Making Porcelain with the Masters: Anna Gardner '18

During this past summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Jingdezhen, China, the porcelain capital of the world! Mrs. Morley and I stayed in a village outside of town for a month to study, observe, and apprentice in the porcelain-making process. On an average day during our trip, we would travel into town to look into studios or find inspiration in work, and then come back to our studio to try out what we had learned. We made many porcelain pieces and especially focused on blue and white porcelain.

My favorite moment from the entire experience was when we arrived at the kiln (where all of the ceramic pieces are fired) after having fired all of the pieces we made that month. I had never worked with porcelain, so I had no idea what to expect. The results were amazing, and both Mrs. Morley and I were ecstatic when we saw how beautiful each piece came out. In general, I think that the most rewarding and peaceful moments were when we enjoyed fine teas and had conversations with the locals who could speak English.

I learned that it is important to take moments of rest and inner concentration sometimes because it can grow you as a person. While we were there, we met many Buddhist monks and participated in many tea ceremonies. It was a great experience that I will never forget!

Well, I have already been using the techniques and styles which I learned while I was there. I have a big piece in the kiln as we speak which is, in many ways, inspired by what I encountered and learned on the trip. I will carry what I learned with me throughout my career as an artist–no matter if it is just a hobby or it becomes my job.

What I have learned is that no matter what I am doing, I need my daily fix of ceramics or creative activity. Whether I continue working in the ceramic arts or take apply what I’ve learned to another endeavor, we have yet to see. However, I am certain that I will always continue studying ceramics, or something similar to it.