Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum

installation in the water park by Virginia Scotchie

Whoa. We took a trip to Taipei yesterday to see the Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum, as well as some other galleries. This is possibly the best ceramics museum in the world. They have an enormous collection of ancient pots and architectural details, folk pots, contemporary ceramics and installation pieces, and currently the Taiwan Ceramics Biennale pieces. Where to begin...

Virginia Scotchie

Virginia Scotchie

I was in the gift shop and they had a video playing of the installation process of Virginia Scotchie's permanent piece in the water garden. That was so cool to see, but not as cool as experiencing the actual piece. This piece is so gorgeous, a perfect contrast of bright colors and playful shapes with the beautiful Taipei mountainscape in the background, as well as the light reflecting in the water. This piece really made me happy. Yay Virginia!!!!!

Back in the museum, the Biennale was overall a great show. My one complaint was that several of the pieces were from as far back as 1989-early 90s. Just my opinion, but I thought that a show like this should include all contemporary pieces. Here's a few cool pieces...

Gertraud Mohwald, 1999

Isobel Egan, 2005

Kyoko Hori, 2009

Kim Dickey, 2009

Mariko Isozaki, 2008

Catrin Howell, 2010

Kim Simonsson, 2009

This is only a fraction of the show. To see more at the museum, look at www.ceramics.tpc.gov.tw
or to see the show, http://www.ceramics.tpc.gov.tw/2010TCB/en/b.html
Good night!

A Few Things

So here are a few things I am working on in my studio. I sort of hate to show work in progress, as it changes every 5 minutes, and half of this might be in the trash tomorrow! Also, I usually put things together in parts after they have been fired in the kiln, so you are not seeing the whole picture. But for now...

Tomorrow I go to Taipei to check out the gallery I will be having a show at in November. It will be a 3 hour train ride, and I leave at 7:10am. So good night for now!

My friend Mei Yueh

Jill and Mei-Yueh

My good friend Mei-Yueh Hsu showed up at the studio today with big pieces of sugar cane from her yard. I met Mei-Yueh in South Carolina in 2005, where she was a graduate exchange student while I was a graduate student there. She is awesome, and a wonderful artist who just had a big show in Taichung County Culture Center. She showed me how to cut off the tough outside, and then we chewed up the super-sweet liquid sugar inside. Everyone in the studio loved it.



We then went out to dinner at a local food joint where we picked out 5 different meats/foods, they fry it up, and serve it to us with a glutonous rice. We also had a plum drink in a big bamboo cup. The food was great, but VERY rich with lots of fat. Something you would not eat every day if you like your heart.

spontaneous parade with mafia dude in front

Then out of nowhere, a small parade with a drum corps went marching by with a lit-up float. It is hard to see from this picture, but there were fireworks and a whole bunch of drummers. Mei-Yueh told me it was a parade for one of the local gods, and that in Taiwan they have many different local gods. I was also curious about the guy in the picture with a bunch of tatoos on his arms, mostly because I haven't seen many people with tatoos here yet. Later Shau Yu told me he was "bad guy", like a mafia guy. Yikes, I'm glad he didn't see me take his picture! Of course Shau Yu also has a great sense of humor, so who really knows...
By the way, dinner for 4 people was $340 NT, which is about $11.50 american dollars total. Crazy.

Mei Yueh also took me to a local restaurant last week, where we had octopus, clams, soup, bamboo, and a few more things. The food was lighter here, and VERY good. 

Mei-Yueh in front of her house

Tomorrow I will tell you about the night market and stinky tofu. Yowza!
Zaijian!

Taoist Temples

Something I see everywhere I go in Taiwan are beautiful, elaborate Taoist Temples. I know very little about this religion, but the temples have definitely sparked my interest. For now, here are some images of one temple.

 Actually, these images are of the inside of the temple, which consists of many different "stations" with a different figure at each station. There was also a table with many offerings left on it from the Moon Festival, such as grapefruit and paper "money" that is meant to be burned. The figures are elaborate, and every single inch of the space is filled with detail or imagery. It is incredible to see, layers and layers of color, carving, objects, faces, creatures, flowers, and more. Just beautiful.

 Since it was night time, I was unable to get a good shot of the amazing architecture, so I will get that next time. The temple was open to worship (or just visit, like me) even late in the night. Doors are wide open. It smelled like incense, maybe similar to frankincense, and there are lit "candles" (actually lights that look like candles) everywhere. Very wonderful.

gifts, paper money and offerings

a bit of architectural detail outside

There are also small little roadside shrines everywhere, open all night for prayers.

small roadside shrine

You might be wondering what I'm actually doing here in Taiwan, since I haven't actually posted any evidence that I might actually be working. However, I work in the studio a minimum of 10 hours a day, and it is a slow process with ceramics. So this weekend I will post some "in progress" images of what I am working on.
Zaijian! (goodbye)

Moon Festival

Yoshi riding a horse at the Moon Festival

Today was the Moon Festival in Taiwan, a national holiday. When I asked the students what it meant, or what the festival was celebrating, some said it was a very old tradition, and one good response was that it was to symbolize renewal. It is definitely a great time for everyone. No school, no work, and lots and lots of eating (and drinking!).

vietnamese delish!

moon cakes

Some necessary components of the Moon Festival:
1. Grapefruit (actually a pommello)

2. Moon cakes (pastry filled with red beans and a hard boiled egg yolk, very good!)

3. A full moon.

4. Barbecue with a big variety of meat and veggies (the grilled fish cake was my favorite, but the beef was very delish also. Notice the great shoes on the girl who is barbecuing!)

Overall, it was a really great night, and a nice way to think about renewal in a positive way in your life. Always a good thing.
Xiexie! (thank you!)

Made it through alive!

OK, I don't mean to sound so dramatic, but yes, I made it through my first typhoon without a scratch. I believe that where I am located (outside of Tainan, somewhat in the country) it was not hit as hard as other places in Taiwan. Kaohsiung and other cities got really flooded, and there was more wind damage. My school (Tainan National University of the Arts) got a bunch of wind and rain, but no flooding. Electricity went out twice, many trees (young ones mostly) were bent over or snapped, debris all around, and many scooters were knocked over. But overall, it looked a lot like north Philadelphia on a daily basis (hey Philly!).

There was one funny thing that happened. I went to a friend's house for dinner, and as I was leaving at about 11:30pm, I realized I had left my raincoat and apartment keys back at the studio (1/8 mile away, not far, but far enough when it's pouring out). So I had no choice but to brave it out into the rain and wind to get my things. It was quite a fun adventure, I could not see with the rain in my eyes, I had to climb over trees and branches, and avoid slipping on the wet leaves and rocks. I finally made it to the studio, soaking wet and laughing my butt off. Yoshi was still at the studio, and after a little sympathy moment, he took my picture. So then I had to make it back to my apartment in the same crazy conditions. I did make it, went straight to my shower to switch into pajamas, and felt great to climb into bed. So I did get a bit of a cool adventure from it all.

OK, I'm headed back to my studio to work. It's always nice to hear the frogs as you walk the campus at night!

Here comes the typhoon!

This should be interesting! A typhoon will arrive tomorrow, and I am actually excited about it. Big forces of nature have a way of putting everything into perspective. Suddenly the things you thought were problems are not very important, and all you can really do is watch mother nature out the window in awe. Very nice. I'll let you know how it all goes!

art by Ching Yuan Chang

artist receptio

On another note, I attended an art opening today in Taichung, where Ching Yuan Chang had work on display. A three story gallery, very beautiful space. The show looked great, with both contemporary paintings and sculpture. Ching Yuan's work was a highlight of the show, and the first piece you see as you enter the building. He builds forms that are sensitive and beautiful, with incredible attention to form and surface. It was also the gallery's 20th birthday celebration. There was an amazing buffet of delicious food, wine and cake.

best Thai food in Taiwan

After the show we went to a Thai restaurant near Tainan, and I will honestly say that it is the best Thai food that I have ever had in my life. There are no pre-made generic sauces. Everything is fresh and cooked to perfection. I loved the coconut soup with mushrooms and vegetables, as well as the lightly fried shrimp cakes with a sweet dipping sauce. The peanut noodles were to die for. I will dream of that place for a long, long time.

We also stopped at a crafters market near the gallery. I was so happy to see it, it reminded me of the many craft markets in Philadelphia, where local artists make and sell their work to the public. It is good to know there is an appreciation of hand-made crafts everywhere in the world, especially in a time of IKEA and Target (don't get me wrong, those places are great too, everything in moderation...).

made by Bow Jin Bear, tw.myblog.yahoo.com/bjbear2009

artist market in Taichung

OK, more from typhoon-central later!