Chapter 144 This is fucking art!
Chapter 144 This is fucking art!
After Gong Zhou finished speaking, he put away the tools on the table with a smile and dismissed all the apprentices and pot makers in the room.
The purple clay teapot he had just made was taken to the kiln to be fired when everyone left. Now, apart from the clay materials that could not be used, there were only some scattered, semi-dry scraps that Gong Zhou had picked off during the teapot-making process.
"How is it? Did you all see the pot-making process clearly? Is there anything you don't understand?"
Gong Zhou propped up his hands and placed them on the table, his expression gentle and kind as usual: "If you don't have anything, just try making something yourself. Of course, considering that you kids are more beginners than beginners... we don't have to start with something as difficult as a purple clay teapot."
"A purple clay tea bowl to match the purple clay teapot, or a purple clay dessert plate that's even simpler than the tea bowl. In short, I've asked them to lay out the clay materials for you on the table. Find a spot you like. Don't be shy. Just make anything for fun. If you come across something you don't know how to make, just ask me!"
"When the things are finished, I will ask them to put these small plates and bowls you made in the stove to try it out. As I said before, I called you here today not to really teach you how to make a purple clay teapot. What we want to focus on is the experience, to get close to and understand the purple clay pottery craft culture of Yixing."
Gong Zhou smiled and added a few more words to the others. After listening to them, Xu Yichi and the others took a long time to recover from the superb skills Gong Zhou had displayed in making the pot.
Bai Miaomiao, who had some experience with clay and other types of production before, even felt that what Gong Zhou showed was not just a technique - it was art. The level of his skill and the way he handled the whole process with ease while still having the energy to joke with them.
——It’s art, this is definitely fucking art!
——I swear to God, if you ask her to draw by hand without any draft, and deliberately change the normal painting (production) process from time to time in order to demonstrate other techniques, she may not be able to be as relaxed as him!
Is this the skill of a master who has been immersed in this art for decades?
When will she be able to draw to this level!
Bai Miaomiao's eyes flickered unconsciously as she thought about it, and when she spoke again, there was a hint of respect in her voice: "No problem, Teacher Gong Zhou."
"However, I still have a small doubt that I haven't figured out clearly. I wonder if you..."
"Haha, if you have any questions, just ask them boldly! Comrade Xiaobai." Gong Zhou curved his eyes and raised his head to listen, "Ask anything you want!"
"Okay." Bai Miaomiao nodded quickly, then took out the drawing software on her phone and quickly drew a simple purple clay tea bowl with her finger. "It's like this, Teacher Gong Zhou."
"If students want to make a small tea bowl like this... it's roughly circular, but it's actually surrounded by several petal-shaped clay pieces."
"Then how can we achieve the curvature of the petals?"
Bai Miaomiao's eyes were burning. Gong Zhou lowered his head and glanced at the sketch she handed over. He raised his eyebrows slightly: "Oh, it seems that Comrade Xiaobai likes to challenge difficult tasks right away."
"This petal shape is indeed a little harder to make than the small square and round cups that are horizontal and vertical, but it is not completely impossible."
"To be specific, we have two ways to achieve this shape. It depends on whether you want the inside of the cup to have some edges and corners, or whether you want it to be round inside and square outside so that the edges and corners on the outside don't affect the inside."
"Should it be round inside and square outside, or should it have edges and corners inside and outside..." Bai Miaomiao scratched her head in confusion, "Teacher Gong Zhou, is there a big difference in the production methods of these two small tea bowls?"
——She felt a little dizzy. "Of course it's bigger." Gong Zhou thought without hesitation, "One starts by slicing and then shaping; the other starts by rolling it into a ball and then filling it with clay and pinching the corners, how can they be the same?"
"One is to roll it into a ball first and then add the clay; the other is to slice it first and then shape it." Bai Miaomiao repeated Gong Zhou's words thoughtfully. After a while, a flash of inspiration suddenly flashed in her mind, "Teacher Gong Zhou, I understand what you mean - then for a beginner like me, it's easier to slice it first, right?"
"Wow, you figured out the trick so quickly? You are really teachable." Gong Zhou had a slightly happy look on his face. He now had the idea of luring the girls to learn how to make teapots from him.
"Why don't you guys just come and learn how to make pots from me... I promise I can train you to be the successors of our studio... Well, let's stop talking nonsense."
Gong Zhou, who had just spoken his mind, said with a serious expression: "This thing is, if you can grasp the size well, it will be easier to slice it, and you don't need to put in the soil."
"But if you don't know the size well, you can slowly fill in the mud and pinch the corners to get a better effect, at least there won't be a problem of the piece not fitting together."
"Okay, I understand, Teacher Gong Zhou." Bai Miaomiao nodded, "Then I'll try both, and I'll keep the one that does better, hey!"
"Sure, they're all good and we can keep them all. Our big kiln can produce a lot of pots!" Gong Zhou responded immediately and turned his gaze to Xu Yichi and An Qing. "What about you two? Comrade Xiao Xu and Comrade An Qing."
"Do you two have anything you'd like to ask?"
"Uh... I have no problem, Senior Gong Zhou." Xu Yichi rubbed his fingers and answered honestly, "It's mainly because I don't have as many ideas as Xiaobai... I just want to make something simple and fun to try, without any difficulty."
——She just wanted to make an irregularly shaped dessert plate with her bare hands and didn’t even think of using too many tools!
——How can she, with her clumsy hands, use so many tools? Just pinch them casually and have fun!
"That makes sense. Newbies should play with the clay more first, and not rush to make something too complicated." Gong Zhou's expression remained unchanged, his eyes full of approval, "What about Xiao An?"
"I don't have many ideas, Teacher Gong Zhou." An Qing scratched his head, "But I would like to try carving characters on the surface of purple clay pottery... Teacher Gong Zhou, are the techniques you use to carve characters on purple clay pottery the same as those used for seal carving?"
"I have never worked with purple clay pottery before, but I have tried seal carving for a while, and the side inscriptions I carve are pretty good."
"Wow, I didn't realize I have this skill!" Gong Zhou exclaimed in amazement, and then patted An Qing on the shoulder, "It's basically the same, just be careful not to use so much force when you do it."
"Wait until the mud is half dry before cutting, and use gentle force - mud is not like stone, it is not that hard."