16-Year Old - 鄭玉奎 中國 (789)

Before I visited Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics,
I heard about the famous and over-priced art gallery zone 798 and was eager to visit it. My intention was for inspiration and not for collecting or buying because I actually know a trick or two of making my own craft/art creations.

However, when browsing through various galleries and studios, I fell in love with this beautiful clay statue called 16-year Old. The gallery prohibited photos but I managed to take a shot with the help of my boyfriend (That's why the picture is a bit blurry). Looking at her, I can tell the techniques applied in making the 16-year Old are slabs, coils, slips, and no glaze. It ought to be very easy for copying, I thought. However, 10 minutes after stepping out of the gallery, I decided I should ask for her price because I am not sure if I can achieve the same level of perfection as her creator's anytime soon. The result of a price check: very expensive by American standard. The gallery explained to me that The sixteen year old is the creation of a master Chinese ceramicist, 鄭玉奎, based on the image of his own daughter, and she is a limited edition work because nobody knows if Mr. 鄭玉奎 would want to make the image of his daughter again.

Debating if I should spend the same amount of money enough to buy a round trip ticket to China, I listed all the things I like about her:
1 . Her graceful posture
2. Her lovely facial expression of a Chinese girl.
3. Her detailed Chinese top and
4. Her classic Chinese hair style.

After examining her closely, I made up my mind that she is coming home with me to San Francisco. The gallery workers noticed my interests in ceramics and took extra care of wrapping her up with layers of layers of padding, foams, and bubble wraps. They were emotional to see her go as I was emotional to bring her home.

The sixteen-year old now sits proudly in the entrance of my apartment. I called her My Sixteen Year-Old. The gallery did not forget to give me her birth certificate in case if she becomes a million-dollar doll one day. Fingers crossed. After the economic crisis in US this past summer, whenever I walk pass my 16-year Old girl, I always thought to myself how gladly I spent the money on her, rather than on some tanked mutual fund.

More Salt & Pepper Shakers

A couple of years ago I made a series of salt & pepper shakers for my own amusement. I even sold a pair at a Christmas holiday sale for $15.00. Recently, I have been making salt & pepper shakers again because I want to used up a bag of black clay that I am not very fond of (because the fiber is short, very hard to throw for my skill level). I used pinch pot method when making my earlier salt & pepper shakers; however, I found that throwing the basic cone shape on potter's wheel helps to speed up the process by a lot.

Here are some end products:

Title: My Sweet Homes
Material: Cone 10 High Fire Black Clay + Sodate-60 Slips
Glaze: None
Size: 1.75" x 1.5"



Title: Abstract Animal Shakers
Material: Cone 10 High Fire Black Clay
Glaze: Cone 10 Peach / Orange Shino
Size: 1.75" x 1.25"

Shadow Puppets

Today, I would like to talk about something that has nothing to do with pottery. Today's topic is about shadow puppets and its importance to Balinese art.



Antique shadow puppets in Neka Musem


Early July, I went to Bali for a friend's wedding and was on the hunt for an Indonesian shadow puppet. I always have a thing for shadow puppets and already own a pair of Chinese shadow puppets from Beijing. Looking for a Balinese puppet was simply adding one more to my collection and with the possibility of playing it with my other two.

However, it was after visiting the well-respected Neka Museum in Ubud that made me realize how important shadow puppets are to both traditional and contemporary Balinese art. Balinese shadow puppets played a far more important role in the development of Balinese paintings, and it is the source of inspiration for many painters. In the first phase of Balinese traditional painting, one can often see depiction of figures with features almost indentical to shadow puppets. I suspect this style of drawings emerged from story-telling or religous text. Nevertheless, Neo-Balinese paintings still retain and extend the same style of drawings. Photos above and below demonstrate the similarity in facial features of a shadow puppet and a contemporary Balinese painting of two figures. Now, I look at my Indonesian puppet with a total different view. I'm sure I will still play it with my other puppets, but I will always think about the meaning of this puppet (though I doubted it is a real antique) and what it brings to Balinese art. I'm glad I went to Neka Musem, and I'm glad I bought the shadow puppet.

Does this bottle look zen?

This bottle is one of my latest creation. I am pleased with how the dark stain turned out after the firing. I couldn't quite visualize the look when I glazed it and had tried a couple of technics before settling down with the final glaze. The glaze I used are shino orange for the body, and tamaku for the black stain. I initially used black underglaze for the stain but was not too sure about how it would look if covered by a white glaze (window clear glaze ran out that day). In the end, I switched to tamaku just to be safe.  The creation of the flower decoration was actually an unintentional design.  While trimming the pot, it moved and left a scar made by the trimming tool; in order to salvage the work, I extended the scar into a frame and made the design as it is today.  It turns out nicely.  I think.

Mr. Tofu in Flower Soup Bowl

I bought a Nikon D60 recently, so I have no excuse of not posting some of my latest work online. Last year I made a series of rice bowl with bright flowers painted with Amaco cone 10 underglaze. The end product exceeded our expectation; bright colors such red, orange, and yellow generally don't come out at high temperature firing; however, Amaco has produced a number of colorful underglazes that can withstand cone 10. I was lucky of getting these underglaze via a promotional offer. I paid $6 shipping and handling for 6 2oz. jars of bright red, orange, and yellow. I just checked the price online last week, one 2 oz. jar of bright red cone10 underglaze is about $6.00.

Pottery Wheel Maintenance

It came to my attention that many people probably land on this page looking for a REAL pottery wheel maintenance guide. I myself from time to time run into wheel problem too. There are cases where the wheel pedal is too sensitive; the speed is not consistence; the wheel is making loud noise at high speed; and at one time, the electric cord seemed to leak power, and I got a mild electric shock while turning the wheel off (luckily, I didn't die from that...) I found some simple guidance regarding taking care of your pottery wheel from eHow.com. Here it is:

Step 1:
Clean up well, after every session, as clay gets everywhere. Clay is easiest to clean up while still wet, so try to make wheel cleaning a part of your normal maintenance routine. Pay special attention to the small space between your wheel mount and the spinning tray.

Step 2:
Wipe excess clay from the pedal of your pottery wheel when you notice that it is building up. A dirty pedal can be difficult to control and can lead to the destruction of your projects.

Step 3:
Listen to the motor of your pottery wheel; it should be almost silent. If you begin to hear humming noises, it's time for a good cleaning and oiling. Clay dust can build up inside the motor after a long period of use. Your local pottery supply shop should be able to tune up and maintain your motor for a reasonable price.

Step 4:
Cover your pottery wheel with a sheet or drop cloth, if you won't be using it for awhile. During prolonged periods of inactivity, you should plug in the wheel and work the pedal a bit, every month or so, to keep the motor maintained.

Step 5:
Unplug your pottery wheel, or turn it off if you have an on/off switch, when it is not being used.

Xitang 江南古镇西塘 , China 2007

I took a day trip to Xitang during my two week long vacation in China in September. I had been wanting to visit Xitang for a long time now. Xitang is one of the famous water towns between Suzhou and Hengzhou; it's lesser known to foreign tourists and is better preserved in architectures and local culture. The slogan of the town reads, "Xitang is a thousand year old town that still lives."

Xitang is about 50 minutes south of Shanghai and can be reached by train from Shanghai South Train Station. Xitang itself does not have a train station; therefore, most tourists usually join local tour groups from Shanghai, and travel to Xitang by tour buses.

The transportation we took to reach Xitang is more down to earth. Before leaving San Francisco, I did some extensive research on transportation options, and I learned that there are express trains going to a city called Chia Shan. From Chia Shan, there are direct bus lines or taxi to Xitang. Taking public transportation avoided schedule constraint; therefore, this was the best choice to go.

Xitang Old Town is quaint and relaxing. Residents who live next to river canals for generations seemed to have adapt an easygoing way of living. Over the years, Xitang has became more and more touristy; most of the houses in old town are now converted into hostels for people to stay overnight. Although Xitang Old Town mainly derives its revenue from tourism, strangely, it hasn't being commercialized. My friend and I were eager to buy ourselves T-shirts that reads "Xitang" on top but cannot find any. Local handmade goods, food do not bare any mark or indication of their origin "Xitang". After talking to some shopkeepers in the town, we learned that very often, customers dislike the town's name to be part of the souvenirs (strange, isn't it?); therefore, artists and shopkeepers remove Xitang from their products to please customers. One shopkeeper told me that he suspects people who came to Xitang to buy their goods and resale them elsewhere. I have to say this is really a little town that doesn't know how to promote itself. Its neighboring water towns, Zhouzhuang, and Tongli are already world famous and attract tourists from around the world.

To be honest, I love Xitang because of it's lack of tourists. We arrived around noon, and the person who was in charge of Old Town's admission fee was not even there to collect our entry fee. The town was pretty empty; only a few local tourists, shopkeepers, and art students doing still-life drawings. We wondered around in the town for awhile, crossing a number of bridges, walking thru a number of narrow alley ways. Bridges and narrow alleyways are two unique architectural features of ancient water towns in the coast of China. We found a tea house next to the canal to take a break; the interior design of the tea place was trendy; the tea was definitely overpriced; and the table we got wasn't really next to a window. Thinking back, I regret we didn't insist on leaving; we were tired from a day's travel at that time.

Very soon, night started to fall, and we had to catch the last train heading back to Shanghai from Chia Shan. Before we left, we took a boat ride in the canal. Inns, restaurants, and boat keepers started to turn their red lanterns on; all the sudden, the canal is lined with beautiful lanterns. That's one of the most lovely images I have seen in my trip to China. Xitang is known for its view in dusk and dawn. I wish I had extra time to spend here.

On the way heading out of Old Town Xitang, we saw stores starting to close down. This is another thing that really amazed me. Instead of closing up gates and lock doors up, closing up a shop in Xitang is done in a classic way: Shopkeepers moved one wooden board at a time to cover up the entrance, until the entire door is covered by 5 or 6 wooden boards (vertically), and then, they locked the door. Although I was born and raised in Taiwan and read enough classic novels about Chinese culture, this was the first time I saw something like this. Xitang is indeed an ancient town that's alive.

Crucible Holiday Sales $$

No doubt X'MAS is a good day to catch up on writing because there is nothing else better to do. Yes, I would like to talk about the Crucible holiday sale 2006. I earned $125 selling hand-made pottery ($40 are contributed from sympathetic friends and coworkers.) I am still in awe of the excitement of being able to participate in an event like this. Some of the items I love so much that I feel glad they didn't sell. A couple of my creation found good homes and people who genuinly like them. Some of the pieces ain't so luck; I'm still quite upset at the woman who only bought the big Blue Blue Checker (see previous posting in archive) but not his bother. I don't think my dear Blue Blue Checker bowl will last very long. Sigh...

Here is a list of items I sold:
1. Dip me in Chocolate (set of 2)
2. Big Blue Blue Checker
3. Soda Fired Salt & Pepper Shaker
4. Porcelain "My Home" vase
5. Mini Salt & Pepper Shaker in persimmon glaze
6. Originally, Milki's tea cup with black underglaze (gladly, Mark has it now)
7. Raku rice bowls (set of 3)
8. Raku plate (with a crack, and I didn't take a photo of it.)
9. One pair of earrings (jewelry always sells...)

Anonymous Four

I'm not going to tell you what have happened to these four yet. Their fate has been sealed when they were fired in kiln, and subsequently, at the Crucible art sale. This photo was taken when they are still in their purest form, even before the first bisque fire. There is this timeless feeling and touch to the 4 unfinished vases. At least, this is my perception. The anonymous four humming quietly in my bathroom, waiting for their debut. Some have happy endings and some don't, just like real lives.

Rome, Italy (Fall 2006)

10 Things I remember Rome the most:

1. cobblestone is slippery.
2. It's a million dollar moment to see an old face in Rome when you are soaked in rain and had no dinner.
   
3. Shoes and leather goods are indeed cheaper and higher in quality in Italy.
4. A woman can spend her entire life's saving in no time.
5. Once Italians know you better, they are very passionate and friendly.
6. Traffic and air pollution is not as bad as some have described, especially if you live in Asia before.
7. gypsies and pickpockets don't function very well when the weather is bad.
8. You can bargain with shop owners the Asia way. Italians are very much like Chinese in this regard. Calculators, hand gestures, and you got a deal!
9. "Professor" who works at the conciege desk in InterContinental Roma is actually a very warm person if you tell him you remember him from 3 years ago. He opens up to you right away.
10. You need quick eyes and sharp elbows when outlet shopping in Rome. Roudtrip taxi ride would cost you an arm and a leg to begin with.