It is not easy to set up a web page. It requires a lot of information, visits, analysis, research, and enthusiasm. Therefore, I want to thank all my teammates, who are all willing to work hard for the same goal, contribute expertise, and help each other. "Practice makes perfect" is really true. Based on last year's game experience, I have a more planned assignment of team work this year as pre-planning makes the entire topic research more orderly. This year, in the preparation of the program, we're also more systematic with advanced planning, so that it is easy to make any corrections. This accumulation of experience is invaluable. I am very happy to participate in the competition with like-minded friends and experience a wonderful learning journey together.
How can simple pottery take such a huge role in basically all of the ancient civilizations? That's the first question that popped into my head when I was told to learn about pottery stuff. It's true that some of the potteries are elegant and beautiful, but in my opinion, they are just simple pots or containers used for religions. However, as I go deeper into the pottery world, I soon find out that it's because they are ordinary which makes them extraordinary. When we interviewed Master Zhan (詹國祥師傅), one of the few in Taiwan who can still perform the traditional "turning windlass" (腳踢轆轤) technique, tells us that the pottery is inextricable in our daily lives. For example, chickens and ducks must drink water through the pottery in order to be healthy. The water will be impure or dirty if a plastic container is used. This is a very good example that tells us not only potteries are inextricable to our lives, but they are also irreplaceable. We are always being told to give up the old things, ideas, and move our steps forward to embrace new things. Even though history limits our imagination and thoughts, we do not have the right and a justified reason to get rid of these treasures and the wisdom of our ancestors, and pottery is just one of those treasures. The fact that the "turning windlass" technique is going to extinct warns us that handmade potteries might no longer be able to produce again. Thus, it's very important for young generations to publicize this treasure to the world. We have the responsibility to make sure that potteries will not go to an end in our era.
Through the CyberFair project, our group and I discovered more stories and mysteries untold behind pottery art. Pottery isn't simply a container with beautiful shapes, but a symbolic history of art regarding the ancient civilizations. By visiting Master Zhan of pottery and the curator of the Yingge Museum, we learned that those unique textures and patterns left on a pottery are actually the spirit left by the ancestors, which allow modern people to feel closer to our people from the past. Pottery is one of the earliest arts that emerged since human history, and it takes an important role for the evolution of humanity. However, as Master Zhan mentioned, the pottery art is slowly lost to the world. Most people, especially the younger generation nowadays, strive to look for opportunities in cities instead of accepting the traditional skills of creating artwork. Handmade pottery, a more environmental friendly matieral, is also starting to be replaced by plastic materials, whereas the expertise is replaced by more convenient machines that saves time.. In my opinion, part of our project's goal is to spread the idea of pottery for more people to understand, and the danger of irretrievably lost traditions and to protection our ancestral cultural heritage. Besides the knowledge learnt from pottery art, the project also brought the team together. We helped each other out in different times during the making of our project, pointing out any places that could be improved. Working on the same goal, each teammate was in charge of a specific part and only collaborating together could we make the best project.
It is this cyberfair project that led me to learn much more about the long lasted traditional art of Taiwan—potteries. True that potteries might not be the most attractive topic especially compared to technology related subjects. This is the first time I actually sit down and investigate in one of the most important culture right in Taiwan. In fact, potteries has had 6000 years of history on this island. At some point in time, ancient people learned to use mud to make incredible things and the skill is preserved till today. Nowadays, pottery is used from daily uses to enjoyable arts, but much more that, it is the spirit and the essence of our ancestors. Living in Taiwan, the enjoyable experience of pottery DIY activities are the closest I ever came to potteries before I decided to make this website which is honestly quite regretful. Finally, my teammates and I hope that the creation of this website helps pottery stay in the minds of Taiwanese, and maybe even the rest of the world. Maybe one day, all people can learn to appreciate pottery as a form of art, a kind of spirit, and never forget the beauty of pottery culture.
When Aaron Lee invited me in for the project, I wasn't interested at first. However, as I went deeper into the world of pottery, I found that it's not that simple as I could imagine. Even though the potteries are lifeless, basically objects. However, they contain decades, even centuries worth of value and information. We see how ancestors are willing to share these amazing "arts" with us, especially Master Zhan, who demonstrated aspects of artistic value and performed exhilarating shows for us. I was shocked when he told us that in Taiwan his sons are probably the last ones who know how to build the ancient version of the pottery wheel. We can see the hopelessness in his eyes. The pottery industry is facing some devastating impacts from the creation of plastic cups and containers. As time goes by, people are willing to pay huge amount of money to modern technology products and wouldn't show any sort of respect to the masters. I would definitely give a hand to this industry and try my best to preserve the value of the potteries. Given this opportunity, I am glad to participate in this competition, and I will try my best to save the pottery industry from disappearing in Taiwan.
When Aaron Lee invited me to do this project on pottery, I was surprised because as a Taiwanese that has been living here for over ten years, I have never really dug deep into the culture of my native country. The most I could have thought of are probably the same things that get introduced in Taiwanese tourism website. However, as I began to research more about the history of pottery in Taiwan, I realized how little I know about pottery. Pottery has served both daily and artistic uses for many Taiwanese. This form of art got passed down from ancestors, and the wisdom and experiences are what make this art so special and irreplaceable. For example, if pottery containers are made in the traditional way, beautiful and organized lines etched on both inside and outside of the container could be found. The clay used to create pottery is durable and allows air to pass through, and the quality of the clay is controlled extremely carefully as it is literally the soul of the product. The making process of the pottery itself is like an art performance; a performance of creation dancing, clay singing, powered by the spirits of the ancestors. How can we possibly let this beautiful culture become lost? This becomes our motivation to complete this project. We should all try to preserve this kind of art.
The CyberFair project gave me a chance to learn about the history of pottery and its importance. Not only does it plays a significant role in ancient civilizations, pottery has developed into an unique art. However, as modern technology continues to thrive, pottery has been forgotten by most people. When we interviewed Master Zhan, he showed us the traditional way of making pottery - through the pottery wheel, which amazed us all. Yet he is one of the few people in Taiwan who is trying to preserve this traditional art. Pottery is being replaced by plastics and other modern technology. Therefore, we are grateful to interview Master Zhan and the curator of Yingge Museum to understand more about pottery art. Pottery is a precious cultural asset. Now the world is facing a serious plastic waste problem. Pottery can be used to replace plastic containers and reduce pollution. Therefore, we should protect this art and culture more. This project provide us a wider perspective on pottery. By working as a team, we are able to set up a website to educate more people about pottery art.
After getting invited into this project, I've been learning a lot of new information and the history of pottery every single day. At first, not understanding anything about this project, I accepted the invitation. We started learning about the different topics in Cyberfair and the connection to Taiwan's history. Every topic seems fine and suitable for this project, but after a lot of discussion and research, we settled on the topic, "Pottery." People might not understand the significance of pottery due to the modern technologies, and teenagers don't usually know or even seen people's original way of making artworks. It has hit me pretty hard because people tend to see the final product rather than trying to understand how it came from. For example, everyone knows to buy furniture or utensils in the market, but they have no idea how much hard work are behind all these, and how we evolve from making one bowl a day to manufacturing thousands and millions every day all around the world. After working on this project, I learned a significant amount of pottery history, and it changes how I look at them. During the visit of Master Zhan, he performed and taught us about making of pottery, and he surprised us with facts and original ways, which then, this project began to have a clear purpose - to spread the ideas of pottery for more people to know and understand. Making this website and all the research can help people all over the world to know better about pottery, and hopefully inspire teenagers to preserve this type of artwork and pass on the tradition to more people.