Tourists visit a ceramic artwork exhibition in Qianhe village, Henan province. LI AN/XINHUA
Ceramics provide framework for future growth
Long afflicted with gripping poverty, Qianhe village in Central China's Henan province was once deserted as residents moved out. But ceramic arts lit the hamlet up.
Arts and crafts, including colorful enamel paintings of door gods and wall art, using thousands of ceramic bowls to depict the cosmos, have given the village's old residences a facelift and a new lease of life.
The once empty site in Luoling county now attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to its exhibition hall of ceramic arts. This turnaround is due to one artist's inspiration. Four years ago, senior ceramic artist Guo Aihe, 51, came to the village as it is located in the core area of the origins of Chinese ceramics.
About 62 kilometers away from the Yangshao Ruins, renowned for its painted pottery, Qianhe village is also not too distant from two of five famous ancient kilns.
Guo decided to revitalize the village's ceramic arts by using a total of 9,999 large pottery vats.
Flowerpots, guardrails, garbage cans, benches, booths, signposts and trails were all decorated with ceramics in the village.
The shabby cave dwellings and crooked wheat straw piles that seem useless and burdensome in the eyes of the villagers were Guo's inspiration. The ceramic artist believes that the countryside itself can provide inspiration for art.
Ceramic artist Guo Aihe (middle) teaches his student sketching in the fields in Qianhe village. LI AN/XINHUA
In harmony with the village's more than 85 percent forest coverage, Guo also planted flowers such as orchids, sunflowers and chrysanthemums. The village is veiled in shades of purple, yellow, pink and evergreen throughout the year.
"The aesthetic appreciation of nature rewards the artists with a bigger stage to create," Guo said.
The ceramic art breathes new life into the unadorned village.
Every winter, Guo holds exhibitions to invite artists from home and abroad to create, exhibit and auction their artwork. The revenue from such auctions will be used for the art education of school-age children in the nearby villages.
Since 2015, the number of artists that have participated in the exhibitions has grown from 23 to 100, raising a total of about 648,000 yuan ($96,540).
Six classrooms, where music and fine arts classes are taught by art majors and professionals, have been set up, benefiting around 1,200 local students. Works created by students in the classes, after being beautifully decorated by the artists, are given to them as surprise gifts on Children's Day.
Guo believes that art can inspire students. "Art education should be given the same attention as math, physics and chemistry lessons," he said.
Guo's efforts are also making a difference among the villagers. Ji Jingtao from the Qianhe village recently invited Guo to design an art piece for his newly furnished house - a wooden artwork made out of a tree root.
"I would have burned it as firewood before, but now they see it as materials for art pieces," Ji said.
Guo said: "Only by understanding and learning about beauty can we create and discover the beauty."
