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Beatrice Wood, 1908 We need to talk about Beatrice Wood. The last surviving member of the American Dada movement, the ceramicist, the artist, the writer, the actress, the lover, and let’s not leave out, the inspiration behind the headstrong character of “Rose” in the movie Titanic . Beatrice was […]

Click here to view original web page at www.messynessychic.com

When those of us who are of a certain age heard about the ceramic works of Beatrice Wood and her amazing life, she was already quite advanced in age. It was an inspiration to see what she was still doing even into her 80’s and 90’s. She was and is an inspiration to all of us who might think “I’m too old to start doing ceramics.”

Xia Shaohua and his clay works based on Peking Opera figures The Buddha once remarked that everything can be found in something as seemingly insignificant as a grain of sand, a dropped leaf or a flower petal. Xia Shaohua sees the world through the medium of clay and fire. […]

Click here to view original web page at www.shine.cn

One of the joys of working with ceramics is the tension between the perceived control of the artist and the immutable fact that the kiln has a mind and will of its own. Xia Shaohua knows this all too well, which is why he took time to say …

“Every time you open the kiln, anything could happen – it could be a perfect work of art or a pile of broken pottery shards,” the pottery artist explained. “It’s always been mysterious and unfathomable, which has enchanted me for many years.”

The life of almost all artists, in almost all mediums, includes times of testing and trial interwoven with times to great triumph and (sometimes) public recognition. Xia Shaohua had this experience and shares it this way …

“The award was a great encouragement for me at the time, because I was struggling between following my artistic path and being realistic and worldly in a big city,” he recalled.