trip to China that I was given in the ?Second International Small
>Teapot Show?. This trip allows me the opportunity to fulfill a dream of
>studying Chinese culture, which has been a major influence of my artwork. I
>plan to bring this experience back to my studio and classroom.
> The desire to become a ceramic artist started for me as I entered the art
>program at the University of Central Florida in 1997. At UCF, the potential
>to become a proficient ceramist became apparent to me as I graduated with my
>BFA in Ceramics in 2002. Aspiring to give back to the community and work in
>the area of the arts materialized when I accepted the opportunity to teach.
>I began teaching summer camp at Rollins College and then in the secondary
>education systems of Orange and Seminole Counties. This afforded me the
>chance to see how people of all ages can contribute to the arts, sharing and
>developing ideas. My own students inspire me with their great work and
>frequent awards.
> I have finished my education certification and I am currently settled
>into an AP Art position at Oviedo High School. Now it is time for me to
>concentrate on my work and model for my students how to be a successful
>practicing artist. My students already understand the virtues of
>exploration, hard work, and patience, and they can see the results of this
>philosophy in their work and my own.
>Robert William LaWarre III
>5601 Autumn Chase Cir. Sanford, Fl 32773
>------------------------------------------------------
>CLAY TOOL and BOOK STORE
>NCECA Special:
>We are going to offer stainless steel fettling knives and Clayart denim bags
>as free gift items. We are also going to offer some discount items, such as
>the pottery tool kits of 8 at $5.00 each.
>Our NEW items of this year are: Plastic stamps with floral and Chinese
>traditional pattern, breathable clay boards, over ten of new wooden animal
>molds, rubber textural mats in larger sizes, decals, and stainless steel
>mixers in half price compared with that of other companies.
>Our top 10 HOT items are: Textural mats, plastic and rubber stamps, wooden
>and ceramic molds, tile cutters, hole cutters, split-leg aprons, pottery
>tool sets, stainless steel fettling knives, and buffalo horn tools, and plus
>all kinds of brushes.
>Our booth numbers are 207 and 209.
>-------------------------------------------------------
>An earlier newsletter is on the Web at:
>http://www.chineseclayart.com
>THE END.
>--------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
>The Chinese Clay Art, USA
>PO Box 1733
>Cupertino, CA 95015
>Tel. 408-343-3919, 408-777-8319, Fax. 408-777-8321
>www.chineseclayart.com, chineseclayart@hotmail.com
>Art Tools are Part of Art Works.
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
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