It is because of the complicated craftsmanship of Ding kiln that Chen Wenzhe first learned the technology of Ding kiln.
When he was making large vases with various glaze colors, that is, in the process of making porcelain masters, he first learned to make Ding kiln porcelain because there were many basic categories of Ding kiln craft design.
Therefore, after learning how to make Ding kiln porcelain, all basic porcelain making methods will definitely be fully upgraded to the master level.
Now if you want to learn the methods of making porcelain in Ding Kiln, you must understand its birthplace.
Quyang is the birthplace of Ding porcelain art.
Although it was almost lost in the Yuan Dynasty due to the war between the Song and Jin Dynasties, in the 1970s, the porcelain-making technique, which had been lost for nearly 800 years, began to be restored.
Thanks to the unremitting efforts of old and new Dingci people, it has been restored to its former glory.
Regardless of ancient or modern times, if you want to enter the industry, you must start as an apprentice.
For example, in some modern ceramic companies, even college students introduced by the company are no exception.
The work of an apprentice is very monotonous, but ceramics companies can provide you with opportunities to practice your skills.
It turns out that Chen Wenzhe has never participated in other ceramic companies and does not know how they operate.
But now he knows that if he is an apprentice, if he is in a factory that specializes in replicating kilns, then the first thing the apprentice will do is to practice with defective baby pillows.
Since the mold for making a child's pillow is composed of five parts, mold gaps will inevitably appear on the clay of the child's pillow.
In addition, the hair, facial features, clothing wrinkles and other textures on the clay are not clear enough. Therefore, apprentices not only have to practice smoothing the mold seams, but also learn to use a carving knife to follow the vague lines on the clay to carve out a lifelike fat doll.
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This job seems easy, but when you actually get started, you will find that it is not as simple as you imagined.
As we all know, the texture of Ding porcelain is very thin, so the force used for each stroke is very particular.
Take the doll's hair as an example. The force is not enough to create fine and clear hair.
But if you use too much force, it will pierce the clay.
Therefore, even a talented apprentice will not be able to produce a decent work without practicing for two months.
According to regulations, if you work well, an apprentice can be released after working for one month.
However, for many apprentices with a junior college degree, it is good to be an apprentice within two months.
Sometimes, many apprentices think they are doing a good job.
However, the opposite is often the case. The master just refuses to let his disciples become apprentices.
"I don't do any worse than others, why don't you let me become a disciple?"
Although many apprentice workers did not say anything out loud, their hearts were full of confusion.
However, there must be a reason why he is not allowed to be a disciple.
Generally, the reason why you are not allowed to become an apprentice is to allow you to practice the basic crafts solidly.
Only when the master can let go with confidence, it means that your foundation is solid enough.
Chen Wenzhe's immersive learning in his dreams also followed this process.
When he felt that he had almost learned it, he started to actually practice.
Of course, when he was practicing, there were no defective baby pillows for him to operate, so he had to start from scratch.
He is very good at carving. He can make a rough clay-body porcelain pillow. With just a few strokes, he can outline the general shape of the porcelain pillow.
After that, you need to work hard.
He would first use a pencil to draw a sketch on the clay.
Then use a sharp needle to draw grooves on the clay along the lines of the pencil.
Finally, a carving knife is used to remove the mud from the edge of the groove to create a three-dimensional pattern effect, and a work is born.
His own talent, coupled with his painting skills through immersive learning, make Chen Wenzhe like a duck in water in the design of ceramics.
At the beginning, the patterns on the porcelain he painted were still the traditional two-sided continuous and intertwined branches.
After that comes the two-square continuous pattern, also called a strip pattern.
This is a pattern formed by combining one or two separate patterns into a unit pattern, and then repeating the unit patterns in up and down or left and right directions.
Twisting branches are even simpler. They get their name from the pattern of flower branches that keep twisting and turning.
In Chen Wenzhe's view, such patterns are beautiful, but lack new ideas.
Newcomers who have just entered the industry will mostly copy and learn from the works of the ancients when creating Ding porcelain works.
But now Chen Wenzhe is not just imitating antiques, now is the 21st century, and the vessels and vases made by every craftsman may become antiques in a few hundred years.
He did not want people to see that a hundred years later, the Ding porcelain works left from this era were all imitating the shapes and patterns of the Song Dynasty.
He wanted to be able to imitate his own characteristics just like the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
When the time comes, future generations will see that this is the work of Chen Wenzhe, a master of porcelain making during the Republican period. You can see that his works all have the same characteristics and are also unique characteristics of the era.
However, it is not easy to have your own unique craftsmanship and become a symbol of the times.
Now Chen Wenzhe doesn't want to go too far, he just wants to be a little innovative.
Among innovations, it is not easy to innovate the shape of utensils, but shouldn’t it be simpler to innovate in decoration?
Throughout the dynasties, porcelain has been made with many and complex patterns.
However, are there accurate types and quantities of graphics?
Definitely not, it's just a new graphic decoration with a slight deformation.
However, it is not easy to innovate and be recognized by the world.
Chen Wenzhe just started practicing. He wanted to make something special and different.
He wanted to leave some Ding porcelain works with a new look to future generations.
So, after mastering the traditional decorative techniques of Ding kiln, I started to start over.
He started to try to create some new works starting from aspects such as modeling design, decorative language, and composition methods.
During this period of time, he has read the works of contemporary masters, studied classics from various periods, and even studied books on ceramics.
However, it is not so easy to innovate, for example, what kind of pattern should be designed?
Fortunately, Chen Wenzhe had already had the idea, so after holding it in for two days, he finally had the creative inspiration.
He decided to design a work that could reflect the revival of all things and the return of migratory birds.
The most typical migratory bird is the wild goose, but he was not satisfied with the wild geese in his paintings.
"I feel stupid, fat, and lacking in spirituality."
After consulting a lot of information, he decided to change the wild goose into a swan.
However, how can the graceful curves of the swan be reflected in the porcelain?
During this period of time, Chen Wenzhe would bring his sketchbook with him no matter where he was or what he was doing, so that he could record the inspiration that came to his mind on paper at any time.
What if he gets a flash of inspiration and comes up with a new design?
Wood grains, inscriptions, wavy patterns, geometric patterns, streamlined patterns, and countless other patterns were constantly swirling in Chen Wenzhe's mind.
Finally, everything can be derived from an inherent pattern.
Using the swan as the carrier, simplifying, abstracting, streamlining, and finally getting a beautiful pattern is success.