KilnLore@AOL.COM on sun 17 apr 05
Hello to All:
If anyone is interested in kiln lore or kiln gods, you might want to take a
look at my website, which I have finally updated with new images about my kiln
god/dess sculptures. Also, I have added a couple of new pictures about the
kiln gods of Jingdezhen and Shiwan, China. My website is: www.kilnlore.com
I will be traveling with my husband to China in a few weeks to visit with
friends and family, and to also meet with Master Mei Wending in Shiwan, Foshan to
learn more about the history and kiln god mythology of the Nanfeng (South
Wind) Ancient Kiln Factory. Although I have interviewed Master Mei in the past (I
wrote about the kiln gods of China in Studio Potter in June 2000) I still
have many questions about the cultural practices of the area to discuss with him.
There is also an ancient kiln site and a kiln guardian temple in Hong Kong
called the Fan Sin Temple that no one has written about in English. The region
where the temple is located is known mostly to scholars interested in the arch
eology of the region because this area was once home to a commercial pottery
(Wun Yiu). The temple was recently restored because of its historical
significance, however, it is no longer visited by potters and is instead a place where
the decedents of the potters who settled in the area now come to worship.
Hopefully, I will be able to gather enough information about this fascinating
temple to write an article about it. I have visited this temple once before and I
was enchanted by it. Because it is off of the beaten path and a little
difficult to get to, very few people seem to be aware of its existence.
I cannot exactly say why I am so fascinated by the topic of kiln gods, but
the study of kiln lore has been a driving force in my life for many years. I
even completed a doctoral dissertation on this topic a couple of years ago and
now I have a Ph.D. based on my interests in kiln lore (well that and a lot of
other stuff about ceramics and art).
Because I like to think that I am not the only person who is awe-struck (or
at least curious) about the mythology of kiln gods, I will try to post
information from time to time about them. I am also hoping that by opening up the
discussion of this topic that maybe a few other people might be interested in
swapping some of their kiln god tales. I have discovered that most American
potters seem to have some sort of story either about the first kiln god that they
made, or they can recount how they learned about the custom of making kiln
guardians. I don't know if other potters in countries such as England or Australia
share in the American custom of making kiln gods. (The American customs are
quite different from Chinese, Japanese, and other Far Eastern customs.) If
anyone out there knows anything about this, please let me know either way. (I once
asked a well known English professor specializing in British ceramic history,
if he knew of any kiln god practices in the famous pottery area of
Stoke-on-Trent, and he exclaimed, "Heaven's no--this is a Protestant community with a
Protestant past!"
Martie Geiger-Ho
kilnlore@aol.com
www.kilnlore.com
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