Jingdezhen, lectures…

After our gourmet breakfast, we regrouped and went to the first presentations in a lecture hall nearby. Upon entering we were given ear pieces so we could hear the translations for each speaker. Every morning and early afternoon we listened and watched power point presentations from curators, ceramic schools and ceramicists from Japan, China, India, Republic of Czechoslovakia, and our very own Hiro Tashima and Yana Payusova from USA. The most interesting was Dr. Wendy Gers, Curator of the Keramix Museum Princesshof in the Netherlands. Her topic “Sustainability of Ceramics”. Her message, ceramics as we know it today has great limitations. We are a by-product of industry and the availability of common materials used to fire and make glazes is of limited supply such as lithium, talc, zinc, and even porcelain. What can we do? Go green. Use local materials, make un-fired work, reduce, recycle, repair, use green energy, transport, and packing materials. Sustainability means meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It was a very powerful message and one we need to heed.