Swiss guests try to write Chinese characters with a stroke of the brush. [Photo/Wuxi Daily]
Jacques Kaufmann, honorary president of the International Academy of Ceramics under UNESCO, led a team of Swiss pottery enthusiasts to Dingshu town in Yixing, Wuxi, Jiangsu province, from Oct 14 to 16 for an immersive ceramic cultural experience.
At the Wu Ming Art Museum, Chinese arts and crafts master Wu Ming handed brushes and rice paper to the Swiss guests, who then created ink paintings.
From feeling the textures of the "Four Treasures of the Study" to learning techniques and observing demonstrations of writing Chinese characters and painting bamboo and plum blossoms, the essence of Eastern aesthetics flowed through ink and brushstrokes.
A Swiss guest tries to make purple clay pottery. [Photo/Wuxi Daily]
In the riverside courtyard of Chinese arts and crafts master Jiang Guoxing, the Swiss team gathered around the workbench, picked up Yixing clay teapot-making tools, and learned the forming techniques from the artisans.
At the Li Shoucai Art Museum, a lump of clay under the thumb of Chinese ceramic art master Li Shoucai revealed intricate patterns through stacking and composition. These unique Yixing Jun glaze and duihua decoration techniques earned frequent thumbs-up from the Swiss guests.
The Swiss tour group then visited Xu Xiutang's Changle Pottery Estate, where a rich array of purple clay sculptures dazzled the eye. The well-preserved loong-shaped kiln within the estate provided the team with a direct experience of the millennia-old history of Chinese ceramic making.
