blog 2

pingling teapot fountain!

For this blog we went to 

8/26 pingling and LTSER

8/27 national palace museum and yongkang

8/28 yingge pottery and worked on projects

cat we saw in pingling!!

This half of the week was so fun and also felt more connected to design. I really enjoyed getting out of the city and visiting Pingling. The streets felt very rural but also the families there seemed very relaxed and it was so chill. We got curry from a local family owned restaurant (so good!!!) and then walked around; we went into a bakery and I wish I was more hungry then so I could’ve tried all the pastries because they looked amazing.

The tea museum was also gorgeous and even though we couldn’t read most of it, some of the students helped us understand things, like the interactive blocks that you could place to change the screen and get info about the tea. I really enjoyed the stamps and I’m so excited to put them in my junk journal. It was also interesting to me that there was some western influence, because I’d assumed that the tea culture would be very like Asian here. The waterfall behind was gorgeous too, even though I got some bug bites from walking there :( 

garden outside tea
museum(lots of mosquitos!)

my grandpa texting
about jade cabbage

Thursday we took a drive to the national palace museum. I’m glad we were in groups in the car because I got to hear about the jade cabbage before we got there, which made it more special and I was looking forward to seeing it. I even texted my grandpa about it but he didn't recognize it which made me laugh. The food was also so good there! I <3 beef noodle soup.

us outside of
National Palace Museum 

I loved walking around Yongkang with meichun and our group!! Although it was hot, the neighborhood was so lovely and all of the shops were beautiful and felt very high end. The ceramics exhibition we stumbled upon was stunning and unexpected- the way they used the space with the lighting and sound felt very cohesive and created a very luxurious vibe that felt so different from everything outside. 

The pottery museum was my favorite one we’ve seen so far. I really enjoyed the bottom floor pieces next to the cafe- the artist Fang Ju LIU 劉芳汝 did a wonderful job of creating pieces that were playful and child-like, but also after reading the descriptions had more serious meanings. They reminded me of some of Donna Wilson’s work in the way they were brightly colored and cutely stylized with lots of animals. It also was interesting to see how the future of ceramics was very technical and involved lots of tech (like with the semiconductors). It made me realize that ceramics has a lot of potential and can be innovative even in modern times.

Fang Ju Liu's piece-
Voice Message of the
Speaking Tube

I was inspired by a monkey mug in the gift shop when creating our paintings, and I hope they turn out well. It’s so exciting but also difficult to make pottery because it always turns out different after firing.

Din Tai Fung with Dora and Judy
to celebrate our project!

The project, although hard, was lots of fun because we got to know the Taiwanese students better. Although we were a little discouraged after the critique and wished it had been earlier so we could have more time to work on an idea, we had a good time brainstorming and creating our design. We also took a break to get ramen and it was so good. Although it’s sad to leave, I’m glad we got to work together! Overall, Taipei was so fun and I’m excited to continue our journey through Taiwan.