'Art' in China

...copper red flash on a pot in Jingdezhen...

On my recent trip to China, I met many artists who worked in the traditional brush painting styles and their level of skill was amazing. They mostly painted onto fine rice paper and then had the paintings mounted onto 'silk' scroll panels. Animals, insects, birds, trees, mountains, water and 'minority' peoples were the common themes.

...paintings by Li Jun, in Wuxi, 1 hour West of Shanghai - We hope to see him in Australia soon teaching a workshop -If you live on the Sunshine Coast and would like to attend, let me know.

Calligraphic poems were also popular, and I learnt that artists often use the old style of calligraphy known as 'seal' [as in the name stamps] style writing. Most people can't read the poem, but no matter - the forms of the letters are beautiful and are art works in their own right.

...Xie Rong Ren at the Art and Literature Society, Xiamen...

...children in a calligraphy class...

We found a fabulous art form in a gallery on Gulangu Island [piano island], just a short ferry ride from Xiamen. The letters are carved into wooden blocks in the old 'seal' style, then painted, forming fabulous abstract designs with a hint of representation.

Some brush artists specialise in painting onto ceramic forms - from vases to large flat porcelain slabs, usually

with cobalt oxide under white or clear glaze.

We were taken to a factory in Xiamen producing china table ware for export - hmmm - some lovely tea sets but some very gaudy red and gold stuff as well.

We visited the factory in Yi Xing where famous small red clay teapots are hand made from a fast disappearing clay which is said to bring out the very finest flavour in the teas.

Did you know that some teas [picked from the tiny top leaves at a special time of year] are worth thousands of dollars a kilo. The tea culture is very serious.

We had a glimse of one of the commercial art zones where artists often copy other artists' works for the mass market in the West. Not quite sure how all of this worked.

This is the 'famous' laquer style of Xiamen...

...and the weird and dusty fibreglass multiple images sculptures...

...'splash' in the Meridian Hotel foyer, Xiamen...

...clean, new, spacious studio/display rooms...

...a very pleasant painting with mass appeal...

...cutest sales girl ever, with one of the many machinery paintings - appealing to the mining magnates of the world????

We did meet a young man, Mr Yi Lin, painting in his own style - apparently popular in America.

Unfortunately, I saw very little contemporary art to my taste. I think if we had gone to Shanghai or Beijing [next trip??] it would have been a different story. We were mostly in rural cities and 'new economic zones' and were mostly guided by non artist contacts.

These are my 2 favourite 'art works' of the trip.... 

...on the wall above our old style accommodation in Xiamen...

... fresh peeling paint on the wall of one of the new art gallery spaces.

My trip to China was fabulous in many ways - people, food, old villages, scenery, history. If I go again, I hope to find the areas where the contemporary artists hang out. Even so, we have made many new friends and have made contacts for future collaborations.

A Letter A Week, 2011

I am part of an online group creating a letter a week, for 52 weeks - resulting in 2 alphabets. It is great fun to participate - motivating myself to create something every week and then thinking of ways to display the final alphabets - a book form being the most obvious. There are some brilliant alphabets out there and I am so impressed by the calligraphic skills of so many people.
Fiona is the co-ordinator, and the project is open to newcomers. Check out the blog site for 2011 and email Fiona if you want to join.
I completed one alphabet on time - an alphabet of photos of letters taken on my trip to Morocco and Europe early last year, and presented as a concertina book.

..some details -

M from Gaudi's Casa Mila rooftop tiles in Barcelona,

N from a painted sign in the Moroccan desert saying 'nomad',

O from the bronze doors of Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, and  

P a parking road sign in Porto, Portugal.

I have just put the other alphabet together. I went a bit off the beaten track with this one - making 7cm shapes with copper wire, teabags and gold wax rubbed over the top. The letters are based on the Mayan alphabet - a civilisation which has long fascinated me. The teabags lend themselves to being 'seen through', so I wanted the alphabet to work against a window - with daylight and night light - a bit of a compromise and a challenge. Here is the result - the shapes sewn onto a clear perspex offcut and dangling from a lovely piece of driftwood.

...and here is the alphabet hanging in a window with the light filtering through the letters -

a Mayan jungle, perhaps?

...some details.

...a, b, c, d taken with flash,

...a, b, c, d, blu tacked to the window, taken without flash.

Hopefully we can exhibit the alphabets at some stage - many of the participants are from overseas - Fiona is working on finding a suitable venue for a show.

New Year's Eve

As this year draws to a close, I am reminded on many fronts to settle back and count my blessings [and my achievements] for 2011. My daughter in London has just listed her achievements for 2011, and Fiona has blogged on her 10 favourite art works achievements for the year, so I am motivated to do the same.

It has been a wonderful year personally for me - travel, friendship, family, home comforts and even weight loss, but here I will list the 10 things that have given me the greatest moments of creative 'bliss'- things that have really touched my heart. Most have stories attached, so I'm sure the emotional attachment to the things and incidents play a more important role than the physicality of the objects.
[no particulat order - too hard to prioritise]

Rusty bolts found in the Thames at low tide,

...speak to me about times past, the long history of the British Empire, the boats chugging/sailing along the river plying their trade, the hardships of riverfront life, today a beautiful, tourist filled destination...

My 'A Letter A week 2011' book,

...based on photos from my travels to Europe and Morocco and printed onto old paper...

Camel skin' boxes',

... from the Saharan desert, Morocco. They are made from the knees of camels [or so I was told]. They cost me about $5 but I had to have them irradiated to get them back into Australia - costing me $60 - crazy, but I love them....

Keith Lo Bue workshop, Brisbane, June 2011,

...working with found objects and jewellery making techniques has always excited me -and Keith is a total inspiration. These 2 pendants are made from a salt shaker and my grandfather's bowls measure. I have used mica in the 'windows'...

'Seal Style' Chinese calligraphy,

...We came across a gallery/exhibition on Gulangu Island, Xiamen, China, and I  fell in love with this art technique - a cross between writing and drawing - the old 'seal' style of calligraphy carved into wood creating something looking like a print block, but painted selectively. After much pleading, I was sold the last exhibition catalogue.

I had a seal made of my Chinese name, found some lovely wooden letters in a London market, and bought an antique Chinese monkey seal [I think it says 'year of the monkey']. Lots of triggers for inspiration and new work...

Porcelain by 'Min',

 I saw these pieces in the student market and desperately wanted to buy them - they were not for sale. I pleaded with the shop owner and she contacted the artist who amazingly enough was running a coffee shop just across the square. We knew of Min, a Jingdezhen/Sanbao artist with liberal creative ideas, and coincidentally the work was hers. She came to talk to me and after we had fitted all the puzzle pieces into place, she generously gave me these 3 pieces. I will treasure them as they are so unusual and individual within the sea of Chinese commercialism...

'Fly Away and Drift Away',

...I painted this series of work [each 30cm square] in response to my mother dying late last year. I love the works - they are simple yet strong and have delicate detail which evokes lost and forgotten memories...

'Collage G'

...I participated in the International Collage Exchange early this year - this was a collage of mine that I decided to keep. I love the soft colours and delicate details...

Crazed texture,

...I've had a great deal of pleasure playing aroung with builder's bog, sanding back textures and exposing underlying layers - a lot more of this to come in 2012...

Ai Wei Wei,

...maybe this was the most poignant creative experience for me of 2011. I first heard of Ai Wei Wei some years ago, then the controversy of the Sunflower Seeds Show at the Tate Modern, London, brought him to my attention once again - the public were not allowed to walk over the ceramic seeds due to health and safety issues - ceramic dust - ironic considering the conditions under which the seeds were made. Ai Wei Wei was thrown in jail in China earlier this year [for avoiding paying taxes- hmmmm] and was released due to international pressure and donations [to pay the tax fines] from international arts organisations. He had the seeds made in Jingdezhen, where we spent a week of our China trip. It is said that Ai Wei Wei kept the city's artisans employed for a year making the seeds. Unfortunately, it's not a subject we were able to discuss whilst in China.

Eliza and I saw the exhibition at the Tate Modern in London in May - I was greatly moved by the experience.

I was keen to get a ceramic sunflower or two whilst in Jingdezhen in November - surely there would be a few still floating around. Imagine my joy when I found some at the student market!! I bought the whole bag full.

Go to this link [The Tate Modern] if you are interested in finding out more about Ai Wei Wei and the meaning behind the Sunflower Seeds exhibition.

...and now to 2012...

 Fiona's recent Andy Warhole quote is exactly what I need to do in the new year [and for the rest of my life].

'Don't think about making art just get it done. Let everyone else decide if its good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art'.

Happy New Year, everyone

Happy Christmas

...and a little present for you all - my famous 'Christmas Donkey Drops' recipe- the family favourite treat I have been making forever.

Noela's Donkey Drops:

1 can condensed milk

1 cup coconut

1 pkt crushed malt biscuits
1 ½ tab spoons cocoa

1. Mix all ingredients,
2. Make into balls,
3. Roll in more coconut,
4. Refridgerate
5. Eat
   
   ***Be warned – you may need to make a double batch!

 

A Patchwork of Ceramics in Jingdezhen

Jindezhen is about a day's drive SW from Shanghai. It is arguably the world's porcelain capital. The whole city revolves around the ceramic industry. There are several universities and training institutes for students, and hundreds of 'factories', each specialising in some aspect of ceramic production. 'Artists' don't do the complete production themselves as in the West. One factory will process the clay, another will specialise in mould making, another will pour the moulds or finish the green ware, turn the bases, some are specialist carvers, painters, lustre painters, decal makers, glaze makers, and so it goes on. There is even a 'kiln master' to fire the kiln, then a team of 'specialists' will finish the pots, grind the bases, and a specialist box maker custom makes boxes for transport.

Even the traffic lights and street lights in the city are made from porcelain.

We stayed at Sanbao - an independent, privately owned renovated farm house about 10 km from town. Jackson Li and his sister Wendy run the place. Jackson is well known in the ceramic world for being a bit more 'Western' in his approach - his repertoire of skills is unusually broad and he makes the most beautiful brushes [see previous posts and the web site].

...bathroom wall tiles,

 I don't know who made this piece, but it shows a popular style of abstract work with the gorgeous celadon glaze that I love so much.

...this time a 'patchwork of glaze'- glued to canvas after firing.

...clay,

...this was originally a kiln, then a fireplace, now a repository for reject bowls.

...exhibition piece,

'Beneath our Feet'

...part of an exhibition by Englishman, Tom Hayes, who had been at Sanbao for 6 months,

...and this one commenting on the layers of ceramic history, shards, clays, soils and rice paddies.

The institute welcomes international artists for residencies at all times, so if you want a fabulous opportunity to immerse yourself in this world, check out the web site or just email Wendy.

...one of the buildings with a residence and several studios.

Footnote - I have many more Sanbao pics and pics of great ceramic pieces but I'll leave them for another post - this one was all about the 'patchwork'.