Nuala Creed with Darwin from another exhibit
I was one of twenty visiting
artists. We were from the U.S. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and
Europe. For the week of the
festival all our living expenses were paid for by the city of Gangjin. That included meals, hotel and
transport to and from the festival. The festival was a celebration of Korean
culture, alive with color, food, traditional crafts, warm friendly people,
parades, dances, flowers, tea, and much more, and of course ceramics,
especially celadon. We met and had workshops with some of Korea's best-known
ceramic artists. In turn we each gave a demonstration at the festival that
attracted a large group of people who chatted to us as we worked. We had
students as our interpreters as we demonstrated. People waved and talked to us
as we wandered about the festival. Much of our communication was with body
language that was fun and creative.
I was amazed to see the
respect that people had for ceramics and the artists. Young children were eager
to throw pots on the wheel; they seemed engaged and knowledgeable while
visiting The Celadon Museum.
The following week we went
on a bus tour with Arthur and Mary Park.
The tour was partly subsidized by Gangjin City, US Travel and Morning
Earth Tours. It was terrific. I loved being in the company of fellow
artists. We visited Gyeongju, the
ancient capital of Korea, and Mungyeong, a very important tea bowl village,
also Yeoju, Icheon and Kwangju the three cities featured in the World Ceramic
Exposition. Arthur and Mary
arranged for us to visit many of the Human Cultural Treasures of Korea. (These
are artist that are so skilled and respected in their craft that the government
recognizes them, and gives them financial assistance towards their living
expenses.) Many of the people we visited live in remote villages and small
towns. We were welcomed with their
hospitality and generosity. We got to see parts of Korea that most tourists
never see. We also visited Buddhist
monasteries in the mountains. And a tea plantation, with an incredible hike.
Korea is indeed picturesque. It also has amazing museums that are well
attended. Our tour ended with three days in Seoul. It’s a big city with much of
interest to do and see. We stayed in a lovely hotel near Insadong art market
and gallery district.
I would definitely recommend
ceramic artists to apply for next year's exhibit and tour. Good luck.
No comments:
Post a Comment