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Stack Firing Bowl

10/29/2012 //
2

DIA 140xH65mm, Hong Kong

This bowl is an example of the traditional mass production of craft which is still 100% handmade.  Notice the ring at the bottom of the bowl?  That it is unglazed?  It is not part of the pattern of the bowl but a feature of the production of the bowl itself – stack firing.

If you turn a bowl over, you will notice that the bottom of the plinth is a bit rougher, that it hasn’t got any glazing.  This is because if the glaze is there, under the heat of the kiln it would melt and cause the work to stick to the kiln board, that’s why the potter would carefully clean off any glaze.  Normally when firing each item would be placed on a kiln board and at some distance apart from other works.  In the Qin dynasty (220BC), demand for pottery is high, stack firing becomes popular in the common kiln.  The bowls would be stacked on top of each other (like how the bowls are arranged  in your kitchen cabinets), about 10 pieces tall.  To prevent the glazing on the bowl sticking together the glazing on the inside of the bowl (where the plinth of the upper bowl is touching) is removed,  hence the unglazed ring.  This would yield a lot more work in a single firing – tradition mass production.

This item selected by Furze for the Something Old Something New exhibition and is available at both Mountain Folkcraft and Soil.

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Categories container, Mountain Folkcraft X Soil, pottery

Plum Blossom Cup

10/26/2012 //
0

DIA50 x H45mm, China

This item selected by Furze for the Something Old Something New exhibition and is available at both Mountain Folkcraft and Soil.

This Chinese porcelain tea ware is decorated with plum blossom, however, the white on the brown glaze just reminded me of Bambi.  Its not surprising that Chinese name for the Sika deer is plum blossom deer.

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Categories container, Mountain Folkcraft X Soil, pottery

Handmade Fabric Bags by Denise Chan

10/22/2012 //
0

Hong Kong

Denise is from Paiwan 台湾排灣族, an aboriginal tribe of Taiwan. Her interest on handwoven fabrics starts from her collection on minority costume.   She is not only a collector by has also become a craft designer.

These bags are made from her private collection of handwoven fabric, the construction of the bag is inspired by the traditional tailoring of the minority tribe.

Something Old Something New, a joint venture with Soil.

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Categories container, fabric, Mountain Folkcraft X Soil

Rooster Bowl

10/19/2012 //
0

DIA130xH30mm, China

This was at the one time the most common bowl in the Guang Dong and Min Nan area, a bowl that is used in homes, street hawkers and local eateries, now a days they have been replaced by the durable plastic ware   Each bowl is hand printed with rooster, plantain and a flower.  There are a reasons of how the rooster made it to be the decoration for this popular bowl.

For the Chinese, the rooster is a protector of evil (see post Clay Rooster Whistle), it has also contained the 5 Chinese virtues (Knowledge = comb, Strength = footing distance, Bravery = fighting its enemy, Benevolence = calling others to feed, Credit = crowing every morning).  And finally, in the old days meat is a scarcity for common people, dishes are often decorated with chicken or fish to spice up the meal.

This item selected by Furze for the Something Old Something New exhibition and is available at both Mountain Folkcraft and Soil.

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Categories container, Mountain Folkcraft X Soil, pottery

Resist Dye Series by Cotton Car

10/18/2012 //
0

Hong Kong

Using the fabric from Mountain Folkcraft, artist Cotton Car has created lovely purse and tote bags for the Something Old Something New exhibition with Soil.

A Pleasure in Metal Frame Purse

“besides stripes and round shapes
I enjoy working with metal frames as well
so tempting to attach it to other purses
like extra compartment, yet decorative at the same time”

Cotton Car primary source of inspiration comes from daily life, or everything around her.
To find out more about Cotton Car visit her blog @ http://cottoncar.blogspot.hk/

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Categories container, fabric, Mountain Folkcraft X Soil

Double Happiness Bowl

10/17/2012 //
0

DIA 150xH50mm, China

This item selected by Furze for the Something Old Something New exhibition and is available at both Mountain Folkcraft and Soil.

This is a folk version of the double happiness bowl; on the refined version the bowl is decorated with the word 囍 (double happiness) and a winding stem pattern that is popular in the Qing dynasty.  While the design is passed down from an official kiln to a commoner’s kiln, the design is abstracted over generation of craftsman.  This is likely to be due to that the craftsman are mostly illiterate and the design was taught to the young apprentice almost as a symbol from their master who has learnt it the same way.  Nevertheless, this abstracted bowl is known to them also as the double happiness bowl, equivalent to the original item.  The painter Wu Kuan Chung made this observation about the under glaze decoration of commoner’s kiln; some ideas which was inspired by daily life, they can being transformed into another type of art form by subtraction, multiplication or other means as long as it is still tied to the origin of living.

Can you spot the work 囍 and the scrolling foliage pattern?

Here are some hints;
the first 2 are folk version of a less simplified bowl and the last being a more refined version.  (I somehow preferred the abstracted version)

Answer: the pattern that looks like # is the word 囍 and the three circle is part of the scrolling foliage  pattern.

春 023

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Categories container, Mountain Folkcraft X Soil, pottery

Daffodil Bowl with Crackle Glaze

09/19/2012 //
0

L210xD130xH60mm, China

This is a celadon daffodil bowl, yes celadon is not limited to the pale jade green glaze, it also can be white, grey, blue or yellow.  The cracks on the bowl are only on the glazing itself and has no impact to the bowl, this characteristic is known as crackle glaze.  This effect for the randomness which mimic nature has been appreciated by the Chinese since the Sung dynasty.  However, this texture started off as a defect in the firing process; the clay and the glaze having a different expansion ratio.  This crackle style is known as “a hundred broken pieces”.

For more about daffodil, click on Blue Glazed Narcissus Bowl.

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Categories container, pottery

Bamboo Basket

09/18/2012 //
0

W250xD250xH400mm, China

This is a double deck bamboo basket for food storage.  It is for carrying food stuff goodies as a gift for relative and friends, a kind of xmas hamper.  Upon receiving the gift a red packet thank you note would be sent back to the sender.

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Categories bamboo, container

Cushion Cover – Patchwork

09/12/2012 //
1

W970xL970mm, China

This is one of our baby carrier turn cushion cover series
(x-stitch, patchwork, x-stitch).

Many years ago on one of the shopping trips to Gui Zhou, mother was on a bus when she saw this baby carrier.  The baby carrier was not in a shop but carry a baby on the back of a woman.  Falling in love with the unusual design mother jumped out of the bus and ran to find the woman with the baby.  On closer look, the pattern looked even better, the colour are bright and the design abstract and modern.  Mother begged the lady to sell the carrier to her so she can use it as a sample.  The lady was very reluctant, as the baby carrier is believed to be an amulet for the child, protecting him throughout his life.  After much persuasion here we are – a pattern of birds with flower!

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Categories container, embroidery, tribal

Wooden Name Card Holder

09/04/2012 //
0

L340xD170xH70mm, China

Apology for the misinformed blog yesterday.  This box should be a name card holder, yes, the traditional name card are of this size.  Traditionally, a few days before a visit, a box containing a name card (tie) with the purpose of the visit will be delivered to the person’s estate.  If the tie is not rejected that the meeting will go ahead, otherwise the box with the tie will be returned to the sender.

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Categories container, stationary, wood
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