Kate: Why did you want to work in pottery in the first place?

Our family grew up in Yingge. My dad was one of the potters. During that era, Yingge was facing industrial transformation, which made life very difficult for our family. When I was eight years old, my parents decided to move to Miaoli. There we met a kiln factory owner. Seeing that we had to rent a home and my parents had not yet found a stable job, he let us live and work in the kiln factory. The local potters all had assistants to help them kick the pottery wheels. Therefore, my dad asked us four boys to help. Along with my father and the senior potters, we started from being the assistants and slowly learning the technique of making pottery into a true pottery master through years of practices and countless failures.

Not only is the process of making pottery interesting and challenging, in fact, "failure" is also an indispensable part of pottery art. Failures motivate me to improve my skills to make pottery better, since I can learn from the mistakes I've made before. Take the ceramic I just made as an example. Even though I cut off almost half of the pottery, it did not ruin my project at all. Instead, it was able to "bow" say "thank you" to all of you when it collapsed.

Most people are afraid of failing, so they dare not try new things, however, only failures help you become more successful in a career. Every "unsuccessful" moment should be seen as a lesson, a way to teach you how to do better next time, to encourage you to be greater in the future, and to know that through adversity is the realization of your ultimate goal. When I was young, I learned this truth from my father. Since I started to learn the technique of making pottery with my father starting from a child, I often saw him working and studying pottery. Once, I saw that he only completed one tiny work in a whole day, which made me very confused why one project took so much time to work on. However, Dad later said to me, "If you do something well, you should try to make it perfect until you are satisfied with it. Never be afraid of failing, because only when you encounter setbacks, you can improve your skills. Remember, rely on perseverance, and never be afraid of failing!"

In the past, many people liked the pottery container that allowed chicken and ducks to drink water easily. This technology cannot be duplicated using plastic and other materials, for pottery allowed air through and prevented growth of moss. However, the government had a regulation of specific size limitations of the containers, and it is hard to create identical pottery according to the rules. Therefore, molds are used in later creation of pottery for daily uses. In addition, the quality of each container must be carefully for pottery put on sale. When the pottery creator was young, his job was to collect clay which quality is ideal for pottery making. He would dry, shape, and apply pressure upon the clay in order to prepare it for pottery making. This process was very painstaking, but much work must be done in order to control the quality of pottery containers for daily use.

In older generations, the technology of pottery creation is passed down through apprenticeship. However, now there are many potters that open classes for groups of students that are interested in this type of art.

Currently, it's difficult to find an inheritance in the pottery wheel technique. It would be very unfortunate if our ancestor’s wisdom cannot pass down, as this culture is irreplaceable. The pottery creator described this crisis as how parents may have left several millions worth of inheritance, but the younger generation spoil the resource. Even so, the problem might be alleviated if more people decide to learn more about the creation of pottery, especially the people who have great potential.

In the past, it is less stressful to make a living by creating pottery. However, the younger generations cannot make a living by creating pottery because of the higher living cost. Thus, many people who are interested in learning this art rather do it rashly and only work on the surface level, even if it’s not their fault. They try very hard to learn about this technique, yet their knowledge and skills are not as solid as the potters in earlier generations.

Summer: With the evolution of the times, pottery production has gradually become mechanized. Even so, is there anything that machines can never win over the traditional ones?

The spirit of making pottery can never be replaced.

Alvin: In your opinion, how are pottery works and creations integrated into modern Taiwanese culture?

Rather than integrating into modern Taiwanese culture, it is better to say that pottery works and creations accompany our culture all the way. Although sometimes different types of pottery may evolve due to the different time periods, pottery actually and always exists in some fields. For example, in the old agricultural time, chickens and ducks had to drink water through pottery containers. Even though we know that there are plastic products that can replace the pottery now, the fact that pottery used to provide water for chickens and ducks had pores that makes it irreplaceable. These pores can help and maintain the cleanliness of the water inside. On the other hand, if the farmer switches it to a plastic container with no pores, the water inside will deteriorate if it is exposed to the sun and cannot "breathe", and chickens and ducks will become sick after drinking the water inside. In conclusion, because pottery has its own characteristics and is difficult to be replaced by other materials, pottery is definitely indelible on a certain level.

Cindy: What would you like to say to those who want to become pottery masters in the future?

Young man, please do not feel afraid of failing! As time pass by, experiences and mistakes will definitely sharpen you and the pottery works you make. Just slowly and gradually feel and absorb the essence of pottery art. One day, you can successfully make the plates and bowls you have imagined once upon a time. Pottery, then, will not silently fade away into history dully all thanks to those young and passionate young people.