This vessel is formed with copper-red petunse, and the floral pattern at the centre was engraved with a fast-wheel, skip-cut technique. After celadon glaze was applied, the vessel was processed by bisque firing, and then by high temperature carbonising flame treatment. The potter transferred his flower appreciation into imagery, and used art and craft materials to present it with this vessel – Blossom Heart.

China’s revitalisation and hosting of the Olympic Games brought happiness and joy to the whole nation. To commemorate the joy of the grand opening of the Beijing Olympic Games, Gao Feng, who recruited apprentices at Chashan Kiln of Dongguan, created this ceramic work with the Olympics as the theme. The body of this vessel was formed by using a pottery wheel, decorated with skip-cut patterns of various spacing, finished with smooth glaze, and processed with a sophisticated firing technique.

I was raised in Longquan, and in my home village I enjoyed the views of blossoming lotus flowers in August and golden harvests in October. Based on these scenes, I made the body of this ravine-like plate in the colour of a harvest, decorated with a skip-cut “ears of grain” pattern and lotus flowers. Fired with a 1280°C carbonising flame, this plate is titled “Home Village” to represent the feelings in my heart.

I have not experienced snow since I arrived here in the Lingnan region. However, I remember from time to time the winter snow in my hometown, and the saying that timely snow promises a good harvest. This vase was based on my memory of snowy scenes.

This bowl was formed by jiggering, and underwent a semi-dry carving and weaving pattern skip-cut process. After the body was completely dry, it went through the bisque firing process at 800°C inside the kiln. Glaze was then applied to the whole bowl, and it was completed by firing with a 1290°C carbonising flame.

My apprenticeship would be completed in 2013. Under the guidance of my mentor, Mr Gao, during the past five years, I became more mature in my personality. Despite occasional high and low emotional states, I have fully understood the enchantment of peace and calmness in heart. This also applies to my pursuit of stability and being content when making ceramic ware. I am delighted to have given birth to this bowl, as this is another milestone for me towards achieving my ultimate goal.

After making a series of lotus-themed celadon glazed works, I practised carving lotus patterns of different styles and forms. This jar was made by imitating the cut-out carving technique of the Yaozhou Kiln. With a peony pattern carved on the upward lotus petals on the body, while the lid features a downward lotus petal pattern, this process gave me a brand new experience, quite different to my previous lotus pattern carving. With an earth-colour ash glaze applied before firing, the finished work gives us a feeling of the earth glazed ceramic ware of the Tang Dynasty.

My idea for making this series of lotus pattern bowls was inspired by a lotus pattern ceramic chip of the Song Dynasty that my mentor showed me. I was so impressed by its subtle and natural pattern and mild green glaze. I then started my journey of making lotus-themed ceramic ware. This celadon glazed work, chosen from my first batch of successful trials for making lotus pattern bowls, is somewhat unadorned in terms of patterning and glaze colouring. I need to work much harder to achieve the lasting charm of the ancient artefacts.

My idea for making this series of lotus pattern bowls was inspired by a lotus pattern ceramic chip of the Song Dynasty that my mentor showed me. I was so impressed by its subtle and natural pattern and mild green glaze. I then started my journey of making lotus-themed ceramic ware. This celadon glazed work, chosen from my first batch of successful trials for making lotus pattern bowls, is somewhat unadorned in terms of patterning and glaze colouring. I need to work much harder to achieve the lasting charm of the ancient artefacts.

During my apprenticeship, my mentor always told me that a spherical jar of height and belly diameter at 50cm was a starting point for improving jiggering standards. For this reason, I never stopped practising my skills. This vessel is not of a satisfactory standard, but I thought this is only the beginning. So I named it “Starting Point”.

The plate body was formed by jiggering a mixture of copper-red clay and Longqun petunse, and underwent semi-dry carving and a zigzag pattern skip-cut process. After the body was completely dry, it went through the bisque firing process at 800°C inside the kiln. The whole plate was then sprayed with shadow blue glaze, and completed by firing with a 1280°C oxidising flame.

The jar was formed by jiggering with Longqun petunse, and underwent a semi-dry skip-cut decorative process. After the body was completely dry, it went through the bisque firing process at 800°C. The whole vessel had an earth-colour ash glaze applied before being completed by firing with a 1290°C carbonising flame.

During my apprenticeship at Chashan Kiln in Dongguan, I used to remember the scenes of endless wheat fields in mid-summer, in my hometown. Blowing in the wind, the wheat looked like cascading golden waves. So I made this plate to express my homesickness. This vessel is in the form of a shallow plate with a skip-cut weave pattern, and had an earth-colour ash glaze applied before firing with a 1280°C carbonising flame.

My idea for making this series of lotus pattern bowls was inspired by a lotus pattern ceramic chip of the Song Dynasty that my mentor showed me. I was so impressed by its subtle and natural pattern and mild green glaze. I then started my journey of making lotus-themed ceramic ware. This celadon glazed work, chosen from my first batch of successful trials for making lotus pattern bowls, is somewhat unadorned in terms of patterning and glaze colouring. I need to work much harder to achieve the lasting charm of the ancient artefacts.

By the Spring Festival in 2011, I had long engaged in making lotus-themed bowls, but my works were mostly celadon glazed vessels. From the very beginning, I was taught by my mentor about the “Three-and-one Working Model”, so this time I decided to try something new. I applied earth-coloured ash glaze to the vessel, fired it in my mentor’s kiln, and looked forward to my "new-born baby". When the kiln opened, I was extremely excited to hold this shining golden lotus bowl with a rabbit fur pattern.

After making more and more lotus-themed ceramic works, I began to make changes to the ways I shaped vessels and carved lotus patterns. This jar, made right after appreciating the camellia buds in a garden, looks like a half-open lotus bud nourished by the morning dew.