By GARY FRY
BASED in the Kingstown area, west of Armidale Carl Merten and Joan Relke are prominent sculptors and Armidale Pottery Club members.
They have just returned from an educational and enlightening visit to China. They spent a number of weeks in Jingdezhen, a city of over 1.5 million people on China’s northern border, known as the PRC’s porcelain capital.
The Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute is the only institute of higher learning in China dedicated to the study of ceramic arts.
The area of Jingdezhen is historically significant in the development and production of Chinese ceramics. The university links modern educational techniques and infrastructure with a well-rooted source of ancient Chinese lore and tradition.
An exhibition of their work will be held at Gallery 126 from 1 November.
