Three Steps Leaping Forward

I just love being here in China in Fuping, the people are great. Feels like a second home. Really happy times. Lots of Only in China Moments that Rosemarie and I first discovered in 1986. You have to laugh and there is plenty of that. Chinese plumbing rules you daily life. Water availablity is so random, especially hot. You beging to assimilate how life is for the majority of Chinese, who live in this largely rural country. No bank will change $US in Fuping. They are all Agricultural and Industrial banks, not Bank of China. Won't accept any of our cards at their ATMs. Mr Xu, the owner of the complex, has a drinking buddy who is the head of Bank of China, so he will exchange cash. Only in China.

All starting to come together now workwise. The factory folk seem to like us and come watch us working. (Wonder what the factory will start making when we have left?) They think NZers are so polite. Guess we are more suited to solving our own problems by ourselves and certainly doing every part of the process without an assistant's help. Interesting to see other ways of working. The Black (read Manganese) clay fires a dark pinky grey, which is fine. I was just so relieved to get anything out whole after my three disastrous test firings.

Basically with the firings it has been established that in the factory they bisque fire to 1170 oC and then glaze to 950 oC for the low-fire lead Tang glazes. Clay is still a little porous, so glazing is easy. Have done tests with manganese dioxide and a 1170 oC black they raw fire after elaborate sgraffitto (no masks or extractors, just puffing the dry glaze away with a rubber slip trailer bulb.) Dickensian.

I used the tests like trad oxide washes. I plan to see if they will enhance/enliven the grey brick clay, which looks a bit dull and dead. However I also like the idea of being in a brick factory and only using the clay exactly the same as the factory: Unadorned as a brick and not mucked around with and cosmeticly surgeryised, like a potter would after the fact? Dilemma.

Am building up a body of work based on my interpretations of classical Chinese forms within my own language and methods of working which was my original intention. Need to keep my focus.

Agate, piercings, curved bottle forms etc were all there in antuity in the Shanghai Museum. The pieces also start to reference the heavy bronze items as well. Not intentionally I believe, but I like what is happening.

Lots of great Australians and a special American, Elaine, who is just like us. Full to bursting dining room. Happy hour out by the vineyard has extended to three round tables pushed together. Drinking so much Chinese beer, because it is cold (mostly it is) and it is a bug free liquid. Blokey huh?

Never thought I would say it, but you can very quickly get over a fascination with Chinese food. Three meals a day of basically the same thing and nothing washed in water. Zilch fresh fruit buy still a scurvy free zone. Would really like a tea with real milk and a fresh lettuce salad out of the garden. A few have been really sick and glad of a clean bathroom a few steps away. Touch wood and fingers crossed.

Weather really starting to heat up. Was 37 oC the other day. Went for a walk after dinner last night and it was mild and magical. The complex is lit at night with lots of green and yellow lights on the trees and buildings. It looks like an exotic resort by night. You don't see the persistent dust which permeates everything, including us. The dust is always from the wind bourne loess, but mainly from the factory who have never heard of OSH. No protection anywhere. No guards around belts and pulleys or safety mechanisms on any of the tile rams etc. Certainly no extractor fans or vacuum cleaners. You trudge around in the dust and the lead like the workers. Evidently the expected life span is 40. Figures. The best shower of the day is the 5pm one after work, to decontaminise, lucky and fortunate us. Not so for the workers, where they live. But the oddest thing is that they work all day in good clothes and never seem to get dirty. Black is especially popular to wear to make bricks and tiles. There is a pride and a dignity there. They don't seem to wear jeans? Just tailored trousers for everyone. Dresses scarce.

In comparison we are slobs covered in clay in casual work clothes : shorts, jeans, track pants and jandals.

Jxx