Ric Swenson on wed 8 nov 06
November 9, 2006-, JingDeZhen, P.R. China
3 days of vacation now from teaching to have ¡®sports days¡¯ on campus¡
Competitions on new and old campus¡.to make a harmonious society and campus
The competitions are in several venues. All students and faculty are
invited to go¡..
I am really enjoying having a bicycle. Mine is ugly and black and common and
old. No one will want to steal it. But it gives me great pleasure to tool
around campus and to the local shops. Paid $10.
I visited a local Buddhist Temple called ¡®The Fore Temple On South
Mountain¡¯ NanShan GianSi. There was a celebration yesterday in honor of one
of the famous priests of Buddhism. Hundreds of people from the small
village and folks from JingDeZhen also attended the event. I was honored to
eat the delicious vegetarian meal with three of the Monks. They were most
gracious and said that I was the first Westerner to visit their Temple. I
find that hard to believe, but I guess they would know. I do get to the
most remote places because if someone invites me I always say 'yes'. Very
seldom have I been disappointed with a trip in China.
The Temple is being added onto and the construction is quite amazing. It is
a common Temple, not famous, not very old. Not on any tourist maps or tour
routes. Common folk who burnt lots of incense and sang and prayed and rang
bells and lit firecrackers too. The buildings are made to look like wood,
but are concrete and steel.
I¡¯ve been in JingDeZhen for 8 months now ..and I have still not seen all of
the many streets of ceramics¡ so many¡maybe thousands ¡¡.
Work on my own ceramic works goes slowly. And I await news of when my show
will be presented.
Work on my own things in porcelain is interesting. I just finished 5 large
platters in porcelain¡..beautiful I think.. Eagles, falcons, birds of all
types. To my delight¡...all 5 of five came out of the fire whole. It may as
close as I get to a Thanksgiving turkey this year.
Working with this particular clay is a challenge for a western potter. The
clay itself is very soft and mushy,¡greasey or buttery?¡ so¡¡¡.you
throw with little or no water, essential to being thin and light pots.
The trimming tools here are very unusual and interesting. I like to make my
own tools if I can. The methods of making the light works are quite amazing.
Trim!. The tools are quite cheap, methods are like the wood lathe. The Clay
is cheap here. Delivered by small motor cart. A few yuan and you can have a
month¡¯s supply !
I am still amazed to see elderly gentlemen delivering wares, pulling a
carts¡ a supply of ceramics¡.plates, dishes, bowls¡.or an array of large
vases¡7 or 8 foot in size ! Common everyday scenario.
Blue and white of other types of color schemes¡ all beautiful.
How the HELL do they fire those huge pieces? How many times fired?? What is
the loss rate? How can a profit be made??
Ah¡and now for something completely different....
Aging is awful. Grey hair replaces brown hair.
I did not want to be old and bald, what's left is now gray, yet it happened.
One day I asked my students¡¡±why is your hair black and my is brown? BUT
their answer is ¡¡¯but¡£¡£¡£your hair is GREY¡±. I hadn¡¯t noticed it
turning gray that fast.
Aging is awful and yet my 91 year old Mother adjusts and still can beat me
at scrabble I think. she is amazing. Also my brother Don and sisters¡
Carol and Linda are my idols. Their lives inspire me¡ Mom is the
president of the RED HAT SOCIETY¡.Carol teaches ¡®aqua babes¡¯ exercise
classes as she has for many years¡Don works hard at everything, Linda and
Bill are building a new home in Seldovia, Alaska¡.quite amazing people.
Miss them. My mother is now more tolerant than I remember. She went to¡¯
Brokeback Mountain¡¯ and enjoyed Ang Lee¡¯s work. Her handwriting is still
better than mine after 91 years. The best. Steady as a rock and yet like a
beautiful and flowing stream of calligraphy¡¡.
China weather now is quite nice¡¡¡cool and autumnal¡¡¡¡ Fall at it¡¯s
best¡¡¡.but not as good as Bennington, Vermont¡¯s Sugar maple¡¯s
colors¡. They are the best ever. IMHO.
One of my young students went to my college classes last weekend¡.she is
11, and Lily went and ¡®showed up¡¯ the college students with her English
speaking abilities. Fabulous. She brought tears to my eyes¡I was amazed
when she talked¡she had no real preparation time and yet spoke clearly and
ON the topic too¡..Vocabulary and diction excellent.
Her Father is a translator at Suzuki Japanese-Chinese Coop car factory¡her
mother teaches art and is a ceramic decoration artist in JingDeZhen¡.her
mother¡¯s works are very traditional and beautiful.
My students were delivering 2 minute topic speeches this week¡..on
¡®Building a Harmonious Society and Campus¡¯, It¡¯s quite common for
students to study for 8- 12 hours a day here.
There are many one child families¡¡¡¡little princes and princesses. THE
ONLY CHILD¡
Some seem a bit spoiled and selfish at times. They adjust quickly living 6
in a dorm room. There are many ethnic groups in China. Maybe the experiences
at Dartmouth¡or PLU and the experiences in China are similar. A mix of
cultures exists here also. When I was in high school. in Anchorage there
were Eskimos, Indians, white guys and gals from families in Air Force and
Army. Maybe some common types of experiences??
My sister Carol is an extraordinary person¡¡. Her husband Don is my true
Brother¡.. their dog ¡®Patches¡¯ died recently and I felt so badly. Only 8
years old I think.
Cancer is such a bad thing¡it took our father from us 20 years ago, and now
that wonderful dog. Too bad.
Potters be careful of your exposure to dust and barium and lead and all that
other stuff. ok???
The food here is very good¡really good. I can compare it to some really
good meals¡ NYC at Sardi¡¯s and Vini Testa¡¯s in Boston., Raumuntos in
Vermont¡.the food is not over cooked¡.vegetables steamed¡ fresh¡ not a
New England boiled dinner¡.ugh¡
Here in China¡¡peppers¡¡ sweet and spicy¡¡¡
Amazing¡¡it¡¯s all here¡..
And cheap¡.
I hope your life is good¡mine is wonderful¡¡
Regards and hapy potting to all.
Ric
And¡¡¡¡ ¡®keep your stick on the ice!¡¯
_________________________________________________________________
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Ric Swenson on sat 11 nov 06
November 9, 2006-, JingDeZhen, P.R. China
3 days of vacation now from teaching to have ¡®sports days¡¯ on campus¡
Competitions on new and old campus¡.to make a harmonious society and campus
The competitions are in several venues. All students and faculty are
invited to go¡..
I am really enjoying having a bicycle. Mine is ugly and black and common and
old. No one will want to steal it. But it gives me great pleasure to tool
around campus and to the local shops. Paid $10.
I visited a local Buddhist Temple called ¡®The Fore Temple On South
Mountain¡¯ NanShan GianSi. There was a celebration yesterday in honor of one
of the famous priests of Buddhism. Hundreds of people from the small
village and folks from JingDeZhen also attended the event. I was honored to
eat the delicious vegetarian meal with three of the Monks. They were most
gracious and said that I was the first Westerner to visit their Temple. I
find that hard to believe, but I guess they would know. I do get to the
most remote places because if someone invites me I always say 'yes'. Very
seldom have I been disappointed with a trip in China.
The Temple is being added onto and the construction is quite amazing. It is
a common Temple, not famous, not very old. Not on any tourist maps or tour
routes. Common folk who burnt lots of incense and sang and prayed and rang
bells and lit firecrackers too. The buildings are made to look like wood,
but are concrete and steel.
I¡¯ve been in JingDeZhen for 8 months now ..and I have still not seen all of
the many streets of ceramics¡ so many¡maybe thousands ¡¡.
Work on my own ceramic works goes slowly. And I await news of when my show
will be presented.
Work on my own things in porcelain is interesting. I just finished 5 large
platters in porcelain¡..beautiful I think.. Eagles, falcons, birds of all
types. To my delight¡...all 5 of five came out of the fire whole. It may as
close as I get to a Thanksgiving turkey this year.
Working with this particular clay is a challenge for a western potter. The
clay itself is very soft and mushy,¡greasey or buttery?¡ so¡¡¡.you
throw with little or no water, essential to being thin and light pots.
The trimming tools here are very unusual and interesting. I like to make my
own tools if I can. The methods of making the light works are quite amazing.
Trim!. The tools are quite cheap, methods are like the wood lathe. The Clay
is cheap here. Delivered by small motor cart. A few yuan and you can have a
month¡¯s supply !
I am still amazed to see elderly gentlemen delivering wares, pulling a
carts¡ a supply of ceramics¡.plates, dishes, bowls¡.or an array of large
vases¡7 or 8 foot in size ! Common everyday scenario.
Blue and white of other types of color schemes¡ all beautiful.
How the HELL do they fire those huge pieces? How many times fired?? What is
the loss rate? How can a profit be made??
Ah¡and now for something completely different....
Aging is awful. Grey hair replaces brown hair.
I did not want to be old and bald, what's left is now gray, yet it happened.
One day I asked my students¡¡±why is your hair black and my is brown? BUT
their answer is ¡¡¯but¡£¡£¡£your hair is GREY¡±. I hadn¡¯t noticed it
turning gray that fast.
Aging is awful and yet my 91 year old Mother adjusts and still can beat me
at scrabble I think. she is amazing. Also my brother Don and sisters¡
Carol and Linda are my idols. Their lives inspire me¡ Mom is the
president of the RED HAT SOCIETY¡.Carol teaches ¡®aqua babes¡¯ exercise
classes as she has for many years¡Don works hard at everything, Linda and
Bill are building a new home in Seldovia, Alaska¡.quite amazing people.
Miss them. My mother is now more tolerant than I remember. She went to¡¯
Brokeback Mountain¡¯ and enjoyed Ang Lee¡¯s work. Her handwriting is still
better than mine after 91 years. The best. Steady as a rock and yet like a
beautiful and flowing stream of calligraphy¡¡.
China weather now is quite nice¡¡¡cool and autumnal¡¡¡¡ Fall at it¡¯s
best¡¡¡.but not as good as Bennington, Vermont¡¯s Sugar maple¡¯s
colors¡. They are the best ever. IMHO.
One of my young students went to my college classes last weekend¡.she is
11, and Lily went and ¡®showed up¡¯ the college students with her English
speaking abilities. Fabulous. She brought tears to my eyes¡I was amazed
when she talked¡she had no real preparation time and yet spoke clearly and
ON the topic too¡..Vocabulary and diction excellent.
Her Father is a translator at Suzuki Japanese-Chinese Coop car factory¡her
mother teaches art and is a ceramic decoration artist in JingDeZhen¡.her
mother¡¯s works are very traditional and beautiful.
My students were delivering 2 minute topic speeches this week¡..on
¡®Building a Harmonious Society and Campus¡¯, It¡¯s quite common for
students to study for 8- 12 hours a day here.
There are many one child families¡¡¡¡little princes and princesses. THE
ONLY CHILD¡
Some seem a bit spoiled and selfish at times. They adjust quickly living 6
in a dorm room. There are many ethnic groups in China. Maybe the experiences
at Dartmouth¡or PLU and the experiences in China are similar. A mix of
cultures exists here also. When I was in high school. in Anchorage there
were Eskimos, Indians, white guys and gals from families in Air Force and
Army. Maybe some common types of experiences??
My sister Carol is an extraordinary person¡¡. Her husband Don is my true
Brother¡.. their dog ¡®Patches¡¯ died recently and I felt so badly. Only 8
years old I think.
Cancer is such a bad thing¡it took our father from us 20 years ago, and now
that wonderful dog. Too bad.
Potters be careful of your exposure to dust and barium and lead and all that
other stuff. ok???
The food here is very good¡really good. I can compare it to some really
good meals¡ NYC at Sardi¡¯s and Vini Testa¡¯s in Boston., Raumuntos in
Vermont¡.the food is not over cooked¡.vegetables steamed¡ fresh¡ not a
New England boiled dinner¡.ugh¡
Here in China¡¡peppers¡¡ sweet and spicy¡¡¡
Amazing¡¡it¡¯s all here¡..
And cheap¡.
I hope your life is good¡mine is wonderful¡¡
Regards and hapy potting to all.
Ric
And¡¡¡¡ ¡®keep your stick on the ice!¡¯
_________________________________________________________________
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