Wooden Kiln Introduction
Passing through the tranquil land temple and bypassing the century-old camphor tree and the coexisting soft hairy persimmon tree, you arrive at the famous pottery studio "Mud Pot" in Zaoqiao. Celebrating its 22nd year, Mud Pot is not just a countryside pottery workshop; over the years, it has actively promoted pottery cultural education while creating art. The owner, Xu Lianbin, has been exposed to pottery since childhood and studied under masters Chen Huantang, Li Chunxiong, Xu Qixun, and Cai Junwei. His pottery works have won numerous awards in various competitions. To give the public a deeper understanding of "the beauty of pottery," Mud Pot has planned hand-throwing workshops and pottery classrooms, allowing visitors to enjoy the fun of making pottery by hand. Additionally, on the second floor, the "Exhibition Hall" showcases many intricately crafted pottery creations, including tea sets, flower vases, jars, bottles, and plates, with particularly impressive and creative glaze colors. Mud Pot customizes exquisite gifts like crystallized glazes and flowing glazes for organizations, schools, and individuals, and can produce pottery vases with inscriptions or designs specified by clients, making them suitable for both collection and gifting. In recent years, under the strong promotion of the Hakka Affairs Council, the image of the tung flower has become synonymous with Hakka culture. Mud Pot actively applies the tung flower motif to various daily pottery items, including elegantly colored water basins, shallow plates adorned with colorful tung flowers, and cups and dishes speckled with May snow. These creations are impressive, as they are made with a hand-throwing technique that emphasizes simplicity and understated style, making them visually appealing and effectively reflecting the gentle and delicate nature of the tung flower. In the past three years, Mud Pot’s tung flower tableware set (including bowls, bone dishes, water cups, vegetable plates, large bowls, and large platters) has also received certification from the Miaoli County International Cultural Tourism Bureau.
