Day of Reckoning

Tuesday of the conference was my day to present a paper. The first session was a real treat with a presentation by one of China's leading ceramic sculptors Yongkang Yao. Such sensitive work seen in the images of his early work to his delicate celadon glazed later work, truly beautiful.

Here is Yongkang Yao with his wife on the left and Hyesug and another student delegate. Photo by Hyesug

Sorry about the images i photographed from his book which he generously gave to all the delegates.

Robert Sanderson (The Log Book) introduced the group I was in and had gathered information the previous day. I had been anxious but I pulled myself aside and said "Creina, you wouldn't be here if you weren't giving this paper, so just suck it up and get on with it". After that I was fine, I knew my subject well and found myself even enjoying, if not briefly, saying it out loud. I did have the enormous advantage of speaking in my native tongue which many people didn't have. I channelled my mother at the start, being the terrific public speaker she was, and before I knew it I was back enjoying myself again in the audience. Thank you George Fischer, Queensland's first potter of domestic ware for providing this fabulous opportunity.

Robert Sanderson and his wife Col Minogue editors of The Log Book

Brian and Lewis, two Americans followed my presentation and after lunch thanks to Vicki's request we went on a tour of the factory in the village, but not before visiting the pottery shop where the most delightful group of girls were waiting to serve customers. There were far too many employees for the shop as is usual in the village and they were quietly practicing their line dancing when we arrived. So of course we joined in. At the airport I had rashly bought some of those cheesy koalas which I gave to the girls the next day. You would have thought I'd given them the Crown Jewels as they promised their undying love for me, you don't need language do you!

The tour of the factory was an eye opener. We started in the residency area, the Indians had only left a couple of days previously but already it was busy with three fairly new residents and the lovely Nadee from Thailand who had been at Gulgong. He was making his large figures there for sometime now visiting the village regularly. Otto was making a series of animals, Sergie whose name wasn't Sergie, (a long story but I still don't know his name) was making a group of three figures, and Christian from France was busy with tall cylindrical works. There's a strange story about Christian, I befriended him his first evening as he was new so I invited him to join our dinner table. At the end of the evening when he had established I was an Aussie he asked me if I knew the Aussie,Jane Annois, as they were friends. I stared at him in disbelief as Jane had been my sister-in-law's best friend in Melbourne. Small world.

Naidee and his terracotta warriors.

Otto

Sergie who isn't Sergie

Christian

Now that's a kiln!

The factory tour then took us to the kilns and glaze rooms, there are technicians to help the residents with any problems which is necessary in such a different environment to their own studios. The wood kiln had been used recently by Tim Rowan the first Janet Mansfield scholarship recipient.

Wood kiln. 

We entered a huge covered area which housed a gas train kiln 110metres long which took 48 hours for work to travel through. The working conditions would not be allowed in Australia but in China it is a different story. Many residents have offered to help change some conditions but the workers are unwilling to change.They are also so pleased to have such a good job. The ware is loaded onto large trolleys and lead along tracks that enter the kiln. 

There are women who glaze the tiles in the same area using a blunger and a contraption where the tiles are then placed to dry. The dust in the area is very dense and to clean up hand made brooms are used which make matters even worse. People were squatting in another area making individual tiles along with an artist perched on a stool in the breeze from an open door making elaborate flowered work. 

A nice warm smoko spot next to the kiln.

Across a lane in another building were men making large pots, one on a wheel and one with large coils. The large building was filled with pots.

Another building held a workroom of people making various items from traditional folk figures to sgraffito platters. There was a jigger jolly and a pug wheel along with tumblers and ball mills everyone and everything was going flat out. There was a huge tile and brick factory as well but we didn't go there.

Folk pottery workshop

The remainder of the afternoon I wandered around the museums. I ran into Liv Britta in the emerging artist museum and she showed me how her ceramic pieces worked, she had won a residency with her work.

Using various parts different shapes are constructed

Liv gave the most beautifully poetic presentation when she delivered her paper.

Workshop broom.

Chilli with a sprinkling of Food.

Chilli in the mornin', chilli in the evenin', chilli at every meal.........

I was concerned that I might pick up a stomach bug from eating differently prepared food but I needn't have worried as the massive amounts of chilli in everything must have sterilised the food. Several members of the group did have problems but it may have been from the water. There was noway any bug would have made it past all that chilli.

I was game for most things, egged on by fellow thrill seeker Tilly, the youngest member of the group. We even tried these bugs (above), that delicious looking scorpion on the bottom right was quite tasty. Deep fried and crunchy.

We ate like royalty everyday, there were about 20-30 or more dishes per meal, just when you'd finished out came another five dishes. Sweet food was included throughout the meal so every so often you were surprised. Fruit was served towards the end and at this time of the year watermelon was popular. We often were served beer with the meals and thanks to Mr Xu we had a plentiful supply of red wine from the Yarra Valley. 

Every so often you just wanted a rest from the chilli, here is Col Minogue below and by the look of despair this meal was one of those moments for her.

Due to Dr Hsu being fêted at every museum or pottery, we were treated to banquets at lunch and again dinner. Everything was beautifully presented and generous.

Prawns were always served but being from Straddie I wasn't as attracted as others. I also realised we were a long way from the coast,

Dr I-chi Hsu and Brian at lunch at one museum below

We were served quail eggs here along with pickled garlic. Cigarettes were sometimes included on the table for our snaking pleasure.

Duch was always a favourite dish as long as you didn't look them in the eye.

Always a fish was served, here with green onions but I expect the chilli was lurking somewhere beneath

These unusually shaped nipples were made of a tasteless dough, not recommended.

This dish was sticky, sweet, potato chips, which disappeared quickly.

Some kind of fruit in syrup below. It may have been pumpkin.

Below is a dish of tripe. I didn't try it as our fellow Chinese companions ate it with relish.

I discovered this ice block at several locations, mango, and it was so, so welcome when it was so hot.

Here's an image of Oznur and Sibel, both from Turkey, wondering whether to try yet another soup at the one meal, this one being served at the end.

Just in case I forgot to tell you, here below is the main ingredient.

This hot little trolley was located at the back entrance to the kitchen next to a wall of tiles that absorb heat to help dry them. This was just the breakfast supply!

The local people also used the sun to dry their crops. Corn was being harvested at this time (we were there for the Moon Festival, mid harvest). The curved metal provided the heat.

The heat radiating from the bitumen also was a place to dry the crop. People spent their time turning the corn.

They could then bag it when dry.

Most economical way to do it. They used every part of the plant in some way, no waste.

We were never hungry for a second, although we did speak wistfully about coffee every so often. We did have a little coffee shop at the village but the flavour didn't suit our western taste buds.

Here's Rowena, me and Tina Byrne (Ceramics Ireland Editor) in the little coffee shop. (Photo, Vicki Grima)

I tended to stick with tea as it looked so pretty.

Terracotta Warriors

 Discarded Grain grinding stones at Fuping village

Day two in Fuping. Awoke in the "swamp" early, Rowena and I have discovered that we will make a fortune importing S-bend traps into China. A morning of presentations by the Turkish contingent followed by four diverse and interesting presentations. David Cushway spoke of his film about how people respond to articles that are in museums. Bernd's account was on kilns and his innovative kiln construction.

After lunch some of us piled into a far too small bus and set off on a windy route to the Terracotta Warriors while the remainder chose to go to a ceramic opening in a different direction. It was a stingingly hot day, the thermometer in the bus hovered on 36°c for most of the way. When we returned to the bus after the visit it read 40°.

Ah the Warriors at long last. It was crowded and sticky, we all went our own way visiting the three vast pits. Eric our lovely minder, gave us only a short time to view them all so we were off as fast as we could go.

The T/W group outside Pit One building, it was hot, hot, hot.

I found it like seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. You knew it was vast but it still took your breath away. It was hard to comprehend that this huge army was made by man and that only a small percentage is yet to be uncovered.

I did love the horses particularly.

Back to the village to another banquet. We sure do eat well.

Fuping Pottery Village ICMEA Conference China

The conference is well and truly a memory now but I want to give a general account of the two or more weeks before I lose all recollection.

I arrived at 2am in the village with Elaine Henry (Editor of Ceramics Art and Perception and Ceramic Technical) who was also picked up from the airport. I was so grateful to have been on the same flight from Shanghai otherwise I would have been traipsing into Xian by myself in the dead of night.

The next day I visited some of the huge number of different country, ceramic museums. I returned to my room and had a rest when suddenly into the room burst a wild woman....................

Rowena Hannan from Melbourne. She was hyper as the bus driver to the village kept falling asleep and they nearly had a head on. We both got along like a house on fire, we were the only people who shared a room, I guess they put us together as we were Aussies. Everyone thought we had come to the conference together as we were immediate friends, we had a really happy fun time together.

We had a welcome dinner that evening and the dishes were amazing and kept coming and coming. Duck with the head sitting proudly in the middle of the dish and red wine from Mr Xu's winery. Yes, winery. He went to Australia as a guest of Janet Mansfield and tasted a red, went to the Yarra Valley and bought a vineyard.

The next day was the opening of the conference. We met in a large open area and were entertained with a large percussion band. The drummers were fantastic, loud but thrilling.

Of course the people were so warm friendly, and we made contact despite no common language.

Next was the official opening along with the presentation of the inaugural Janet Mansfield Award to Tim Rowan who had only just finished his residency at the village.

Dr I-chi Hsu in the centre of the photo and Mr Xu to the right who runs the Fuping Pottery are the main instigators of the conference, Janet Mansfield was also a patron until this year.

This was followed by the ubiquitous fireworks, wonderful, so close we had bits of them falling on our heads.

The three Aussie participants, left Rowena Hannan a ceramic teacher at a high school in Melbourne, Vicki Grima, editor of The Australian Journal of Ceramics, and little old me.

We all went up to the large museum for the opening of the Indian residents exhibition. They had been there for four to six weeks and had produced a beautiful exhibition. I remember a few of them from the Woodfire conference in Tasmania. They are a lovely group of people and its amazing how quickly all we clay people get to know each other.Entrance to the museum. Above.

Sharia above was delightful.

 Rakee made some beautiful big bowls along with some fantastic organic shaped pods.

Here is Madhvi with two of the Turkish delegates, Sibel and her husband and fellow delegate, note the pellets on the floor, they are fired and are refuse. They use it in floors and all sorts of places.

Adil Writer was there, he's been to Australia often for conferences. He made some beautiful porcelain boxes. Above.

After the opening I went and visited my work in the adjoining hall. I entered for the Emerging Artists Competition three years ago and was selected but was unable to attend the conference in 2010. (Above, my very literal period!!!)

By this time it was only lunch time, felt like a month already. After lunch Elaine Henry gave the keynote speech.

This was followed by a presentation on Ancient Chinese ceramics by Xu Denfeng followed by an amazing personal tour by Mr Xu. He has been uncovering ancient ceramics and kilns in farmland near Fuping and he has housed it in this museum  below.

Below is a minute area of the collection of the shards and pieces he has collected.

He also collects Chinese antiques and again below this is only a small area of the warehouse where they are stored.

Above. This is what I look like now after two days in China. I think I've been eating too much. Ouch what dry skin, must be the smog.

Vicki trying to slip a piece into her purse!!!!!

After dinner there was a farewell for the Indian artists. Phew and that was day one.