Creating a world of imaginative art through clay and fire

The Buddha once remarked that everything can be found in something as seemingly insignificant as a grain of sand, a dropped leaf or a flower petal. Xia Shaohua sees the world through the medium of clay and fire.

"Every time you open the kiln, anything could happen – it could be a perfect work of art or a pile of broken pottery shards," the pottery artist explained. "It's always been mysterious and unfathomable, which has enchanted me for many years."

Modern kilns are largely electronically controlled, but the temperature accuracy is still not perfect. "You have to watch the fire and make decisions based on experience," the 49-year-old artist said. "Accidents could occur at any point."

Xia's career, like his pottering, is full of uncertainty and randomness. The Jiangxi Province native was among the first graduates of the Jingdezhen Ceramic University in his province, which has been China's ceramic capital since the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907).

He moved to Shanghai in 2000 and began teaching his craft in a primary school in Jinshan District. The small town on the coast, the cool sea breeze and the flexible schedule gave him a lot of time and ideas to pursue his interest in pottery.

His artwork "Source" won an award at the China Artists Association's Ceramics Exhibition in 2001. It was a large bowl, about 40 centimeters in diameter, with textures resembling massive sea waves crashing against the shore.

"The award was a great encouragement for me at the time, because I was struggling between following my artistic path and being realistic and worldly in a big city," he recalled.

Xia then created a series of "Source" with varying shapes and textures, leaving much to the broad and varied interpretations of different viewers. He quickly established himself as the city's young potter, known for his daring, fertile imagination and deft mastery of clay and kiln firing techniques. He rarely made utensils because they were intended for practical use rather than artistic appreciation.

"You can make a vase or plate to absolute perfection, but it mostly remains technical. Art needs a creative mind, or at the very least, a playful spirit. Skills can be practiced and improved, but creativity cannot," he said.

The folds of the evening gowns and the rumpled peplums in another series, "Fashion Models," fully displayed Xia's flexible control over clay. "A potter must understand the nature of clay in various conditions – dry, wet, soft and hard – so that the clay can be made to draw out, press flat, or curl up to achieve the desired shape," Xia explained.

Yes, there were foggy moments in the absence of exuberant inspiration.

He opened a pottery workshop in downtown Shanghai, but it became boring and so he closed it down. He went back to Jingdezhen in search of new inspiration.

Xia returned to Shanghai in 2015, settling in Songjiang and resuming his teaching career. He made online friends with local poets, painters, calligraphers and even strangers.

He finally had his eureka moment. The ideas kept flowing in a steady current, which Xia compared to a quiet brook rather than a raging river.

His most recent series, which he has been working on for several years, is the Peking Opera figures. He discovered a strong link between clay art and traditional opera.

"They share the same techniques of expression in both abstract and realistic approaches, and with the same oriental aesthetics," he said.

Xia conjured up vivid opera figures on thin clay sheets. Xia's clay figures are based on traditional Chinese New Year paintings, which often have bold lines, bright colors and big-headed children. The faces and body movements of the clay figures are exaggerated, and the embroidery patterns, clothes fabrics and carefully combed hair buns add fine detail.

An artist must look back, take a break to generate new ideas and keep up with the times. Now might be the time for Xia to try out something new. He has begun livestreaming pottery lessons on social media platforms.

"I'm nervous about speaking in front of a camera, but I'll see how far I can get. It's entertaining, though," he said, smiling.