Wood Kiln Introduction
After passing through the peaceful local temple and circling around the century-old camphor tree and the coexisting fuzzy persimmon tree, you will find the well-known pottery studio "Mud Oven" in Zaoqiao. Established for 22 years, Mud Oven is not only a rural pottery workshop but has also actively promoted ceramic culture education over the years. The owner, Xu Lianbin, has been exposed to pottery since childhood, studying under masters Chen Huantang, Li Chunxiong, Xu Qixuan, and Cai Junwei. His ceramic works have received numerous awards in various competitions. To help the public gain a deeper understanding of the "beauty of pottery," Mud Oven has planned hand-throwing and pottery classes, allowing visitors to enjoy the fun of molding clay themselves. Furthermore, on the second floor in the "Art Exhibition Hall," a variety of finely crafted ceramic creations, tea sets, flower vases, jars, bottles, bowls, and plates can be appreciated, especially the creatively glazed pieces that are truly impressive. Mud Oven also customizes exquisite crystalline glazes and flowing glazes as ceramic gifts for organizations, schools, and individuals, and can produce pottery with personalized inscriptions or designs for collections or gifts, making it worth a visit to try pottery. In recent years, under the strong promotion of the Hakka Affairs Council, the image of the toon flower has become synonymous with Hakka culture. Mud Oven actively applies the toon flower motif to various daily pottery items, including elegantly colored washbasins, shallow plates filled with colorful toon flowers, and cups and bowls adorned with the delicate May snow design, all of which are stunning. Due to their insistence on hand-throwing, these toon flower ceramic pieces are characterized by simple and understated shapes and colors, which are visually appealing and fully reflect the delicate and subtle nature of the toon flower. The toon flower tableware set (bowls, bone plates, water cups, serving plates, and large platters) produced by Mud Oven in the last three years has also been certified by the Miaoli County International Cultural and Tourism Bureau.
