Jingdezhen is overwhelming
Judith van den Boom, a 28year old designer from the Netherlands and spend her artist recidency at the studio of Caroline Cheng in China. She worked mainly in Shanghai and Jingdezhen to work on productions ceramics and participations with Chinese artists and designers. A great half year expierince in the winter 2005 of China gave her so much more then only working. She will continue working in ceramics with Chinese people to set up participations and learn from each others knowledge.
'Jingdezhen is overwelming, a city between green hills with a true chinese character; No, I don't mean the curled rooftops of romantic China, but the China people that live a rough life in cold winter hills of Jingdezhen. Today I cycled trough stormy weather to the glazeshops to buy new glaze for my ceramics tests. In this city they supply everything that has to to with ceramics, it is the capital of ancient chinese ceramics and still up and running for 1000's of products every day. The shops have everything from potterycolours to hip design or some local chinese man experimenting with weird colours. Like a true Chinese, I cycled back trough the rain to the studio, carrying a big heavy plastic bucket full with glaze. After the glazing I walked trough a jungle of high vases to the biggest kiln in Jingdezhen. It was very impresive, you could bake a house in this kiln. China is known for it's impresive works in architecture, cities and now also proven, ceramics. It is a pitty that these productions stay behind closed doors. There is still so much to discover, specially the younger chinese generation has no idea how much knowkedge they have and could use in art and deisgn outside china. This workperiod was just a start, to discover what is possible.'
She wrote her column diary in Dutch on www.geledraak.nl