China Tour Route

Here I thought we had travelled thousands of kilometres on our tour through China and this is a map of the route, looks such a short distance now. There were some long days on the bus

This second map is a detailed one of our tour which will help me figure out where I was each day. Fuping is off the map to the west and Beijing is approximately 450k north east from the top of the map from Handan. We went by fast train and it took 2 1/2 hrs to get there, wow, and it didn't even look fast from the train.

I still haven't downloaded all my photos from the camera as it's been a frantic week. So for mostly my sake I will continue the blog describing my trip so that I will make sense of it. There were some wonderful experiences I want to remember by writing about them and posting corresponding photos; the Terracotta Warriors; the opera; the Longmen Grottoes; the unusual sights. It certainly was the trip of a lifetime and shared with some great people.

There was a comment posted by an anonymous person on my blog, someone who bought some of my work from the exhibition and left a lovely comment. Thank you whoever you are. 

Markets in the morning to continue to pay for the trip, then I'll start saving for the next!!!!!

French Pavillion Fuping Pottery Village

Home again. So nice to catch up with old friends (above) on the road to Main Beach. 

The entrance to the French Pavillion at Fuping Pottery. The tiles made at the pottery were used for the exterior of the building and the architecture was beautiful, very angular. The interior was stark white originally but is looking a little worn now. My favourite works were by Jean Nicolas Gerard using the Tang Dynasty tri-colours in a very free way.

Copper green, brown and yellow.

Fuping clay was used as well, it is the clay used in the making of bricks and is a dark brown, red colour.

This pot above I think is by the same artist.

I won't tell you what my daughter thinks of this work so I had to think why I liked them so much. They are confident, vigorous, full of energy. The use of the traditional tri-colours are used in a way that is fresh and suits the form. I also enjoy looking at them as they bring so much pleasure.

Below are shards embedded in the coarse clay, artist unknown.

Home again,home again, China is done

What a delight to see the blue, blue sky of Australia today after two weeks of grey smog wherever I went. So good to be home again after the most wonderful adventure at the 2013 ICMEA Conference in Fuping China.

No Internet connection for most of the time although I did receive the occasional email but could not send any. It was so frustrating, so no blogs.

Arrived in Brisbane at 7.30am and am now home after the opening of the "Drift" exhibition at Point Lookout this evening. It's been a long, long day. I have not downloaded all my photos yet and probably have forgotten most of the "unforgettable" experiences of the last two weeks without writing the blog each day, but over the next week will wrack my poor old brain for some kind of organised recollection one of the most fantastic experiences of my ceramic life.

The conference was full on each day from early morning until after midnight each night and we struggled to remain alert some days as it was so hot. It was held at the Fuping Pottery Village outside the town of Fuping. 

This is a plan of the village, I was staying in motel like accommodation in the foreground of the above map at "D". All the different country museums are located at the top left of the map and are enormous.

The "A" building is the reception area and where we ate our meals and just behind that at "O" is the hall where the papers were delivered. With workshops for visiting artist behind that. In the distance is the brick and tile factory which pays for all of this.

Here is my Aussie room mate Rowena about to enter one museum, and already I don't remember which one but think there are some South American works here.

 Below is another nameless Museum!!!!

Rowena inside.

I think it's one of the Eastern European countries, hopeless aren't I. Well it is late after a rather hectic day.

 So this is just a taster and examples will follow when I'm more alert.

The Kiln Goddesses Shone

Phew! What a relief, the kiln goddess was looking out for me. I opened the kiln yesterday afternoon after a lot of procrastination. There was a lot riding on this opening, my only chance for the exhibition in September. I was so relieved, no disasters and I am even pleased with the exhibition centre pieces, the pool bowls.

I raced down to the nearest beach and shot these images in the fading light.

I took this shot above this morning.

Next the crab plates

Broken coral plates

Blue swimmer crab plates

I tidied up a few rough edges last night and this morning was at the beach again for more shots. Last night Geoff drove me to the beach and at one stage when I was walking back to change the camera battery while leaving the pots on the sand. Geoff rather casually said as I got near "Your pots are floating away". I turned around to see them sailing away on a wave, at least they don't have holes.

Sunday we celebrated Fathers' Day and Chris's birthday. Here are two gorgeous boys, Chris adores his little cousin but Edward is concentrating on a strawberry.