It’s hard to believe that it’s one week since I left Halifax for my journey to China. I arrived in Beijing safely on October 1st and after spending two days in Beijing, visiting the Forbidden City, running through the hip new 798 art district in the Dashanzi area, and climbing the Great Wall of China (good thing I’ve been living in Halifax and climbing all those hills!), we flew to Xi’an, and then were transported by bus to Fuping.
The Fuping Pottery Village is a fabulous place with a huge tile factory, a large orchard, a hotel, artist residences and a growing number of new ceramic museums, each one designed after some aspect of the landscape here in Shaanxi Province, or after an ancient kiln or tomb design. The museums are spectacular with unique architecture and each one displaying an innovative use of the tiles made right here on site at the massive tile factory. We have full access to the all the facilities in the factory and all the technical help we want. It’s quite luxurious, but with only 29 days left before the Canadian Ceramic Museum opens, we need all the help we can get! All the materials are new to us and it’s going to be a steep learning curve. But we are a hard working group and are all experienced professionals. Still it’s going to be a challenge!
We are managing to have some fun too. Tonight we celebrated Thanksgiving Chinese style, with roasted duck and even some stuffing (an interesting version with anise). But we will be working in the studio every day with a few exceptions when we will travel to nearby sites such as Xi’an to see the Terra Cotta Army which consists of over 8000 life-sized soldiers and horses.
Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and a great long weekend.
Cheers from China,
Grace
