Glaze Development in Ancient China

The worlds first stoneware glazes were developed during the Shang Dynasty in China (1,600 – 1,100 bce).  This is an astounding feat when considering that stoneware was not achieved in Korea and Japan for another 2,000 years and in the West for another 3,000 years. One theory for the early development of stoneware temperatures in …

Ai Weiwei and The Art of Destruction

The pottery of Neolithic and Bronze era China have inspired many artists over the centuries since it was first created, but none to such a controversial degree as the work of Ai Weiwei.  Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist who has risen to the apex of the international art scene with his thought-provoking social commentaries. …

Gansu Jars of Neolithic China

Neolithic culture is a period that begins worldwide about 8000 bce and is defined by humanities move from hunter-gather culture to settled agriculture centered around small villages.  Important innovations and technology of the time were stone tools and the regular manufacture and use of pottery.  It is in fact through pots and fired ceramic objects …

International Top 10: Pamela Mei Yee Leung

Early in the semester I did a lot of research for this project.  Power points, web research and books.  All that research went into a gray covered Moleskine note-book that i have used for my ceramic classes for a couple of semesters.  Today, as I ran out of the last artists that I remembered from …

International top Ten: Ai Weiwei

One of the parameters of this semesters assignment is that I may only choose two artists from any single country.  For the most part this is no problem.  There are many great artists in the world and looking for inspiration is a wonderful opportunity for growth.  In the case of China though this is a …