China Portfolio

Artist Statement:

I was unaware of the Chinese contemporary ceramic scene before traveling to Jingdezhen. A great deal of the ceramics by students were functional and glazed with traditional celadons. However, in looking around some Jingdezhen galleries, I discovered a style of deconstructed and rough ceramics that appealed to me immediately. I was fascinated by the infinite textures that artists were able to create on pieces that they had thrown. The rough and gestural lines made into bottles made them fascinating to look at from all sides. I came to realize these changing angles of my pots as I was photographing them myself and struggling to find the best angles. Gestural ceramics are a true reflection of oneself, as the hatching marks and lines are reflections of my moods or emotions on any particular day. I found it difficult to keep an consistent shape and style as I was making these bottles. One day I would find a shape that appealed to me but would forget how I created that shape the next day because of how reflective these forms are of my particular states as I was making them.

Pre-China Portfolio

I have attached my ceramics portfolio from Spring 2012 in order to show how my style has evolved from the time I spent in China.

Great Wall

The first time I visited the Great Wall with the group, it was so foggy and misty that I couldn’t even see the wall 50 feet in front of me. While the wall was still beautiful in a mystical way, I was overwhelmingly upset about the lack of visibility. I had a postcard-esque image in my head of the Wall rolling through hills.

A few days after, I went to the Great Wall at Badaling by myself. I had spent a long time on the internet researching how to get to Mutianyu, which was described as the most picturesque portion of the wall. I had a general idea of which bus to take and asked the hotel clerk to write “Great Wall” on a piece of paper for me. After arriving at the bus depot, I was shoved onto the cattle call busses for Badaling, still a picturesque portion of the wall but I had read online that it was flooded with crowds. I woman shoved me onto a bus marked “Great Wall” and we started to drive out of downtown Beijing.

The bus was packed - despite the ride being over an hour, there were passengers that were standing the entire trip. A tour guide started speaking in Chinese through a microphone and when we unloaded from the bus, he continued to speak to the group and direct them. I had no idea what was going on so I wandered around until I found the ticket kiosk for the electric pull-cart up the mountain (I hiked up at Mutianyu, which was enough accomplishment for me).

I waited in line for the car for two hours. The people standing on the line seemed to ignore the heat or need for breathing space and people were crammed up against me on all sides. I was disappointed that people had managed to turn the Great Wall, an invaluable piece of Chinese history, into an unbearable tourist trap. Vendors were shouting at all sides and there was also a small zoo of baby bears.

Finally reaching the top of the wall, however, was incredible. I got to see the wall rolling over the hills and hiked around for a little bit. It was very hot and I didn’t have enough water, which eventually led me to leave the mountain. The wall itself was also so crowded. I waited over 15 minutes just to get through a doorway at one of the staircases.

Finally sunny at the top!

The foggy day

Everyone at Badaling was carrying an umbrella