After coming home from China I would have times where I felt like I was back there. Like if I closed my eyes and imagined I was walking down the street then I truly felt that I was back there. It made me sad and very nostalgic. It's taken me a long time to get over China. Sometimes I'm still not over it. I'm not sure what it is about Jingdezhen that really got to me. Sometimes I was almost desperate to leave there and other times I really loved it and wanted to stay. I still feel that way about it sometimes.
Open air market...you could buy baked goods, produce, meat, clothes, yarn, and all sorts of other stuff.
The department store where we would go "stress shopping." There were so many cute little stores in there with adorable hair accessories and jewelery and knick-knacky things.
I love the ceramic street lamps. And I loved seeing this older couple walking their grandchild.
Food Alley...home of the egg wrap and noodle man and several produce stands where the tiny oranges (which I assume are mandarin oranges) were bought. Often.
On the search for underglaze decals we came across these buildings that were being torn down.
The studio gate right in front of the basketball court. Across from the basketball court was the track and during the day the freshman would go out there to drill (during the first 3 weeks of the semester) and at night the ladies in the community would go out there to dance.
There were little shops and galleries/coffee shops down these streets across from the campus. Gallery 2 was our favorite coffee shop/gallery. Their coffee was pretty strong...it was good.
Sometimes I miss it a lot still. As you can see Jingdezhen was a dirty, old, and in some places dilapidated little city (it is called a little city but it is home to 1.4 million people), but in so many ways it was very beautiful. I felt that because I usually walked anywhere I wanted to go I felt like I got to know it better than most towns I'm in and the people there were so kind to us. In fact for such a densely populated city I actually started to recognize people from our frequent walks around town. And we got to recognize and even befriend some of the people who worked in the grocery store, went to the college, etc. We mainly stayed within 2 intersections of the campus but it still seemed so big. It was busy, alive and I liked it so much. After awhile I felt very safe there. It was a fun place to be. The art, the people, the night market, and especially our studio...and it was still so humble. I think that was partly what I liked about it so much. I wish I could live in a city like it.
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