Irish Ceramic Art China: December 2011

In September 2011, a group of Irish ceramic artists will travel to the Chinese town of Fuping, Shaanxi, to make the foundation collection for the newly built Irish Pavilion at the Fule International Ceramic Art Museum. The Irish Pavilion will showcase the best of the new wave of ceramic art emerging from Ireland, marrying the ancient techniques of the East to our own cultural traditions. It is a permanent exhibition space created to house the work of those ceramic artists whose subtlety, skill and vision captures the spirit of contemporary Ireland. Eleanor Flegg, writer, and Andrew Standen Raz, film maker and photographer, will travel with the group to document the residency. The Irish Pavilion opens on the 4th October 2011.

The blog is written by Eleanor Flegg, whose opinions may not necessarily reflect those of the group.

Monday, December 12, 2011

The aftermath

I know, I know.

I said that I would and I didn't.

And I'm still not ready. Its all too raw and recent.

I just started looking through the images of China. Such a strange and powerful time. The one that I can't get out of my head is the photograph of the women sieving red-lead glaze with their bare hands. Somehow I have to find the place and the strength to write about this, elsewhere than the blog. A few pairs of rubber gloves could save their lives.

Ceramic art can't be too fragile or more important than this.